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

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 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 natio ...

's ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

.'' 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 pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...

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-born British-based soul music, soul singer. She began her career in 1965 as an The Ikettes, Ikette with the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. The following yea ...

, P.J. Proby and an introduction to the

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

ian Robert Tench with the band Gass. The first UK production opened at the University Theatre

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

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 Venice, Italy, Venetian beauty who enrages and disappoints her father, a Venetian senator, when she elopes with Othello (char ...

on 14 October 1970. It toured to Birmingham, Oxford and Brighton before opening at the Roundhouse in December 1970 and then ran at the

Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...

in the West End from February to July 1971. The original UK cast recorded ''

Catch My Soul ''Catch My Soul'', also known as ''Santa Fe Satan'', 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 adap ...

'' (1971), The show also toured larger UK cities and closed in January 1972, 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 ( 23 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 of film, television, and theatre. Born in New York City to Irish parents, he was raised in Ireland and England. He began his career in England during t ...

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 Character (arts), charac ...

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 ...

'' (1968).

appeared as

Bianca Bianca is a feminine given name. It means "white" and is an Italian cognate of Blanche. It is known in the Anglosphere as a character in William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew''. It came to greater notice in the 1970s, due to public fi ...

. She worked with the

Small Faces Small Faces were an English Rock music, 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 ...

and was signed to

Immediate Records Immediate Records was a British record label, started in 1965 by The Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham and Tony Calder, and concentrating on the London-based blues and R&B scene. History Immediate Records was started in 1965. Signe ...

. 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 and songwriter. He was the younger brother of Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb, musicians who had formed the Bee Gees during the late 1950s. Andy G ...

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer-songwriter and DJ who rose to fame as the lead singer of the pop band Culture Club. He began his solo career in 1987. Boy George grew up in Eltham a ...

Roger Waters George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. In 1965, he co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd as the bassist. Following the departure of the group's main songwriter Syd Barrett in 1968, Waters became ...

and

Ocean Colour Scene Ocean Colour Scene (often abbreviated to OCS) is an English rock band formed in Birmingham 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 d ...

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

Starlight Express '' Starlight Express'' is a 1984 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 locomotives of diesel and el ...

'' 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 The Blow Monkeys are a British pop band formed in 1981. Their first single, "Live Today Love Tomorrow", was released in 1982. They subsequently enjoyed a successful career with several hit singles and albums throughout the 1980s before split ...

' 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) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

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 guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...

. Lance LeGault appeared as

, a role he played again in the 1974

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

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 television, action television series that ran on NBC from January 23, 1983, to March 8, 1987, about a fictional team of former United States Army Special Forces who work as mercenaries while on the run from ...

''. Le Gault also appeared in other successful television programs including ''

Magnum, P.I. ''Magnum, P.I.'' is an American crime drama television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator (P.I.) living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from December 11, 1980, to May 1, 1988, during its first-run broadcast on ...

'', ''

Knight Rider ''Knight Rider'' is an American media franchise, entertainment franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The core of ''Knight Rider'' is its three-television series: the original ''Knight Rider (1982 TV series), Knight Rider'' (1982–1986) and sequ ...

'', ''

Airwolf ''Airwolf'' is an American action military drama television series. It centers on a high-technology attack helicopter, code-named '' Airwolf'', and its crew. They undertake various exotic missions, many involving espionage, with a Cold War the ...

'' and ''

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

''.

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 Rodrigo () is a Spanish, Portuguese and Italian name derived from the Germanic name ''Roderick'' ( Gothic ''*Hroþareiks'', via Latinized ''Rodericus'' or ''Rudericus''), given specifically in reference to either King Roderic (d. 712), the la ...

* P.J. Proby -

*Sharon Gurney -

*Emil Dean Zoghby - Montano ;Singers *Jean Gilbert *

Dana Gillespie Richenda Antoinette de Winterstein Gillespie (born 30 March 1949), known professionally as Dana Gillespie, is an English actress, singer and songwriter. Originally performing and recording in her teens, over the years Gillespie has been involved ...

*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

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 Linda Ann Fredericks (27 September 1950 – 3 May 2023), better known as Linda Lewis, was an English singer, songwriter and musician. She is best known for the singles "Rock-a-Doodle-Doo" (1973) and her version of Betty Everett's "The Shoop Sh ...

and is best known for his work with

Freddie King Freddie King (born Fred Christian; September 3, 1934December 28, 1976), also billed as Freddy King, was an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with Albert King a ...

Hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the Family (biology), biological family Trochilidae. With approximately 366 species and 113 genus, genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but most species are found in Cen ...

Humble Pie Humble Pie are an English Rock music, rock band formed by Steve Marriott and Peter Frampton in Moreton, Essex, in 1969. They are known as one of the first Supergroup (music), supergroups of the late 1960s and enjoyed success in the early 1970s ...

Streetwalkers Streetwalkers were an English rock band formed in late 1973 by two former members of rock band Family, vocalist Roger Chapman and guitarist John "Charlie" Whitney. They were a five piece band which evolved from the Chapman Whitney Band. The b ...

and

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...

. ;Additional musicians *Lennox Langton-congas *Keith Maynard-trumpet *John Bennett-trombone *

Phil Kenzie Phil Kenzie is an English multi-saxophone player and rock and roll musician. He has been voted by fans as "one of the greatest rock 'n' roll sax players of all time." Born in Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdo ...

-tenor and baritone saxophone *Bob Thompson-trumpet *Geoff Driscoll-tenor saxophone, flute and tin whistle *David Coxhill-baritone saxophone and flute

References

External links