Musical celebrating the best of The Osmonds kicks off at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre
They were one of the biggest boybands of the 70s and now a musical based on the greatest of The Osmonds has arrived in the West Midlands.
One of the original members of the family group, Jay Osmond, has penned The Osmonds: A New Musical and was in Wolverhampton last night as the show kicked off at the city's Grand Theatre.
The musical tells the true story of the five American brothers who were pushed into the spotlight as children and went on to create smash hits, decade after decade.
A chart-topping list of anthems including Love Me For A Reason, Crazy Horses, Let Me In, Puppy Love, Long Haired Lover From Liverpool, Paper Roses and many more will take fans back through the 60s, 70s and 80s.
The Osmonds began as a barbershop quartet consisting of brothers Alan, Wayne, Merrill and Jay and were later joined by younger siblings Donny and Jimmy, both of whom enjoyed success as solo artists.
Jay, the drummer for the family band, told the Express & Star: "What I have seen and the comments I have had, people walk out feeling like they are five years old again.
"They walk out feeling hope and feeling motivated.
"People say they had no idea there were so many stories from behind the scenes.
"It was five years in the making, every story in the musical is completely true.
"We take people on a journey, this is not a concert or tribute band, this is a musical journey.
"I take people through the ups and downs of The Osmonds.
"We go back to 1961 when we met Walt Disney, then Andy Williams.
"And we talk about the stories that were very tough for us.
"The highlight of the show for me is when we were at the lowest point you can imagine, I saw a family bond together like I have never seen before, that was my highest point.
"We show the different songs that were hits for us and what caused them to come about."
As Jay took to the streets of Wolverhampton for a photo opportunity, he was pulled aside by a fan for a quick selfie and autograph.
Speaking on why he has come down for the Wolverhampton opening, Jay said: "We performed in Wolverhampton a couple different times, when we booked a tour we looked at a couple of key spots we wanted to go.
"This was one of the lovely theatres, areas and communities which we knew would be a good place to bring the musical.
"While we are here, my wife will no doubt have me out journeying on trips, I will leave it up to her what places we go and see.
"It is so fun, a lot of people that come to me, it is like we grew up together.
"We have always had a special rapport with the fans."
The Osmonds have sold over 100 million records worldwide and won 59 Gold and Platinum awards.
On the process of putting the musical together, Jay said: "My wife was typing everything I said as I reminisced, I went through so many emotions, it was hard at points.
"I went on my own personal journey to get this thing right. The hardest part was to know what to leave out.
"It is so surreal seeing the guys up on stage, people feel at the end of the show that they have gone back in time."
The show will run at The Grand Theatre until March 19, with limited tickets still available.
