Mike Nolan only played his final gig with The Fizz on November 20 but has already lined up his next job. The winning star will be treading the boards over the festive season in Panto, appearing as Jack in Dick Whittington at the Institute in Braintree.
The Fizz is the current incarnation of Buck’s Fizz, the quartet who won the annual song contest for the UK with Making Your Mind Up in 1981. For four decades Mike was at the heart of the band but after much soul searching he finally decided it was time to call it quits.
Speaking exclusively to he admitted to mixed feelings after playing his last show with the band but also said he was looking forward to the next few weeks performing in the panto.
“We did our last gig last week and I was very, very sad, but I was also very happy as well. I’ve been in it for 43 years – if I went down for murder, I’d only do 25,” he laughed.
“Just after the lockdown time I thought… I really did not want to go back. When I went back, that’s when I began to feel really unhappy. I just didn’t enjoy it anymore. It’d been in my mind for about just over three or four years [anyway], and that’s when I decided it’s time to bow out.”
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Buck’s Fizz won the Eurovision Song contest in 1981 (Image: Getty)
This isn’t Mike’s first panto but despite this he confesses he still finds one element of the show challenging. Despite years of learning lyrics to his bands chart topping songs he admits learning lines for the show is a different animal.
“When you get a pantomime you’ve really got to learn your lines. And the actors say to me, ‘Well, we learn our lines, the same way you learn your songs.’ But it’s slightly different, because there’s no one interrupting when you’re singing and so you’ve got to learn the whole script.
“It’s not just going to learn your lines, you’ve got to know the line before yours as well and when you’ve got to come in. It’s like you tear your hair out,” he said.
“I’m sitting here actually doing it, going over all my lines now, because we start the rehearsals on Monday and I’m dreading it,” he confessed. “But when the show actually starts, you get out there and you go out, your adrenaline is really going, and you just run out and you just give it everything you’ve got.”
“A script is very hard to learn. The thing is, with me, though, once I’ve got that script in my head I will not forget it. I will not forget it. Once it’s in I won’t go wrong. And sometimes you go wrong just to liven the thing up a bit,” he joked.
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Mike Nolan played his final gig with The Fizz on November 20 (Image: Getty)
Mike Nolan will play Jack in Brainstorm’s The Institute’s panto Dick Whittington (Image: The Institute Brainstorm)
The show will see Mike performing right through the bulk of the festive season from December 14 until the 31 but he admits this doesn’t bother him as he is not a fan of the holidays for a very poignant reason.
“I don’t have a tree up. I don’t put trees up because I’m never at home for Christmas. I absolutely hate Christmas time. I really hate it.
“It’s that time of the year we had the accident. (On December 11, 1984 the band’s tour bus was hit by a lorry and Mike spent three days in a coma suffering long term effects from his injuries). “And since the time of the accident I’ve never, ever enjoyed Christmas.
“I mean, I’m fine to be with. I’m not saying I’m a real misery. I’m fun and enjoying everything. But I’m so glad when New Year’s Eve comes. A brand new year.” he reflected.
Dick Whittington starring Mike Nolan and West End star Jimmy Johnston is running in The Institute, Brainstorm from December 14-31. Tickets are available from the theatre’s or by telephoning the Box Office on 01376 323228.