| Stages | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1983 | |||
| Recorded | Good Earth Studios and Olympic Studios, London | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Label | WEA & K-tel | |||
| Producer | Tony Visconti | |||
| Elaine Paige chronology | ||||
| ||||
Stages is an album by Elaine Paige, released in 1983 on the Warner Music and K-tel labels [1] and has been re-issued on CD. [2] The album charted in the UK album charts at #2 in 1983. [3]
Stages was the first of a number of Paige's recordings to be produced by Tony Visconti, who had previously worked with David Bowie, The Moody Blues and Mary Hopkin. It featured a number of songs from musicals including tracks from shows in which she had appeared.
The album was primarily recorded at Visconti's Good Earth Studios other than for the track "Tomorrow" which was taped at Olympic Studios. The track "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" was taken from the 1978 original London cast recording of Evita .
In 2014, Rhino UK released on the compilation album Elaine Paige - The Ultimate Collection [4] the out-take "It's Raining on Prom Night" (from the musical Grease) which was originally recorded as part of the Stages album sessions.
Released in Australia by K-tel: NA680.
In 1987, Atlantic released the album in the US. The tracklisting was amended to open with "On My Own" from Les Misérables , which opened on Broadway that year. "Running Back for More" was therefore omitted.
| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report) [5] | 20 |
| United Kingdom (Official Charts) | 2 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI) [6] | 2× Platinum | 600,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber, is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, a song cycle, a set of variations, two film scores, and a Latin Requiem Mass. Several of his songs have been widely recorded and were successful outside of their parent musicals, such as "Memory" from Cats, "The Music of the Night" and "All I Ask of You" from The Phantom of the Opera, "I Don't Know How to Love Him" from Jesus Christ Superstar, "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" from Evita, and "Any Dream Will Do" from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. In 2001, The New York Times referred him as "the most commercially successful composer in history". The Daily Telegraph ranked him the "fifth most powerful person in British culture" in 2008, with lyricist Don Black writing "Andrew more or less single-handedly reinvented the musical."
Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice is an English lyricist and author. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Evita; with Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson of ABBA, with whom he wrote Chess; and with Disney on Aladdin, The Lion King, the stage adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, and the original Broadway musical Aida. He also wrote lyrics for the Alan Menken musical King David, and for DreamWorks Animation's The Road to El Dorado.
Evita is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. It concentrates on the life of Argentine political leader Eva Perón, the second wife of Argentine president Juan Perón. The story follows Evita's early life, rise to power, charity work, and death.
Elaine Jill Paige is an English singer and actress, best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Barnet, Hertfordshire, Paige attended the Aida Foster Theatre School, making her first professional appearance on stage in 1964, at the age of 16. Her appearance in the 1968 production of Hair marked her West End debut.
"Don't Cry for Me Argentina" is a song recorded by Julie Covington for the 1976 concept album Evita, later included in the 1978 musical of the same name. The song was written and composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice while they were researching the life of Argentine leader Eva Perón. It appears at the opening of the first and second acts, as well as near the end of the show, initially as the spirit of the dead Eva exhorting the people of Argentina not to mourn her, during Eva's speech from the balcony of the Casa Rosada, and during her final broadcast.
"Memory" is a show tune composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Trevor Nunn based on poems by T. S. Eliot. It was written for the 1981 musical Cats, where it is sung primarily by the character Grizabella as a melancholic remembrance of her glamorous past and as a plea for acceptance. "Memory" is the climax of the musical and by far its best-known song, having achieved mainstream success outside of the musical. According to musicologist Jessica Sternfeld, writing in 2006, it is "by some estimations the most successful song ever from a musical."
"Another Suitcase in Another Hall" is a song recorded by Scottish singer Barbara Dickson, for the 1976 concept album, Evita, the basis of the musical of the same name. The musical was based on the life of Argentinian leader Eva Perón. Written by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, the song is presented during a sequence where Eva throws her husband's mistress out on the streets. The latter sings the track, wondering about her future and coming to the conclusion that she would be fine. Dickson was enlisted by the songwriters to record the track after hearing her previous work.
Evita is the soundtrack album to the 1996 musical film of the same name, performed mostly by American singer Madonna. It was released by Warner Bros. Records on November 12, 1996. Directed by Alan Parker, the film was based on Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1978 musical Evita about First Lady of Argentina, Eva Perón, portrayed by Madonna. The soundtrack consists of reworked songs from its original 1976 concept album as well as a new song, "You Must Love Me". Additional performers on the soundtrack include Antonio Banderas, Jonathan Pryce and Jimmy Nail.
Elaine Paige is the second solo album from Elaine Paige, released in 1981. The album charted at no. 56 in May 1982 and was re-issued on CD in 1995 by Warner Music. The recording was produced by Tim Rice and Andrew Powell. Paige had met Rice when she was cast as Eva Perón in the original stage production of his musical Evita in 1978. He also wrote lyrics for a number of the tracks on the album. Rice's former writing partner Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote the arrangement of the track "The Second Time", for which Rice had set words to Francis Lai's theme to the film Bilitis.
Cinema is the fourth solo album by Elaine Paige. The album was released in 1984 on Warner Music, peaking at #12 in the UK album charts. It has been re-issued on CD.
Christmas is an album by Elaine Paige, released in 1986, the fifth and final album to be released on the label until the release of Piaf in 1994. The album reached number 27 in the UK album charts. The album was re-issued on CD in 2006.
Love Hurts is the fifth solo album by English singer Elaine Paige, released in 1985, on the Warner Music label. The album peaked at #8 in the UK album chart. Originally released on vinyl record and cassette, the album was later released on CD.
Love Can Do That is an album by Elaine Paige, released in 1991. It was Paige's first album released by RCA and marketed in Europe by BMG. Produced by Dennis Lambert and recorded at The Zoo in Encino, California. The album reached #36 in the UK album chart.
Encore is the title of a solo album released in 1995 by Elaine Paige. The album peaked at number 20 on the UK Albums Chart in July 1995.
Evita is a concept album released in 1976 and produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Having successfully launched their previous show, Jesus Christ Superstar, on record in 1970, Lloyd Webber and Rice returned to the format for Evita. The album was recorded at Olympic Studios in London from April to September 1976 and released in the United Kingdom on 19 November 1976.
Elaine Paige Live is a live solo album by Elaine Paige, recorded and released in 2009 during an early date of Paige's 40th anniversary concert tour.
Elaine Paige in Concert was a video recording of a concert performance at Birmingham Symphony Hall, which was part of Elaine Paige's 1991 UK tour.
Essential Musicals is an album by Elaine Paige, released in 2006. The album was produced by Mike Moran, vocals were recorded at Air-Edel Studios in London, and the orchestra backing recorded at The Hungarian State Radio Studios, Budapest. The album peaked at #46 in the UK Albums Chart.
Memories: The Best Of Elaine Paige is a compilation album by Elaine Paige, released in 1987, on the Warner Music label.
Centre Stage: The Very Best of Elaine Paige is a compilation album by Elaine Paige, released on 4 October 2004.