Theatre Preview: Dreamboats and Petticoats, Edinburgh

“I NEVER knew nostalgia could be so big,” says sixties’ heart-throb Mark Wynter.

The 70-year-old singer turned actor, who scored four Top 20 chart hits in the 1960s including Venus in Blue Jeans and Go Away Little Girl, is talking about Dreamboats and Petticoats, which returns to the Capital today for a week-long run at the Playhouse.

Written by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, the team behind TV sitcoms Goodnight Sweetheart, Birds of a Feather The New Statesman and Shine On Harvey Moon, Dreamboats and Petticoats is set in 1961. Emotions are running high as young musicians Norman and Bobby compete to win a national song-writing competition – and, more importantly, the attention of the gorgeous Sue.

But when Bobby discovers that shy Laura is no slouch on the piano, love and rock ’n’ roll fame beckons.

Featuring classic tracks from the likes of Roy Orbison, The Shadows, Eddie Cochran, Billy Fury, and many more, Wynter was delighted to discover that three of his own tracks were included in the score.

“Which is nice because I haven’t sung them on tour for about 40 years. It’s a nice way of reminding me about my early life,” he says. “Music from the 1960s is simple, and that’s why everyone loves it. We can relate to them, and everything they need to say, they say.”

So, if you remember jiving away to the likes of Shaking All Over, Bobby’s Girl, Little Town Flirt, Only Sixteen and Runaround Sue, take a trip down memory lane to the golden era of rock ‘n’ roll at the Playhouse, all this week.

Dreamboats and Petticoats, Playhouse, Greenside Place, Monday-Saturday, 7.30pm (matinees 2.30pm), £12.90-£38.90, 0844-871 3014