Limelight (Marti Webb album)
Encyclopedia
Limelight is a 2003 studio album by Marti Webb
.
The album was produced by self-financed and co-produced by Webb with Gary Branch. It mainly features musicians that had been involved with The Magic of the Musicals tours throughout the 1990s and new recordings of Webb's most popular songs from previous albums.
It was recorded at the JazzMouse Studios in East Berkshire
.
"Shall We Dance" is a duet with Ronobir Lahiri, who was at the time of recording playing The King of Siam opposite Webb as Anna Leonowens
in a UK tour of The King and I
. "Elaborate Lives" features harmony vocals by Robert Meadmore
, who had appeared in one of The Magic of the Musicals tours with Webb.
Webb first performed the song "As Long As He Needs Me" as Nancy in Oliver! and "Stage Door John" when playing Susie Dean in the musical version of J. B. Priestley
's The Good Companions
. She had not previously recorded "As Long As He Needs Me".
The album was only made available through the London musical theatre
merchandise shop Dress Circle and at the venues on Webb's tours.
Marti Webb
Marti Webb is a musical actress from England, who appeared on stage in Evita, before starring in Andrew Lloyd Webber's one woman show Tell Me on a Sunday in 1980...
.
The album was produced by self-financed and co-produced by Webb with Gary Branch. It mainly features musicians that had been involved with The Magic of the Musicals tours throughout the 1990s and new recordings of Webb's most popular songs from previous albums.
It was recorded at the JazzMouse Studios in East Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
.
"Shall We Dance" is a duet with Ronobir Lahiri, who was at the time of recording playing The King of Siam opposite Webb as Anna Leonowens
Anna Leonowens
Anna Leonowens was an English travel writer, educator, and social activist. She worked in Siam from 1862 to 1868, where she taught the wives and children of Mongkut, king of Siam. She also co-founded the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design...
in a UK tour of The King and I
The King and I
The King and I is a stage musical, the fifth by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The work is based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon and derives from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who became governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in...
. "Elaborate Lives" features harmony vocals by Robert Meadmore
Robert Meadmore
Robert Meadmore a musical theatre artist.-Theatre:He has starred in many of the biggest hit shows in London's West End which include Phantom of The Opera, Brigadoon, My Fair Lady, Bless the Bride, The Gondoliers, Oklahoma!, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Metropolitan Mikado and Camelot.In...
, who had appeared in one of The Magic of the Musicals tours with Webb.
Webb first performed the song "As Long As He Needs Me" as Nancy in Oliver! and "Stage Door John" when playing Susie Dean in the musical version of J. B. Priestley
J. B. Priestley
John Boynton Priestley, OM , known as J. B. Priestley, was an English novelist, playwright and broadcaster. He published 26 novels, notably The Good Companions , as well as numerous dramas such as An Inspector Calls...
's The Good Companions
The Good Companions (musical)
The Good Companions is a musical with a book by Ronald Harwood, music by André Previn, and lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It is based on the 1929 novel of the same title by J. B...
. She had not previously recorded "As Long As He Needs Me".
The album was only made available through the London musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
merchandise shop Dress Circle and at the venues on Webb's tours.
Track listing
- "Hello, Young LoversHello, Young Lovers (song)"Hello, Young Lovers" is a show tune from the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, The King and I. It is sung by Anna, played by Gertrude Lawrence in the original Broadway production, by Valerie Hobson in the original London West End production, and by Deborah Kerr in the film version...
" (Richard RodgersRichard RodgersRichard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
/Oscar Hammerstein IIOscar Hammerstein IIOscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
) - "Limelight" (Eric WoolfsonEric WoolfsonEric Norman Woolfson was a Scottish songwriter, lyricist, vocalist, executive producer, pianist, and creator of The Alan Parsons Project. He has sold over 50 million albums world-wide....
/Alan ParsonsAlan ParsonsAlan Parsons is a British audio engineer, musician, and record producer. He was involved with the production of several significant albums, including The Beatles' Abbey Road and Let It Be, as well as Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon for which Pink Floyd credit him as an important contributor...
) - "As Long As He Needs MeAs Long as He Needs MeAs Long as He Needs Me is a torch song sung by the character of Nancy in the musical film Oliver!, introduced in the 1960 musical. It is a love ballad about her criminal boyfriend Bill Sikes...
