What an amazing night. This is what a showbiz bio-musical should be. The ups and downs of a star’s career, done with respect, honesty, humour and plenty of banging tunes. Producers of Sunny Afternoon take note! If you were going to write a fictional account of a soul singer turned rock superstar, this would be it, except it is true(ish).
Anna Mae Bullock was born in 1939 in Nutbush, Tennessee and the show begins in the local Baptist church where she and her two older sisters Evelyn and Alline had gone to the service. Anna Mae was overcome with the music and began to take an enthusiastic role in the singing of Nutbush City Limits (artistic licence as it was she who wrote the song in 1973). This embarrasses her mother, Zelma, who tells her off. After later being assaulted by her husband, Zelma takes Alline and leaves. Anna Mae is left to be brought up by her grandmother, Gran Georgeanna.
The action really begins when Gran encourages her to go to Memphis to make an album, so she stays there with her mother and sister. Annaline spruces her up and takes her out to sample the town’s nightlife, starting in a bar. At this point it put me in mind of The Blues Brothers, with the mass singing of Shake A Tail Feather. They go on to a night club where she was encouraged to sing on stage with Ike Turner who was performing with The Kings of Rhythm, and he lets her join the band.
Being the feature singer in the group, he changes its name to The Ike and Tina Turner Revue, thus changing her name as well. Everything is fine until she forms a relationship with the band’s saxophonist, Raymond Hill. She tries to break it off, although he has told her he loves her. Ike’s dark side begins to show and he becomes more abusive towards her, a process leading to routine physical violence.
The scene shifts to the outside of a motel at which the band have been refused a room due to their colour, so they have to sleep on the bus. where Ike he asks her to marry him and swear she will never leave. She accepts, despite being pregnant with Raymond’s child. When he finds out about the engagement Raymond leaves.
Reverting to type, Ike has an affair with a white woman, Rhonda Graham, who he has just hired as the band’s new manager. He becomes more reliant on drink, drugs and promiscuity, but she continues performing with the band even while pregnant with Raymond’s child, Craig, and Ike’s son, Ronnie. Through the course of Ike’s many affairs and violent assaults, Rhonda tries to get Tina to leave but she wants to stay for the children, so Rhonda remains to look after her.
Ike and Tina meet Phil Spector who offers them a deal although, he only wants Tina as a solo artist and gives her the song River Deep, Mountain High. It did well all over the world, except in the USA because it was ‘too black for white radio stations and too white for black ones’. As an aside, I remember reading at the time that Phil Spector had become impossible to work with regarding his artists and the big disc jockeys, so they agreed to boycott his next record, which happened to be this one. Either way he gave up producing for several years after.
Despite, or perhaps because of, Tina’s success, Ike becomes more violent and assaults her son, Craig. He apologises and asks for another chance, causing Tina to overdose, but she discharges herself from hospital to fulfil a performance. There follows the inevitable further fight which finally ends in Tina running away and the first Act ends with her battered and bleeding, begging a hotel clerk to let her have a room even though she has no money.
Act 2 begins some time later when Tina has divorced Ike and Rhonda is doing her best to find her gigs. mainly in bars. She can’t find a label willing to sign a forty-year-old black woman and even her live act is suffering as Ike has issued a cease and desist notice against her performing any of the songs they recorded as he holds the copyright.
Tina and Rhonda call at Capitol Records with a demo tape where they meet Roger Davies an Australian music producer who is a fan of hers. He watches her perform in Las Vegas and asks to become her manager. Although Rhonda is obviously upset, she understands something different needs to be done and promises always to be there for Tina as a sister.
They head to London where Erwin Bach meets her at the airport and takes her to the studio where Roger has lined up Heaven 17 to play her a demo. This turns out to be electro-synth pop of the time, whereas Tina wants to get into more traditional Rock and Roll. That night Erwin goes to her hotel room and they form a bond.
Roger and Tina present their show tape to Capitol Records who love it, but refuse to sign her on the basis of her age, gender and race. Furious, Roger quits his job with them and decides to promote her himself back in the USA. Erwin expresses his love for her and asks her to stay but she rejects him.
Once back Stateside, Tina performs in New York City and is so good that Capitol ask her to sign for them; she agrees but only on her own terms.
Things take another downward turn when Tina gets news that her mother is dying, and when she goes to see her for the last time, finds that Ike, who has been dry for some time and looking after her, is there. Zelma wants them to reconcile but, Ike cannot apologise so he leaves the room.
After mourning the loss of her mother, Tina realises that she has a new family in those who have helped her along the way and now enjoys the success they have all worked for. The piece ends with Tina performing a concert in Brazil before an audience of 180,000. Just before taking to the stage, Erwin appears to be with her for the occasion. Tina ascends the stairs for the performance which, after her singing The Best, changes from being in the Maracanã Stadium in Rio, to Leeds Grand Theatre and we all became a part of it, bopping away to Nutbush City Limits and Proud Mary – yes, even with my new knee, which passed its road test with flying colours.
This was one of the best nights out I have had for a long while, with the music, singing and dancing obviously fab and the acting amazing. There were one or two exaggerated characters, like the member of Heaven 17 who sang – or tried to sing – What’s Love Got To Do With It, really slowly to a backing of synthesiser; and the Capitol executives were rightly mocked. Phil Spector didn’t come out of it too well either, but that was probably more accurate than parody! The majority of the show was performed with respect and sensitivity as befitted the darker episodes.
The role of Tina Turner is shared between two actresses; Jochebel Ohene MacCarthy and Elle Ma-Kinga N’Zuzi, who we had the pleasure of seeing. Whilst not a doppelgänger, she had the voice and the moves nailed, even down to the stuttering dance steps which were Ms T’s trademark move, so the overall effect was good enough to make you overlook that. David King-Yombo, as Ike, was the typical abusive husband, charming one minute, violent the next and then apologetic. Needless to say he was afforded the pantomime villain boos at the curtain call, which he lapped up.
The band, who played both in the pit and on stage was tremendous with the guitarist and saxophonist given solos. Not only were they incredible but the former bore a striking resemblance to the recently deceased Steve Cropper, another nod to the Blues Brothers.
After such a tumultuous life, with as many downs as ups, I was pleased to read during my research, that despite the sixteen year age difference, Tina and Erwin Bach started a relationship in 1986 and married in 2013, moving to Switzerland. Even more touching was that in 2017, when she was diagnosed with kidney cancer, he donated one of his for a transplant. They remained together until her death in 2023. Tissue please!
Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, directed by Phyllida Lloyd, is at Leeds Grand Theatre until 4th April. As this is the final stop on the tour, if you not live in the great city, you should make the effort to get to it. Don’t hang about though, as there is limited availability. More details and booking at https://leedsheritagetheatres.com/whats-on/tina-2026/
To see what else is on at Leeds Heritage Theatres please go to https://leedsheritagetheatres.com/whats-on/
Photographs by Johan Persson. Feature image from Leeds Heritage Theatres.
Tyke It To The Limit 