FEATURE LIST
I Ms J. Soutar(Winnerol The List’s Cats competition) ‘l‘ve only really seen his stuffon telly. It sounds quite good. [enjoyed Evira— I‘ve got the record ofthat — but that was quite a few years ago. And I like the songs I‘ve heard from Phantom Of The Opera‘.
IAllan Campbell (Presenter ol Scottish Television’s N8) ‘Over-rated.
ove r-exposed. overweight. over thirty. over-the-top. overpaid. over-ambitious and. . . unfortunately over here.‘
I Steve Nallon (‘Mrs Thatcher’ on stage and on Spitting Image; author of the unolticial autobiography I, Margaret) ‘Mrs Thatcher thinks they’re very (want garde melodies. but she still sings along to them in the bath. She can hardly choose between them and the classics. like Elgar. Chopin and Mendelssohn. She wants him to write a musical about her life — which would of course be more successful than
Evita.‘
w” ‘ ‘ V V 7“ i“§§t'€\ _
I Craig Ferguson (Comedian)
‘l le‘s got to be Captain of the Lucky Club. I‘ve seen one dreadful one — the Jesus Christy one — fucking rubbish! [just think he‘s a vastly over-rated mediocrity.‘
I Joyce McMillan (Theatre critic)
‘1 don‘t think he‘s ever done a show with more than one memorable song in it. The suggestion that he will be remembered as the Puccini ofhis time is searingly insulting to Puccini. I find his music banal and highly derivative, and I suspect his commercial success says a great deal about the moribund nature of West
End theatre.‘
I David McLellan (Director, WildcatTheatre Company)
‘Andrew Lloyd-Webber and the West End deserve each other.‘
I Victor & Barry(Leading lights otthe North ! Kelvinslde Young People's Amateur Dramatics Society) in suspended animation ‘Victor: Cats in Edinburgh?'.’ I thought Glasgow was the City of Culture.
Barry: Exactly. Victor! I‘m just glad I don‘t have to buy the Whiskas. Victor: Or clean out the litter tray.
Barry: Mmmm! T.S.Eliot will be turning in his catsuit!‘
I Ouentin Cooper (Producer oi BBC Radio Scotland's Bite The Wax) ‘You can fool all the people all the time ifthe people are ready to be fooled. My mum likes him — 1 don‘t. lsupposethe greatest musical venture with which he‘s vaguely connected was the Sarah Brightman and Hot Gossip single I Lost My Heart To A Stars/zip Trooper‘.
I Kit llesketh Harvey (Singerand satirist)
‘lt‘s Hamburgerology — the McDonalds school of composition. A small
amount of meat of dubious origin; a lot of bread; a great deal of skilfully blended dressing; and a marketing strategy that‘s unassailable. Junk
culture. Bon appetir.‘
I Dave Anderson (Musical director, Wildcat Theatre Company)
‘The visit of (‘uls to Edinburgh is so trivial I don‘t even want to give it thought.‘
I Amotd Brown (Retired Accountant)
‘Well they experimented on us with the Poll Tax. so it‘s quite good we‘re not getting anything new tried out on us now. Maybe we're getting ('uts last asa sort ofreward. All the same I think there should be a Say No To Andrew Lloyd Webber campaign. lmean. where‘s the relevance? What about songs like Don 'r ( ‘r'v For Me Wester H rules or MauriceJohnston. .S'uperstar'.’ ‘
I John Moore (Conductor ol pertormances otRequiem in Scotland)
‘To most people. Andrew is an enigma. ()n meeting him he‘s quite charming. to work with exactingand to be with at times unnerving. He seems as talented at business as he is at popularising his musicals. I hope that he might return to his roots. either by writing another Joseph or by giving choruses a new work similar to Requiem. However. whilst the bright lights of the West [End still shine for him there‘s probably little chancef
I John Clifford (Playwright) ‘1 le makes a lot of money -— I wish I made as much as him.‘
The List 10— 23 November 1989 7