Horace Trubridge, assistant general secretary of the MU, told The Stage, "We have been sending [LOCOG] examples all year of professional musicians who are being approached by LOCOG representatives to work for free . There seems to be a trawling exercise going on where LOCOG representatives are looking at band websites, listening to the music, thinking, 'I quite like that' and sending them an email to see if they will work for free. That seems to be what's happening, which is a complete breach of the agreement that we have with LOCOG."
A spokesman for LOCOG said, "LOCOG has an agreement with the Musicians' Union that whilst we will not be paying volunteers or amateur musicians, or headline acts, all other professional musicians will be paid. We stand by that commitment, and are not aware of any official approaches made to professional musicians asking them to perform for free."
Steele Back - Tommy Steele is to return to the London Palladium in the title role of Scrooge the Musical. Steele will play a strictly limited season at the venue from 24 October 24. The musical is based on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol and will feature illusions by magician Paul Kieve. Steele has headlined more performances at the London Palladium than any other star in the history of the venue. Scrooge will be directed by Bob Tomson and is produced by Bill Kenwright.
Daddy Long Legs - St James Theatre, the long-awaited replacement for the Westminster Theatre which was demolished in 2002, will launch on 18 September with Bully Boy, written by Sandi Toksvig, directed by St James' artistic director David Gilmore and starring Anthony Andrews. This will be followed by Daddy Long Legs, the UK premiere of a musical based on Jean Webster's 1912 novel, which is written and directed by Les Miserables co-director Caird. The show transfers from the US, where it is touring, prior to a potential New York run.
(Jim Evans)
