Ian Dury and performed the theme song "Profoundly in Love with Pandora" for the television series "The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾" (1985), based on the book of the same name by Sue Townsend, as well as its follow-up, "The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole" (1987). Dury turned down an offer from Andrew Lloyd Webber to write the libretto for "Cats" (from which Richard Stilgoe reportedly earned millions). The reason, said Dury, "I can't stand his music." When AIDS first came to prominence in the mid-1980s, Dury was among celebrities who appeared on UK television to promote safe sex, demonstrating
Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary at Jermyn Street Theatre received Time Out Critics' Choice. "The Great British Soap Opera" was likewise well received by critics. Sally Stott in The Scotsman wrote 'there's a sophisticated structure underpinning the story in which "real" life and TV fiction run as parallels... it's all great fun, surprisingly clever and just like a real soap you'll find yourself getting drawn in despite yourself'. In London, Nina Caplan in Time Out described the musical as "more welcome than any profound examination of these putrid times" "The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾" at Leicester's Curve Theatre received 4 stars from