Lenny Henry’s Pop Life tour: Dudley comic trying to be more enthusiastic

By Fareeha Khalid Oct 5th, 2012 ( No Comment )

London: Lenny Henry is trying to be more enthusiastic on his latest tour, called Pop Life, which takes in smaller venues like the Bromsgrove Artrix and Solihull Arts Complex.

“I toured last year with a show called Cradle to the Rave, which referenced music,” he recalls.

“It did well but one reviewer said it was one of the saddest shows he’d ever seen. I certainly didn’t intend that.

“So I did a remix to make the show more joyous and funny. It’s doing what I love to do, make people laugh.

“I came to Birmingham and Dudley on my last tour, so I thought I’d go to different places now.

“I like playing theatres and more intimate venues. I don’t mind playing to 2,000 in sports arenas, but there’s always a worry that people will come out and play basketball in the middle of the show.”

According to Birmingham Mail, the star performed Blueberry Hill on the piano after months of practising.

“Music doesn’t come naturally to me, surprisingly,” Lenny says. “I expected to sit down at the piano and be brilliant, to have a horn section suddenly appear and someone put a cape around my shoulders. I wanted to play like James Brown or Stevie Wonder, but I had to start with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star like everyone else.

“Blueberry Hill was the first thing I heard in our house, followed by Heartbreak Hotel by Elvis. There were lots of pictures of Elvis in our house. For many years I thought he was a relative!”

Lenny’s Pop Life tour includes Redditch Palace Theatre (October 11), Bromsgrove Artrix (October 18) and Solihull Arts Complex (November 12).