Following Olivier Award nominations for Best New Musical and Best Actress in a Musical, Michael Harrison and David Ian are thrilled to announce The Drifters Girl World Premiere Cast album, recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios and due for release on Friday 6 May 2022, by Tag8 Music, with BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited, Treadwell Entertainment Group and Showtime Productions Ltd.

The album features the original cast of the acclaimed new musical: Queen of British Soul, Beverley Knight, with the sensational Adam J Bernard (Dreamgirls), Tarinn Callender (Hamilton), Matt Henry (Kinky Boots) and Tosh Wanogho-Maud (Showboat), who capture the essence of notable members of The Drifters – Clyde Mcphatter, Ben E. King, Rudy Lewis and Johnny Moore, and Beverley Knight reimagines classic Drifters tracks with her striking voice, capturing Faye Treadwell’s story.

The album was produced by the shows arranger and orchestrator, Chris Egan, who along with the creative team, including co-producers Trystan Francis and Will Stuart, took over the iconic Abbey Road Studio 2, with the full show band plus some additional musicans to create an enhanced version of the songs from the show.

The album includes the incredible songs from the show from Stand By Me, Under the Boardwalk, Saturday Night at the Movies to the emotional Harlem Child.

The Drifters Girl has been thrilling audiences since beginning in Newcastle in October 2021. The show transferred to London in November 2021, and has continued to play to packed houses and nightly standing ovations. It has recently extended its run at Garrick Theatre in London to Sunday 12 February 2023

The musical tells the story of Faye Treadwell, the legendary manager of The Drifters who, alongside her husband, George Treadwell, ground breaking manager and co-founder of The Drifters, fought for three decades to turn Atlantic Records’ hottest vocal group into a global phenomenon.

From the highs of hit records and sell out tours to the lows of legal battles and personal tragedy, The Drifters Girl charts the trailblazing efforts of the world’s first African American, female music manager and how she refused to ever give up on the group she loved. Thirty years, and hundreds of hit songs later, there is no doubt that Faye Treadwell was and always will be, The Drifters Girl.

The UK’s Queen of Soul Beverley Knight plays Faye Treadwell, with Adam J Bernard, Tarinn Callender, Matt Henry and Tosh Wanogho-Maud as the iconic group. Beverley continues in the role through to Saturday 2 July, with casting from that date to be announced.

The cast is completed by Marcus Ayton, Ashford Campbell, Ethan Davis, Vanessa Ela Young, Michael James Stewart, Alanna Leslie, Curtis Scott, and the young actors are Aurora Baptiste, Amari Brown, Savanna Musoni, Savannah Skinner-Henry and Shanyia Tsoto (who play the role of George and Faye’s daughter Tina Treadwell).