It’s embarrassing–I can't stand most of his work: grandiose, predictable, simplistic, manipulative –but Andrew Lloyd Webber may be one of my biggest influences. Let me explain. My family lived in England from 1966 to 1968. My brother and I were sent to English schools and when I was in first form (aka third grade) a Mr. Webber came and did a residency at our school. The musical he wrote and taught to us (I believe it was actually called an oratorio then—no acting, just songs) was Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The music was fun—rock'n'roll—or so it seemed to me at age eight, and for the performances the school brought in a real rock band, The Mixed Bag—in matching Beatles haircuts, Beatle boots, and black leather jackets with lots of zippers. Mod! While we students were all in uniforms that would make Harry Potter and friends look like a Seattle grunge band. I got in trouble once for not having my school cap on when I arrived at the gate.
There's no way to know, of course, but I think it's likely that seeing songwriting in action at a very young age: revisions, songs discarded, lyrics re-written, melodies changed, keys changed, harmony parts added, etc.. -had a lasting influence on me. I know it seemed like a lot of fun, even then.
My brother still has a couple of the mimeographed lyric sheets. I wonder if they're worth anything to Webber fans.
