Get Onto My Cloud: The Tim Rice Podcast
Get Onto My Cloud has Tim at his chatty witty best, where he talks about his career in theatre and music, his colleagues and friends (plus the odd foe) and sometimes roams off stage to discuss other important matters in his life such as cricket, astronomy, Sunderland FC and boxer dogs. You can also expect to listen to recordings of some of his favourite lyrics (not always the obvious ones) and he reveals how and why some shows worked brilliantly and some didn’t.
Described as “Relaxed, casual, essential listening for musical theatre fans and historians.”
Sir Tim Rice wrote the lyrics for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Chess and The Lion King, to name but five. The composers he has worked with include Andrew Lloyd Webber, Elton John, Alan Menken, ABBA’s Bjorn and Benny and Freddie Mercury.
26
Teddy and Carl and the JCS movie.
Tim looks back at the 1973 Norman Jewison film of Jesus Christ Superstar, and in particular at the great contributions from Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson. He has just about got over the rejection of his screenplay and André Previn’s contributions.
24 min
27
PG Wodehouse, Jeeves and Me
For a while Tim thought that the best follow-up to JC Superstar would be a musical based on Jeeves and Bertie Wooster. Turned out not to be a good idea.
22 min
28
Chess On Broadway
Tim recalls the ups and mainly downs of Chess on the great White Way in 1988. He was abandoned in a remote lay-by, Inspiring a film starring Bob Geldof, and lost a packet when the show closed after eight weeks. But a couple of great new songs were added to the already very popular score.
23 min
29
Which comes first, music or words?
Tim wrestles with the eternal songwriter’s dilemma - which comes first, the words of the music? Andrew Lloyd Webber generally liked music first, Elton John always the words first. Dipping into songs from his first ever musical with Andrew and into the Lion King score he wrote with Elton, Tim attempts to see which way round works best.
24 min
30
The Lost Cricket Musical
Tim reveals all about the last complete musical he wrote with Andrew Lloyd Webber, Cricket (Hearts and Wickets), just 30 minutes long, commissioned by HRH Prince Edward for HM The Queen’s 60th birthday in 1986. No official recording exists but Tim tells the tale with selections of the lyrics and a couple of the actual songs. Surely the theatre world would appreciate a new, complete recording? Well he would anyway.
24 min
31
Land of Hope and Glory
Tim is inspired by a 1944 theatre poster of a play which is totally forgotten today; however it has a great emotional impact for him, reminding him of the great times and success he and Andrew Lloyd Webber enjoyed with their manager the late David Land. It’s possible to succeed without taking yourself too seriously. In fact David Land proved it’s almost essential.
26 min
32
The Guinness Book Of British Hit Singles
Tim tells the story of the creation of the unofficial Bible of the British charts in their glory years - the series of books he founded with brother Jo, Paul Gambaccini and Mike Read. Tommy Steele, Kate Bush and Billy Fury illustrate his tale.
23 min
33
Evita on Broadway
Tim goes back to the 1979 début of Evita on Broadway, starring the gifted and eccentric Patti LuPone, Mandy Patinkin and Bob Gunton. He also reports on embarrassing meetings with Bonnie and Clyde.
22 min
34
Pity The Singer
Tim goes through the process that eventually led to the creation of Pity The Child, beginning with a Benny instrumental and a Bjorn vocal. The song is perhaps the most challenging in the Chess score, which Murray Head conquered impressively. He recalls car theft, non-appearance of moose and One Night in Trosa, a beautiful town on the Swedish Archipelago.
24 min
35
Da Doo Ron Ronnie
Tim recalls two meetings with the legendary Ronnie Spector, thirty years apart, on the TV show Ready Steady Go and in the recording studio. He describes his first ever television appearance, lip-syncing to a top ten hit by a Liverpudlian star of the swinging sixties. And he reveals how he once kept the Beatles from number one.
23 min
36
How To Write A Hit Musical - the 10 Golden Rules
Tim reveals his infallible 10-point guide to writing a successful musical, researched and acquired after over a half a century of on and off stage bewilderment.
21 min
37
Run for cover
Tim digs up some cover versions of four of his best-known songs performed by boxing legends Barbra Streisand, Neil Diamond and Brian Wilson - and music legend Mike Tyson; or possibly the other way round.
25 min
38
Jesus Christ Superstar - Friend Of Dorothy
Tim describes the recent NBC TV concert presentation of Jesus Christ Superstar that starred John Legend, Sara Bareilles, Alice Cooper and Brandon Victor Dixon. He looks back at Dorothy L. Sayers' 12-play cycle about Jesus’ life and death broadcast by the BBC at the height of World War II and surprisingly finds a few aspects common to both works.
