"We could have
been listening to the
real Johnny Cash "

ROGER'S TRIBUTE TO THE MAN IN BLACK

JAMES FRYER
www.soglos.com

When the SoGlos.com team heard that a Johnny Cash tribute band was coming to town, they joined a league of other county fans in snapping up tickets for the one-night-only performance at The Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury.

The Saturday night show soon came around and, as fans of the legendary country music performer took their seats, tension mounted while whispers of 'Do you think he'll look like him?' and ' wonder if he'll sound anything like Cash?' filled the room.

Questions were answered when the curtains opened to reveal a clad-in-black Roger Dean, accompanied by band members David Boldero, Bengy Howell and Ollie Krol making up The Lazy Boys, breaking into a triumphant rendition of Cash's best-known numbers.

For the next couple of hours fans were taken on a whirlwind tour of Johnny Cash's life and musical repertoire, with a plethora of numbers including 'I Walk The Line', 'Get Rhythm', 'Folsom Prison Blues', 'Five Feet High and Rising' and 'The Ballad of Ira Heyes' interjected with authentic storytelling magic care of Dean's deep, husky tones.
Highlights of the night included the lead performer's hints towards Cash's on-stage presence with the occasional raising of the shoulders and using his guitar to mimic shooting fellow band members, while tributes to tracks 'A Boy Named Sue', 'One Piece At A Time' and 'Delia's Gone' proved particularly notable.

Throughout the night it became apparent that, rather than attempting to mimic the great Johnny Cash, the band had developed their own style over the years, treating Gloucestershire audiences to a slick, tried and tested show which had taken in some of the world's biggest cities. In fact, a reference to having played in 'Hong Kong, New York and… Tewkesbury' went down particularly well with The Roses Theatre audience, from the mature performer who had dedicated decades of his life to the music of Cash since first hearing him on the radio at the age of 12.

Roger Dean and The Lazy Boys should also be commended for laughing along with a few rowdy front row fans who might have enjoyed one too many moonshines, as well as keeping a straight face when a brave volunteer from the audience joined the professionals on stage for a duet of 'Jackson'. Whether you're a hardened 20th century fan of Cash or discovered his music after watching the 2005 blockbuster Walk the Line starring Joaquin Phoenix, keep your eyes open for any Roger Dean reappearances in the county and indeed nationwide – you won't be disappointed.

CHRIS KERR
Tamworth Herald
8th January, 2008

The spirit of Johnny Cash was captured at Tamworth Assembly Rooms last Saturday throughout the concert 'Roger Dean sings the Johnny Cash Story'.Birmingham born Dean delighted the audience with his fascinating account of Cash's life from childhood in Arkansas to his death in September 2003.

A life that encompassed poverty, hardship and addiction but also great happiness and success these experiences formed the basis of his amazing songs and music. Dean's portrayal of the man he so admired was at times spooky – he sounded so much like the real Johnny Cash.

He interpreted classics including Sunday Morning, Ring of Fire, A Boy Named Sue and many more. Supported in great musical style by the Lazy Boys, Bengy Howel on keyboards, Freddie Allen on drums and David Boldero on bass guitar, the evening ended with the audience on their feet as much in tribute to the talent of Dean as to the memory of Johnny Cash.

ALEX COLE
Somerset County Gazette
17th January, 2008

Last Thursday's return visit of country singer Roger Dean to the Brewhouse proved a sellout with Roger leading an enthusiastic audience in a tribute to Johnny Cash.

Like Johnny, Roger is a natural storyteller and captured the spirit of the man and his music. He relived the highs and lows of Cash's life, from his childhood in the cotton fields, through his ,most successful years, to his death from a debilitating disease. An evening of excellent entertainment from a singer worthy of johnny Cash.

AUDIENCE MEMBER
Wulfron Hall, Wolverhampton
4th February, 2007

To be entertained by Roger Dean at the Wulfrun Hall last night (Sunday) was indeed a privilege. I'm sure that many of us were a little apprehensive about him appearing as the Legend. We need not have feared, he has captured the spirit of the man, and his music, our memories of Johnny Cash are in safe hands.

He astounded us with his magnificent impression of Johnny's singing and speaking voice. As he launched into all the hits including I walk the line, San Quentin, Man in black, etc. The audiences response was rapturous applause after each song.

