Queer Voices
Queer Voices
6/2/24 Queer Voices - Podcast Bonus Episode: The Barricade Boys with Brett
Happy Pride! This is a podcast exclusive that you will not hear on KPFT!
The Barricade Boys are coming to Houston and performing at the Hobby Center on Thursday, June 6th, at 7 pm and Friday, June 7th, at 7:30 pm. Tickets can be found at:
https://www.thehobbycenter.org/shows-tickets/
Brett Cullum interviews Kieran Brown and Scott Garnham from the Barricade Boys – a sensational UK theatrical singing group – who weave their stories from the West End's Les Miserables to American stages. Tune in to hear about their journey, their expansive musical repertoire, and the genuine friendship that elevates every show. From Kieran's powerful "Music of the Night" to Scott's unique "Defying Gravity" rendition, discover how these performers captivate audiences worldwide and get a sneak peek into their upcoming Houston performances as part of the Beyond Broadway series.
https://barricadeboys.com/
Queer Voices airs in Houston Texas on 90.1FM KPFT and is heard as a podcast here. Queer Voices hopes to entertain as well as illuminate LGBTQ issues in Houston and beyond. Check out our socials at:
https://www.facebook.com/QueerVoicesKPFT/ and
https://www.instagram.com/queervoices90.1kpft/
Hey, there, it's Brett Cullum and I am joined by half of the four men who make up the Barricade Boys, a UK theatrical singing group coming to the Hobby Center June 6th and June 7th. They are part of the Beyond Broadway series, so please welcome Kieran Brown and Scott Arnum to Queer Voices.
Speaker 2:Hello Hi.
Speaker 1:Now, guys, you're being brought in by our Beyond Broadway series, but you are firmly a UK institution and actually you came out of the West End, kind of created a big sensation there. So tell me, how did this group come about?
Speaker 3:We've been going about nine years together. We get our name because we've all been in a show you might have heard of called Les Miserables. I think I'm familiar, yeah. Yeah, it's a little fringe production and we've all been in that show and of course when you're a gentleman in that show you spend all your time on the barricade. So we became the Barricade Boys and we're like the best of friends.
Speaker 3:We wanted to do something for ourselves, so we created a group. We booked a theatre in London's West End and it sold out very quickly, which we were delighted about. And since then we've sort of, yeah, been touring the world and we've been doing america now for about a year and a half. We're sort of making our name slowly there, but did a great gig at 54 blow and got the most amazing review from from brought you guys brought to worldcom. It was like our mothers had written the review. So we were, we were delighted and we're kind of dining out on that review everywhere we go now yeah, I was surprised at the glowingness of the review and he kind of came in cold.
Speaker 1:I mean, he didn't know what he was in for and it sounded like most of the audience really didn't know, but everybody came out saying this is one of the best shows I've seen. So I'm really excited to have you guys in Houston and to kind of give us something new and different. And that's really what the Beyond Broadway series is about, other than where we have brought in people like Alan Cumming, who you may have heard of, but that little cabaret run. So I have heard you guys described as Il Divo meets Michael Buble, and I suppose that that infers that you are more Broadway and pop style than these opera guys that we're really familiar with here in America. And how would you define what your aesthetic is Like? Like what are you really looking for as a group?
Speaker 2:we really is a a mix mash of of pretty much everything. That's. The one thing about our show is that I think you mentioned that kind of people didn't know what to expect when they came to see the barricade boys. And we, we like that, we kind of thrive on that. It's not. It's not just classical stuff, it's not just musical stuff, it's not not just pop stuff, it's really a mix of everything. There's something for everyone.
Speaker 2:I think Scott and Simon, when they came up with the concept of the show, they said what would there be in a show that I would want to go and see, a kind of variety show almost, that I would want to go and watch. So we take people by surprise. We often meet many of the audience members on the way out. One of the nicer compliments we get is that we covered kind of everything, every kind of genre of music, and they didn't expect us to sing that, they didn't expect us to do that or a version of that song, a song like that. They've never heard that before. So in terms of an aesthetic, I don't know. I don't know. That's probably a question for Scott, but I think we take a lot of boxes. I think.
Speaker 3:I yeah, no, I think you're right. I mean, like Kieran says, I think sometimes, particularly with Broadway shows, there can be an element of, particularly for guys, that you're going to come out and you're going to sing a bunch of ballads from, you know, from the musicals. And while we do sing a lot of ballads and we put our own unique spin on those songs, we really wanted to have like, and the show's called A Broadway Party and there's and like, get involved as well. People normally stood up singing, dancing, cheering along.
