Rock Follies


Rock Follies is a musical drama that was shown on British television in the 1970s. The storyline follows the ups and downs of a fictional female rock band called the Little Ladies, as they struggle for recognition and success. The series stars Rula Lenska, Charlotte Cornwell and Julie Covington as the Little Ladies, with support from Emlyn Price, Beth Porter, Sue Jones-Davies, Bob Hoskins, Stephen Moore, Derek Thompson, Denis Lawson and Little Nell among others. The series was made on a small budget for Thames Television, with a style inspired by fringe theatre. It was based on an original idea by Annabel Leventon, Diane Langton and Gaye Brown. The series was a success and won three BAFTA Awards, and the soundtrack album reached No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart. A second series with its own soundtrack album followed.

Overview

The fictional band was portrayed by session musicians as well as the three lead actresses who proved they could sing; the spin-off album of music from the series entered the UK Albums Chart at number one. The songs were written by Andy Mackay, a founder member of Roxy Music. Lyrics and screenplay were written by Howard Schuman.
The second series, Rock Follies of '77, was a continuation of the first. Industrial action during May of that year at ITV, the commercial channel that aired the show, caused the last few episodes to be postponed until November. The second series pushed the style further in an experimental direction: where the first series had a lot of dialogue and "offstage" scenes, the second focused more on the music and fantasy sequences, with additional songs and musical interludes used to move the plot forward rather than relying on dialogue as the first had done. More sophisticated video effects were also used.
The show was a pioneer in that it was one of the first musical dramas in serial form and also featured all original songs and music. It was also unusual in portraying strong female central characters, and having an overtly feminist message. Some commentators have also pointed out that its format very much anticipates the age of the music video and MTV, being made at a time when the music video itself was in its infancy. The first series won a BAFTA Award in 1977 for Best Drama Series; Julie Covington was nominated for best actress, and Rod Stratfold and Alex Clarke were nominated for best design. The second series was nominated for seven BAFTA awards, winning two; for best lighting effects and for best camerawork in 1978.
The series first appeared in the United States in late 1976, when several episodes from series one were shown on New York City's WOR-TV as part of a "Thames on 9" programming week. Soon afterward, the first series was shown in the United States on public television and rapidly became a hit, especially in large metropolitan centres like New York and San Francisco. However, the second series was felt to be too "raunchy" for the sensibilities of a public television audience, especially as the first had received a lot of complaints from the public in areas outside the larger cities for its frank portrayal of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. As a result, the second series was not shown on US television until 12 years later.
Two albums of songs from the series were released. The first, named after the series,, was released on Island Records in the UK and on Atlantic Records in the US in 1976. The second, covering the second series, was released on Polydor Records in both countries. Both albums were re-released on Virgin Records in 2000. The TV series is also available as a two-disc DVD set. The singles "Glenn Miller is Missing", "Sugar Mountain" ; and "O.K.?" were released. The last of these became a hit and reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart. In addition, the second album reached No.13.
Speaking in 1991, the three stars commented on the gruelling schedule while working on the series. They stated that for each episode they had to learn a minimum of five songs, as well as perform the dance routines and learn the script itself in a short period of time. Owing to this pressure, they were reluctant to do a third series, although they did say that they would like to do another series at that time, 15 years after the first. Covington said that they were paid £225 per episode.

Legal battle

An eight-week legal trial in 1982 led to a landmark ruling that Thames TV had used the idea pitched verbally a few years before the show was commissioned, by, among others, Annabel Leventon, author of The Real Rock Follies: The Great Girl Band Rip-Off of 1976. The claimants received substantial damages for breach of confidence.

The plot

First series

1. "The Show Business". 24 February 1976
2. "The Little Ladies". 2 March 1976
3. "The Road". 9 March 1976
4. "The Talking Pictures". 16 March 1976
5. "The Pounds Sterling". 23 March 1976
6. "The Blitz". 30 March 1976

Second series

1. "The Band Who Wouldn't Die". 4 May 1977
2. "The Empire". 11 May 1977
3. "The Hype". 18 May 1977
4. "The Loony Tunes". 22 November 1977*
5. "The Divorce". 29 November 1977
6. "The Real Life". 6 December 1977
* NOTE - A two-hour recap episode was screened on 21 November 1977 following the strike. This was a compilation of the first three episodes of Series Two.

Cast

  • Rula Lenska as Nancy "Q" Cunard de Longchamps
  • Julie Covington as Devonia "Dee" Rhoades
  • Charlotte Cornwell as Anna Wynd
  • Sue Jones-Davies as Rox
  • Emlyn Price as Derek Huggins
  • James Warwick as Nigel
  • Christopher Neil as Dave
  • Michael Angelis as Stavros
  • Vivienne Burgess as Mrs. Wynd
  • Angela Bruce as Gloria
  • Billy Murray as Spike
  • Michael J. Shannon as Carl
  • Stephen Moore as Jack
  • Bill Stewart as Bob
  • David Dixon as Rob Fury
  • Simon Jones as Juan
  • Beth Porter as Kitty Schreiber
  • Gregory Floy as David Maxwell
  • Derek Thompson as Harry Moon
  • Denis Lawson as Ken Church
  • "Little" Nell Campbell as Sandra
  • Sam Dale as Rawls
  • Bob Hoskins as Johnny
  • Trevor Ward as The Angel
  • Tim Curry as Stevie Streeter
David Dixon also appears in the first series as a record company A&R man, but is uncredited. However, this was amended with the release of the DVD, where he was credited. Dixon, Simon Jones, Stephen Moore and Beth Porter all later had roles in the TV adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Soundtrack albums

A musical based on the TV series was staged at the Minerva Theatre in Chichester, from 24 July to 26 August 2023, from a book by Chloe Moss and directed by Dominic Cooke. The cast comprises Samuel Barnett, Carly Bawden, Tamsin Carroll, Fred Haig and Zizi Strallen.
The creative team also includes Nigel Lilley as musical supervisor, arranger, and co-orchestrator, Toby Higgins as musical director and co-orchestrator. Carrie-Anne Ingrouille as choreographer, Vicki Mortimer as set designer, Kinnetia Isidore as costume designer, Paule Constable as Lighting designer, Ian Dickinson for Autograph as Sound designer.