23 min
39
Chess #5
For the 5th time, in response to staggering public demand, Tim dips into his vast library of Chess out-takes, in-takes and mis-takes that were laid down in the 83/84 recordings of the original album. Bjorn as Arbiter and is also a one-man chorus to Murray on Bangkok. Elaine sings I Know Him So Well on her own. Plus a treat from her Xmas album. Yule be delighted.
20 min
40
It’s Only Words
Tim reveals some of his childhood lyric-writing influences which include Salad Days and My Fair Lady, Flanders and Swann and several great rock n roll lyricists including Jerry Lieber, Felice & Boudleaux Bryant, Jerry Lieber & Eddie Cochran. He plays a couple of his own later efforts sung by David Essex & Chaka Khan.
27 min
41
Alan Menken Superstar
Tim is amazed to realise that he has written around 50 songs with the great American composer Alan Menken, 8-time Oscar winner and fellow EGOT. So Podcast 32 features five of their joint compositions, including a song that never made it into Aladdin and a couple of items from King David. Judy Kuhn, Dan Stevens, Jonathan Freeman, Brad Kane and Alan himself vocalise.
25 min
42
Wizard of Oz/Down On the Farm
Tim recalls Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 2011 stage production of The Wizard Of Oz at the London Palladium for which he and ALW added 4 songs to the immortal Harburg/Arlen score. Hannah Waddingham is a stirring Wicked Witch of the West and Michael Crawford, Shonagh Daly and Maynard Williams sing some lesser-known TR gems - unjustly lesser-known of course.
23 min
43
Me and Peggy Sue
Long-time Buddy Holly fan, Tim wrote the third part of a Peggy Sue trilogy with Bobby Vee, fellow Holly aficionado and major recording star in his own right, entitled Whatever Happened To Peggy Sue? The next part of the story begun by Peggy Sue and Peggy Sue Got Married. Find out, possibly, what did happen to the real and fictitious Peggy Sue in Get Onto My Cloud 30, starring Buddy Holly and a rare Bobby Vee/Tim Rice recording.
24 min
44
Chess and The Queen’s Gambit
The huge success of the excellent Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit has shown that a story based in the world of chess can be entertaining even to non-players. Tim hopes that the musical Chess also demonstrated that back in 1984 and continues to do so. The 29th edition of his podcast features some unreleased demos from the original recordings and some thoughts about The Queen’s Gambit.
22 min
45
Scorpio Rising
Apparently Madonna (Leo) won’t work with Scorpios so Tim now knows why she hasn’t been in touch for 24 years. Despite this rebuff he plays her delicate Evita interpretation of Another Suitcase. Also featured are Tony Christie, Julie Covington, Colm Wilkinson, Jimmy Nail, the legendary DJ Pete Murray and the Joseph Consortium. A Mixed Bag indeed.
25 min
46
Way way back half a century ago
Tim returns to his very early days as a songwriter, playing some fairly obscure stuff written with Andrew Lloyd Webber half a century ago. Singers include Elvis Presley (obviously not an obscure performer), the fine actress Sandra Bernhard and Tim Rice (yes, the same). Jimi Hendrix contributes unwittingly to one track.
25 min
47
Chess: more early moves
Tim unearths more demos and early (some very early) versions of songs from the Chess score, including Heaven Help My Heart, Where I Want To Be and Embassy Lament.
22 min
48
One-Offs
Tim recalls songs written with composer maestros Graham Gouldman, Vangelis, Richard Kerr and Florrie Palmer. None stormed the charts and weren't even expected to, but they remain among his favourite stand alone compositions. Singers include 10cc, Nana Mouskouri, Richard Kerr and Elaine Paige.
23 min
49
JCS 50 years on
Exactly 50 years to the month after the original studio album of Jesus Christ Superstar was issued, Tim recalls many of the musicians, singers and studio team that helped to create the recording that launched his career and that of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Ian Gillan sings Gethsemane and Mike d'Abo King Herod. Johnny Gus belts Simon Zealotes. Tim thinks the album was a good one. A bad review is included for balance.
25 min
50
Oscartime
In the 1990s Tim was lucky enough to win three Best Song Oscars, each with a different composer. He explains how this curious state of affairs came to happen and plays the three winning numbers. He also confesses that he was once nominated for a Golden Raspberry in the worst film song category. Mercifully he did not win that one.
27 min