Julie Covington
Encyclopedia
Julie Covington is an English
singer and actress, best known for recording
the original version of "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina
".
, she was invited to sing
on David Frost
's television
show – after which she secured a recording contract
.
She followed this early success with her 1971 Godspell
casting at The Roundhouse
, then with her 1972 original cast recording of Godspell (Day by Day) and her role as the original Janet Weiss in The Rocky Horror Show
in 1973, a show she had to leave early because of an accident.
Between 1974 and 1984 Covington appeared regularly in the companies of the National Theatre
and the Royal Court Theatre
, creating such roles as Alice in Plenty
, Vivienne Eliot in Tom and Viv (for which she received an Olivier Award nomination) and Edward in the original production of Caryl Churchill's
Cloud Nine
.
In 1976 she appeared with the English National Opera
as Anna in The Seven Deadly Sins. The same year saw her appearing in the television program
me, Rock Follies
.
Rock Follies led to her landing the title role in the original studio recording
of the Andrew Lloyd Webber
and Tim Rice
musical Evita. This had been offered to singer Elkie Brooks, who turned it down. Covington scored an international number one with the song
"Don't Cry for Me Argentina"; the single reached #1 in the UK Singles Chart
in February 1977. She was later given the opportunity to originate the role in the stage production of "Evita", but she declined, explaining that she thought the impact of her recording would be diminished, and Elaine Paige
took the role.
In 1978, Covington performed the role of Beth, wife of Parson Nathaniel (Phil Lynott
), on Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds
.
Covington achieved chart success with a cover version
of Alice Cooper
's "Only Women Bleed
" from her eponymous 1978 album. It reached #12 on the UK chart.
Following a second solo
album
and guesting on other artists
' albums she returned to the theatre.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
singer and actress, best known for recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
the original version of "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina
Don't Cry for Me, Argentina
"Don't Cry for Me Argentina" is a song from the 1978 musical Evita with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Sung by the title character Eva Perón, it was titled “It's Only Your Lover Returning” before Rice settled on the eventual name...
".
Career
Covington's break came in 1967 when, while still a student at Homerton College, CambridgeHomerton College, Cambridge
Homerton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England.With around 1,200 students, Homerton has more students than any other Cambridge college, although less than half of these live in the college. The college has a long and complex history dating back to the...
, she was invited to sing
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
on David Frost
David Frost (broadcaster)
Sir David Paradine Frost, OBE is a British journalist, comedian, writer, media personality and daytime TV game show host best known for his two decades as host of Through the Keyhole and serious interviews with various political figures, the most notable being Richard Nixon...
's television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
show – after which she secured a recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
.
She followed this early success with her 1971 Godspell
Godspell
Godspell is a musical by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak. It opened off Broadway on May 17, 1971, and has played in various touring companies and revivals many times since, including a 2011 revival now playing on Broadway...
casting at The Roundhouse
The Roundhouse
The Roundhouse is a Grade II* listed former railway engine shed in Chalk Farm, London, England, which has been converted into a performing arts and concert venue. It was originally built in 1847 as a roundhouse , a circular building containing a railway turntable, but was only used for railway...
, then with her 1972 original cast recording of Godspell (Day by Day) and her role as the original Janet Weiss in The Rocky Horror Show
The Rocky Horror Show
The Rocky Horror Show is a long-running British horror comedy stage musical, which opened in London on 19 June 1973. It was written by Richard O'Brien, produced and directed by Jim Sharman. It came eighth in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the "Nation's Number One Essential Musicals"...
in 1973, a show she had to leave early because of an accident.
Between 1974 and 1984 Covington appeared regularly in the companies of the National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
and the Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
, creating such roles as Alice in Plenty
Plenty (play)
Plenty is a play by David Hare, first performed in 1978, about British post-war disillusion. Susan Traherne, a former secret agent, is a woman conflicted by the contrast between her past, exciting triumphs—she had worked behind enemy lines as a Special Operations Executive courier in Nazi-occupied...
, Vivienne Eliot in Tom and Viv (for which she received an Olivier Award nomination) and Edward in the original production of Caryl Churchill's
Caryl Churchill
Caryl Churchill is an English dramatist known for her use of non-naturalistic techniques and feminist themes, the abuses of power, and sexual politics. She is acknowledged as a major playwright in the English language and a leading female writer...
Cloud Nine
Cloud Nine (play)
Cloud Nine is a two-act play written by British playwright Caryl Churchill after workshops with the Joint Stock Theatre Company in late 1978 and first performed at Dartington College of Arts, Devon, on 14 February 1979....
.
In 1976 she appeared with the English National Opera
English National Opera
English National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...
as Anna in The Seven Deadly Sins. The same year saw her appearing in the television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
me, Rock Follies
Rock Follies
Rock Follies, and its sequel, Rock Follies of '77, was a comedy musical drama shown on British television in the mid 1970s. The storyline, over 12 episodes and two series, followed the ups and downs of a fictional female rock band called the "Little Ladies" as they struggled for recognition and...
.
Rock Follies led to her landing the title role in the original studio recording
Evita (1976 album)
Evita is a concept album released in 1976 and produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.Having successfully launched their previous show, Jesus Christ Superstar, on record in 1970, Lloyd Webber and Rice returned to the format for Evita...
of the Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
and Tim Rice
Tim Rice
Sir Timothy Miles Bindon "Tim" Rice is an British lyricist and author.An Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning lyricist, Rice is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus...
musical Evita. This had been offered to singer Elkie Brooks, who turned it down. Covington scored an international number one with the song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
"Don't Cry for Me Argentina"; the single reached #1 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in February 1977. She was later given the opportunity to originate the role in the stage production of "Evita", but she declined, explaining that she thought the impact of her recording would be diminished, and Elaine Paige
Elaine Paige
Elaine Paige OBE is an English singer and actress best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Barnet, North London, Paige attended the Aida Foster stage school, making her first professional appearance on stage in 1964, at the age of 16...
took the role.
