January 21, 2025 • 28 mins
Have you ever wondered how a rock opera becomes a timeless classic? Join me, Tony Mantor, as I sit down with the legendary Jeff Wayne, the genius composer behind the 1978 rock opera adaptation of H.G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds."
In this episode, Jeff opens up about his fascinating transition from an aspiring journalist to a renowned musician, revealing how his childhood piano lessons ignited a passion that would shape his future.
We explore his early music industry experiences, including a stint with The Sandpipers, and how his father's entertainment career provided a blueprint for success.
Jeff also shares unexpected tales from the tennis court, showcasing the diverse talents that paved his way to stardom.
As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Jeff’s groundbreaking creation, we reflect on how "The War of the Worlds" transformed from a modest release into a cultural phenomenon.
Discover the magic behind its evolution, the innovative stage technology that brought it to life, and the cherished memories from global tours and iconic events like the HMV signing in London.
Through our conversation, you'll witness the powerful emotional connection this masterpiece has fostered across generations, and the humbling experience of witnessing its enduring legacy.
Tune in to experience the journey of a production that continues to captivate hearts and minds worldwide.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Music.
My career in the entertainmentindustry has enabled me to work
with a diverse range of talent.
Through my years of experience,I've recognized two essential
aspects.
Industry professionals, whetherfamous stars or
(00:28):
behind-the-scenes staff, havefascinating stories to tell.
Secondly, audiences are eagerto listen to these stories,
which offer a glimpse into theirlives and the evolution of
their life stories.
This podcast aims to sharethese narratives, providing
information on how they evolveinto their chosen career.
We will delve into theirjourney to stardom, discuss
(00:50):
their struggles and successesand hear from people who helped
them achieve their goals.
Get ready for intriguingbehind-the-scenes stories and
insights into the fascinatingworld of entertainment.
World of entertainment.
Hi, I'm Tony Mantour.
Welcome to Almost LiveNashville.
(01:10):
Our guest today is renownedAmerican-born British musician,
composer and record producer,jeff Wayne, who produced the
1978 rock opera based on HGWells' the War of the Worlds
With an initial goal of chartingfor just one week.
His album defied expectations,remaining on the charts for an
impressive 330 consecutive weeks.
(01:33):
I'm honored to have him join ustoday, so thanks for coming on.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Well, thank you for inviting me.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Oh, it's my pleasure.
So I understand you startedgetting into music at an early
age.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
It would have been around the age of 1920.
I had actually made my waythrough a junior college which
was, at the time, highlyregarded in journalism, and that
was my major.
I wanted to be an investigativejournalist and use music as
sort of an additional part of mylife.
Journalism was where I wasgoing and I got this AA degree,
(02:07):
an Associate of Arts, a two-yeardegree, and then realized music
was my greater passion.
I had been taking piano lessonssince the age of about five and
I had a couple of bands and wasbeginning my songwriting and
arranging career, but I switchedmajors and from that point on,
music has been my life.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Now, once you realized that music was going to
be it, you got out ofjournalism.
I understand that you was partof the group the Sandpipers for
a while.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
I was.
It was a group that was puttogether by a writer who was
writing the script for whatbecame a movie featuring Richard
Burton, coincidentally andElizabeth Taylor called the
Sandpiper, and the movie companywanted a band to promote the
movie and the starting point wasto write this song called the
(02:57):
Sandpiper.
And I joined this group calledthe Sandpipers, which was at the
time a guy and a girl who didthe main singing.
They played acoustic guitars, Idid the arranging, played
percussion instruments and werecorded the song.
It didn't get used and the guymarried the girl.
They went off on a catamaran,but somehow I stayed with for a
(03:22):
while a reformed group whichbecame the Sandpipers, and it
had the big hit Guantanamera, ofwhich I had nothing to do with
it because by that time I hadleft.
So I'll gladly accept in thebroadest sense that I was in a
group called the Sandpipers.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Well, that's definitely an interesting story.
Always take credit for what youcan take Now.
Is it before that, or was itafter that that your father was
in England doing his music?
Speaker 2 (03:53):
It was after we had come back from England.
I moved there with my dad andmy mom when I was about nine.
He had been quite a successfulentertainer, singer he had three
number ones in a row in theUnited States, did Broadway and
all sorts of other things andwas offered the role of Sky
Masterson, the romantic gamblerin the classic Broadway musical
(04:16):
Guys and Dolls, and that's whywe moved to England for the
first time.
So I was about nine and it'sonly when we came back first to
New York and then moved toCalifornia where my dad was
getting a lot of film workrecording again, touring, et
cetera that we moved toCalifornia and that's where my
college degree in journalism andthen majoring and turning to
(04:39):
music as a career happened.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Was it right before your music started kicking in
and you realized that music wasgoing to be the career that you
wanted to do?
Because before that, if mymemory serves me right, I
believe that you was fairly wellknown for what you was doing in
tennis.
Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Well, tennis has been my main sport throughout my
life.
Tony and I did play number onein high school and college and
was probably around nationalstandard, but it was still in
the amateur era.
Unless you were really on thecircuit and getting support from
the USTA, you didn't reallymake a living from it.
I did make a living teaching it, and it's only years later,
(05:24):
when we moved back to England,that I started competing again
and wound up winning nationaltitles as a veteran, which is
age 35 and over, and I'm notquite sure how a Yank wound up
playing for Great Britain twice,but I did, and I live in a
county called Hertfordshire,which is where I'm speaking to
(05:45):
you from.
I'm in my studio, but it's partof a bigger house where I've
lived for many years.
