''Catch My Soul'' is a rock musical produced by Jack Good, loosely adapted from

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cyp ...

.'' The character of

Iago Iago () is a fictional character in Shakespeare's ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Iago is the play's main antagonist, and Othello's standard-bearer. He is the husband of Emilia, who is in turn the attendant of Othello's wife Desdemona. Iago ha ...

had originally been played by

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as " rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis mad ...

in the US production which had closed in 1968. The UK production of the show was a showcase for the talents of Lance LeGault,

P. P. Arnold Patricia Ann Cole (born October 3, 1946), known professionally as P. P. Arnold, is an American soul singer. Arnold began her career as an Ikette with the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in 1965. The following year she relocated to London to pursue a solo ...

, P.J. Proby and an introduction to the

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States a ...

ian Robert Tench and the band Gass. The first UK stage performance was at the University Theatre

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

by the ''69 Theatre Company'' with

Angharad Rees Angharad Mary Rees, The Hon. Mrs David McAlpine, CBE (16 July 1944 – 21 July 2012) was a British actress, best known for her British television roles during the 1970s and in particular her leading role as Demelza in the 1970s BBC TV costume d ...

Desdemona Desdemona () is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Shakespeare's Desdemona is a Venetian beauty who enrages and disappoints her father, a Venetian senator, when she elopes with Othello, a Moorish Venetian ...

. The London stage version opened at

The Roundhouse The Roundhouse is a performing arts and concert venue situated at the Grade II* listed former railway engine shed in Chalk Farm, London, England. The building was erected in 1846–1847 by the London & North Western Railway as a roundhous ...

in 1969 and moved to the Prince of Wales Theatre in the West End in 1970. The show also toured larger UK cities and closed in January 1972. The original UK cast recorded ''

Catch My Soul ''Catch My Soul'' is a 1974 film produced by Jack Good and Richard M. Rosenbloom, and directed by Patrick McGoohan. It was an adaptation of Good's stage musical of the same title, which itself was loosely adapted from William Shakespeare's ''Ot ...

'' (1971), with music as interpreted by Gass, the show's backing band at that time. A film, ''

'', was released in 1974 with a different cast.

The plot

Jack Good's ''

'' is based on

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's play ''

''. Good's musical contained many of the elements of Shakespeare's original work and largely mirrored its source. The subsequent film version directed by

Patrick McGoohan Patrick Joseph McGoohan (; March 19, 1928 – January 13, 2009) was an Irish-American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television. Born in the United States to Irish emigrant parents, he was raised in Ireland and Engl ...

changed the structure, setting and songs to an extent that make it a substantially different work. In the synopsis for allmovie.com Sandra Brennon states that in the film story:

"Othello is a wandering evangelist who happens onto Iago's remote commune. There he marries the lovely Desdemona much to the chagrin of Iago, who also loves her. The conniving commune leader then manages to quietly pressure Othello until murder and tragedy ensue."

Featured artists

Peter Knight produced the album ''Catch My Soul "Jack Good's Catch My Soul-Rock Othello"''. He was the son of another Peter Knight and produced the London version of the

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and fi ...

'' (1968).

appeared as Bianca. She worked with the

Small Faces Small Faces were an English rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966. The ...

and was signed to Immediate Records. Arnold also had success as a solo pop singer and backing vocalist, working with an eclectic mix of recording artists including

Andy Gibb Andrew Roy Gibb (5 March 1958 – 10 March 1988) was an English singer, songwriter, and actor. He was the younger brother of Barry, Robin and Maurice, who went on to form the Bee Gees. Gibb came to prominence in the late 1970s through th ...

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singe ...

Roger Waters George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. In 1965, he co-founded the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. Waters initially served as the bassist, but following the departure of singer-s ...

and

Ocean Colour Scene Ocean Colour Scene (often abbreviated to OCS) are an English rock band formed in Solihull in 1989. They have had five top 10 albums including a number one in 1997. They have also achieved seventeen top 40 singles and six top 10 singles to dat ...

