Film. Theatre, TV – part three

Work immediatly prior to the release of Where Love Lives.

By the time La Limerick auditioned for her first west end show she no doubt thought she was prepared for anything. When the show in question is Starlight Express nothing could have prepared a non skater for the levels of fear and pain that came to be the norm. Never a quitter Alison Limerick survived the first year as an understudy – never knowing which part she might be playing before she walked into the theatre each night . When she  committing to a second year she knew that it might be her last. Either she would secure a rôle of her own or she would quit. Fast forward to an unemployed performer, once again taking whatever jobs came her way. Still recording and doing sessions, Limerick also accomplished one very important thing.

Before her stint in Starlight express Lati (Lars Eric) Kronlund, the writer and producer of Where Love Lives, had seen Alison Limerick perform in a one off production at the ICA, London. Performing Clothes was an ‘alternative fashion show’ which featured dancers, singers and performers instead of models. Choreographed by Micha Bergese the performers wore clothes by a coven of new, original or outlandish designers, among them Judy Blame, Leigh Bowery, Michele Clapton, Rachel Auburn and Lek.

Lati Kronlund was in the audience and what caught his eye was the singer singing, whilst seated sedately on a swing wearing a simple white dress by the designer Lek. He later told her that he knew at once that she would sing for him. Lati persuaded the singer meet with him after the performance and following a conversation in the ICA cafe Limerick agreed to to record with him. Together they worked on a number of songs. The cassette demos of those first pieces sit in a box file full of such things, in Ms limerick’s studio and have not been played in a very long time. Nothing came of them and Lati slipped out of her life as swiftly as he had slipped into it. The young producer was still hungry, still developing and upon his return to London (back from his native Sweden) he had new material, so sought out Ms Limerick again.

The demo for Where Love Lives was recorded after quitting the cast of Starlight Express (for the first time). The deal with Arista Records was unfortunately signed after having committed to another year in the show, this time as a Principal. The timing could have been very bad but everthing worked out in the end. Eight shows a week with only one day off leaves little tme for other projects; things might have become very tricky for the newly signed woman but fate was kind. The final recording of Where Love Lives was completed, working around commitments in the theatre and thankfully, the track was not ready for release until the end of the Starlight contract. A few short weeks after Limerick’s theatrical commitment came to an end, she gave the first performance of her first solo single; stepping from a huge set, in the Victoria Palace Theatre to a very small podium in the middle of a nightclub in Tottenham, North London. She may no longer have been speeding around on roller-skates, nevertheless Alison Limerick felt like she was still moving at a rate of knots that could ‘make ya bum wink’.

Posted on: 30th April 2025