Hertfordshire is a home countyjust outside of London.
Yeah, I've captained theirmen's team for 35 years and
played in all the age groups andeven partnered on one of the
two occasions.
Somebody who's now a goodfriend of mine named Roger
Taylor, who was a three-timesemifinalist at Wimbledon, won
(06:08):
some Grand Slams and doubles andwas top 10 in the world when we
played the over 45 EuropeanChampionships for Great Britain.
He and I partnered in doubles,and we each played singles.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Wow, that's pretty impressive.
So you had quite a collectionof things that you did
throughout your early yearsbefore you actually grabbed a
hold of music to make it yourfull-time thing.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
Yeah, I did, and I had odd jobs when we lived in
New York, including deliveringmeat in the height of winter on
a bicycle, for a local butchersold my mother's American
cigarettes when we moved toEngland, on the corner of the
apartment, or flat as it wasknown, when we moved here when
my dad was doing Guys and Dolls.
A lot of odd jobs.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Yeah, nothing wrong with that at all.
You really made a name foryourself on the music that you
did with War of the Worlds.
You had something before thatthat created the path for you to
do what you wound up gettingwell known for.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
I did.
I had by that point.
When you're talking now aboutthe War of the Worlds, I started
working on it with my dad, whowe partnered on the project
around 1975.
But in the many years previousfrom, say, around 1969, I
started, I guess in a proud wayI say.
I was a backroom boy andreceived many commissions for
(07:32):
media work radio TV, a lot ofadvertising, some film work and
I started producing artists andhad some good success,
particularly with one artistnamed David Essex, who in fact
we were talking about Nashvilleearlier.
The reason I was in Nashvilleis a record that I had done with
David hit the top of the UScharts and I was sent to meet
(07:54):
some artists in Nashville withthe possibility of producing
them.
But now I was producing Davidand I was touring with him as
his MD.
I did arranging for the bandsand even put the bands together.
It was that period that the Warof the Worlds came along in my
life.
It was a book handed to me bymy dad because he knew I was
looking for a story that I mightfeel passionate about as a
(08:17):
composer, to try to interpret itin a musical form from a blank
page and it took about a year orso to find a book that I felt
that way about.
And it just happened to be thenight before going out on
another tour with David that mydad came over wishing me luck
for the tour and said oh, by theway, here's another book, and
(08:37):
it was HG Wells' the War of theWorlds, which I read while we
were on tour and I fell in lovewith it.
It turned out and I didn't knowthis it was a very dark
Victorian tale set in 1898.
And HG Wells wrote it witha viewto using his Martians as
invaders.
(08:57):
Not just a story of sciencefiction, fantasy, but taking a
pop even at the British Empire,which was probably at its peak
of expansionism during thatperiod, and he felt invasion by
any nation into another was justwrong.
So that's the heart of hisstory.
What I also fell in love withwas the secondary themes, which
(09:21):
weren't so secondary in truth,but it dealt with one's faith,
no matter what faith you wereabout, hope and things that were
worth living for, put those alltogether and it was a book that
just moved me and it was thebeginning of my relationship
with the story and what becamemy musical version.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Once you decided that this was going to be a project
you was going to work on, youwas going to have to map it out,
put it all together andultimately make it into what it
became.
What went through your mind toapproach it.
So it could be what you wantedit to be, but still be
commercial enough so the peoplewould want to come see it, hear
(10:05):
it and immerse themselves intoyour project, your baby.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Well, the starting point was the composing of what
became a double album.
I wasn't really thinking so farahead to believe what it's now
become, which has been in somany different versions and
iterations.
But when I saw that it wasgoing to come out as a double
album, my goal was to see itliterally in the UK album charts
(10:30):
for one week.
So I could sort of feel Ididn't let all these amazing
guest artists that were on mydouble album the band that I put
together who were top flightmusicians, the artist that
created paintings and the recordcompany which was CBS Records
in those days it's now part ofSony.
When it did come out, it had abig launch at the London
(10:50):
Planetarium with a full house ofmedia people interested enough
to come to have a listen, and wehad set a sight and sound show
at the Planetarium to my doublealbum set a sight and sound show
at the Planetarium to my doublealbum.
I remember afterward whenmeeting various journalists and
media people being asked whatwere my aspirations for this
double album, and I said youknow, I think if I could see it
(11:13):
in the UK album charts for oneweek, I would feel I hadn't let
anybody down that had workedwith me or backed me and not
realizing that it would stay inthe UK album charts for 330
consecutive weeks and it still,to this day, pops up now and
then in either the pop charts,the vinyl charts, the club
(11:33):
charts, with over 300 remixesnow that have been successful or
well played.
It's just had an amazing life.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
Yeah, it certainly has.
That's awesome.
So when you start out with yourhumble beginnings on anything,
you put your heart and soul intoit.
You have the hopes, like youjust said, if I could get it in
the charts for just a singleweek, that it would show the
people that was involved with itthat their efforts they put
into it was not in vain.
(12:02):
So what went through your mind?
It just took off.
I mean, you're getting peoplefrom the outside world just
coming to see you.
They're picking at you, pullingat you, tugging at you.
They're doing everything justto get a moment of your time,
because everything else isgetting so much more involved,
(12:23):
your time becomes so precious.
So how did you manage that?
Because it's tough for anybody.
So how do you manage it?
And what went through your mindwhile you was managing it or
trying to?
Speaker 2 (12:37):
That's a great question actually, tony, and I
think for me where it really hithome wasn't so much that it
jumped into the charts and wewere having two big
international hit singles fromit.
