Producer Matthew Green of Nicholson Green Productions is delighted to announce the release of the cast album of Harry Hill and Steve Brown’s hilarious musical TONY! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera], which was recorded live at the Lowry in Salford.
All proceeds from the album will go towards Pulmonary Fibrosis research at Imperial College London in memory of Steve Brown, who died in February 2024.
The album, with songs such as I’m Gonna Be Somebody, Kill the Infidel, Bombs Away and Macroeconomics, is produced and mixed by Richard Brooker, mixed at Brookspeare Music Studios, edited by assistant engineer Nick Lodge and recorded by Bertie Pugh, with musical supervision and arrangements by Oli Jackson.
The actors featured on the album are Jack Whittle, Howard Samuels, Tori Burgess, Phil Sealey, Martin Johnston, Rosie Strobel, Sally Cheng, Emma Jay Thomas and William Hazel. The musicians are Tara Litvak (musical director and keys), Harry Bent (drums), Harry Weeks (guitar/bass) and John Gregson (guitar sample on Be Somebody).
TONY! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] opened in April 2023 at the Leicester Square Theatre, before embarking on a UK Tour from May to October 2023, including four weeks at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in association with Pleasance.
The musical tells the story of how one man went from peace-loving, long-haired hippy and would-be pop star to warmongering multimillionaire in just a couple of decades. Throw in a stellar cast of larger-than-life characters – Cherie Blair, Princess Diana, John Prescott, Peter Mandelson, Alastair Campbell, Osama bin Laden, George W Bush, Saddam Hussein and Gordon Brown – it’s Yes, Minister meets The Rocky Horror Show and a musical like no other.
Harry Hill and Steve Brown said, when the musical was first announced, “It’s a show for Tony Lovers and Haters everywhere – and everyone in between – don’t expect a history lesson – in our world Tony’s born singing and dancing, Saddam Hussein is played as Groucho Marx and Gordon Brown occasionally turns into the Incredible Hulk – let’s just say all the facts are there… but not necessarily as they occurred!”
The stage production of TONY! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] was directed by Peter Rowe, with set and costume design by Libby Watson, lighting design by Mark Dymock, sound design by Richard Brooker, choreography by Francesca Jaynes and casting by Debbie O’Brien. The Park Theatre production of TONY! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] was produced in the West End and on tour by Nicholson Green Productions.
ALBUM TRACK LIST
1. TONY INTRO (PREPARE)
2. TONY REPRISE (NEW MESSIAH)
3. I’M GONNA BE SOMEBODY
4. SHE’S A LADY / HE’S MY BABY
5. MACRO ECONOMICS
6. WELL ALRIGHT
7. NEW LABOUR
8. THE PRINCESS AND THE POP PRIME MINISTER
9. THE PEOPLE’S PRINCESS
10. TONY REPRISE (MARK WELL)
11. KILL THE INFIDEL
12. I NEVER DID ANYTHING WRONG
13. BOMBS AWAY
14. SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP
15. BOMBS AWAY (REPRISE)
16. HE’S A LIAR
17. THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD
