David Cassidy on the Web
Quick return for a pop icon
July 12, 2002
The Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England UK)
Seventies pop icon David Cassidy is back in the region tonight, just months after last appearing here.
The singer-actor, whose face was on the cover of every teen magazine three decades ago, is at Newcastle City Hall for one night only.
He last played there in November, as part of his first tour on these shores in 15 years.
Back then, tickets sold out within days of release. This time round there are still seats up for grabs.
Cassidy's comeback followed the success of his album Then and Now, featuring past hits and new tracks.
"It just seemed the right time," he says. "I wanted to say a big thank-you to my fans over the years who've supported me all this time.
"The album is my life story, in many respects."
Cassidy was one of a handful of American performers who did not cancel their tours last year in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks.
"I owe it to the fans to come over and perform," he said at the time. "What happened was devastating, but I think people need a release from it all, too.
"Hopefully, I can help take their minds off all the troubles for two hours each night."
When ABC cast Cassidy as its juvenile star in The Partridge Family, it launched one of the most spectacular careers in the entertainment industry.
From television to recording and record-breaking concert tours, and from Broadway to Las Vegas production shows, Cassidy, now in his fifties, has established his place in show business history.
Hailing from a family of actors, mother Evelyn Ward and father Jack Cassidy, his fate as a performer was sealed at a young age.
It was to be sheer coincidence that he would star with stepmother Shirley Jones in The Partridge Family.
By the end of 1970, the year the show premiered, Cassidy graced every teen magazine cover in the world, had number-ones and award nominations.
Over the next five years his official fan club grew to become the largest in history, exceeding those of Elvis Presley and the Beatles.
He subsequently became the first personality to be merchandised globally; his likeness appeared on everything from posters to cereal boxes; his concerts sold out in the largest venues in the world, which led him to be the world's highest-paid performer at the age of 21.
To date, his records have sold more than 25 million copies worldwide.
"Regrets?" he reflects. "I don't have any. There have been down-times, as well as the highs, but they all make you what you are.
"There's no point in regrets. What's done is done. You should always look to the future."
For ticket details of David Cassidy's City Hall show tonight, ring (0191) 261 2606.