It was when I started beingasked by CBS to go around to
quite a number of countries topromote it where it was taking
(12:58):
off in the same way it washappening here in the UK.
I think that's when I realizedit was having an impact here in
the UK.
It happened so fast and I wasjust going from one opportunity
to another to talk about it,whether it was radio, tv, press,
which was pretty much themedium of the day, nothing
digital in that era.
(13:19):
So I was just kept so busy, soappreciative of the acceptance
by the public and the media,that I just went with it.
I didn't really have much timeto think about it beyond that.
To put it into perspective, Iguess the release happened at
the height of the punkrevolution here in the UK and
disco was king of the dancefloor.
(13:41):
And here I am, a Yank living inEngland interpreting a dark
Victorian tale.
Continuous play over two albums, no cuts.
So I didn't have the ease ofsort of being able to or anybody
for that matter picking up andfinding a tune that you might
want to play.
You had to find it and it justfound a slot.
(14:02):
I was a young guy at the timeand I remember thinking I had
the same sort of angst, in a way, as the guys and ladies who
were into performing and writingpunk music.
They were just doing it inthree-minute bursts.
I had to do it in 100 minutesto get all the angst out of me.
But some of my grooves, andparticularly the main theme,
(14:23):
they're straight out of thedisco world or the club world
and I think that's why somehowit connected on so many
different levels.
And now, looking back some 46years, the life that it's had in
every form is not somethingthat I could have remotely
predicted or I'd be sitting withyou.
You're in Nashville, I'm herein Hertfordshire, england,
talking to you about the samework that's been around in my
(14:45):
life now for 46 years.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
That truly is pretty amazing.
If you look at a lot of singersthat have made their mark in
the world of music, they've hadthat one single that has kind of
defined them, and usually thatjust doesn't go away.
Then they continue to work ontheir body of work to create
more With you.
(15:08):
This seemed to just blow up ina certain way that it became its
own body of work and over theyears it just keeps reinventing
itself.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
You're right, and I could never have predicted that.
It's now been an arena toursince we started in 2006.
It's all the big arenas aroundthe UK and Ireland.
We played many countries inEurope and as far as Australia
and New Zealand.
It's been in the West End.
I've conducted every show.
(15:42):
I've never missed a show.
In fact, next year we'retouring again the UK and Ireland
and some dates in Europe.
It's a production that's justgrown in emotion and scale.
Technology has changed so muchso that if you were to compare
the first tour we did and theone we're going out with next
(16:02):
year, it's almost unrecognizablein the spectacular elements of
it.
We use not just the stage butwe're out in the audience, over
the audience, and I have the joyof conducting on stage a band
that's largely been with me allthese same years and a symphonic
string orchestra and as aconductor.
(16:22):
Other than a 20-minute interval.
It's a continuous work of abouttwo and a half hours now and I
always feel my feet never touchthe ground.
I'm sort of like a hovercraftuntil the show's over and I land
back on earth.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
Wow, this next question.
I think your answer is going tobe quite interesting.
I think your answer is going tobe quite interesting because
the original concept I believeit was 1978 that it was released
.
Now we're looking at 1978 andhere we are in 2024, going into
(16:58):
2025.
How do you see the reactionfrom the people that first saw
it in its first conception, withthe reaction of a new audience
that's seeing it now because wehave used this term earlier in
our conversation.
That word is evolved, so it'sevolved into something really
spectacular over the last 40,almost 50 years.
(17:19):
So how are you seeing thereaction from the earlier years
to the reaction of new peopleseeing it now?
Speaker 2 (17:29):
I think I really started becoming aware of these
changes when we started touring,because I guess, unless you
tour your work, no matter whattype of artist you are solo
artist, a band, a show you don'tknow who's buying your records,
with small exception.
Now we know, and from the timewe started touring we're up to
(17:50):
three generations.
So when the War of the Worldscame out, it was a young
audience that was buying it,whether it was the albums, the
singles young as in mid-teens toprobably mid to late 20s.
Now it's three generations andthat original audience they've
become grandfathers and they'vebrought their children, who have
now started bringing theirchildren.
(18:11):
And it's quite remarkable.
And just to put that same pointinto perspective, last Saturday,
the biggest record shop inGreat Britain is part of the HMV
group and their flagship shopis in Oxford Street in London.
It's a big, big street withtons of shops and restaurants
(18:33):
etc.
I did a signing there of ournew double club album called Ula
Dabula Repressed in vinyl isthe original double album and I
was promoted as appearing forsignings from 2 to 3.30 in the
afternoon and all pre-sales toget into the shop for me to sign
for those who were attendingwere sold out, which was
(18:55):
thrilling, and that was around250 to 300 people.
So I was expected to end atabout 3.30 in the afternoon.
What we didn't anticipate wasthe amount of people that were
just going to show up and buythe records in the shop and then
queue up for me to meet you.
I was on the second store ofthis huge store and they were
queuing out on the street.
(19:16):
I suddenly was puffing my chestout sort of, or subconsciously
thinking, my goodness, this islike being a real artist here
and hit that point home.
There was a national radiostation that happened to be
driving by and they saw allthese people out on the streets
queuing to get in and they rangHMV and said who's there?
(19:39):
What's going on?
Whoever they spoke to at HMBtold them.
They said oh, wow.
They asked if I could do alittle interview and talk about
the event, which I did, but itwas booked for 5.30, thinking
okay, I didn't finish at 3.30.
I must be done by five o'clock.
