Musician John Otway is a bit of a legend in his own lunchtime in these parts. The Aylesbury-born singer has been an anarchic thorn in the side of the music business for more than 40 years and now he’s about to break into movies.
Mr Otway is celebrating his 60th birthday with a sellout gala performance of his debut film Otway:The Movie
John Otway, self billed as Rock and Roll’s greatest failure, has single-handedly sold out the Odeon Leicester Square on October 7 for a special preview screening of his new documentary which charts his life and career.
But the film will not be finally completed until the day itself. While the audience is watching the film, the movie team will be frantically editing the ending, which will include scenes of the stars, celebrities and Otway himself arriving on the red carpet less than two hours earlier. It makes the climax of the film one of the most exciting cliffhangers in cinema history and it could all go horribly wrong.
No one, not even the director, will know in advance what the ending will look like. Following the screening, at a gala dinner for 500 special guests, an awards ceremony will take place where the modest singer will hand out Otways - It is thought the singer himself has been nominated in many categories for one of the golden statuettes!
Otway has never been someone who follows a conventional route to fame. His whole eccentric career has been driven by ambition and an unshakeable belief in his ability to succeed against the odds. The film begins with the singer’s first taste of chart success in the 1977 with ‘Really Free’, with notable TV appearances on BBC’s Top of the Pops and The Old Grey Whistle Test.
Over the next 30 years, punk rock’s underdog faced a catalogue of spectacular failures as his ambitions have become bigger and bolder, including a world tour with his own jumbo jet, but he has never given up and continues chasing his dreams, helped along by his fiercely loyal fans.
Told with warmth, honesty and self-deprecating humour, the film offers a warts-and-all lesson in how to survive in showbiz.
For his 40th Birthday, Otway played the Royal Albert Hall with a full orchestra. For His 50th Birthday, he achieved his first Top Ten hit and played the London Palladium. And now for his 60th Birthday, he’s set to premiere his first film at the largest cinema in the UK.
Otway: The Movie is a project funded, produced and directed by his fanatical following, which includes a number of well-known artists, directors and industry professionals. The film will later be shown at international festivals before a planned full release in 2013. Go to www.OtwayTheMovie.com for more info.