Jeff Wayne
Jeffrey "Jeff" Wayne (born July 1, 1943 in Forest Hills , Queens, New York ) is an American composer and musician ( keyboard , synthesizer ), best known for his musical Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of the War of the Worlds based on the novel war of the worlds ( the war of the worlds ) by HG Wells has become known.
Life
In 1953 the family moved to London because his father was hired as an interpreter for Guys and Dolls . Four years later she returned to New York. After high school I studied journalism (honored for an interview with Martin Luther King ). During his student days he composed songs for various artists.
In 1966 he returned to London and studied at Trinity College of Music . He composed the musical Two Cities with his father Jerry . He became a composer, arranger and producer (advertising industry). In 1974 he produced the first hit Rock On for his friend David Essex . After three years of preparation, a musical version of HG Wells' novel War of the Worlds was published in 1978 . He was supported by his family. His mother wrote the dialogues, and his father spoke the voices of NASA control in the epilogue . His friend David Essex spoke and sang the artilleryman, and guitarist Jo Partridge provided important impulses for the musical heat ray theme. Actor Richard Burton took on the leading role of the narrator . Then Jeff Wayne asked about the man who had sung Nights in White Satin . So Justin Hayward , frontman of the Moody Blues , came to the project, who sang the most successful songs of the musical. Justin Hayward also sang The Eve of the War and Forever Autumn on his 2006, 2007 and 2009 tour. As a thank you, Jeff Wayne produced Justin's solo album Night Flight in 1980, for which he also wrote some songs, for another Hayward album, Moving Mountains , he wrote the song Silverbird .
In 1992 there was a musical reworking of the Spartacus theme called Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of Spartacus , with prominent participation by actors and musicians such as Anthony Hopkins , Catherine Zeta-Jones , Ladysmith Black Mambazo Fish as well as Chris Thompson and Jo Partridge , which caused a stir , but had far less success. In April 2006, War of the Worlds was performed live with him as a conductor for the first time in Great Britain . It then went on tour a year later in New Zealand and Australia and again in Great Britain at the end of the year.
Jeff Wayne was also active as a composer for documentaries, television and cinema films since the late 1960s. In the 1970s and 1980s he composed the music for the British thriller Rendezvous with Death starring Richard Harris , Ann Turkel and Gordon Jackson, and in 1980 he created the score for the film LA Prisoner by director Tom Clegg . Prominent cast with Roger Daltrey , Adam Faith and Steven Berkoff .
family
Jeff and his wife Geraldine live in Hertfordshire, England and have four children: Anna-Marie Wayne - an actress who also starred in the live performance of War of the Worlds - Jemma Wayne - an author who wrote her book in 2005 Bare Necessities brought out -, Zeb Wayne - a DJ in the London club scene who also composes and produces music and whose brother Joab Wayne is still a student and is training to become a professional tennis player one day.
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 UK
|
|||
| 1978 | Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of the War of the Worlds |
DE10 (26 weeks) DE |
UK5  × 9
(240 weeks)UK |
First published: June 1978
|
| 1981 | Highlights from Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of the War of the Worlds | - |
UK64  (5 weeks)UK |
First published: 1981
Chart entry: October 1996 |
| 1992 | Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of Spartacus | - |
UK36 (2 weeks) UK |
First published: September 1992
|
| 2012 | Musical Version of the War of the Worlds - The New Generation | - |
UK13 (10 weeks)UK |
First published: November 2012
|
more publishments
- 1976: David Essex: on tour (keyboardist and producer)
- 1976: David Essex: Out on the Street (keyboardist and producer)
- 1980: Music version of The War of the Worlds
- 2000: Musical Version of the War of the Worlds ULLAdubULLA - The Remix Album
- 2006: Musical Version of the War of the Worlds ULLAdubULLA II - The Remix Album
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
UK
|
|||
| 1978 | Eve of the War Musical Version of the War of the Worlds |
- |
UK36 (8 weeks) UK |
First published: August 1978
|
| 1982 | Matador single track |
- |
UK57 (3 weeks) UK |
First published: June 1982
|
| 1989 | Eve of the War ( Ben Liebrand Remix) single track |
- |
UK3 (10 weeks) UK |
First published: November 1989
|
Video albums
- 2008: Musical Version of the War of the Worlds - LIVE on Stage DVD (UK:× 3Triple platinum )
- 2013: The War Of The Worlds - New Generation (UK:platinum)
Filmography (selection)
- 1967: 9 Days in Summer (documentary)
- 1971: The Anatomy of a Pin-Up (short documentary)
- 1975: The Christmas Messenger (short film)
- 1977: Rendezvous with Death (Golden Rendezvous)
- 1979: Mister Burgess' Tour (TV movie)
- 1980: LA Prisoner (McVicar)
- 1983: Good Morning Britain (TV series, 1 episode)
Web links
- Jeff Wayne in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Sound carrier by Jeff Wayne in the catalog of the German National Library
- official website of Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of the War of the Worlds
- Jeff Wayne Music
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wayne, Jeff |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Wayne, Jeffrey (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American composer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 1, 1943 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Forest Hills , Queens, New York , United States |