Yeah, that's the one.
I first got into Starlight Express about 10 years ago, when my dad gave me the OLC double cd for Christmas(which, incidentally, my sister tricked me into trading for a copy of Joseph and a candy cane nicked from my grandma's Christmas tree, but we won't go into that now). At that age(6) I wasn't old enough to appreciate it properly, especially the liberal sprinkling of double entendres provided so generously by Richard Stilgoe(Who is, by the way, a very nice guy. Met him at the interval of the last night*sniff* and gave him a copy of Components on Campus to peruse. He did seem a bit quiet... might have been in shock, however. I was dressed as a component at the time, after all.), for example the whole 'Gotta keep it going all night' thing. I just thought it was spiffy music, and didn't understand why my sister was crying first time we saw the show. In 1992. Two weeks after the 'revamp'. Sorry, just a little bitter about that. Anyway, I hadn't memorised the score(being not on best terms with said sister at the time, as 7 and 12 year olds aren't, and thusly not having access to it) or fallen in love with CB, so I just thought it was a pretty second-rate show and didn't really connect it with the cds.
Well, after exposure to the '92 cock-up, I was pretty much put off skating trains. In '97, however, that changed. My Grandma and cousin came over for Chrstmas(StEx and Christmas seem to connect quite well....*shrugs*), and decided that we'd all go on a jolly family trip out to the theatre. She chose StEx because it's right next to Victoria Station and had tickets, dragging an 11 year old and two 16 year old on buses isn't fun, and I distinctly remember saying on the train up there, 'Why can't we see a good show, like Phantom?'. Oh, how I ate those words later. It was brilliant. Everyone could actually sing, a couple of the more dreadful 'changes' had been removed, and Ashley went splat on her butt. I loved it. Then, when I made friends with ThingyWot(check the forum. I think her site was deleted when Belle's Domain was hacked and removed by our pet troll), I kept singing bits of it at her, so she went on the school trip to see it. Then we both met up with Dinah706 at a summer camp, and took her along. By then Adrian Hansel had started as Rusty, and being overly hormonal 13 year olds, we had to go back. About 160 times, over the next 3 years. During that time I got backstage 3 times, twice with Algernon Williams(love you Algie!) and once with the first trumpetter(we saw Mr. Williams down there, he was a bit surprised we'd got there without him), got into the Bat Cave once(Rockies' dressing room - and no, I did NOT force my way in, I was invited Scott Murtaugh who could very easily have just brushed past me and gone straight in. I wanted to interview him and he had stuff he needed to get into the freezer, and an ice lolly he needed to decant into a bowl), got cameras backstage uncountable times, and made friends with/slightly worried/convinced they had stalkers(hey, it's not my fault he got the same train home as us) most of the cast.
My... let's see, obsession makes me sound like a psychopath, fanaticism makes me sound like a teenybopper, adoration makes me sound like a prat... interest. Ok, 'interest' makes me sound like a medical research student, but better that than a psychopath, teenybopper or prat. Anyway. My interest in Wrench began when I was introduced to the internet and needed to take on a nickname in the small, as it was, but growing StEx community. My favourite character at the time was Ashley, but she was taken, seconded by Buffy, who was also taken, so I took the best Ashley/Buffy understudy's character. That woman being Amy Field(currently in We Will Rock You - she's the tall fluffy one), and her character being Wrench.
Well, Wrench has grown onto me, I'm halfway through my second costume and - yes, I guess I am obsessed - have my hair cut the same. Trust me, it's only cos it's a cool haircut and makes wig wearing one helluva lot easier. I wouldn't have copied Volta if she was my favourite. No, indeedy not. And the second costume is because the first one was - well - ok, it's not all that bad, but I'm a perfectionist and I want it PERFECT. That being the description of a perfectionist, y'see. Well if you didn't want to know that you shouldn't have come onto this page, should you? Honestly. Put up a perfectly good warning and people just go and ignore it...
But yeah, apart from my StEx life(rapidly diminishing, as even Bochum looks like it might close now - ain't that just the pattern? Spruce it up, then knock it down. How much money did they waste on the new stage and track in London?), I love theatregoing(oh alright then, musicals), am interested but not very good at electronics, am between school and sixth form college(GCSEs are OVER! Woohoo!), and carry a screwdriver around in my bag.
That's it, that's me. Any questions? Direct them here.
