Friedman, Ball, Ellis and Stilgoe Star At A LIFE IN SONG: LYRICS BY DON BLACK!
By: Carrie Dunn Oct. 04, 2013
Musical theatre royalty paid tribute to lyricist Don Black at the Royal Festival Hall last night as he celebrated 50 years in showbiz.
A touring production will start in the spring, with artists to be announced; and last night's show, featuring Black being interviewed by Michael Grade, will be shown on BBC4 later this year.
Highlights included:
- Katie Melua giving a unique acoustic interpretation of the James Bond classic Diamonds Are Forever
- Composer David Arnold singing his Bond song The World Is Not Enough,
- Brian May and Kerry Ellis collaborating on Born Free
- fellow lyricist Richard Stilgoe's Funny Rhyming Song, dedicated to Don
- Eliza Doolittle singing The Man With The Golden Gun, and her mother Frances Ruffelle sang To Sir With Love
- Joanna Riding gave a world exclusive performance of a song from Andrew Lloyd Webber's forthcoming musical Stephen Ward, to which Don Black wrote the lyrics.
- Maria Friedman managed to elicit a standing ovation from Lloyd Webber when she sang songs from Sunset Boulevard
- Preeya Kalidas, now better known for her TV work, reprising her role from Bombay Dreams for a performance of Shakalaka Baby
- Marc Almond performing Black's first Bond song Thunderball - Don Black told Michael Grade who was hosting that when Tom Jones originally recorded, he did it in one take, and fainted at the end because of the high note.
- Michael Ball closing the show with Love Changes Everything - and Don also took to the mic as well to sing with all the other performers.
Note: this article was edited on October 5 and 6 and corrected; Joanna Riding, not Maria Friedman, performed the song from Stephen Ward,
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