INFORMAL: INTERVIEW WITH TREVOR PAYNE
- Neill Kovacic-Clarke
- 5 hours ago
- 6 min read
INFORMAL - AN INTERVIEW SERIES
TREVOR PAYNE
Trevor Payne is the creator, director and lead performer of That'll Be The Day, the UK's longest-running touring rock 'n' roll variety show. He is currently in the middle of the show's 40th Anniversary Tour, which was also set to serve as his final farewell - but things have changed!
Trevor founded That'll Be The Day in 1986. The show has since evolved from small-scale club performances into a nationwide theatrical phenomenon that has played to over five million people, and as part of its anniversary celebrations, returns to the world.famous London Palladium in February.
Trevor is known for his multi-talented role as a vocalist, comedian, and impressionist - his most famous being Cliff Richard and Mick Jagger. As well as celebrating 40 years of That'll Be The Day, he's also marking 60 years in the music business.
I sat down with Trevor as he came to the end of his 2025 festive tour That'll Be Christmas: "I'm really happy with the flow of this show and we've been getting a great reaction from the fans. We started the Christmas tour on November the 5th, which is the earliest we've started. It seems to get earlier every year!"
As a long-time fan of the show myself (I first saw TBTD in August 1994!) it's safe to say that the Christmas production felt very different this year: "Because we started so early, we do a Christmassy opening and then do about 20 minutes of songs that were hits over Christmas rather than Christmas songs themselves, to ease the audience in! It's a formula that seems to have gone down well."
How does he decide on the content for the show?: "I'm always looking for new stuff to put in but new Christmas songs don't really come along, and when they do they're not suitable for us. We kind of have a biannual use of Christmas songs so that we're not singing the same thing year after year. "
One thing that seems unique to this production other than the annual change to its content, is how long cast members seem to stay with the show: "I think that a reason for that is that we can not only guarantee them a certain number of shows every year doing what they love, but also that they get to put input into it and are able to express themselves. There aren't many shows that allow people to do that. I'd never stand in the way of anyone that wanted to move on, and I'm incredibly lucky with the company I currently have."
A big loss came at the end of 2024 with the sudden passing of cast member Peter John Jackson: "We'll never find another Pete, he was just too good. Too versatile, too talented, too everything. To look for somebody else like him would be an impossible task, and that's why we've never replaced him."
This 40th Anniversary Tour was also meant to be Trevor's Farewell Tour, but is he really ready to hang up his microphone?: "The plan was to retire at the end of this year but the more I think about it, the more I think how difficult it would be to find somebody that could be in tune with it as much as I am. Well, nobody else would be because they can't be. We put it out to casting agents but didn't get anybody, because this sort of variety show doesn't really exist anymore."
"My daughter asked why I wanted to leave in the first place. I replied that I didn't want to look like the old guy on the end, but she assured me that's not what people were thinking. I also wanted to spend more time with her and my grandchildren and she suggested that I move from Bristol to London so that I can easily spend time with them when I'm not working."
"So I've decided to stay, and I reserve the right to change my mind! I'll definitely do another couple of years, and will then have to see. Eventually it will have to be, because of my age. There's not many people my age that perform 180 shows a year!" Trevor will be 80 in March. He's almost twice my age, and has a lot more energy than I do!
"There's also my irreplaceable relationship with Gary (Anderson), and audiences really do love our comedy elements to punctuate the music. It's real old-fashioned variety stuff, and we know exactly what each other can do."
As we were chatting we were interrupted by some fans of the show who were very glad to hear that Trevor had decided to stay!
There are a lot of people like me who have followed the show for many, many years: "You're a perfect example of our fans and I can remember first meeting you and your mum all those years ago."
I've seen the evolution of the show that has lead up to this 40th anniversary: "I've put a picture book together of the 40 years of That'll Be The Day. I list all the people that have been a part of the show over the years which totals about 55 people. The cover of the book is made up of a mosaic of all the posters over the years, and it's just incredible to look back over."
As part of the 40th anniversary celebrations, That'll Be The Day is playing a special gala performance at the iconic London Palladium, returning to the venue for the first time in 10 years: "We're ready for the Palladium. When we first played it in 1995 we definitely weren't ready for it! This is going to be a special night for us. We'll have all three girls on stage, and there's going to be a special video from Cliff Richard. Tom Ball is joining us and will sing our 'Make a Wish' single, with a selection of kids who have been helped by the charity. And we'll be presenting a cheque to the charity on stage too. There might even be an appearance from an ex-cast member too, so there's lots of surprises."
Will the show be very different to the one that is touring for the 40th Anniversary?: "Not too much because we won't have a lot of time to rehearse it! It needs to have a flow and a continuity and we only return from our break for 5 shows before the Palladium so there's not enough time to put a whole new show together. We need to get back into the rhythm of the show again, so it'll be that plus a few added extras. It will be slightly different to the rest of the tour, but it would be too dangerous to wholesale change the show."
"We're bringing back the brass section we had last time, and maybe even some more surprise guests. We just want to enjoy it, and there's going to be at least 1,500 people there to share the experience with us. Even though I'm staying with the show, this will probably be my last time playing the Palladium. It will be lovely to look out and see yourself and many other fans who follow us from all around the country in the audience"
Trevor has spent an incredible six decades in show business: "I think I was born at the right time to be in this business, and got to experience the best of it. Being in music at the same time that the Beatles were big was incredible. Live bands were everywhere and I was lucky enough to be in that wave. I got to travel the world, but as I got to my thirties I thought I was too old to be a pop star so I went into theatre!"
I asked Trevor how he manages to look after himself with such a gruelling schedule: "I'm not a smoker or drinker so that helps. I keep fit by riding 15 miles a day on my bike when I'm at home. The show keeps me physically and mentally fit. I'm the same weight I was when I was 25. One of the suits I wear in the show I bought in Singapore in 1982! Because I've always been the frontman in bands and did a bit of modelling, I've always been conscious of what I look like, and the need to look after myself."
I definitely don't think anyone would look at Trevor and be able to guess his age correctly. "I certainly don't feel mentally any different. I have to be on it and notice everything about the show."
I wondered how, after 40 years of shows, he was able to still find songs that have never been done in That'll Be The Day: "Well, there's a lot of songs! It's not just about finding songs we haven't done, they have to be doable. They have to fit in the show. Sometimes we can change a song into a duet if the harmonies work well. There's artists we always do, like Cliff or Elvis. Also I try and pick songs for each people that suit their voice and style."
Trevor plays the London Palladium with
That'll Be The Day on Tuesday 3rd February
To find out more about the show and to check out all upcoming tour dates head to www.thatllbetheday.com
Interview conducted by Neill Kovacic-Clarke for Pink Prince Theatre on 20/12/25
To keep up to date with all the latest theatre news and more, follow Pink Prince Theatre on social media. Find us on Instagram, Facebook, BlueSky and TikTok
Comments