And the people just kept comingand coming and I had to excuse
(19:59):
myself and apologize when I wentto another room to do this
radio interview and I came backand everybody was still there
piling in.
My last signing was at 8.21 andI looked at my phone so instead
of finishing at about 3.30, itwas closer to 8.30.
And it was just a reaction ofpeople that were coming from all
over Great Britain.
(20:19):
It was actually rather humbling, tony, because I had people
from Glasgow in Scotland, allaround the North and the South
of England.
I just thought it was going tobe people that were from London
and gave me their following andI'm signing whatever they came
to buy from the War of theWorlds, but it just amazed
everybody.
And coming back to the threegenerations, there were three
(20:42):
generations of families there,not everybody, but there were
enough to realize that there wasthe dad that was a young boy,
or a mom who is a young girl,who bought my original double
album in 1978 and thereabouts.
And now not only did they bringtheir children, their children
have brought their youngchildren, who are back in the
(21:03):
age group that the original fanswere.
So it was a true eye-opener.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
Yeah, that's truly outstanding.
Not only that, but it is takingit full circle for sure.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
You're right.
I think it is.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
When you have something like that happen,
that's way beyond your wildestdreams and expectations.
You said it was humbling, whichI totally understand.
It has to give you such aninner warmth.
Your music has not only touchedjust a group of people when you
started, but it's been passeddown to, like you said, parents,
(21:39):
to the kids, to, ultimately,the grandkids.
That has to feel like such anaccomplishment on your end and
then sit back and just take itall in.
You've got to be really proudnot only of what you've created,
but it has that lasting power.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
Well, thanks for saying that.
That's much appreciated, and,yeah, I am.
When you talk of pride, I'mvery proud of having created
something that's lasted so manyyears now and the fact that, in
a way, wayne's folly, as mymates in the band used to call
it, is maybe not such a follyafter all.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
Yeah, so what's next on the agenda?
You say that you've got toursfor 2025.
So, with everything that you'vegot going, the success you're
having what's next?
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Well, it's been over a year since we started planning
the next arena tour and that'swhat's happening next year.
Next March and April we goaround the UK, ireland, some
dates in Europe.
Once that's done, then I've gota couple of things that I'm
going to be doing beforeplanning, believe it or not,
(22:53):
which we're doing already withour promoters.
A 50th anniversary since therelease of my original double
album Fighting looks like it'sgoing to go on for a while, not
that I'm complaining.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Nice, yeah, nice.
So with everything that you'veaccomplished, you've done your
sports, you've done yourproductions, you've done the
show.
It's been almost 50 years now.
What's on the bucket list?
What are some of the thingsthat you think you'd like to do
that you haven't done yet?
Speaker 2 (23:25):
Well, when it comes to the War of the Worlds and
this is one of the things thatwhen I was saying I've got
planned after this next tour,it's to return to probably the
dream project, which is to turnmy musical version into either a
feature film or maybe astreaming service series,
because it not only lends itselfI mean, when you consider it's
(23:49):
science fiction, it'smusic-based, it's got vision and
it also goes back into anotherworld of Victorian England I
think it's got all theingredients.
Our tours now pretty much run inperfect sync with the live
performance of feature film.
So I think I've got all theingredients to make that happen.
(24:10):
I'm going to put a lot ofenergy in and I've been
approached over the years fromindependent film companies to a
couple of big ones who saw thesame vision but didn't quite
have enough time to develop itor agree the concept.
And I won't let go of thevision that HG Wells sort of
handed to me when his son, Frank, allowed me to, with my dad,
(24:33):
buy all these rights up and turnit into a musical work that was
a true reflection of the HGWells novels.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
There's an old saying that says things happen when
the time is appropriate oryou're ready for it.
Yeah, you're right.
I think everything has thisnatural progression.
And of course, the old sayingis if you push too hard, you can
push it away, but you can'tjust sit there and be nonchalant
about it.
So there's a fine line there tomake it all work.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
That's really a good thought, and I'm not nonchalant
about the War of the Worlds, butI think you're right when it's
time it happens.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
Is there anything else that you would like to put
out there that we might not havetouched upon?
Speaker 2 (25:15):
Well, I think you've been really good in the way you
steered me through it all.
I guess the only thing wehaven't mentioned is that it's
over five years now that weopened in the city of London.
An immersive experience Takesover a whole building.
It's 24 rooms, and when youenter it you're greeted by a
Martian fighting machine that'sfiring its heat ray at you in a
(25:38):
large restaurant and bar, alllooking like the world of
steampunk from Victorian times,including the people who serve
the restaurant and the bar, andthe whole building is set in the
way our musical version of theWar of the Worlds takes place.
But what we didn't anticipatemaybe in a way it's not that
(26:00):
different from the way theunexpected results of my
original double album happenedis that it was budgeted to run
for somewhere between three andsix months and it opened and it
just took off.
It's won just about every awardin the interactive world and
we've just passed our fifth yearand it's going to be running at
(26:22):
least till the end of theseventh year.
There is a comedy team in theUK here for many years called
Little and Large, and I comparemy immersive experience with
Little, whereas my arena toursare the Large, and so I've got
the Little and Large ofentertainment world with my
musical version of the War ofthe Worlds.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
Yeah, that's a great analogy.
I think it's just so good.
It's got to be comforting.
I guess you put something outthere and you have your ideas of
what you think it should do.
Then it's always nice when itexceeds that.
Then you can take comfort thatpeople are coming out and
enjoying all the hard work thatyou've put into it.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
You're right.
That's expressed beautifullyand thank you for saying that
again.
You're right.
