Interview With Antony Costa As The Musical Rock Of Ages Comes To York

Antony Costa might be better known as being a member of the pop group Blue, but in the past he has appeared too in musicals such as Tommy as well as performing in pantomimes. He now plays the lead role as Stacee Jack in Rock of Ages which is coming to the Grand Opera House in York at the end of April.

Ahead of the York show I asked Antony about the musical and his career to date.

What appealed to you about playing the role of Stacee Jack in Rock of Ages?
The main reason was to sing all these 80's songs such as The Final Countdown, We Built This City, I Want To Know What Love Is, they are all great songs. I am really glad to be part of the show.

How long are you going to be in the show?
I am doing it for 8 weeks at 8 different venues. I'm gutted not to be doing any more dates. The show plays Blackpool this July and it is one place I wish I was doing the musical in. I did Tommy there a few years back, you always get a good audience in Blackpool.

The musical is coming to York, you did the pantomime there a few years ago?
I love the city and I always try to get back there as much as I can. I did the pantomime in 2017 at the York Grand, it was one of my favourite pantomimes to do so far. I was up in York too to see Cinderella last December to see Michelle from Liberty X who was starring in the show. For me though York is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

What is the situation with Blue?
Blue are still about, I speak to the boys every other day. These days though there are no rules anymore, we can all do other things and then come back together again as Blue. We did some shows last year and came to Doncaster and had a great time there.

What was it like when Blue worked with Sir Elton John?
We recorded Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word and to be honest it was amazing. It was the pinnacle moment in my career so far. For a 21 year old lad from north London working alongside one of the best it was phenomenal. I could not better it.

Have you ever seen any of the rock bands whose songs are featured in the show?
No, I haven't but I have always liked that type of music. I hope to go and see Bon Jovi later this year as they are touring this summer.

Is it different from being in Blue to performing in a musical?
Completely different. In Blue you are your own boss, you can pick and choose what songs to sing whereas in a musical you are part of a team. The audience have come to see the show and not just you.

What was it like when Blue represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest?
It was a great experience. In 18 years I have never had to work as hard as we all did in a 2 week period. We did the Eurovision in Düsseldorf and it was interview after interview, rehearsals, photo sessions, but at the end of the day you only have 3 minutes to sell the song.

Do you listen to any current music?
I don't listen to the charts, more old school stuff. When music is my job I do not want to listen to music all the time, though my Mrs listens to music more than me. I'm more of a sports fan especially football so I might listen to Talk Sport or LBC. If you want a good night out though come and see the show, it's funny with a good love story, epic songs and we have a live band on stage too. It will be one of the biggest parties in York.

Rock of Ages plays York Grand Opera House from 23-27 April 2019
www.rockofagesmusical.co.uk