The Kibbo Kift: The Lost Rock Musical

Few works of musical theatre receive the recognition they deserve, and The Kibbo Kift is a prime example. Written by Judge Smith, co-founder of Van der Graaf Generator, and composer Maxwell Hutchinson, this ambitious rock musical told the stranger-than-fiction story of a breakaway anti-war scouting movement in 1920 that transformed, over two turbulent decades, from idealistic woodland campers into uniformed street-fighters for an alternative economic theory. It played Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre and reached Sheffield’s Crucible in 1977 under director Mel Smith, then slipped into the margins of rock history. The recordings had a precarious existence. Union rules blocked a proper studio cast album, leaving only a patchwork of demo tapes and studio cuts. For decades these circulated in rough form, hardly doing justice to the material. Now, thanks to Think Like a Key, who tracked down, restored and remastered all surviving recordings,The Kibbo Kift can finally be heard as it deserves. In this interview, Judge Smith talks about the history of this remarkable lost musical, and why its strange subject matter resonates today. Further information The Kibbo Kift: The 1976 Rock Musical Judge Smith website Support The Strange Brew The Kibbo Kift podcast tracks Podcasts also available: Peter Hammill, The Genesis That Time Forgot, Tony Banks, Hawkwind’s Days of the Underground This podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Google apps and all usual platforms The post The Kibbo Kift: The Lost Rock Musical appeared first on The Strange Brew .