A Pirate King and a new version of A Tale Of Two Cities are future projects for veteran showman Paul Nicholas. He talks to Viv Hardwick.

PAUL Nicholas jokes about adding Beuselinck, his real surname, to a poster advertising his starring role as the Pirate King in the Pirates of Penzance which tours to Newcastle Theatre Royal next month.

It was around the time that he joined the debut cast of Hair, the once controversial musical which was revived this month, that the popular performer decided to drop Beuselinck for Nicholas.

“I was about to go into Hair and I thought that this was a major show and the publicist on the show, because it was Christmas, suggested that I use the name Nicholas. It was felt that my surname was difficult to pronounce and my old man (Oscar) was a showbiz lawyer and there was an element of him not having his name linked to a controversial show. So I thought it would be easier to change it.

“I could call myself Paul Nicholas-Beuselinck, but that’s a lot to get on the poster,” he jokes.

On Hair he says: “We had to wait for the Lord Chamberlain to be abolished because there was a nude scene and a sprinkling of four-letter words and the I think we opened the day after the rules were dropped. So that was subtle wasn’t it. It might have been a landmark in terms of theatre, but I still haven’t got a blue plaque on the front of my house. It was great because it was the first rock musical and then I was lucky enough to be in the first rock opera, Jesus Christ Superstar.”

Nicholas also landed a role in Cats and recalls Lord Lloyd Webber asking him if he’d read Old Possum’s Book Of Practical Cats. “I think I replied no but I still got invited to ‘a little workshop’. Then he sent me a tape of himself singing the entire score which I still have, but don’t tell anyone. Then I, Gary Bond and Gemma Craven sang the first workshop in the church in Lloyd Webber’s back garden in front of 200 people.

“I went on to play Rum Tum Tugger which was quite interesting. But we needed a song to promote the show but only had Mr Mistoffelees which I did as a single and in fact none of the songs sounded like a hit to me. Then he pulled out a song on tape in front of the cast and put it on and that turned out to be Memories, for which Trevor Nunn did the lyrics, and that became the strong sellingpoint for the show,” he says.

Nicholas, having done so much in TV, film and stage, has reached a period of his career where he can pick and choose what he does, having also forged a lucrative production career with David Ian which put Grease on the West End stage, among 14 other shows.

“I like to perform and the great thing about this particular project is that I’m working with Carl Rosa on a tour that’s not very long. It’s about eight weeks and for someone like me, when you get to my age (64) you still have the urge to perform and this is perfect for me to get out and have some fun and doesn’t become too relentless,” says Nicholas. He joined Carl Rosa for a production of Yeoman of the Guard at the Tower of London which he calls a magical experience and a little different because of the quality of the singing.

“There is a difference between the quality of the singing of Carl Rosa and other shows, and that’s not to put down musical theatre because there are other disciplines like dancing and acting involved. It was an eye-opener for me because of the traditional nature of how this Gilbert and Sullivan opera is performed,” he says. “The thing is when you work as an actor, you’re always waiting for the phone to ring and it doesn’t always ring, so if you can do things for yourself like getting involved with Mr Ian then it’s better. I’m working on a new musical I’m hoping to put on next year with Carl Rosa based on A Tale Of Two Cities.

So that’s another reason I want to work with this company and do more with them,” he says.

Nicholas jokes that he has to keep finding new challenges like this because he doesn’t have any hobbies.

“I tried golf but the lady members complained that I was making too much noise. I told them ‘it’s taken me 18 shots to get it in the hole, so I felt I had a right to celebrate’.”

The singer confirms that, given the chance back in 1960 when he started, he’d have join the 3,000 hopefuls trying to become the next X Factor winner.

“Even the deluded ones who go through this process will end up being stronger as people.

Life is about knock-backs and going forward again... as long as you go back again.”

■ The Pirates of Penzance, Newcastle Theatre Royal, May 18-22. Tickets: £10-£30. Box Office: 08448-112-121 theatreroyal.co.uk