Alan Janes

Alan Janes (born 16 May 1951) is an English writer and producer who has worked in TV, Films, Radio and Theatre. His best known work is the musical Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story (widely credited with being the first of the so-called ‘jukebox musicals’) which ran for over 14 years and almost 6,000 performances in London’s West End, and has been on tour in the UK for 17 years. Buddy has also played Broadway, 5 U.S. National Tours, 8 years in Germany, 3 years in Australia and New Zealand and countless other productions around the world leading to the show being named as ‘The World’s Most Successful Rock ‘n’ Roll Musical’.

Following his first Z-Cars episode, Two Wise Monkeys, Janes contributed further episodes to Z-Cars; Bit Of Business; Fat Freddy B.A., and then moved with producer Ron Craddock to write the first episodes of the ground-breaking and hard-hitting hospital drama Angels.

Janes continued to write while working at the BBC Television Script Unit and wrote many further episodes for Angels and original plays and classic series adaptations for BBC Radio including Lady Chatterley’s Lover by DH Lawrence, Our Man In Havana and Brighton Rock by Graham Greene, Plain Murder by CS Forester, Lord Raingo by Arnold Bennett.

In the latter half of the 1970s Janes joined the writing team for the soap opera Emmerdale and in 1979 was invited by BBC head of children’s programmes Anna Home, to work with Phil Redmond, writer/devisor, and Colin Cant, producer, on the expansion of Grange Hill from its initial run to an 18 episode continuing series. He stayed writing for Grange Hill for a total of 4 series, spending more time at this fictitious school than he did at his own secondary modern school in the East End.

In the early 1980s Janes devised and wrote the children’s series Jockey School for BBC1 and wrote 3 films under the generic title of Prisoners Of Conscience for BBC2: Vladimir Bukovsky, William Beausire, and Nelson Mandela. This period saw Janes write for Minder and pen a film for David Putnam, Winter Flight, directed by Roy Battersby, and a film adaptation with Jim Henson’s Creature Shop of George Orwell’s Animal Farm, directed by John Stephenson.

A late-night fan based conversation in a London bar in 1988 with the theatrical agent Laurie Mansfield about the legendary rock ‘n’ roller Buddy Holly, led Janes to develop and write Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story, which opened at London’s Victoria Palace Theatre on 12 October 1989. Referred to as the first of the so called ‘Jukebox Musicals’. Buddy ran in London’s West End for over 14 years, playing 5822 performances. Janes took over the producing of the show himself in 2004 and Buddy has been on tour in the UK for 17 of the last 24 years and has played Broadway, 5 U.S. National Tours, Canada, Sweden, South Africa, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Holland, Singapore, Finland, Austria and Denmark. Janes was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Musical, and internationally Buddy has received 29 nominations and awards.

Janes co-wrote and produced the soul musical 125th Street, which played at the Shaftesbury Theatre during 2002/3 and co-wrote and produced West End musical hit Jailhouse Rock, at the Piccadilly Theatre during 2004-2005.

1980/81 saw the planning of Britain’s newest channel, Channel 4, and Janes became one of the first of the new breed of Independent Producers when he was commissioned by Mike Bolland, Commissioning Editor – Entertainment, and Jeremy Isaacs, Chief Executive, to develop, write and produce a new hard hitting comedy/drama reflecting the effects of ‘Thatcher's Britain’ on young people in the East End of London; it became the 12 episode film series Prospects, which was filmed during 1984/5 in London’s docklands and aired on Channel 4 in 1986 and repeated on ITV in 1987. Further producer credits for Janes at Channel 4 included 14 episodes over two series of the sit-com Rude Health starring John Wells and the plays Rotten Apples; It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll; The End and Positively Negative.

TV, Film, Radio, Theatre