Speaker 3:We do medleys from motown and mamma mia and we sing bohemian rhapsody live, which is something queen never did. Even so, we're very proud of that and that you know that's always a every moment in the show, because if we don't get those first harmonies right, we're like, oh, but touch wood. That has very, very, very rarely happened. But now and you know what and you know what, and I said at the start, we really are. We're such good friends and I hope that comes across in the show that we have a blast doing the show and hopefully the audience do too.
Speaker 1:Well, I think that's kind of different about you guys is when I think of groups that have come out, like girl groups, guy groups, whether it be El Divo or whether it be the Spice Girls or these quartets of people coming in so many times you hear that they are kind of manufactured, that the label has brought four people together or this, but you guys were actually friends. I mean that's a totally different thing. I mean it's like you all have this connection right.
Speaker 2:One of the nicest things about our show is that we take the show, we take the work very seriously, but we don't take ourselves too seriously. So we really do have a laugh on stage. We laugh at each other, we laugh with the audience never at the audience. They're always in on the joke if there is a joke, so it really feels like they are part of what's going on on stage. And people make mistakes not very often, but if we do we can kind of laugh them off and have a joke about it and not take it too seriously, but taking the job and the show itself very seriously. And one of the things again we speak to some of the audience sometimes on the way out after the show and they just love the fact that we're up there enjoying ourselves and having a laugh with each other and they feel included, they feel like part of it, which I think is very important.
Speaker 1:I've heard it described as kind of a party atmosphere, which is a little bit different, because usually we go and we see this very serious, this very droll, this very committed artist or whatever. And then you're right, the sense of fun, I think, is something unique for you guys. You know what that is absolutely true.
Speaker 3:We said look, and I think Kieran hit the nail on the head like you've got to take the work seriously. We want to impress people, we want people to go wow, those guys can sing, or the choreography is tight, or you know, it's a really slick show and we work really hard to make sure that that's the case. But we do want to have fun as well, because you know we're a long time on tour. Sometimes we're in to a venue like we've never been before somewhere in the states and you know maybe it's half full because, like you, you didn't know who we were and you know we're sort of building our names still, particularly in america, and then when we go back to that venue it's packed and that that's when we know that we've done a good job.
Speaker 3:Like the word has got around and people like what we did, because they bring their friends or suddenly they're bringing their husbands and I do think we put a show on that. There's a little bit for everyone. You know we're not just going out there, like you say, taking ourselves too seriously, talking about all the parts that we've played and this is a song that I did in 1963. And you know it's people to have fun. You know it's a party that is it.
Speaker 1:That's what we're trying to sell. Kieran brown and scott garnum what are your personal favorite songs to perform? If you could name one or two and I obviously know that you guys have done roles in different musicals there's their favorite roles that you have well again, without giving too much away.
Speaker 2:In fact I'm not going to say what the song is, but there's a particular role in the West End that I had the pleasure of playing and I get to sing the, the main song from that, every night and it's always a lovely response and that's a very special song to me. But I think, in terms of with the other guys, I enjoy our Jersey Boys medley. That's always really good fun and the audience seem to really respond to that. But the Mamma Mia one is such, it's such great fun when we just have a bit of a laugh doing it as well, mostly when I, you know, I almost mess up the choreography, I don't, but you know one or two occasions but it's been close. I styled out, but uh all right, thank you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, those are really good fun songs to to perform for the audience for me.
Speaker 3:I think Kieran's been modest. I don't know why he's not telling you but Kieran gets to sing music of the night in in our show and he sings that because he played the Phantom in the West End of London. So it's a great moment in the show and I think the audience you know it's cool they get to see this guy who's done it in the West End come out and sing it. So that's also one of my favorite moments in the show. I often there hasn't been a moment where he hasn't got a standing ovation for singing that song. So he's uh, he deserves it. He's very good.
Speaker 3:I think my favorite role that I ever got to play was I played um tony elliott in billy elliott, the sort of angry brother to billy elliott. I just thought that show was brilliant. It's. It's one of those perfect british musicals in my opinion. You know the music by elton john and then a fantastic direction by peter darlin in choreography and Everything was just. It was wonderful. In the show we do a really unique rock version of Defying Gravity, which I love doing and it always goes down very well. I also we do a Motown medley, which is good fun, and we actually we recently went to Hitsville and we actually sang in the studio like my girl, because we're like we're here we have to do, so that was kind of cool and then we talk about that in the show and that's the good thing about visiting America. You know, we're going to all these places now that we never thought we'd get the chance to see, and you know we're seeing some amazing things, so it's brilliant, very lucky.
