Wet Wet Wet star Marti Pellow has hailed the ability of Andrew Lloyd Webber to create “great pop songs” in his musicals — and revealed he might write a show himself.
Pellow, 49, who is playing Che Guevara in Evita this autumn, said he was “really excited” that the production, which has been touring, will get a West End run.
The Tim Rice/Lloyd Webber show tells the story of Eva Peron, wife of the Argentinian dictator Juan Peron. She is played by Madalena Alberto.
Pellow said numbers such as Oh What A Circus, which was a chart hit for David Essex, and Don’t Cry For Me Argentina, which got to number one in 1977, were simply “great pop songs — it’s what’s led to the longevity of the piece”. He added: “I’m a singer-songwriter so I appreciate it. It’s such a wonderful show and there seems to be a great love of it.”
His career in musical theatre, with appearances in shows including Chicago, Chess and Blood Brothers, has made him consider writing his own. “I’ve spent the last 10 years dealing with this genre,” he said. “I’ve been working on some stuff myself.”
But he thought a jukebox musical using the back catalogue of Wet Wet Wet in the manner of Mamma Mia! was unlikely — “though never say never”.
Evita is at the Dominion Theatre from September 22.
