April 2004 article from the ''The Liverpool Daily Echo' newspaper, by Joe Riley.
BARBARA TO BREATHE NEW LIFE INTO SHOW; ORIGINAL STAR BACK IN HER FAVE ROLE
An indelible image in the minds of tens of thousands of theatre goers is working class mum Mrs Johnston bent over the bodies of her twin sons singing Tell Me It's Not True.
The most riveting finale of any stage musical anywhere. One that makes grown men weep.
And now Barbara Dickson is preparing to return to the show's home city, 21 years after she created the role.
"I still feel very possessive about Mrs Johnstone," admits the Scottish-born singer whose Scouse credentials include a mum, Ruth, from Liverpool 8, and a husband, Oliver, once stage manager at the Playhouse.
"Even after all those years, I haven't really lost that sense of ownership," says Barbara.
"Willy Russell created Mrs Johnstone and then gave her to me.
"She became my character. I moulded her, and I have never stopped loving this woman."
Neither have the public.
When a radio interviewer made the mistake of calling Mrs Johhstone a slut, Barbara Dickson reacted fiercely: "The stupid man. He meant that she was working class.
"She might be poor, but she is a very respectable woman."
Liverpool was - and is - full of Mrs Johnstones. Matriarchs with hearts of gold, honed in a tough street environment.
"The only difference is, I am an older Mrs Johnstone now.
"I spent the best part of two decades playing a woman much senior to myself. I am probably just about right now. I don't have to be Elle MacPherson."
It was Blood Brothers which proved to Barbara Dickson that she could act.
Before that, her only West End theatre experience was singing and playing the piano in another Willy Russell musical, the now-forgotten John, Paul, George, Ringo And Bert.
"I had never acted before in my life - not even in a school play," she says."But I never forget sitting in my kitchen with Willy and the director Chris Bond and reading one of Mrs Johnstone's speeches.
"I was reluctant at first, but it worked."
It worked so well, Barbara won an Olivier Award.
"My mother said she knew it was me, but she didn't believe it was."
Barbara was to go on to appear in three episodes of TV detective series Taggart, do two series of Band Of Gold, make a film with James Bolam, and star in another West End musical, Spend,Spend, Spend, based on the life of '60s Littlewoods pools winner Viv Nicholson.
But in all this, Blood Brothers and Mrs Johnstone remained special.
Christmas 2001 saw Barbara reprise the role especially for Liverpool, which she is to do again next month.
"Two weeks appeals to me. It's not too long, and it means I can also get on with other things. "When I re-read the script, it was amazing how much came back instantly.
"When I left the London production, I thought that the show would become part of my ancient history. But it's like the old adage about riding a bike or swimming. You just don't forget.
"I think the words are now locked into my brain forever.
"And it remains the most extraordinary story.
"Even in so-called cold-hearted London, the audience would sit crying into their fur coats.
"And the most important thing of all, it bears the stamp: Made in Liverpool."