There's nothing I can add tothat.
Speaker 1 (27:15):
I have to say I really appreciate you coming on.
This has been fantastic.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
Thank you very much, tony, and I hope we might meet
at some point.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
Yeah, yeah, that'd be great.
I'd certainly enjoy that.
Speaker 2 (27:29):
Indeed.
Thank you again, Tony.
Real good fun talking to you.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
It's been my pleasure .
Thanks for joining us today.
We hope you enjoyed the show.
This has been a Tony Mantourproduction.
For more information, contactmedia at plateau music dot com.
Music.
My career in the entertainmentindustry has enabled me to work
with a diverse range of talent.
Through my years of experience,I've recognized two essential
aspects.
Industry professionals, whetherfamous stars or
(00:28):
behind-the-scenes staff, havefascinating stories to tell.
Secondly, audiences are eagerto listen to these stories,
which offer a glimpse into theirlives and the evolution of
their life stories.
This podcast aims to sharethese narratives, providing
information on how they evolveinto their chosen career.
We will delve into theirjourney to stardom, discuss
(00:50):
their struggles and successesand hear from people who helped
them achieve their goals.
Get ready for intriguingbehind-the-scenes stories and
insights into the fascinatingworld of entertainment.
World of entertainment.
Hi, I'm Tony Mantour.
Welcome to Almost LiveNashville.
(01:10):
Our guest today is renownedAmerican-born British musician,
composer and record producer,jeff Wayne, who produced the
1978 rock opera based on HGWells' the War of the Worlds
With an initial goal of chartingfor just one week.
His album defied expectations,remaining on the charts for an
impressive 330 consecutive weeks.
(01:33):
I'm honored to have him join ustoday, so thanks for coming on.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Well, thank you for inviting me.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Oh, it's my pleasure.
So I understand you startedgetting into music at an early
age.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
It would have been around the age of 1920.
I had actually made my waythrough a junior college which
was, at the time, highlyregarded in journalism, and that
was my major.
I wanted to be an investigativejournalist and use music as
sort of an additional part of mylife.
Journalism was where I wasgoing and I got this AA degree,
(02:07):
an Associate of Arts, a two-yeardegree, and then realized music
was my greater passion.
I had been taking piano lessonssince the age of about five and
I had a couple of bands and wasbeginning my songwriting and
arranging career, but I switchedmajors and from that point on,
music has been my life.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Now, once you realized that music was going to
be it, you got out ofjournalism.
I understand that you was partof the group the Sandpipers for
a while.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
I was.
It was a group that was puttogether by a writer who was
writing the script for whatbecame a movie featuring Richard
Burton, coincidentally andElizabeth Taylor called the
Sandpiper, and the movie companywanted a band to promote the
movie and the starting point wasto write this song called the
(02:57):
Sandpiper.
And I joined this group calledthe Sandpipers, which was at the
time a guy and a girl who didthe main singing.
They played acoustic guitars, Idid the arranging, played
percussion instruments and werecorded the song.
It didn't get used and the guymarried the girl.
They went off on a catamaran,but somehow I stayed with for a
(03:22):
while a reformed group whichbecame the Sandpipers, and it
had the big hit Guantanamera, ofwhich I had nothing to do with
it because by that time I hadleft.
So I'll gladly accept in thebroadest sense that I was in a
group called the Sandpipers.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Well, that's definitely an interesting story.
Always take credit for what youcan take Now.
Is it before that, or was itafter that that your father was
in England doing his music?
Speaker 2 (03:53):
It was after we had come back from England.
I moved there with my dad andmy mom when I was about nine.
He had been quite a successfulentertainer, singer he had three
number ones in a row in theUnited States, did Broadway and
all sorts of other things andwas offered the role of Sky
Masterson, the romantic gamblerin the classic Broadway musical
(04:16):
Guys and Dolls, and that's whywe moved to England for the
first time.
So I was about nine and it'sonly when we came back first to
New York and then moved toCalifornia where my dad was
getting a lot of film workrecording again, touring, et
cetera that we moved toCalifornia and that's where my
college degree in journalism andthen majoring and turning to
(04:39):
music as a career happened.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Was it right before your music started kicking in
and you realized that music wasgoing to be the career that you
wanted to do?
Because before that, if mymemory serves me right, I
believe that you was fairly wellknown for what you was doing in
tennis.
Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Well, tennis has been my main sport throughout my
life.
Tony and I did play number onein high school and college and
was probably around nationalstandard, but it was still in
the amateur era.
Unless you were really on thecircuit and getting support from
the USTA, you didn't reallymake a living from it.
I did make a living teaching it, and it's only years later,
(05:24):
when we moved back to England,that I started competing again
and wound up winning nationaltitles as a veteran, which is
age 35 and over, and I'm notquite sure how a Yank wound up
playing for Great Britain twice,but I did, and I live in a
county called Hertfordshire,which is where I'm speaking to
(05:45):
you from.
I'm in my studio, but it's partof a bigger house where I've
lived for many years.
Hertfordshire is a home countyjust outside of London.
Yeah, I've captained theirmen's team for 35 years and
played in all the age groups andeven partnered on one of the
two occasions.
Somebody who's now a goodfriend of mine named Roger
Taylor, who was a three-timesemifinalist at Wimbledon, won
(06:08):
some Grand Slams and doubles andwas top 10 in the world when we
played the over 45 EuropeanChampionships for Great Britain.
He and I partnered in doubles,and we each played singles.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Wow, that's pretty impressive.
