She’s a young girl from the north, trying to make her way in
the big city. He’s a pretentious, sexually ambiguous rock star who might just
be telling the truth when he claims to have come from another planet. Naturally,
they make a fabulous team.
Paul Magrs has created yet another fun and frivolous set of
characters in Vince Cosmos: Glam Rock
Detective. Vince has actually appeared before; he popped up in both Enter Wildthyme and Magrs’s story ‘Hang
Onto Yourself,’ in Obverse Books’ Bowie-flavoured release Lady Stardust. This was later, of course. Now it’s 1972, The Curse of Peladon is on the telly,
and Vince Cosmos is gearing up to release his latest album and set the glam
world on fire. As long as the Martians don’t get him first.
Bafflegab – the audiobook production company formerly known
as Cosmic Hobo – bring Vince and his comrades to life in what is, I hope, the first
in a series of cosmic chronicles. Vince is played by the irresistible Julian
Rhind-Tutt, but he isn’t the star of his own show. This is Poppy Munday’s
story. Lauren Kellegher brings Poppy to charming life as she tells the story of
how she came to meet her glam rock idol and be drawn into his absurd world. Not
that her world is that sensible to begin with; this is a reality in which the
War of the Worlds is historical fact, and unless Vince can stop them, they
silver-eyed Martians are set to conquer the Earth once and for all. Vince, an
unapologetic synthesis of David Bowie and Iris Wildthyme, is a performer who
can spout nonsense about his inspiration being dragged out from the galactic
ether, and might even be speaking the truth. But probably not. Poppy is the
perfect foil, starstruck but practical and simply adorable.
With a gorgeous seventies-inspired soundtrack provided by
Edwin Sykes and Paul Morris, note-perfect performances from a cast that
includes Katy Manning, David Benson, Alex Lowe and Margaret Cabourn-Smith, and
Paul Magrs’s beguiling turns of phrase, this new release is tremendous fun. Given
the option, pay a few extra quid and get the CD over the download – it’s worth it
for Stuart Manning’s wonderfully retro case design. I very much hope that there are
more adventures from this starman on the way.
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