Tell Me On A Sunday - Background

Background

The musical is based on an idea originally conceived by Tim Rice, who intended to develop it as a cycle of television shows with songwriting partner Andrew Lloyd Webber. The two relished working on a small-scale project following Evita. Shortly after they began working, however, Lloyd Webber realized Rice was writing specifically for Elaine Paige, with whom the married father of two young children was having a blatant affair. Lloyd Webber felt that allowing Paige to appear in the series would suggest he approved of the relationship, so he decided to look for a new lyricist. He opted for Don Black who, following a successful stint in Hollywood (including an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Born Free"), had begun writing for the theatre. Although it had proven to be unsuccessful, his Bar Mitzvah Boy had impressed Lloyd Webber, who thought Black would be a good match.

Rice's original concept had kept 'the girl' in the UK. It was Black who suggested she emigrate to the States. He quickly began writing lyrics for several tunes Lloyd Webber already had composed. It was their intent to present as complete a work as possible at the Sydmonton Festival in September 1979. The two decided to cast Marti Webb, who was portraying Eva Perón at the matinee performances of Evita, as their heroine.

The show was positively received at Sydmonton Festival in 1979, which promoted the release of a recording later that year, and a special one-hour BBC television show recorded at the Royalty Theatre in London on 28 January 1980. The broadcast on 12 February was a critical success and garnered high ratings; thus repeated the following month. Following its transmission, the album reached #2 on the UK charts, and the single release "Take That Look Off Your Face" reached #3.

Lloyd Webber decided the piece would work well on the stage if paired appropriately with another one-act piece. He previously had considered writing a brief operatic piece about the friendship between Giacomo Puccini and Ruggiero Leoncavallo, going so far as to compose the melody that later would become "Memory" for it, but decided it wouldn't fit well with 'the girl's' saga. He tried adapting the Charles Dickens work The Signal-Man, but decided it was too gloomy and rejected it as well. Eventually he and Black set aside Tell Me on a Sunday and turned to other projects.