So you had quite a collectionof things that you did
throughout your early yearsbefore you actually grabbed a
hold of music to make it yourfull-time thing.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
Yeah, I did, and I had odd jobs when we lived in
New York, including deliveringmeat in the height of winter on
a bicycle, for a local butchersold my mother's American
cigarettes when we moved toEngland, on the corner of the
apartment, or flat as it wasknown, when we moved here when
my dad was doing Guys and Dolls.
A lot of odd jobs.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Yeah, nothing wrong with that at all.
You really made a name foryourself on the music that you
did with War of the Worlds.
You had something before thatthat created the path for you to
do what you wound up gettingwell known for.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
I did.
I had by that point.
When you're talking now aboutthe War of the Worlds, I started
working on it with my dad, whowe partnered on the project
around 1975.
But in the many years previousfrom, say, around 1969, I
started, I guess in a proud wayI say.
I was a backroom boy andreceived many commissions for
(07:32):
media work radio TV, a lot ofadvertising, some film work and
I started producing artists andhad some good success,
particularly with one artistnamed David Essex, who in fact
we were talking about Nashvilleearlier.
The reason I was in Nashvilleis a record that I had done with
David hit the top of the UScharts and I was sent to meet
(07:54):
some artists in Nashville withthe possibility of producing
them.
But now I was producing Davidand I was touring with him as
his MD.
I did arranging for the bandsand even put the bands together.
It was that period that the Warof the Worlds came along in my
life.
It was a book handed to me bymy dad because he knew I was
looking for a story that I mightfeel passionate about as a
(08:17):
composer, to try to interpret itin a musical form from a blank
page and it took about a year orso to find a book that I felt
that way about.
And it just happened to be thenight before going out on
another tour with David that mydad came over wishing me luck
for the tour and said oh, by theway, here's another book, and
(08:37):
it was HG Wells' the War of theWorlds, which I read while we
were on tour and I fell in lovewith it.
It turned out and I didn't knowthis it was a very dark
Victorian tale set in 1898.
And HG Wells wrote it witha viewto using his Martians as
invaders.
(08:57):
Not just a story of sciencefiction, fantasy, but taking a
pop even at the British Empire,which was probably at its peak
of expansionism during thatperiod, and he felt invasion by
any nation into another was justwrong.
So that's the heart of hisstory.
What I also fell in love withwas the secondary themes, which
(09:21):
weren't so secondary in truth,but it dealt with one's faith,
no matter what faith you wereabout, hope and things that were
worth living for, put those alltogether and it was a book that
just moved me and it was thebeginning of my relationship
with the story and what becamemy musical version.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Once you decided that this was going to be a project
you was going to work on, youwas going to have to map it out,
put it all together andultimately make it into what it
became.
What went through your mind toapproach it.
So it could be what you wantedit to be, but still be
commercial enough so the peoplewould want to come see it, hear
(10:05):
it and immerse themselves intoyour project, your baby.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Well, the starting point was the composing of what
became a double album.
I wasn't really thinking so farahead to believe what it's now
become, which has been in somany different versions and
iterations.
But when I saw that it wasgoing to come out as a double
album, my goal was to see itliterally in the UK album charts
(10:30):
for one week.
So I could sort of feel Ididn't let all these amazing
guest artists that were on mydouble album the band that I put
together who were top flightmusicians, the artist that
created paintings and the recordcompany which was CBS Records
in those days it's now part ofSony.
When it did come out, it had abig launch at the London
(10:50):
Planetarium with a full house ofmedia people interested enough
to come to have a listen, and wehad set a sight and sound show
at the Planetarium to my doublealbum set a sight and sound show
at the Planetarium to my doublealbum.
I remember afterward whenmeeting various journalists and
media people being asked whatwere my aspirations for this
double album, and I said youknow, I think if I could see it
(11:13):
in the UK album charts for oneweek, I would feel I hadn't let
anybody down that had workedwith me or backed me and not
realizing that it would stay inthe UK album charts for 330
consecutive weeks and it still,to this day, pops up now and
then in either the pop charts,the vinyl charts, the club
(11:33):
charts, with over 300 remixesnow that have been successful or
well played.
It's just had an amazing life.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
Yeah, it certainly has.
That's awesome.
So when you start out with yourhumble beginnings on anything,
you put your heart and soul intoit.
You have the hopes, like youjust said, if I could get it in
the charts for just a singleweek, that it would show the
people that was involved with itthat their efforts they put
into it was not in vain.
(12:02):
So what went through your mind?
It just took off.
I mean, you're getting peoplefrom the outside world just
coming to see you.
They're picking at you, pullingat you, tugging at you.
They're doing everything justto get a moment of your time,
because everything else isgetting so much more involved,
(12:23):
your time becomes so precious.
So how did you manage that?
Because it's tough for anybody.
So how do you manage it?
And what went through your mindwhile you was managing it or
trying to?
Speaker 2 (12:37):
That's a great question actually, tony, and I
think for me where it really hithome wasn't so much that it
jumped into the charts and wewere having two big
international hit singles fromit.
It was when I started beingasked by CBS to go around to
quite a number of countries topromote it where it was taking
(12:58):
off in the same way it washappening here in the UK.
I think that's when I realizedit was having an impact here in
the UK.
It happened so fast and I wasjust going from one opportunity
to another to talk about it,whether it was radio, tv, press,
which was pretty much themedium of the day, nothing
digital in that era.
(13:19):
So I was just kept so busy, soappreciative of the acceptance
by the public and the media,that I just went with it.
I didn't really have much timeto think about it beyond that.
