The original cast included Shakin' Stevens, who later became the top-selling UK singles artist of the 1980s and Tracey Ullman.

[3] The original West End production opened on November 28, 1977, at the Astoria Theatre in London, which had been converted from a cinema especially for the show by Laurie Marsh.

[3] The production won the 1977 Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Musical and played for 614 performances, closing in April 1979.

International stops included Gothenburg, Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Oslo, Amsterdam and Den Bosch.

In 1996, Bill Kenwright Ltd mounted a modified production at the Prince Of Wales Theatre, directed by Keith Strachan and Carole Todd.