" (Lionel BartLionel BartLionel Bart was a writer and composer of British pop music and musicals, best known for creating the book, music and lyrics for Oliver!-Early life:...
) - "Wind Beneath My WingsWind Beneath My Wings"Wind Beneath My Wings" is the title of a song written in 1982 by Jeff Silbar and Larry Henley. They recorded a demo of the song, which they gave to musician Bob Montgomery. Montgomery then recorded his own demo version of the song, changing it from the mid-tempo version he was given to a ballad...
" (Larry HenleyLarry HenleyLarry Henley is an American singer and songwriter, born June 30, 1941 in Arp, Texas. He is perhaps best known for co-writing the 1989 hit record, "Wind Beneath My Wings". The single was a U.S...
/Jeff Silbar) - "BenBen (song)"Ben" is a song written by Don Black and composed by Walter Scharf for the 1972 film of the same name . It was performed in the film by Lee Montgomery and by Michael Jackson over the closing credits. Jackson's single, recorded for the Motown label in 1972, spent one week at the top of the U.S. pop...
" (Walter ScharfWalter ScharfWalter Scharf was an American film composer.Born in New York, he was the son of Yiddish theatre comic Bessie Zwerling...
/Don BlackDon Black (musician)Don Black, OBE is an English lyricist. His works have included numerous musicals, movie themes and hit songs. He has provided lyrics for John Barry, Charles Strouse, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Quincy Jones, Jule Styne, Henry Mancini, Michael Jackson, Elmer Bernstein, Michel Legrand, Hayley Westenra,...
) - "Take That Look Off Your FaceTake That Look Off Your Face"Take That Look Off Your Face" is the title of a hit song by musical theatre composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. Collaborating with lyricist Don Black, it was written for the song cycle show Tell Me on a Sunday in 1978. It was sung and released by Marti Webb in 1980, and became a No.3 hit in the UK charts...
" (Andrew Lloyd WebberAndrew Lloyd WebberAndrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
/Don Black) - "Always There" (Simon MaySimon MaySimon May is a British musician and composer, best known for composing some of British television's best known theme tunes, including EastEnders and Howards' Way, and for composing the music for the 1988 film The Dawning....
/Leslie Osbourne/Don Black) - "Stage Door John" André PrevinAndré PrevinAndré George Previn, KBE is an American pianist, conductor, and composer. He is considered one of the most versatile musicians in the world, and is the winner of four Academy Awards for his film work and ten Grammy Awards for his recordings. -Early Life:Previn was born in...
/Johnny MercerJohnny MercerJohn Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
) - "With One Look" (Andrew Lloyd Webber/Don Black/Christopher HamptonChristopher HamptonChristopher James Hampton CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, screen writer and film director. He is best known for his play based on the novel Les Liaisons dangereuses and the film version Dangerous Liaisons and also more recently for writing the nominated screenplay for the film adaptation of...
/with contributions by Amy Powers) - "Hush-A-Bye Mountain" (Robert B. ShermanRobert B. ShermanRobert Bernard Sherman is an American songwriter who specializes in musical films with his brother Richard Morton Sherman...
/Richard M. ShermanRichard M. ShermanRichard Morton Sherman is an American songwriter who specializes in musical film with his brother Robert Bernard Sherman....
) - "Elaborate Lives" (Elton JohnElton JohnSir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
/Tim RiceTim RiceSir Timothy Miles Bindon "Tim" Rice is an British lyricist and author.An Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning lyricist, Rice is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus...
) - "Shall We Dance" (Richard Rodgers/Oscar Hammerstein II)
Musicians
- Marti Webb - lead and backing vocals
- Andy Read - piano, musical direction
- Pete Kelly - keyboards
- Gary Branch - woodwind, saxophones
- Colin Hill - trombone, euphonium, bass trombone
- Gavin Mallett - trumpet, flugel
- Justin Myers - bass guitar
- Barry Cook - drums
- James Turner - percussion
- Pete Callard - guitar
Production credits
- Producers - Marti Webb and Gary Branch
- Vocal recording and mixing - Paul Fawcus