To put it into perspective, Iguess the release happened at
the height of the punkrevolution here in the UK and
disco was king of the dancefloor.
(13:41):
And here I am, a Yank living inEngland interpreting a dark
Victorian tale.
Continuous play over two albums, no cuts.
So I didn't have the ease ofsort of being able to or anybody
for that matter picking up andfinding a tune that you might
want to play.
You had to find it and it justfound a slot.
(14:02):
I was a young guy at the timeand I remember thinking I had
the same sort of angst, in a way, as the guys and ladies who
were into performing and writingpunk music.
They were just doing it inthree-minute bursts.
I had to do it in 100 minutesto get all the angst out of me.
But some of my grooves, andparticularly the main theme,
(14:23):
they're straight out of thedisco world or the club world
and I think that's why somehowit connected on so many
different levels.
And now, looking back some 46years, the life that it's had in
every form is not somethingthat I could have remotely
predicted or I'd be sitting withyou.
You're in Nashville, I'm herein Hertfordshire, england,
talking to you about the samework that's been around in my
(14:45):
life now for 46 years.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
That truly is pretty amazing.
If you look at a lot of singersthat have made their mark in
the world of music, they've hadthat one single that has kind of
defined them, and usually thatjust doesn't go away.
Then they continue to work ontheir body of work to create
more With you.
(15:08):
This seemed to just blow up ina certain way that it became its
own body of work and over theyears it just keeps reinventing
itself.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
You're right, and I could never have predicted that.
It's now been an arena toursince we started in 2006.
It's all the big arenas aroundthe UK and Ireland.
We played many countries inEurope and as far as Australia
and New Zealand.
It's been in the West End.
I've conducted every show.
(15:42):
I've never missed a show.
In fact, next year we'retouring again the UK and Ireland
and some dates in Europe.
It's a production that's justgrown in emotion and scale.
Technology has changed so muchso that if you were to compare
the first tour we did and theone we're going out with next
(16:02):
year, it's almost unrecognizablein the spectacular elements of
it.
We use not just the stage butwe're out in the audience, over
the audience, and I have the joyof conducting on stage a band
that's largely been with me allthese same years and a symphonic
string orchestra and as aconductor.
(16:22):
Other than a 20-minute interval.
It's a continuous work of abouttwo and a half hours now and I
always feel my feet never touchthe ground.
I'm sort of like a hovercraftuntil the show's over and I land
back on earth.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
Wow, this next question.
I think your answer is going tobe quite interesting.
I think your answer is going tobe quite interesting because
the original concept I believeit was 1978 that it was released
.
Now we're looking at 1978 andhere we are in 2024, going into
(16:58):
2025.
How do you see the reactionfrom the people that first saw
it in its first conception, withthe reaction of a new audience
that's seeing it now because wehave used this term earlier in
our conversation.
That word is evolved, so it'sevolved into something really
spectacular over the last 40,almost 50 years.
(17:19):
So how are you seeing thereaction from the earlier years
to the reaction of new peopleseeing it now?
Speaker 2 (17:29):
I think I really started becoming aware of these
changes when we started touring,because I guess, unless you
tour your work, no matter whattype of artist you are solo
artist, a band, a show you don'tknow who's buying your records,
with small exception.
Now we know, and from the timewe started touring we're up to
(17:50):
three generations.
So when the War of the Worldscame out, it was a young
audience that was buying it,whether it was the albums, the
singles young as in mid-teens toprobably mid to late 20s.
Now it's three generations andthat original audience they've
become grandfathers and they'vebrought their children, who have
now started bringing theirchildren.
(18:11):
And it's quite remarkable.
And just to put that same pointinto perspective, last Saturday,
the biggest record shop inGreat Britain is part of the HMV
group and their flagship shopis in Oxford Street in London.
It's a big, big street withtons of shops and restaurants
(18:33):
etc.
I did a signing there of ournew double club album called Ula
Dabula Repressed in vinyl isthe original double album and I
was promoted as appearing forsignings from 2 to 3.30 in the
afternoon and all pre-sales toget into the shop for me to sign
for those who were attendingwere sold out, which was
(18:55):
thrilling, and that was around250 to 300 people.
So I was expected to end atabout 3.30 in the afternoon.
What we didn't anticipate wasthe amount of people that were
just going to show up and buythe records in the shop and then
queue up for me to meet you.
I was on the second store ofthis huge store and they were
queuing out on the street.
(19:16):
I suddenly was puffing my chestout sort of, or subconsciously
thinking, my goodness, this islike being a real artist here
and hit that point home.
There was a national radiostation that happened to be
driving by and they saw allthese people out on the streets
queuing to get in and they rangHMV and said who's there?
(19:39):
What's going on?
Whoever they spoke to at HMBtold them.
They said oh, wow.
They asked if I could do alittle interview and talk about
the event, which I did, but itwas booked for 5.30, thinking
okay, I didn't finish at 3.30.
I must be done by five o'clock.
And the people just kept comingand coming and I had to excuse
(19:59):
myself and apologize when I wentto another room to do this
radio interview and I came backand everybody was still there
piling in.
My last signing was at 8.21 andI looked at my phone so instead
of finishing at about 3.30, itwas closer to 8.30.
And it was just a reaction ofpeople that were coming from all
over Great Britain.
(20:19):
It was actually rather humbling, tony, because I had people
from Glasgow in Scotland, allaround the North and the South
of England.
I just thought it was going tobe people that were from London
and gave me their following andI'm signing whatever they came
to buy from the War of theWorlds, but it just amazed
everybody.
