The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Corrie legend ‘living past life of sex, drugs & rock ‘n’ roll’
Kevin Kennedy is “living a past life on stage” as club owner Dennis Dupree in Rock Of Ages – a character who embraces the Hollywood lifestyle of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll to excess.
“He’s an extremist; one is too much and a hundred is not enough,” said the actor who became a household name as Curly Watts in Coronation Street.
‘‘He embraces the drug culture and the sexual freedom of being a club owner and he’s very funny and also destructive, so there is a serious side.”
And Kevin knows all about that serious and destructive side, making no secret of his personal and public battle with alcohol addiction that was played out across tabloid headlines some 20 years ago.
“I’m living another life on stage, or a past life. I’ve long since given up that sort of caper, but I use the personal experiences I had to good effect in this, although it’s not a serious piece, it’s just an evening of excess and fun,” said the actor, who is starring in Rock Of Ages at Eden Court in Inverness until Saturday.
STAGE AND SCREEN
Kevin has now been clean and sober for 24 years after a “moment of clarity” when he became aware he was on a downward spiral.
“I realised if I keep doing this, the future is not going to be very bright, in fact it’s going to be more deadly.”
That epiphany saw Kevin, with the help of many others, pull back from the brink and carry on with his glittering career, from Coronation Street – where Curly is still one of the most loved characters in the history of the show – to his life as a star of West End and touring musicals.
He has enjoyed headlining roles in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Commitments, Chicago and The Rocky Horror Show, but Dennis Dupree in Rock Of Ages is one of his favourite parts in one of his favourite musicals.
Dupree is the owner of the Bourbon Room – based on LA’s infamous Viper Room – which is threatened with demolition, prompting a campaign to save it from the wrecking ball.
MUSICAL PAST
Fast and fun, the show features a string of legendary ’80s rock anthems and has a joyous sense of humour.
Kevin said: “It’s very, very funny, very irreverent; it has scantily clad men and women and is peppered with ’80s classics, all your guilty pleasures like We Built This City and others from the big hair ’80s.”
The roll call of tracks is impressive, from The Final Countdown to I Want To Know What Love Is, which all speak to another past life of Kevin as a musician.
“I’ve always been a muso; my rock ‘n’ roll bones are quite good, actually. I was the original bass player with The Smiths,” he said, casually throwing that eyebrow-raising fact into the chat.
“I didn’t put much credence on that until I read Johnny Marr’s book and Johnny put a lot of importance on it and I thought ‘well, if Johnny puts a lot of importance on it...’” said Kevin.
He was childhood friends with Johnny, playing with him in a band called Paris Valentinos, alongside Andy Rourke. After Kevin went to study drama, Johnny and Andy went on to form The Smiths with Morrisey. Kevin and Johhny are still good mates.
Kevin continued his music career in parallel with his acting, including being part of an Irish showband, then forming a “country-feel” band, A Bunch Of Thieves, all of this in the early ’80s.
“Eventually I was signed by Simon Cowell. I had a gold album, I played in Nashville and Memphis and the Riverfest in Arkansas, with the likes of Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson – I was on the same bill but right at the bottom in very small writing.”
CORRIE CALLING
Then Coronation Street happened and Kevin became Curly, the loveable hapless character that fans still clamour to see back on the cobbles of Weatherfield, even 20 years after he left the show.
Speculation he might return reached a frenzy in recent days when a social post of Kevin and current Corrie star Alan Halsall – who plays Tyrone – bumping into each other at Paphos Airport went viral.
“We did the obligatory selfie and it went a little bit crazy,” said Kevin.
While Kevin said he’s not aware of plans for Curly to return, he would jump at the chance.
“My job is storytelling, as is Coronation Street’s,” he said. “If those two were to come together, we could tell a story, then I think it would be marvellous.”
STAGE FOCUS
For now, though, his focus is firmly on Rock Of Ages and the fun he is having on stage every night.
“As soon as that first chord hits, it’s a wild ride and it’s different every night and it’s all good energy. I feel it afterwards – I’m 60, but when I’m on stage I still think I’m 23,” he said. “But I love being on stage. It was what I was born to do, it was what I was trained to do and it’s what I’ve been doing for 40 years now. I still get an incredible buzz from it.”
CHARITY WORK
Away from the stage Kevin has another project very close to his heart – his charity Kennedy Street, set up with his wife Clare, to help people recover from addiction.
“We have just got our first physical hub in Brighton, after helping people online,” adding his charity work is “absolutely” payback for the help he was given to get through his own addiction.
“When I first got sober there was a lot of shamebased stuff and other addicts were very reticent to ask for help because of the shame involved.
“We’re trying to break that taboo and we have a physical place you can go now and won’t be judged.”