Buddy Holly musical to embark on anniversary tour

Buddy, the Buddy Holly musical, will embark on a new UK tour to celebrate its 30th anniversary next year.

The rock'n'roll piece follows the tragically short life of the Texan musical icon, who died suddenly when he was 22. It first opened at Theatre Royal Plymouth in 1989 before transferring to the West End, where it ran for over 14 years (at the Victoria Palace, Strand, now Novello, and Duchess Theatres), and has been seen by 22 million people across the world.

The new tour will honour the anniversary by starting at Theatre Royal Plymouth on 3 September 2019, with a special gala performance the night before with tickets being offered at the original 1989 prices. Casting and tour dates for the production are to be announced.

Theatre Royal Plymouth's chief executive Adrian Vinken said: "Buddy was developed and started its life at the Theatre Royal Plymouth in 1989 and so this is very much the show's ‘spiritual home'. Plymouth audiences have always loved to rock and the anniversary will be a major celebration."

In its 30 years on stage it's been estimated that 186,000 guitar strings have been replaced (the equivalent of 92 miles) on the show, with around 264,000 renditions of Holly's songs.