Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds is a studio double album by American-born British musician, composer, and record producer Jeff Wayne, released on 9 June 1978 by CBS Records. It is an album musical adapted from the science-fiction novel The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells in a rock opera style with a rock band, orchestra, narrator, and leitmotifs to carry the story and lyrics that express the feelings of the various characters. The album features guest artists David Essex, Justin Hayward, Phil Lynott, Chris Thompson, and Julie Covington, with actor Richard Burton as the narrator.
Brian David Sibley is an English writer. He is author of over 100 hours of radio drama and has written and presented hundreds of radio documentaries, features and weekly programmes. Among his adaptations is the 1981 version of The Lord of the Rings for radio. A columnist and author, he is widely known as the author of many film "making of" books, including those for the Harry Potter series, and The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.
Christopher John Spedding is an English guitarist and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his studio session work. By the early 1970s, he had become one of the most sought-after session guitarists in England. Spedding has played on and produced many albums and singles. He has also been a member of eleven rock bands: the Battered Ornaments, Frank Ricotti Quartet, King Mob, Mike Batt and Friends, Necessaries, Nucleus, Ricky Norton, Sharks, Trigger, and the Wombles. In May 1976, Spedding also produced the first Sex Pistols recordings.
"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is a song originally written and first recorded in 1939 by Solomon Linda under the title "Mbube", through South African Gallo Record Company. Lyrics of Linda's original version were written in Zulu, while those of the English one were later written by George David Weiss.
The Lord of the Rings 1981 radio series is an epic fantasy adventure for BBC Radio 4, adapted from J. R. R. Tolkien's 1955 novel of the same name. It is the third radio dramatisation of the novel, following a 1955 BBC Radio adaptation, and a 1979 adaptation for NPR in the United States.
Jeffry Wayne is an American composer, musician and lyricist. In 1978, he released Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds, his musical adaptation of H. G. Wells' science-fiction novel The War of the Worlds. Wayne wrote approximately 3,000 advertising jingles in the 1970s which appeared on television in the United Kingdom, including a Gordon's Gin commercial which was covered by the Human League. Wayne also composed numerous television themes, including Good Morning Britain (TV-am), ITV's The Big Match and World of Sport, and the BBC's Sixty Minutes.
Walk on Fire was a British melodic rock band whose album Blind Faith (1989) yielded two minor hit singles: "Blind Faith" and "Wastelands".
Christopher Hamlet Thompson is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist known both for his work with Manfred Mann's Earth Band, specifically for his lead vocal on the classic hit "Blinded by the Light" and for his solo accomplishments.
Highlights from Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds is a 1981 compilation album by Jeff Wayne, highlights of the 1978 concept album, retelling the story of the 1898 novel The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells. It was released by Columbia Records.
Night Flight is a studio album by Moody Blues frontman Justin Hayward, released on Decca Records in 1980. It was reissued on CD in September 1989.
Classic Blue is the fourth solo studio album by The Moody Blues member Justin Hayward. Classic Blue was released in 1989 by Trax Music, and features Mike Batt, who also produced the album, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The album includes cover versions of many hit songs, such as The Beatles' "Blackbird", and Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven." It also includes a re-recorded version of "Forever Autumn," a song from Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds, in which Hayward originally sang lead vocals.
Gary Osborne is an English singer and songwriter. He chaired The Songwriters Executive of the British Academy Of Songwriters Composers and Authors for 12 years during which time he was also chairman of The Ivor Novello Awards.
Huckleberry Finn is a 1974 musical film version of Mark Twain's 1884 novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
The Eagle and the Hawk may refer to:
Rock On is the debut album of singer/songwriter David Essex. Its lead single and title track, "Rock On", is still Essex's best known song in the United States. "Lamplight" was also a hit, and the album contains three covers.
Spartacus was a Thracian gladiator (Thraex) who was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic.
David Essex is the second studio album by British singer David Essex. It was released at the end of September 1974 and was produced, arranged and conducted by Jeff Wayne. It peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart and was the Christmas number two album that year.
The Muppets: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack is a soundtrack album released by Walt Disney Records on November 22, 2011 for the musical comedy film The Muppets. The soundtrack features five original songs, four re-recordings and remasterings of popular Muppet songs, two cover versions of existing songs, two standalone songs, and fifteen dialogue tracks. It also features the song "Man or Muppet", which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. The soundtrack was also nominated for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media at the 55th Grammy Awards.
Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds – The New Generation is a 2012 concept album by Jeff Wayne and is a re-working of his 1978 concept album, retelling the story of the 1898 novel The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells. As previously, the music format is predominantly progressive rock and string orchestra, but with synthesizers playing a more prominent role. The music is intermixed with re-voiced narration and leitmotifs to carry the story forward via rhyming melodic lyrics that express the feelings of the various characters. Due to the consistent popularity of the original album, Wayne decided to return to his score and re-create it for a new generation of audiences, as well as re-launch a live tour throughout the United Kingdom and Europe.
