The second of the new London Cast releases that I’ve listened to is the original cast recording of Bend It Like Beckham. The show was nominated for five Olivier Awards this year (2016) including Best New Musical, Autograph Sound Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music (Music by Howard Goodall, Lyrics by Charles Hart and Orchestrations by Howard Goodall and Kuljit Bhamra), Best Actress in a Musical (Natalie Dew), Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical (Preeya Kalidas) and Best Costume Design (Katrina Lindsay).

Bend It Like Beckham is the fantastically feel-good new modern British musical whose original score is an East-West fusion of Bhangra and soaring melodies. With music by Howard Goodall, lyrics by Charles Hart and orchestrations by Howard Goodall and pioneer of British Bhangra sound, Kuljit Bhamra.

New musicals, even those based on hit movies, sometimes find it difficult to find an audience over and above the regular theatre-goers. I must admit, that I’ve not seen Made in Dagenham that I reviewed last, or this show - and I do see quite a lot. So it wasn’t a great surprise that Bend It Like Beckham has now closed, before the Olivier Awards were judged last week, and hence may have also contributed to it coming away empty handed. Which is a shame, as this is a really good score.

Unlike previous attempts at incorporating Indian music into western musicals (remember the awful Bombay Dreams?) this one actually works perfectly. There is just the right balance of ethnic references in the score, which means when you do get the one traditional Indian song in the show (the beautiful wedding song ‘Heer’) it fits perfectly. Goodall is a masterful composer, who can write interesting and engaging melodies at the drop of a hat it seems, and I think this is perhaps his strongest score to date. It’s also a great cast - and a real shame that Natalie Drew didn’t win the Olivier for the Best Actress - although she faced an impossible task of beating the winner in this category.

It’s a very easy score to get immersed in - both musically and vocally. There are some lengthy passages of instrumental music, which I’m guessing is for the much-acclaimed choreography, and these are extremely enjoyable and very listenable - I can only imagine how effective they were on stage. Song wise, it’s hard to pick a favourite, but I loved 'Glorious' - a number that features several times in the show. I also loved 'Girl Perfect' - a really catchy number early on in the score, and the reprise of 'People Like Us' with 'Glorious' - a heartfelt number between father and daughter.

I might not like Football, but I loved this!

9

Ian Gude