Two and half hours of listening to top Motown is not a bad way to spend two and a half hours, and when you can spend that time in the company of great singers and an adoring audience then that makes it even better, writes Michael Holland.
Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations is exactly that, beginning with young boys who sung hymns in the churches of Detroit and Doo-wop on the local street corners.
Otis Williams was one of those boys and he set about putting a group together. Recruiting from school and the streets, they became Otis Williams and The Distants and managed to get signed by Motown boss Berry Gordy. Alas, they never had a hit.
That bad streak ended when the band began working with songwriter and producer Smokey Robinson and after many non-charting records, they reached the Top 20 with The Way You Do The Things You Do, which was the first of many big hits and worldwide adulation.
Nevertheless, Ain’t Too Proud is not just about the good times, this show gets down in the dirt and reveals that Otis went to jail before he formed the group; we hear that fame also brought the horrors of drink and drugs to some members, which led to missed rehearsals and performances; there was a shotgun wedding, domestic violence and several dysfunctional relationships. They dealt with all that within the group while they were touring the US and the world to keep the money rolling in – mainly for the pockets of Berry Gordy, who took the biggest cut while the band shared their portion five ways.
The main backstory is the internecine back-biting and battles, sometimes spilling over to the stage. That, perhaps, is a common product of a group that has five people who all want to be in the limelight as the lead singer. David Ruffin demanded they call the group David Ruffin and The Temptations! These problems led to members being fired, members leaving to break out on their own and the eventual obligatory reunion.
But it is not just the Temptations we see perform here, we are treated to The Contours, The Supremes and Tammi Terrell showing up for a tune or two. And we see how the troupe wanted to get away from the typical boy meets girl songs they had been doing throughout the Sixties and sing about what’s going on as Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder did. But that meant breaking away from Smokey and using Norman Whitfield songs, which were more political and told of the social problems of the time.
Another story that threads its way through the years was how the relationship between Otis and his son developed with him being away most of the young boy’s life. It is, perhaps, something that many can relate to. And we also learnt how one of the ‘Temps’ died in a crack house.
Today there is just Otis still alive, in his 80s but still getting out on stage with the latest amalgamation of men that call themselves The Temptations. There have been 27 over the years and they continue to perform some of the greatest music ever written.
But Ain’t Too Proud is not just about the songs and the singers, there are also 150 minutes of choreography that reignite that feeling of the 60s just as much as the lyrics of My Girl. It is also about this cast of actors who get out there and make us believe that we are watching The Temptations.
See it now in the beautiful Art Deco surroundings of the Prince Edward Theatre, Old Compton Street, London, W1D 4HS. Times: Tues – Sat 7.30pm; Thurs & Sat matinees 2.30pm; Sun 3 pm. Admission: £35 – £150.
Booking until January 2024. 0344 482 5151 – www.princeedwardtheatre.co.uk
