- july 6th 2014
Welsh singer Steve Balsamo signs up for kids' musical about 19th century French fartiste
He shot to fame as the Son of God.
But now, to paraphrase Monty Python’s Life of Brian, Steve Balsamo is about to prove he’s not the Messiah, he’s just a very naughty boy.
That’s because the former Jesus Christ Superstar singer is developing a new project with an altogether less than divine subject matter – farting.
The 43-year-old West End wonder from Swansea is working on songs for a new kids’ musical about a professional flatulist – or “fartiste” – and he hopes audiences won’t think they stink.
“A mate of mine called David Boyle, who’s an actor and ex-Disney illustrator, tweeted me about a children’s book he’d written called The Famous Farter and asked me if I wanted to write the music for a bilingual stage version,” said Balsamo.
“I bought a copy of it for my little girl Izzy, who was about eight at the time, and she loved it – so I jumped at the chance.”
Boyle’s book is based on the true story of 19th century French baker Joseph Pujol, who discovered he had the ability to control his abdominal muscles in a way that allowed him to break wind at will.
Going under the stage name Le Petomane, he became an international celebrity and performed in all the great opera houses around Europe, playing tunes like O Sole Mio and the French national anthem with his bottom.
“He even performed for Queen Victoria, but gave it all up when WWI broke out to open a biscuit factory with his wife,” said Balsamo, who added that he’s also roped in his songwriting friend Christian Phillips and actress and presenter Caryl Parry Jones – both of whom worked on Children’s Bafta-winning film Rhestr Nadolig Wil – to help bring his vision to life.
“We’ve got numbers like Don’t You Steal My Thunder, Hey Mr Fartypants and Whoops, Pardon Me! I’m sure the little ones will love them.
“We’ve tried to emulate the classic vibe US tunesmiths like Sherman Brothers conjured up for such films as Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – although we had a little more trouble in working out where we were going to get our fart noises from. In the end we decided on a mix of trombone and general raspberry blowing sound effects.”
So, they weren’t tempted to record their own personal contributions then?
“If we were do you really think I’d admit it ?” he laughed.
And plans are underway to showcase the production at Cardiff’s Wales Millennium Centre later this month.
“The guys there are co-producing it with us and we’ve managed to get funding from the Arts Council of Wales.”
Is he worried about the title offending anyone?
“Not really, because everyone we’ve told about it breaks into a big grin the second we mention what it’s called,” said Balsamo.
“It seems, whether you’re young or old, farting is just funny.”
But now, to paraphrase Monty Python’s Life of Brian, Steve Balsamo is about to prove he’s not the Messiah, he’s just a very naughty boy.
That’s because the former Jesus Christ Superstar singer is developing a new project with an altogether less than divine subject matter – farting.
The 43-year-old West End wonder from Swansea is working on songs for a new kids’ musical about a professional flatulist – or “fartiste” – and he hopes audiences won’t think they stink.
“A mate of mine called David Boyle, who’s an actor and ex-Disney illustrator, tweeted me about a children’s book he’d written called The Famous Farter and asked me if I wanted to write the music for a bilingual stage version,” said Balsamo.
“I bought a copy of it for my little girl Izzy, who was about eight at the time, and she loved it – so I jumped at the chance.”
Boyle’s book is based on the true story of 19th century French baker Joseph Pujol, who discovered he had the ability to control his abdominal muscles in a way that allowed him to break wind at will.
Going under the stage name Le Petomane, he became an international celebrity and performed in all the great opera houses around Europe, playing tunes like O Sole Mio and the French national anthem with his bottom.
“He even performed for Queen Victoria, but gave it all up when WWI broke out to open a biscuit factory with his wife,” said Balsamo, who added that he’s also roped in his songwriting friend Christian Phillips and actress and presenter Caryl Parry Jones – both of whom worked on Children’s Bafta-winning film Rhestr Nadolig Wil – to help bring his vision to life.
“We’ve got numbers like Don’t You Steal My Thunder, Hey Mr Fartypants and Whoops, Pardon Me! I’m sure the little ones will love them.
“We’ve tried to emulate the classic vibe US tunesmiths like Sherman Brothers conjured up for such films as Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – although we had a little more trouble in working out where we were going to get our fart noises from. In the end we decided on a mix of trombone and general raspberry blowing sound effects.”
So, they weren’t tempted to record their own personal contributions then?
“If we were do you really think I’d admit it ?” he laughed.
And plans are underway to showcase the production at Cardiff’s Wales Millennium Centre later this month.
“The guys there are co-producing it with us and we’ve managed to get funding from the Arts Council of Wales.”
Is he worried about the title offending anyone?
“Not really, because everyone we’ve told about it breaks into a big grin the second we mention what it’s called,” said Balsamo.
“It seems, whether you’re young or old, farting is just funny.”
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