Lloyd Webber mega-musicals are all well and good, but very little beats the guilty pleasure of a jukebox musical like Mamma Mia!, We Will Rock You or Jersey Boys. These are the shows that people travel to London theatres from miles away to see as part of London theatre break.
Since it seems to be en vogue to make jukebox musicals at the moment, we thought we'd share the four bands that we think should have their own jukebox musical in the West End as soon as possible.
1) Happy Mondays
They're perhaps not the first group that you'd think of when considering candidates for a West End musical, but Happy Mondays' distinctive sound could actually translate to the stage rather well. Imagine if you will, the story of a few friends on their way to attend a Manchester warehouse rave, add a few off-the-shelf story elements; love triangles, growing up etc and add a soundtrack of some of the most iconic music to come out of the Madchester scene.
Best of all, Bez isn't up to much these days so he could play himself. Now that's a London show that would pull in the crowds.
2) Kiss
Given the iconic status of Kiss' music, their reputation for incredible live shows and their love of merchandise, it's amazing that a Kiss stage spectacular has never been performed in the West End. Kiss frontman Gene Simmons attempted to get a Broadway project off the ground in 2001 but it never made it to the stage.
Hopefully Gene will see sense and try again in London. Convincing the band who produce a line of self-branded coffins to give up the rights to a few songs to make a West End musical shouldn't be too difficult.
3) Phil Collins
One for the sort of people who book London theatre breaks to see We Will Rock You. Phil Collins' music has been used extensively in films and his work on Disney's Tarzan won him an Oscar so when it comes to rousing soundtracks, he knows what he's doing.
Given Collins' versatility he could easily arrange his songs over a loose plot (a la Mamma Mia!) or just showcase them with an all-singing, all-dancing West End cast (similar to Thriller Live).
4) The Smashing Pumpkins
Grungey alt-rock sounds are lamentably under-represented in West End theatre. There's plenty of upbeat showtunes, loads of melancholy ones and there's even quite a bit of pop-rock but very little to cater to the 'alternative' crowd.
The Smashing Pumpkins' 1995 album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness is a 28 track, two hour concept album which symbolises life, death and growing up. An amazing album with a built-in plot, all it needs is a London theatre to call home.
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