Barry Steele and a fabulous cast of musicians and singers will take you on a musical journey from The Black and White Night through to the Traveling Wilburys - with so much more in between. Barry Steele is set to put the rock back into 'The Big O' as he takes to the stage to commemorate this legend in the West End production 'The Roy Orbison Story’ in an evening packed with Rock and Soul. Ahead of their performance in Barry’s hometown of Birmingham I spoke to him and his wife Lynne.
Are you excited to be back performing in your hometown of Birmingham?
It's always nice to be back at the Alexandra, it’s a very nice venue for us to be in. It’s always nice to come back to our home on tour. But despite being back in my hometown, I always get very nervous before a show. It doesn't matter where I am, in this country or abroad, I always get those nerves before I start. I don't tend to have any preshow rituals, but an hour before the show I like to go and sit in the changing room on my iPad and play some games just to switch off and relax and that's what puts me in the zone without any distractions. I think for me this is relaxing because I've not done this my whole life and I sort of fell into this industry, so I think that I'm still quite grounded.
It is interesting you should mention that because I was going to ask you how does it feel to have just fallen into this industry, as your journey to this role is so unique?
It's thanks to my wife and children, they put me into a family holiday competition down in Cornwall many moons ago and that's where I got up and sung for the very first time in public ever. I'd never done it before. At the time, I was an HGV driver minding my own business, being on my own in the truck, singing along, and then suddenly I was on holiday and my wife and children decided to put me in for this family competition, which I knew nothing about. I sang the Robbie Williams song ‘Angels.’ It was as a result that somebody in the audience came up to me and said, you do this for a living, and I said no, mate I'm an HGV driver. The guy said you should do something because you sound just like Roy Orbison singing Robbie Williams. And that's how it all started.
Do you feel glad to have had such a normal life and to still be able to have this career?
Yes, because we've always been quite down to earth and rooted. We're just a family. There's no egos or anything like that and we've met a lot of people on the way that have helped us and the minute they hear Barry's voice, wife Lynn says, I can't tell you the number of times they’ve done a double-take, believing it is Roy Orbison. But I think what's kept us so grounded is that we are a family unit all working together as our sons also work with us. We've been doing this show for nearly 15 years now. And I think that shows the longevity of what we're doing and shows the quality of our show that it's still standing the test of time. I think our show has made Roy Orbison relevant again and highlighted his wonderful music.
And on that note, what can people expect to see from this show?
Well, I think we'd say it's a superb night of music through the decades, with superb musicians and we've got a lot of production value on this with projections and factoids displayed. The show in Birmingham is a very special one for us because we have invited members of the aplastic anaemia trust along. Because our granddaughter is currently in Birmingham Intensive care unit now. So, we just want to raise awareness for this disease that there is very little known about. So even if you aren't a fan of Roy Orbison or you don't know much about him, then you can come along and you're still supporting a good cause as we will be asking for donations at the end of the show. We understand that it is a very tough time for everybody financially, but the smallest contribution can help tackle such a heart-breaking disease. So, the night in Birmingham is going to be an emotional one for us.
And finally, do you have any advice to any aspiring performers or anyone like yourself, Barry who never thought about this industry as a career choice. What would you say to them?
I think the main thing is that you've got to work hard if you feel you have a good product then you must sell it. But you must do the hard sell. It's not easy, but if you believe in it, you will do it. At the core, you've got to have some talent, because you need that wow factor to keep that longevity. You get out of it what you put in it, so you've got to give it your all if you want it.
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