Speaker 1:Do you guys ever adapt the show for the city you're going to? Like I was thinking you're coming to Texas, so are you planning any surprises? Musically, Like you're going to attempt like a country song or maybe a salute to Beyonce.
Speaker 3:Well, yes and no, I mean it's, it's. It's tricky because you know we give our show a theme every year like this. This these last couple of years have been the Broadway party theme. I wouldn't say that we're specific to each venue just because of time. You know we can. When we're touring we can be doing a venue every day, you know back to back, and but we do try and learn things about everywhere we go and we'll often, you know, we'll, find out what's a funny thing about the area and we'll mention it in the show and that normally gets a bit of a laugh and but we do like we love country music, so we should do a country song actually I would encourage it on, say, medley, we need to try me.
Speaker 2:I don't think I could keep a straight face.
Speaker 3:The four of us trying to sing beyonce hey, listen we can do it, okay, you can do it all the single ladies come on one of the things I love about you guys, though, is you don't do just the guy songs from the broadway shows.
Speaker 1:I mean, you come out with the, the female songs too, like even from your les mis thing, I mean you do. I dreamed a dream, which is, I'm sure, none of you played that role in les mis. Oh, there is sort of a gender flop of the songs. It's interesting to hear guys taking on something.
Speaker 2:I think a song is a good song, isn't it at the end of the day. It shouldn't really matter who's singing it. A great song is a great song and I think most of the songs they've been very carefully chosen to represent the very best of their genre and again it's ticking the boxes. We've got some of the very best musical theatre songs in there.
Speaker 2:We've got some of the greatest rock songs, some of the greatest pop songs ever written, and a good song's a good song at the end of the day, I do think it maybe raises a few eyebrows of the audience.
Speaker 3:At the end of our medley we're all going give me, give me, give me a man after midnight. We seem to enjoy it as much as we are, so that's gonna work perfectly with our queer voices audience you are on queer voices right now.
Speaker 1:So kieran brown, scott garnham, any connections with the barricade boys in the lgbtqia plus community?
Speaker 2:I'm. I have a fiancee. We are engaged. We've been engaged for like five years almost uh, who is also part of the LGBT community. I'm very proud of it. Yeah, that's kind of the ultimate connection, I guess.
Speaker 1:It is the ultimate connection.
Speaker 2:Pretty connected and I think I can safely say that my other three barricade brothers are all very, very good allies to the community, very supportive in every way, so I couldn't be luckier, to be honest.
Speaker 1:Well, you're coming in June to Houston, which is our Pride season actually, so that is going to be a large part of your audience is going to be very hyped about that coming up and different things like that. So anything you can sprinkle in there, you'll be golden.
Speaker 3:There's a lot of sprinkling, isn't there, kieran? I mean also we're British. So people, just particularly in America, people assume we're gay straight away anyway, just because we're very tactile, dry, you know like we love Kieran, we're cuddling each other, we're kissing his shoulders. You know we're pretty insensitive as people. We don't mind. I always joke that I'm not gay, but my boyfriend is.
Speaker 1:That that I'm not gay but my boyfriend is. That's a wonderful one, not the answer I was expecting. So, yes, no, but thank you guys for being here. I am absolutely just dying to see this June 6th, june 7th, at the Hobby Center. It's a little bit of an earlier show, I think. The Thursday night show starts at 7, the Friday night show starts at seven, the Friday night show starts at 730, because obviously they have some other things going on at the complex that are a little bit more involved and things like that. But I love these Beyond Broadway shows because they're intimate. You're in the smaller hall, you're in a hall called Zilka Hall where the audience is just right there. We're all around you, kind of, and we can see you and join the party. So I think it's going to be an electric event. I'm definitely all hyped for it. I will be there cheering you on, for sure.
Speaker 2:Oh, thank you. We better see you up dancing then, especially the Mamma Mia section.
Speaker 1:I am a horrible dancer. Let me tell you.
Speaker 2:Oh, my, don't worry about it.
Speaker 1:So you may ask me to sit.
