As a child of 80s America, Jake Shears recalls the influence of Tammy Faye Bakker, an American evangelical talkshow host, on his own life. “When I was a small kid, growing up in a fairly Christian home, she was part of the culture, and she had a warmth and a way about her – not to mention a touch of camp that I responded to.”
Faye’s extraordinary rise and fall as one of the most famous televangelists in the US is the subject of the musical Tammy Faye, which is premiering at north London’s Almeida theatre. It is a star-stuffed production, featuring an entirely original score, with music by Elton John, and Shears – who became famous as a singer in the Scissor Sisters – writing the lyrics. What can we expect? “A rollicking hoot,” Shears promises. “The majority is uptempo and fun, sometimes funny. The ballads are goosebump-inducing and heartbreaking. It is unmistakably Elton.”
