Johnny Wade

After 25 years as a lead performer in the wonderful Mark Brewer Starmakers team, Johnny found the post-2001 (effectively post-Mark thanks to Potters (mis-)management) situation unacceptable and left what is now the Potters Theatre Company, on Saturday 19th June 2004. This marks the end of a once great entertainments company. Here, we give our story of a very special performer.

Together with Mark Brewer, Johnny Wade (stage name - not his real name), born 22 January 1955, must be considered as having been pivotal to the success of the Starmakers team - a team that was acknowledged to be the best in the country for many years through the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. In reality, it was the relationship between Mark and Johnny, which was much the same off stage as on, that made the difference between inspired shows and the merely competent performances that current shows generally provide.

What does Johnny carry in terms of experience? Take a look at a few highlights...

• Ex-member of the Black & White Minstrels
• Worked with the late Dick Emery (from whom some of the comedy certainly stems)
• Backing singer for a James Bond Theme song (we are not sure which one)
• Backing singer for a Nescafé advert
• Co-written and produced a local radio show "Sing something stupid"

When we first met the team in 1986, Johnny carried out two main roles - as the primary male singer and as straight man for Mark Brewers’ antics. In the shows, Johnny has played roles ranging from a ballet dancer to the part of Chris in their outstanding Miss Saigon show. In the latter role, he sang what is possibly our all-time favourite song in nearly 20 years of enjoyment, "The Last Night of the World" - a stunning duet with Angela Rose.

Johnny took a lead role in most of the shows that we enjoyed up to the mid nineties, the stage at which we believe the rot set in as the ambitions of certain members of the team began to cause dissension, leading to the disastrous events of 2001 that started the current slide into anonymity.

Whatever his role, Johnny always brought his formidable comic talents to bear, either with some new "ad-lib" over an action or comment made by another performer - it was often hard to tell whether comments were scripted or not - or by using humour to cover an unintentional error by another of the team. Actually, they were all mutually supportive in those days. To be honest, it really didn’t make any difference, the humour was inspired anyway.