In between songs Roger told Johnnys story so eloquently and I was left wandering where he gets his energy from. We enjoyed two hours of nostalgia from a master at his trade. I am sure Roger your new friends from the Wulfrun Hall will agree with me when I say you should be playing The Albert Hall!

KEIRON PIM
Easter Daily Press
February 4, 2006
There could hardly be a better time to launch a tribute show to Johnny Cash. The late country singer's music has grown in popularity in recent years and tonight sees the release of Walk the Line, the Oscar-nominated film about his life.

So when Norfolk-based entertainer Roger Dean announced a series of concerts celebrating his life you'd be forgiven for assuming that he had planned it that way, but in fact Roger had more than a stroke of luck.

"My business partner, David Boldero, came up and said 'Let's give this a go' some time ago, not realising that they were doing this Walk the Line biopic," said Roger.

"We booked the theatres and then heard about the film, and now it is up for the Oscar!"

Cash's star has been on the rise again for the past decade and since his death in 2003, at the age of 71, it has shown no sign of waning.
The new film stars Joaquin Phoenix as Cash and Reese Witherspoon as his wife June Carter Cash, and they have been respectively nominated for the Best Actor and Best Actress Oscars.
It focuses on the early years of his career in the mid-1950s, when he was recording songs such as I Walk the Line at Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee.

It wasn't until more than a decade later that Cash, nicknamed the Man in Black for his dress style and demeanour, came to wider prominence with the crossover hit A Boy Named Sue. The film should ensure a new generation is hooked by his music.

But Roger, from Heacham, was a fan from the early days after hearing his music on the radio as a teenager.

At the age of 14, in 1962, Roger appeared on a BBC children's television talent show called All Your Own, presented by Huw Wheldon. Roger sang a Cash song called Tennessee Flat Top Box and was then asked by the BBC to appear on several radio shows.
"I have always been grateful to Johnny Cash in that sense, because he gave me a way in to becoming an entertainer," he says.

"Over the years I have done things ranging from touring as Postman Pat to appearing in a West End musical with Sir Ian McKellen, but I have always had an interest in country music and Johnny Cash in particular.

"When I was young I started to like people who did story songs, rather than love songs - I was into that kind of music. I tuned in the radio and picked up some station that was playing Johnny Cash. We had a tape recorder and I learned how to play the songs from that."

Now he is touring a three-man show, entitled Roger Dean Sings the Johnny Cash Story, with his partner David on bass and keyboardist Benjie Howell.

The show isn't a Stars in Their Eyes style impersonation in full Man in Black costume, but Roger does possess a similarly deep and resonant voice.

"He naturally sounds like Johnny Cash, but doesn't dress like him," said David.

"It's about getting the feel and the essence of it."

Between singing classic numbers such as Big River, Ring of Fire and Sunday Morning Coming Down, Roger also describes Cash's rise from poverty-stricken beginnings in rural Arkansas to world stardom.
The singer was actually born with the name J Cash - he had to change it when serving in the US Air Force, which would not accept initials as a name.

At the age of five he was working in the cotton fields of the family farm, which was flooded when the Mississippi burst its banks. This formative incident later inspired him to write the song Five Feet High and Rising, which is featured in Roger's musical version of his life story.

Although he has been performing Cash's music for most of his life, this is the first time that he has performed this dedicated show.
The music featured goes right from his early days, when he produced his classic recordings with the minimal backing of Luther Perkins and Marshall Grant, to his revival in the final decade of his life.

In 1993, producer Rick Rubin, until then best known for his work with rap and hard rock artists, began recording the ageing Cash singing a selection of new songs, intriguing cover versions such as U2's One, and new versions of his older material.

Throughout his career he wrote more than 500 songs and a representation will be featured in Roger's show.

"We have got a show of more than two hours so we can play all the songs that were associated with him, from his early work to the later stuff to - music from right across his career."

Roger Dean Sings the Johnny Cash Story is at the Little Theatre, Sheringham, on March 3, Gorleston Pavilion on March 11 and the Maddermarket Theatre, Norwich, on April 5 - contact the venues for ticket information.

For more details see www.singingjohnnycash.co.uk.
Walk the Line goes on general cinematic release today.