EVERY February 3, on the anniversary of the plane-crash death of Buddy Holly, the cast of Buddy sings an encore of American Pie, the Don McLean song that recalls “the day the music died”.

It is one of pop’s most quoted lyrics, but although the music “died” that snow-swept Clear Lake night in 1959, it lived on, it raved on too, thanks in part of course to the first and still the best of the jukebox musicals, Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story.

Writer-producer Alan Janes’s musical is clocking up the years itself, making its umpteenth visit to the Grand Opera House on the occasion of its 25th anniversary.

Unlike the Ben Elton vehicles for Queen and Rod Stewart hits in We Will Rock You and Tonight’s The Night, it does not weld a contrived story to a familiar songbook. Instead Janes takes a chronological journey through the brief ,but brilliant, career of the geeky boy from Lubbock, Texas, with the big specs, the silver tongue and the golden arrow to the heart of melody. It is formative rock’n’roll history in the making, when, how and why it happened.

The story is shadowed by the tragedy of a life snuffed out so young, and yet such is the energy, vivacity, joy and love of life and the wonder of love in Holly’s songs that Buddy is irresistibly uplifting at the last.

Audiences keep returning to this show because of those hits, and they are gathering in numbers in York again this week to see Matt Salisbury’s exhilarating production.

The role of Buddy is so physically demanding that each week’s performances are split between performers, and this tour has two of the best Buddies through the years, Roger Rowley and North Easterner Glen Joseph.

Rowley took the first night and once again left you open mouthed at his all-action performance, singing in that staccato Holly style, playing guitar as if the electricity was passing through him, leaping high, leading the show in pretty much every scene.

Yes, it is the Buddy Holly show but it also works because of the multitude of colourful supporting characters: Shaun Hennessy’s country radio station DJ Hipockets Duncan; Peter Kenworthy as producer Norman Petty; and Scott Haining and Adam Flynn as The Crickets’ band members Joe B Mauldin and Jerry Allison.

Best of all, the final concert is a thrilling rush of Holly, Jason Blackwater’s The Bip Bopper and Will Pearce’s hip-swivelling Ritchie Valens.

Not forgetting the love-at-first-sight story of Buddy and record company telephonist Maria Elena, played beautifully with Hispanic spirit by Vivienne Smith.

As for the songs, from Not Fade Away to Words Of Love, Peggy Sue to True Love Ways, Heartbeat to Rave On, that Holly music will never die.

Buddy, The Buddy Holly Story, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday.
Box office: 0844 871 3024 or atgtickets.com/york