:60second interview Ben Elton Ben Elton, 50, pioneered alternative comedy in the 1980s, co-writing The Young Ones and Blackadder while lambasting Thatcherism as a stand- up. He has written 13 novels, and now the Queen musical We Will Rock You, which opens at The O2 on January 20 Interview by Lucy White Rock songs are very different to traditional musical theatre. Theres one way of singing Phantom but there are any number of ways of singing We Will Rock You We Will Rock You has been knocked by critics but its a commercial success... All entertainment is fickle and you can never tell. Obviously, we were hoping that itd strike a chord, and it really has been a huge success. One of the reasons it has run for eight years is because Roger [Taylor], Brian [May] and myself work on it all the time with re-casting, and working with the musicians. Thats quite unique for musical theatre. We might change a song or shift a gag. Rock songs are very different to traditional musical theatre songs, and require a certain individuality: theres one way of singing Phantom but there are any number of ways of singing We Will Rock You. The show is about the triumph of the individual, and we want the individuals on stage to shine. I cant imagine you curling up with Mary Poppins. My first love was musicals. Its funny when people say, Looking at your early hard- edged work, who wouldve thought youd be writing a musical? Hang on a minute, The Young Ones had a rock band every week we had Madness, Nine Below Zero, Motorhead. I hosted Saturday Live, which had three bands per week. I hosted the Brits in 1996 and 1997. I love rock and pop and its always been a big part of my life. Your 2006 novel Chart Throb criticises TV talent shows. Were you being postmodern by casting X Factor and Ill Do Anything finalists [Brenda Edwards and Ashley J Russell] in We Will Rock You? Not at all, I dont have any argument with people involved in those shows. In Chart Throb, I just dissected what was self-evident, the manipulative nature of these shows and that they clearly werent singing competitions but soap operas. Inevitably, it kicked up some gems: Leona Lewis is clearly an extraordinary talent, and you dont get the hits youve had in America without that. We take our Have you ever been approached about doing a reality TV show? Of course. But I wouldnt do it. My kids genuinely cant believe that Im not interested in doing Im A Celebrity. I have two ten-year-old twins and an eight-year-old and they think it would be brilliant. Its great fun to watch but quite another thing being on it. Theyre like, Go on dad, do it youd win! and I try to explain to them you dont know how youre going to be edited. Im just not in this for celebrity Im in it for my own artistic pretensions. Have you finally shed your angry young man label? I was never angry, I was passionate and equally delighted. I dont think Ive changed at all. If you look at the scripts of We Will Rock You and Blackadder, you can guess theyre written by the same bloke. I was very lucky I got a break. Ive made my living doing exactly what I wanted to do some of it has succeeded and some of it hasnt. I approach each day as an improvisation. talent where we can find it, and every lead in We Will Rock You has gone through a rigorous rehearsal process. They have to be funny, honest and, above all, be able to sing Queen songs, which is not easy. I have a wry, comedic argument with the myth that somehow this is a genuine competition and that Simon Cowell for instance has to take what hes given in terms of, Oh, will I get the boys or the bands this year? Oh, please f**k off. I mean, Simon is the boss. Are you Cowells public enemy No.1 after satirising him in the novel? Whats funny is that Simon found my number, and out of the blue I got this call. [Impersonates] Ben? Simon Cowell here. I wanna tell you, I love it. It was extraordinary, I didnt know him at all and he said he read a chapter every night. I was really impressed that he enjoyed the joke he even bought copies for everyone on American Idol. D Tuesday, January 12, 2010 metrolife 15 index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html