Like the other reviewers I saw this show when it was first on TV and loved it and now, wanting to wallow in the nostalgia from my youth, I bought the series on Amazon, hoping I wouldn't find it too twee. I needn't have worried, I found myself rocking along to the songs (I could even remember them to hum along with) and laughing at the satire which, back in those days, would have gone over my head. I obviously hadn't changed (much) since my rebellious, protesting days. I, too, knew people like Spike (Billy Murray), the commune gang, people who, misguidedly, wanted to change the world as long as it was on their own terms.
"Rock Follies" was really a biting satire - working class Dee (Julie Covington), repressed Anna (Charlotte Cornwall) and "jet setter" Q (Rula Lenska) meet at an audition for a ghastly musical comedy (think Annie meets the Wizard of Oz in 1920s Chicago!!). Anna gets the lead role (how, I never figured it out - maybe it was her enthusiasm!!) The show goes belly up but the show's pianist, Derek (Emlyn Price) creates "The Little Ladies" and with the girl's diverse talents!! (Dee sings raw rock, Anna loves musical comedy (initially) and Q thinks she should have been around in the 30s!!) they try to forge a career in the world of rock and roll. Julie Covington as Dee is really the only one who can sing. It is glaringly obvious when they each have their solo spots!! I can remember at the time she had a huge hit with "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina" - it was number one for so long in Australia, you used to turn it off when it was on the radio!! - and then nothing!! I, too, wondered what happened to her.
Each show follows their rise (and fall) and disillusion with the industry in general. It seems everyone wants a piece of the Little Ladies, even the people they care most about. They go on the road, get involved in a porn film and then meet one of those ghastly agents who wants to homogenize their sound and energy. Each episode also features a big production number that mirrors the storyline. Highlights are "On The Road", "The Rock Follies", "Time Off for Good Behaviour" and the surreal "Glenn Miller is Missing". Rula Lenska, I think, was absolutely beautiful. Charlotte Cornwall started out with a pageboy, obviously in keeping with her "middle class" values, but then got a "poodle perm", one of those awful styles of the 70s, that, I thought, really gave her a hard look, but maybe that was the point.
"Rock Follies" was really a biting satire - working class Dee (Julie Covington), repressed Anna (Charlotte Cornwall) and "jet setter" Q (Rula Lenska) meet at an audition for a ghastly musical comedy (think Annie meets the Wizard of Oz in 1920s Chicago!!). Anna gets the lead role (how, I never figured it out - maybe it was her enthusiasm!!) The show goes belly up but the show's pianist, Derek (Emlyn Price) creates "The Little Ladies" and with the girl's diverse talents!! (Dee sings raw rock, Anna loves musical comedy (initially) and Q thinks she should have been around in the 30s!!) they try to forge a career in the world of rock and roll. Julie Covington as Dee is really the only one who can sing. It is glaringly obvious when they each have their solo spots!! I can remember at the time she had a huge hit with "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina" - it was number one for so long in Australia, you used to turn it off when it was on the radio!! - and then nothing!! I, too, wondered what happened to her.
Each show follows their rise (and fall) and disillusion with the industry in general. It seems everyone wants a piece of the Little Ladies, even the people they care most about. They go on the road, get involved in a porn film and then meet one of those ghastly agents who wants to homogenize their sound and energy. Each episode also features a big production number that mirrors the storyline. Highlights are "On The Road", "The Rock Follies", "Time Off for Good Behaviour" and the surreal "Glenn Miller is Missing". Rula Lenska, I think, was absolutely beautiful. Charlotte Cornwall started out with a pageboy, obviously in keeping with her "middle class" values, but then got a "poodle perm", one of those awful styles of the 70s, that, I thought, really gave her a hard look, but maybe that was the point.