Up On The Roof 3 Oct 31st 1997 By Total Film Hull is not often hailed as the starting point for anything, let alone groundbreaking British movies. Yet this comedy's origins lie in a drama workshop in that very city. From there it went to London's glittery West End as a very successful play, before then crossing the Atlantic for a sell-out run in Atlanta, Georgia. Now it's finally become the latest oddball Brit outing on the big screen, albeit in a slightly altered form. It starts in a utilitarian British university in the '70s - all flares, dodgy haircuts and wear-five-days-in-a-row underwear. Five pals are introduced - self-assured Scott (Adrian Lester), his girlfriend, promising art student Bryony (Amy Robbins); likeable hippy Keith (Daniel Ryan); style-free Angela (Clare Cathcart); and good-natured Tim (Billy Carter). It is the eve of the group's first big gig, supporting the legendary Lindisfarne, and the even more legendary Tony Blackburn. Fame beckons and the future looks bright. Of course, it all then goes horribly wrong, and the film picks up the group's lives in both the '80s and the '90s. Their tangled lives develop humorously, tragically, but always watchably. The cast are extremely likeable and grow older gracefully without resorting to unrealistic wigs and make-up. What binds them is the singing, but their habit of bursting into Motown and '70s classics at moments of tension doesn't always come off. Yet an impromptu concert on a roof goes down a storm, while a rehearsal at a