Long before the world became obsessed with modern-day vampires via TV shows such as True Blood and movies like Twilight, Vampires Rock, the hit musical, was paving the way for all things supernatural.
For those of us who can remember it bursting on to the theatre scene first time round, it’s rather scary to think it is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary.
It’s one of the most successful touring theatre shows in the UK today and, with another welcome return to Eden Court this week, it seems Highland fans can’t wait to sink their teeth into it again.
Set in the aptly named club Live and Let Die, it tells the story of Baron Von Rockula (Steve Steinman), who is on the lookout for a new bride when along comes Pandora, a naive and geeky young singer looking to audition for a place in the club’s resident rock band.
Cue lots of comedy, fantastic costumes and a fair amount of fake blood as the baron attempts to teach Pandora the ways of “Rock”.
One of the reasons the show is so popular with fans is the story is told through a brilliant selection of classic rock songs – We Will Rock You, Bat Out of Hell, Highway to Hell, Since You’ve Been Gone, Sweet Child of Mine, Total Eclipse of the Heart, Devil Gate Drive, I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll and Poison, to name but a few.
Fans have Steve Steinman, creator and star of the show, to thank for bringing the show with bite to the stage. Steve, who shot to fame after transforming into Meat Loaf for the TV show Stars In Their Eyes 18 years ago, and then went on to become a big star in his own right, said: “The problem with a lot of musicals is that you have to see them a few times before you know the songs and can sing along, but the singing along is the fun part.
“I wanted to create something where you could come to the show and be part of it from the very first time,” he said.
“When we started out, the show was great, but it was a bit smaller than it is now. Over the years, we’ve added more dancers, more costumes, more pyrotechnics; we’ve introduced fire dancing, and recently we added a silk dancing routine as well.
“And we always keep the tours fresh by changing some of the songs that feature; of course there’s some that’ll never be missed out: I don’t think we’d ever get away with not doing Bat Out of Hell; the fans wouldn’t stand for that.”
Over the years, the show has attracted some famous names.
In 2007, Eddie Ojeda, of hit rock band Twisted Sister, played guitar in the show, and he was followed by Toyah Willcox, who toured in the show for two years as the Devil Queen, the long suffering wife of Baron Von Rockula.
Steve said: “Toyah wanted to be in the show, but there wasn’t a suitable character for her to play, so we wrote one specially.
“Toyah was great; she introduced the show to a new audience.
“I remember in one of our first meetings we were discussing what type of costumes we would design for her and she said: ‘Oh don’t worry, darling, I’ve got the perfect thing in my wardrobe already.’ That was Toyah; she was made to be in a show like this.”
Having been seen by more than a million people already, the show looks set to carry on rocking for a long time, and with Steve inviting fans via social media to tell him what songs they’d like to see included, it will always remain fresh.
He said: “I wouldn’t say Vampires Rock is a cult, but once you’ve been to see it you keep coming back. There’s definitely a Vampires Rock family; there are people who travel all over to see us. There are even people with Baron Von Rockula and Pandora tattoos – that’s the level of commitment the fans have.”
The cast for tomorrow night’s show includes Steve as Baron Von Rockula, John Evans as Bossley the janitor, Hayley Russell as Pandora, with support from three dancers and a four-piece band.
The show starts at 8pm tomorrow at Eden Court Theatre, Inverness. Contact 01463 234234 or visit www.eden-court.co.uk