With his ascension into rock heaven, playing the title role in Jesus Christ Superstar, Ian McIntosh could be forgiven for developing at least a little Messiah complex. For more than 50 years the part of Jesus has been one of the most coveted in musical theatre , if not the greatest. Now, McIntosh’s performance is rated at least has highly as previous sons of God, including Paul Nicholas and on the concept album, Deep Purple’s Ian Gillen.
But there isn’t too much chance of Ian McIntosh assuming he can turn water into wine anytime soon. The performer has been around too long. And he’s had to gain experience in a range of musical theatre productions such as Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Rock of Ages, Follies, and The Commitments before going on to star in Queen homage, We Will Rock You.
McIntosh rewinds on his career, and lists his gran, who moved from Clydebank to the Midlands, as a key influencer. “When I was young, my gran noticed that I could sing a little bit and she took me to the West End to see a production of Oliver! And it changed my life. There I was sitting in the audience, and I can remember actually saying, ‘I want to be that boy up there on stage.
’” READ NEXT: Owner of historic pub speaks of 'big cultural change' in Glasgow READ NEXT: Drake Milligan star says Glasgow is 'part of his story' ahead of show McIntosh didn’t go on to appear in Oliver. But that didn’t mean he didn’t try to learn his craft in any way he could. “I’d go along.