. In 1984, she returned to the stage in the cast of the musical ''

Starlight Express ''Starlight Express'' is a 1984 British musical, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. It tells the story of a young but obsolete steam engine, Rusty, who races in a championship against modern engines in the hope o ...

'' as Belle the Sleeping Car. In mid-2007, she released her first recorded work for several years
''Five In The Afternoon''
The album is a duet with The Blow Monkeys' frontman Dr. Robert. P.J. Proby appeared as

Michael Cassio Michael Cassio, or simply Cassio (), is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's ''Othello''. The source of the character is the 1565 tale "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio; Cassio is unnamed in Cinthio but referred to as "the squadron leader" ...

. Proby later became better known for his theatrical portrayals of

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

in the musical ''Elvis Live'', a show that Good first produced in 1977. In 1993, Proby appeared in Good's biographical musical ''Good Rockin' Tonite'' as himself. In 1994, he was in ''Only the Lonely'', a musical based on the life of

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...

. Lance LeGault appeared as

, a role he played again in the 1974

Metromedia Metromedia (also often MetroMedia) was an American media company that owned radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986 and controlled Orion Pictures from 1988 to 1997. Metromedia was established in 1956 after the DuMon ...

film version. Later on he appeared in his most well-known role, "Colonel Roderick Decker" in ''

The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American action-adventure television series that ran on NBC from January 1983 to March 1987 about former members of a fictitious United States Army Special Forces unit. The four members of the team were tried by court ma ...

''. Le Gault also appeared in other successful television programs including '' Magnum, P.I.'', ''

Knight Rider ''Knight Rider'' is an American entertainment franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The core of ''Knight Rider'' is its three television series: the original ''Knight Rider'' (1982–1986) and sequel series '' Team Knight Rider'' (1997–1998) ...

'', ''

Airwolf ''Airwolf'' is an American action military drama television series that centers on a high-technology military helicopter, code-named ''Airwolf'', and its crew. The show follows them as they undertake various exotic missions, many involving e ...

'' and ''

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

''.

Original cast members

* Jack Good -

*Dorothy Vernon - Emilia * Lance LeGault -

Jeffry Wickham Jeffry Wickham (5 August 1933 – 17 June 2014) was an English stage, film and television actor. He served as President of the actors' trade union Equity from 1992 to 1994 and was the father of the actress Saskia Wickham and Rupert Wickham. ...

- Rodrigo * P.J. Proby -

*Sharon Gurney -

- Bianca *Emil Dean Zoghby - Montano ;Singers *Jean Gilbert * Dana Gillespie *Totlyn Jackson ;The Chorus *Derek Damon *Kevin Dean *Karin Dominic *Kookie Eaton *Rodney James *Eva Lewis *Marcia Miller *Vernon Pickering *Alec Poor *Anthony Smart *Michael Trussel *Sandra Wood *Liz White

The house band

British rock band Gass performed as the house band during the show's initial run. They left Catch My Soul when the show moved to the Prince of Wales Theatre in February 1971. ;Band members * Robert Tench - guitar, vocals *Derek Austin - organ, piano *DeLisle Harper - bass, vocals *Godfrey McLean - drums Robert Tench better known as Bobby Tench, also performed with the band on the London club circuit before joining the second Jeff Beck Group in May 1971. He later recorded with Linda Lewis and is best known for his work with

Freddie King Freddie King (September 3, 1934December 28, 1976) was an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with Albert King and B.B. King, none of whom were blood related). Most ...

Hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the Family (biology), biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genus, genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are ...

Humble Pie Humble Pie are an English rock band formed by guitarist and singer Steve Marriott in Moreton, Essex, in 1969. They are known as one of the first supergroups of the late 1960s and found success in the early 1970s with songs such as " Black C ...

, Streetwalkers and

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

. ;Additional musicians *Lennox Langton-congas *Keith Maynard-trumpet *John Bennett-trombone *Phil Kenzie-tenor and baritone saxophone *Bob Thompson-trumpet *Geoff Driscoll-tenor saxophone, flute and tin whistle *David Coxhill-baritone saxophone and flute

References

External links