Press Release: The West End and Broadway smash-hit musical Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story opens August 27th at the Birmingham Hippodrome and is delighted to announce, due to popular demand, an extension of its UK tour booking period to 30th May 2026, with tickets on sale for all venues!
The show opens at the Birmingham Hippodrome for six performances, ahead of a UK tour covering the length and breadth of the country. From Norwich to Cardiff, Plymouth to Glasgow, Salford to Southampton and Bradford to Belfast, plus many more locations in between!
Loved by critics and audiences alike, Buddy tells the enduring story of the musical icon’s meteoric rise from his early Country and R&B influences, to becoming a major Rock & Roll innovator and international star, up until his legendary final performance at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa – and tragic, untimely death at the age of just 22. In 18 short months the bespectacled boy from Lubbock, Texas, revolutionised Rock & Roll – the sound of the youth – and how it was written, recorded and performed, influencing everyone from The Beatles to Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones to Fleetwood Mac. And Buddy’s influence wasn’t just limited to the sound. “He made it okay to wear glasses,” said John Lennon. “I was Buddy Holly.”
Boasting a multi-talented cast of actor-musicians, Buddy presents two terrific hours of music with over 20 of his greatest hits, including the timeless classics ‘That’ll Be The Day’, ‘Peggy Sue’, ‘Oh Boy’, ‘Everyday’ and ‘Rave On’. With the Big Bopper’s ‘Chantilly Lace’ and Ritchie Valens’ ‘La Bamba’, and rip-roaring versions of ‘Shout’ and ‘Johnny B. Goode’ completing a stellar musical line-up, Buddy is a not-to-be-missed evening of family entertainment.
AJ Jenks returns to the show and will play the role of Buddy Holly at the majority of performances, with Joe Sterling playing Buddy at some performances also. Cast members include: Stephen Alexander-Kerr, Miguel Angel, Joshua Barton, Andrew Farrell, Ewan Ling, Marta Miranda, Melker Nilsson, Thomas-Fabian Parrish and Laura-Dene Perryman.
Writer and Executive Producer Alan Janes says: “We are very excited to be back on tour. The electricity and connection created between cast on stage and audience members – aged 8 to 80 – at each performance is palpable. Witnessing people of all ages up out of their seats and dancing in the aisles, caught up in the energy and pure joy of the music, is something to behold and never fails to amaze with this show. The music very much lives on!”
Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story has enjoyed phenomenal success, having played a record-breaking 4,900 performances over 614 weeks on tour in the UK and Ireland, as well as 5,822 performances over 728 weeks in London’s West End (that’s currently a total of 10,722 UK performances!). A true original, Buddy is one of a small number of iconic musicals including Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Miss Saigon, Evita and Cats to reach a spectacular three decades on stage. Seen by 23 million theatregoers since it opened in London’s West End in 1989, the show speaks an international language and continues to bring joy to audiences around the world!
Visit the Buddy Tickets page for all tour venue details.
For further information, images and interviews, please contact: Gemma Barnes at [email protected] or contact the Producer’s Office on 020 240 9941
