THE STRIPPER:
Original Australian Cast Recording
(1982)

*LP*
1982, RCA Victor Records Australia, VPL1 0401

*CD*
1998, limited edition collector's CD, *BOOTLEG*

SONGS:
1. Falling
2. Deadpan Dolores
3. The Lonely Are Legend
4. Men Like That
5. Hearts And Flowers
6. The Strip
7. Man Of Steel
8. Cry On
9. Begging The Question
10. Man Of The People
11. I Confess
12. There's Many A True Word Said In Bed
13. De Noche Todos Los Gatos Son Parde (In The Night All Cats Are Brown)
14. Nobody's Fool
15. Sarah Sings
16. Planning My Big Exit
17. Trouble In Pine City

CAST:
Al Wheeler: Terence Donovan
Patty Keller: Anne Grigg
Sheriff Lavers: Michael Caton
Sgt. Polnik: John Paramor
Annabelle Jackson: Barbara Jane Cole
Doc Murphy: Jack Webster
Sherry Mendez: Anne Grigg
Sarah Arkwright: Robina Beard
Jacob Arkwright: Bob Hornery
Harvey Stern: Bob Hornery
Steve Loomas: D.J. Foster
Deadpan Dolores: Robyn Moase
Miles Rovak: Jack Webster
Louis: D.J. Foster
Stripper No. 1: Barbara Jane Cole
Stripper No. 2: Robina Beard

MUSICIANS:
Michael Tyack, piano
Peter Dilosa, trumpet
Graham Quy, drums
Ed gregson, guitar
Wayne Ford, bass

BOOK BY: Carter Brown
LYRICS BY: Richard O'Brien
MUSIC BY: Richard Hartley

DIRECTOR: Brian Thomson
MUSICAL DIRECTOR: Richard Hartley
CHOREOGRAPHER: Ross Coleman
SET DESIGNER: Brian Thomson
COSTUME DESIGNER: Roger Kirk
LIGHTING DESIGNER: John Rayment
CONDUCTOR: Michael Tyack
MUSICAL ARRANGEMENTS: Richard Hartley
PRODUCTION PHOTOGRAPHY: Brett Hilder

Recorded at: Leo Recorders
Engineered by: Spencer Lee
Produced by: Spencer Lee, Peter Plavsic and Michael Tyack

RUNNING TIME: 42:18

The Stripper is a musical by Richard O'Brien, Richard Hartley and Australian author Carter Brown, based on his 1961 novel of the same name. The original novel was a detective murder mystery, and the musical adaptation seems to stick pretty much to the original novel. The Stripper not only re-teams O'Brien and Hartley, but also Brian Thomson, who not only designed this production, he directed it as well. Another familiar name of note is John Paramor, who plays Sgt. Polnik, who played Brad Majors on the Original Australian Cast Recording of TRHS. Little is known about this musical, other than it was only put on in Australia, for a short time. I'm not sure how successful it was, but it was good enough to see a cast recording produced. However, this album is probably THE rarest Rocky Horror-related album ever released. I'm not sure *why* this album is so rare, but there are only approximately 5-10 copies known to exist in the States.

It's somewhat difficult to understand the plot of the show by just listening to the lyrics. However, from the synopsis on the back of the album sleeve, as well as what I have gathered from reading the original novel, here's what I *do* know about the show:

The story starts when Lieutenant Al Wheeler is called to the scene, where Patty Keller is standing on a hotel ledge fifteen stories up. He talks her out of jumping, but as she is coming back in, she loses her balance and falls to her death. Wheeler's superior, Sheriff Lavers, is convinced that it was a suicide, but Al suspects homicide. Al begins investigating the case, tracking down Patty's cousin Deadpan Dolores, who is a stripper at the sleazy Club Extravaganza, owned by Miles Rovak. Dolores tells Al that Patty was a rather lonely girl who dreamed of being an actress. She leads him to the lonely hearts club that Patty belonged to, the "Arkwright Happiness Home" run by Sarah and Jacob Arkwright. While investigating at the Home, Al meets Sherry Mendez, a sexy secretary who he takes on a date to the Club.

Al discovers that the only man Patty dated through the Home was Harvey Stern, a florist who is a rather frequent guest to the Club Extravaganza. Harvey tells Al that they dated, but it didn't work out. Al soon finds out that the Arkwright Happiness Home is partly owned by Miles Rovak. When Harvey Stern shows up dead with a rather phony note, Al is convinced that his suspicions were right all along. Al has Sgt. Polnik investigate the Happiness Home and interview all the women that Harvey dated. He discovers that a few of them met untimely deaths.

Al comes home one night to find Dolores waiting for him. They have an intimate evening and Dolores offers to help him find the killer. Putting together all the evidence he can, he uncovers that the Arkwrights and Miles Rovak are successfully finding young lonely girls through the Home and selling them off to cheap bordellos south of the border, with the help of Dolores. Apparently, Patty had overheard Dolores talking about the operation, and in order to keep her quiet, the Arkwrights, Rovak, and Dolores promised to make her a star, as long as she stayed quiet about everything. Sarah convinced her that the fastest way to getting exposure would be a fake suicide attempt. She injects Sarah with the drug apomorphine, and puts her out on the ledge. The side effects of the drug was what caused Patty to stumble and fall off the ledge. The bad guys are sent away, and Lt. Wheeler exits the scene.

Okay, so the story may not be the best, and it may seem somewhat silly, but take away the plot, and we are left with some fabulous O'Brien-Hartley tunes. Most fans seem to favour the song 'Man Of Steel' for it's rather tasteless lyrics, but I prefer the upbeat 'Deadpan Dolores.' Other highlights are 'The Strip,' 'Begging The Question' and 'Planning My Big Exit.' The song 'Man Of The People,' an anthem to masculinity, is very reminiscent of 'Thank God I'm A Man' from Shock Treatment. Also, the chorus of the song 'Nobody's Fool' sound an awful lot like the O'Brien tune 'I Was In Love With Danny (But The Crowd Was In Love With Dean)', but maybe it's just me.

The Stripper is truly a rather unique recording, but very original, which makes it all the more better.

Despite the fact that this recording is so rare, there was a limited collector's bootleg CD privately issued in 1998. Before this CD was available, most fans had to deal with VERY poor-quality cassette dubs of this album. (I think all of the cassette copies came from the same lousy-sounding tape.) But the CD bootleg was mastered directly from the original LP. The sound quality of the CD is superb, excepting the occasional pops and cracks from the vinyl. (Personally, I like the authenticity it adds to the recording.) The CD also features a computer data track for CD-Roms. This data track features lyrics, pictures from the album sleeve, and sound files, all from The Stripper page on Shawn McHorse's website: The Musical World Of Rocky Horror. I'm not sure how many CD's were pressed of this limited issue, but it has also become rather difficult to obtain as well.

The entire album was also available to download in MP3 format on-line at The Musical World Of Rocky Horror. However, as of this writing it is no longer available to download. But many fans did download it while it was available, so there are several digital copies out there and it is pretty easy to find a ripped copy from most audio collectors. (The original vinyl is still scarce......good luck trying to find a copy!)

This is a FABULOUS album that I highly recommend to any Rocky Horror or O'Brien audio collector.