Todd McKenney talks of his inspiration, Peter Allen

And to Hugh Jackman – who, at 30 and relatively unknown, was signed to play Peter Allen on stage in The Boy from Oz but he landed three movies and had to bow out.

Leaving a vacancy which Todd was only too happy to fill, make his own, and get rave reviews and a following that’s with him still. He’s still in demand to perform Allen’s songs all round the country.

Todd’s Peter Allen show is touring from November 6 across NSW and Victoria.

There’s a harsh showbiz irony at the end of that Hugh Jackman story but first I asked Todd about another early break, which is lesser-known.

In the Eighties you appeared in the video for Elton John's Sad Songs (it’s on YouTube)! 

Oh, my God! I can’t remember how old I was [he was 20] and I probably didn’t resemble anything like me now! But yeah, I got a call from David Atkins to come and be in this film clip.

I didn't know Elton was actually going to be there. I thought we'd just be dancing around for an Elton John film clip without Elton. But he was there and it was great fun!

It was shot in a big warehouse in Rosebery here in Sydney. Elton loves Australia and is here a lot. It would've had something to do with the exchange rate at the time and the Australian dollar, I s’pose.

It was when Thriller was around and they actually did a big five- or six-minute mini-movie version as well, like Michael Jackson did with Thriller. So there's actually a long version with a storyline with me as the mechanic. I really enjoyed that. Thanks for reminding me.

It’s ironic your biggest break – casting in The Boy from Oz – also led to your biggest disappointment, that Hugh Jackman got the stage role, bowed out, replaced by you, and years later it goes to Broadway, you get special US union permission to star and are replaced at the last minute – by Hugh Jackman.

Yeah! I was but, look, I have no problems with that. I had such a great success with that amazing show. And it taught me my craft. It taught me how to talk to an audience, how to be the figurehead of a show which is what I've done ever since. Really important stuff. I’ve got nothing but great feelings for Hugh. He’s a super-nice guy. And talented.

You're not all talked-out about Peter Allen?

Never. Look, I won't do it every single day of my life but I'm always happy to celebrate him and sing his songs because he and his music have been such an important part of my life. I'd be a fool to walk away from that.

The sheer joy of your Peter Allen show and Anything Goes (he just did an extended return season at the Sydney Opera House) are crucial as the economy spirals downward and dreams and hopes evaporate.

Totally! And in the part of showbusiness I'm involved with, which is not Shakespeare and it's not Brecht, it's pure escapism, if we do our jobs correctly, whether it’s Anything Goes or Peter Allen or whatever, we want you to let us take care of your lives for two hours and forget all the stress.

It's a valid form of entertainment. It doesn't need to be highbrow to be legitimate. If you're an entertainer your job is to transport people and that can be done in cabaret as much as Shakespeare.

Does that mean there's such a thing as illegitimate theatre . . . ?

Illegitimate theatre! [laughs]. Probably in the back blocks of Amsterdam! [laughs].

Allen was known and loved for his exuberance. But offstage he was dogged by a few demons, referenced in Don't Cry Out Loud, Quiet Please, Tenterfield Saddler.

Look, he was the first person to say that. When he started writing he was pretty much a balladeer and when he was trying to sell some of his first albums to record companies they told him no, they’re razorblade songs.

It was pretty clear that's what they were, but you get more material out of heartache than jubilation. When you look at The Boy from Oz, for example, the story is definitely propelled every time one of those emotional ballads appears in the show. Most of them were pretty autobiographical.

What was the source of his sadness?

I have no idea. It was probably relationship-based. And he struggled with his sexual identity at an early age [Don't cry out loud, just keep it inside and learn how to hide your feelings].

And probably his father committing suicide [Grandfather George had no answers about why a son ever has need of a gun].

Having to carry around that part of his life for so long as a kid I think probably brought out some of that touch-song material. When you know the story of that line from Tenterfield Saddler it gets a bit heartbreaking.

To what degree do you think being gay set him apart?

Back in that era it was a lot harder than today. Funnily enough, he was the first one-man show I ever saw, in 1974 at the Perth Concert Hall. His audience were predominantly straight and Mr and Mrs General Public and for him to succeed back then, as flamboyant and open as he was, was a testament to his talent but the key to that was that he was just himself.

He wasn't accepted because of being gay but despite it, do you think?

Yes. And apart from being a great songwriter and entertainer he was a great wit. People would go to his shows and laugh and listen to him talk and that was all part of his charm. And he was a little bit risque, sort of naughty and I think people like a bit of bad boy.

Did being gay hamper him or galvanise him?

It galvanised him, definitely. He was a pioneer really, he and Freddie Mercury. They came out and never hid behind anything, this is us, here we are, like us or lump us. Certainly in America it's very hard, or was, for people to have that attitude and be successful and most gay men in that era hid it, especially in Hollywood. But he said, like it or lump it, I'm going to be me!

That's a great way to be for anyone on stage. I just looked at some his stuff again and, really, what he got away with on stage in the Seventies and early Eighties, it was a great lesson for me to just be myself!

A lesson Liberace could've learned. He was just as flamboyant and exuberant but he maintained to the day he died that he was straight.

Really? Oh my God! What do they say? “So is spaghetti until you put it in water!” I don't know what to say. Well, thank God Peter Allen refused to live that lie.

And I've never lived it either. It's liberating. And I feel sorry for people who find themselves in a different place and are living their lie. It must be soul-destroying.

Were you involved in Seven's hit TV movie about Peter Allen, Not the Boy Next Door?

No, I had nothing to do with it. But I had calls from people who were auditioning for the lead, people I’d worked with. I gave them stuff that might help them in the audition.

One of the things I've seen people do in The Boy from Oz – and I don't mean Hugh – they come out as this flouncy gay guy and wear gay on their sleeves and Peter never did that. He was covered in sequins, he was flamboyant, he was gay but he didn't bung it on. That was my advice – don't come out as a lispy bent-wristed queen because that wasn't Peter.

And I had a request for Lyn, Peter's sister, so I put those two in touch and she spoke to them.

The great thing is that the TV show introduced a new generation to Peter Allen, which is great. ❏

■ Ian's previous interview with Todd McKenney here.

■ Ian's review of Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door here.

■ Todd McKenney Sings Peter Allen details here.

Nov 6 Bankstown Sports Club 9722 9888

Nov 7 Rooty Hill RSL Club 9625 5500

Nov 27 Mounties, Mount Pritchard 9822 3566

Dec 5 The Cube @ Campbelltown Catholic Club 4625 0000

Dec 19 Hornsby RSL Club 9477 7777

Jan 29 Castle Hill RSL Club 8858 4800

Jan 30 Wenty Leagues Club, Wentworthville 8868 9200

■ Read Ian's other interviews and reviews:

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Interview | Brilliant Lily Tomlin plays an outrageous Grandma 

Travel | Summer in the South of France | Food, sun, wine are a heady mix in the South of France 

Travel | Summer in Spain | A passionate welcome awaits in Spain, from dawn to dusk . . . and beyond!

Interview | Eva Longoria for Desperate Housewives and Specsavers | A long way from the desperate housewives of hysteria lane!