Before the pandemic, Alex Kew had been touring with Buddy Holly & The Cricketers since 2018, with the show set to return later this year, and as a musician, he has been working on his own music, which he is hoping to release some time in the future. Having started acting at a young age, Alex’s roles have included playing Simon Cosgrove in About A Boy, and he spent a number of years playing Josh Barker in My Parents Are Aliens. Talking with Alex, he tells us about being part of the Buddy Holly & The Cricketers tours, working on his music and his early acting roles.
What do you enjoy most about being part of the Buddy Holly & The Cricketers tours and was there anything that originally drew you to the production?
I’ve been a fan of Buddy Holly and 50s Rock’n’roll since I was a kid, so when I saw the role advertised, I jumped at it.
Obviously, my favourite parts of the tours are the shows themselves, getting to play great music to appreciative audiences up and down the UK.
How is it performing the Buddy Holly music to live audiences?
It’s great! I love the songs we do in the show and the audience are usually already fans of the music we’re about to play them, so that’s a fantastic advantage to have as a performer straight away. You can’t ask for much more.
Do you have a favourite Buddy song to perform?
It varies from day to day and tour to tour really. Sometimes your favourite songs to listen to aren’t necessarily the most fun to play. If I had to pick just a few I’d say Maybe Baby, Down The Line and It Doesn’t Matter Anymore. I also enjoyed filling in on the double bass when our bass player took centre stage as The Big Bopper!
How different is it touring in Buddy Holly & The Cricketers to when you perform your own music?
As I mentioned earlier, the main difference is that most people already know and love the songs in the Buddy shows so they are already on your side. When I perform my own material there’s a lot more winning over to be done. But I enjoy both.
What are you looking forward to for getting back on stage?
It’s been a horrible year for everyone and not being able to play live music has been a hard adjustment to make. Not only because we enjoy it so much but for many of us it was our primary source of income. Theatres and venue staff along with touring crews and many other important jobs within the arts were left without work and that has been so hard on so many people. It’s crippled the industry. I can’t wait for things to be up and running again and not just for big venues but for pubs and smaller grassroots venues that rely on gigs to keep themselves going. And apart from anything else, we need the arts to keep us sane. I miss lugging my guitar down to my local for a few pints and an impromptu jam session. It’s good for the soul.
Where does your love of music come from and when did you start professionally?
Since childhood. I was brought up on The Beatles and lots of other great bands that featured in my parents’ record collection. It’s hard to say when I started professionally, I would always have a guitar in my dressing room on acting jobs before I started getting paid for gigs so it was fairly organic, much like how I started acting.
What upcoming music plans do you have?
I’ve been recording on and off for a while now and I’ll hopefully have something ready to release in the next year or so but it’s hard to predict anything at the moment!
Do you have any favourite memories from your time playing Josh Barker in My Parents Are Aliens?
I have so many. It was seven years of my life surrounded by such talented people. We had the loveliest crew in the world who I still miss dearly. I still think of them as my family and whenever we meet up, we seem to pick up exactly where we left off. We’re still making memories, as cheesy as that may sound.
You played Simon Cosgrove in feature film About A Boy, can you say about this?
I did indeed play Simon Cosgrove in About A Boy! I auditioned for the main role of Marcus but wasn’t deemed ‘vulnerable’ enough. I felt a sense of vulnerability after that.
How did you get into acting and had you always wanted a career in performing?
I was never into sports as a kid so acting classes got me out of the house. Despite being quite shy I always felt very at home with performing and I was lucky enough to have that nurtured at a young age. I started auditioning for roles when I was around eight years old and it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do professionally since. I’ll always love it.
Have you watched any TV shows or films in the recent months that you would recommend?
There are some fantastic shows from Netflix like Sex Education and The End Of The F**king World which I really enjoyed. Both are extremely well made and, whilst filmed in Britain, have a very American feel to them. The acting and writing are both superb. I’d recommend The Last Kingdom and It’s a Sin too.
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