In 1978, Covington performed the role of Beth, wife of Parson Nathaniel (Phil Lynott
Phil Lynott
Philip Parris "Phil" Lynott was an Irish musician who first came to prominence as a founding member, principal songwriter, and frontman of the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy....
), on Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds
Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds
Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds is a 1978 concept album by Jeff Wayne, retelling the story of The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells. Its format is progressive rock and string orchestra, using narration and leitmotifs to carry the story via rhyming melodic lyrics that express...
.
Covington achieved chart success with a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
's "Only Women Bleed
Only Women Bleed
"Only Women Bleed" is a song written by the musicians Alice Cooper and Dick Wagner. It is a ballad about a woman in an abusive marriage.It is one of Cooper's biggest hits, reaching #1 on the Canadian RPM national singles chart and #12 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1975. It is from...
" from her eponymous 1978 album. It reached #12 on the UK chart.
Following a second solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
and guesting on other artists
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
' albums she returned to the theatre.
Julie Covington albums
- While The Music Lasts (1967) (Private Pressing)
- The Party's Moving On (1969) (Private Pressing)
- The Beautiful Changes (1971)
- Julie Covington (1978)
- Julie Covington Plus (1978)
- The Beautiful Changes Plus (1999)
Cast recordings/soundtracks/compilations
- Godspell - Original Cast Recording (1972)
- The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972)
- Evita (1976)
- Rock Follies Series 1 (1976)
- The Mermaid Frolics (1977) - benefit for Amnesty InternationalAmnesty InternationalAmnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
- Rock Follies Series 2 (1977)
- The War of the WorldsJeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the WorldsJeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds is a 1978 concept album by Jeff Wayne, retelling the story of The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells. Its format is progressive rock and string orchestra, using narration and leitmotifs to carry the story via rhyming melodic lyrics that express...
(1978) - Guys and Dolls National cast recording (1982)
- The Wildcliffe Bird (audio book) (1991)
- Guys and Dolls (1992)
- The War of the WorldsJeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the WorldsJeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds is a 1978 concept album by Jeff Wayne, retelling the story of The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells. Its format is progressive rock and string orchestra, using narration and leitmotifs to carry the story via rhyming melodic lyrics that express...
- Original - CD (2000) - The War of the WorldsJeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the WorldsJeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds is a 1978 concept album by Jeff Wayne, retelling the story of The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells. Its format is progressive rock and string orchestra, using narration and leitmotifs to carry the story via rhyming melodic lyrics that express...
- 5.1 Remastered Edition (2005) - The War of the WorldsJeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the WorldsJeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds is a 1978 concept album by Jeff Wayne, retelling the story of The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells. Its format is progressive rock and string orchestra, using narration and leitmotifs to carry the story via rhyming melodic lyrics that express...
- 7 disc Collectors Edition (2005)
Singles
- "The Magic Wasn't There, Tonight Your Love Is Over" (1970)
- "The Way Things Ought To Be" (1970)
- "Day by DayDay by Day (Godspell song)"Day by Day" is a song from the 1971 Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak musical Godspell.Day by Day is the third song in the show’s score and it is also reprised as the closing number for the 1973 film version...
" (1972) - "Two Worlds Apart" (demoDemo (music)A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
singleSingle (music)In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
) (1973) - "Don't Cry for Me, ArgentinaDon't Cry for Me, Argentina"Don't Cry for Me Argentina" is a song from the 1978 musical Evita with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Sung by the title character Eva Perón, it was titled “It's Only Your Lover Returning” before Rice settled on the eventual name...
" (1976) - UK #1 - "OK?" (1977) - Julie Covington, Rula LenskaRula LenskaRula Lenska is an English actress. Best known for her work in the United Kingdom, she is remembered in the United States for a television advert that presented her as a celebrity, even though she was not widely known in the US at the time the advert was produced.She has appeared extensively on...
, Charlotte CornwellCharlotte Cornwell-Life and career:Cornwell was born in Marylebone, London, England, the daughter of Ronald Cornwell. She is the half-sister of spy novelist John le Carré . She describes him as "the best brother a girl could have"...
, and Sue Jones-DaviesSue Jones-DaviesSue Jones-Davies is a Welsh actress and singer, who appeared as Judith in the 1979 film Monty Python's Life of Brian. Mayor of Aberystwyth from 2008–2009, she now serves as town councillor.-Early life and education:Sue Jones-Davies was born in Wales...
- UK #10 - "Only Women BleedOnly Women Bleed"Only Women Bleed" is a song written by the musicians Alice Cooper and Dick Wagner. It is a ballad about a woman in an abusive marriage.It is one of Cooper's biggest hits, reaching #1 on the Canadian RPM national singles chart and #12 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1975. It is from...
" (1977) - UK #12 - "(I Want To See The) Bright LightsI Want to See the Bright Lights TonightQ : "After his 1971 departure from Fairport Convention, Richard Thompson found his ideal foil in recent bride Linda. A hugely inventive guitarist, he gives full vent to his talent on this dark, brooding album...
" (1978) - "Housewives' ChoiceHousewives' ChoiceHousewives' Choice was a BBC radio record request programme broadcast every morning from 1946 to 1967 on the BBC Light Programme. It played a wide range of music designed to appeal to housewives at home during the day...
" (1982)
External links
- Julie Covington Website (unofficial)