Stuck In A Lift With… Peter Andre

We chatted to Peter Andre about sharks, shoplifting and the soundtrack to his life. What else are you going to do when you’re stuck in a lift?

Grease has been one of the world’s most popular musicals for decades, with a soundtrack fully ingrained in popular culture. There’s no danger of these songs becoming stale though, at least according to Peter Andre, who has total confidence in the immortality of the track list.

“I mean, half of these songs are written by the Bee Gees,” he says. “They’re classics forever!”

The famous songs are certainly imbued with a fresh vibrancy by the cast of the new production, which prepares to take over London’s Dominion Theatre in May. Andre plays Vince Fontaine, the enthusiastic radio announcer at the centre of ‘Hand Jive’. Surrounded by a notably young company which includes many West End debuts, he guides them through the show-stopping number with all the warmth and assurance of a seasoned pro.

Ahead of opening night, we got stuck in a lift with Andre to ask him some quick-fire questions…

Who would you most like to be stuck in lift with?

Not Mike Tyson. If he was alive, Elvis. Or the Queen.

What was the first album you bought?

The first album I bought was Off The Wall by Michael Jackson in 1979. I was six years old. I heard something on the radio. I was like, what is this? And that was it. That was my favourite album of all time.

What was the last thing that made you cry?

On Father’s Day, I got given messages from the kids. That was the first time that the two older ones said some really heart-warming stuff to me and it actually brought a tear to my eye. And then they called me wet…

What’s on your exercise playlist?

Eminem. All his music from his first album to now, I just put it on shuffle. And all of them give me a different energy in the gym. I think Eminem’s Kamikaze album is brilliant. There’s a lot of artists that I listen to, but it tends to be something that I wouldn’t necessarily listen to driving. Training, I just need that hardcore sound.

Who would you want to play you in a movie about your life?

My son. Because he’s a good actor, and he knows me more than anybody.

And who would do the soundtrack?

Oh, I would! I’m actually doing a feature film at the moment and I’m actually writing three songs for the soundtrack.

If you had a time machine, where would you go?

You could easily go back to things, but I want to see what happens a hundred years from now, or a thousand years from now. I think the past it would hurt me so much, if I went back and had a day with someone I loved and then I didn’t see them again. I wouldn’t want to go through that. So I would just go forward and see what happens to my kids. See what happens in the world.

What was the first musical you saw?

Ghost. It was brilliant. And again, by the same director as Grease. That’s how we met. He got me to do something for Children In Need with Ghost. I was so nervous. I didn’t do a great job. And then years later he approached me about Grease. And so we’ve worked together ever since.

What animal scares you the most?

Great white sharks. I’ve been diving with them. I’ve even been in a cage and let one come up to the cage, and it freaked me out. But I was in awe. It’s a respectful fear.

Have you ever stolen anything from a hotel?

No, but I take the shampoo sometimes that they give you. When I was really young, I stole a Mars bar from a shop. I’ll never forget this. And I was so, so embarrassed, because I was trying to show off to my mate. I was about 11, maybe even younger. I was so embarrassed I went back to the shop and I bought two Mars bars. I said to him, “I’m really sorry sir, I walked out with this. And here, can I buy another one?” And I bought two because I felt so bad. I remember, all I could think of was if my dad and my mom found out… they bought me up the right way, so I shouldn’t have done it. So that was my one experience. But hotels, you know, if they give me stuff, I might take it. The thing is, you can’t really steal from hotels. If you’ve got your credit card, and they see something’s missing, they’ll just charge you anyway. You think you’re clever, but you’re not.

What was your proudest moment?

Apart from having children, obviously, and there’s quite a few of those moments… I would say selling out Wembley Arena and winning a World Music Award. I might not have won a Grammy, but I won a World Music Award, and that is huge for me.

You can catch Peter Andre in Grease at the Dominion Theatre from 3 May.