And coming back to the threegenerations, there were three
(20:42):
generations of families there,not everybody, but there were
enough to realize that there wasthe dad that was a young boy,
or a mom who is a young girl,who bought my original double
album in 1978 and thereabouts.
And now not only did they bringtheir children, their children
have brought their youngchildren, who are back in the
(21:03):
age group that the original fanswere.
So it was a true eye-opener.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
Yeah, that's truly outstanding.
Not only that, but it is takingit full circle for sure.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
You're right.
I think it is.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
When you have something like that happen,
that's way beyond your wildestdreams and expectations.
You said it was humbling, whichI totally understand.
It has to give you such aninner warmth.
Your music has not only touchedjust a group of people when you
started, but it's been passeddown to, like you said, parents,
(21:39):
to the kids, to, ultimately,the grandkids.
That has to feel like such anaccomplishment on your end and
then sit back and just take itall in.
You've got to be really proudnot only of what you've created,
but it has that lasting power.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
Well, thanks for saying that.
That's much appreciated, and,yeah, I am.
When you talk of pride, I'mvery proud of having created
something that's lasted so manyyears now and the fact that, in
a way, wayne's folly, as mymates in the band used to call
it, is maybe not such a follyafter all.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
Yeah, so what's next on the agenda?
You say that you've got toursfor 2025.
So, with everything that you'vegot going, the success you're
having what's next?
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Well, it's been over a year since we started planning
the next arena tour and that'swhat's happening next year.
Next March and April we goaround the UK, ireland, some
dates in Europe.
Once that's done, then I've gota couple of things that I'm
going to be doing beforeplanning, believe it or not,
(22:53):
which we're doing already withour promoters.
A 50th anniversary since therelease of my original double
album Fighting looks like it'sgoing to go on for a while, not
that I'm complaining.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Nice, yeah, nice.
So with everything that you'veaccomplished, you've done your
sports, you've done yourproductions, you've done the
show.
It's been almost 50 years now.
What's on the bucket list?
What are some of the thingsthat you think you'd like to do
that you haven't done yet?
Speaker 2 (23:25):
Well, when it comes to the War of the Worlds and
this is one of the things thatwhen I was saying I've got
planned after this next tour,it's to return to probably the
dream project, which is to turnmy musical version into either a
feature film or maybe astreaming service series,
because it not only lends itselfI mean, when you consider it's
(23:49):
science fiction, it'smusic-based, it's got vision and
it also goes back into anotherworld of Victorian England I
think it's got all theingredients.
Our tours now pretty much run inperfect sync with the live
performance of feature film.
So I think I've got all theingredients to make that happen.
(24:10):
I'm going to put a lot ofenergy in and I've been
approached over the years fromindependent film companies to a
couple of big ones who saw thesame vision but didn't quite
have enough time to develop itor agree the concept.
And I won't let go of thevision that HG Wells sort of
handed to me when his son, Frank, allowed me to, with my dad,
(24:33):
buy all these rights up and turnit into a musical work that was
a true reflection of the HGWells novels.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
There's an old saying that says things happen when
the time is appropriate oryou're ready for it.
Yeah, you're right.
I think everything has thisnatural progression.
And of course, the old sayingis if you push too hard, you can
push it away, but you can'tjust sit there and be nonchalant
about it.
So there's a fine line there tomake it all work.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
That's really a good thought, and I'm not nonchalant
about the War of the Worlds, butI think you're right when it's
time it happens.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
Is there anything else that you would like to put
out there that we might not havetouched upon?
Speaker 2 (25:15):
Well, I think you've been really good in the way you
steered me through it all.
I guess the only thing wehaven't mentioned is that it's
over five years now that weopened in the city of London.
An immersive experience Takesover a whole building.
It's 24 rooms, and when youenter it you're greeted by a
Martian fighting machine that'sfiring its heat ray at you in a
(25:38):
large restaurant and bar, alllooking like the world of
steampunk from Victorian times,including the people who serve
the restaurant and the bar, andthe whole building is set in the
way our musical version of theWar of the Worlds takes place.
But what we didn't anticipatemaybe in a way it's not that
(26:00):
different from the way theunexpected results of my
original double album happenedis that it was budgeted to run
for somewhere between three andsix months and it opened and it
just took off.
It's won just about every awardin the interactive world and
we've just passed our fifth yearand it's going to be running at
(26:22):
least till the end of theseventh year.
There is a comedy team in theUK here for many years called
Little and Large, and I comparemy immersive experience with
Little, whereas my arena toursare the Large, and so I've got
the Little and Large ofentertainment world with my
musical version of the War ofthe Worlds.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
Yeah, that's a great analogy.
I think it's just so good.
It's got to be comforting.
I guess you put something outthere and you have your ideas of
what you think it should do.
Then it's always nice when itexceeds that.
Then you can take comfort thatpeople are coming out and
enjoying all the hard work thatyou've put into it.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
You're right.
That's expressed beautifullyand thank you for saying that
again.
You're right.
There's nothing I can add tothat.
Speaker 1 (27:15):
I have to say I really appreciate you coming on.
This has been fantastic.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
Thank you very much, tony, and I hope we might meet
at some point.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
Yeah, yeah, that'd be great.
I'd certainly enjoy that.
Speaker 2 (27:29):
Indeed.
Thank you again, Tony.
Real good fun talking to you.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
It's been my pleasure .
Thanks for joining us today.
We hope you enjoyed the show.
This has been a Tony Mantourproduction.
For more information, contactmedia at plateau music dot com.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Ridiculous History
History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.