Elaine's
first professional
appearance was in
the Anthony Newley/Leslie
Bricusse musical
"The Roar of
The Greasepaint,
the Smell of The
Crowd". Many
stage performances
followed, including
"Roar Like
a Dove", "Rock
Carmen", "Maybe
That's Your Problem",
"Hair",
"Jesus Christ
Superstar",
Sandy in "Grease"
and Rita in "Billy".
In 1978 Elaine was
chosen by Hal Prince
to create the part
of Eva Peron in
"Evita".
Elaine
subsequently swept
the boards with
her award-winning
performance in "Evita"
and collected the
Society of West
End Theatre Award
for Best Actress
in a Musical, and
the Variety Club
Award for Showbusiness
Personality of the
Year.
In
1981 she starred
in the original
London production
of the equally renowned
"Cats".
She played Grizabella
and thereby became
the first actress
to perform the now
classic song "Memory"
- one of her many
hit records.
In
1983 Elaine starred
as Carrabosse in
the London production
of "Abbacadabra",
written by Abba's
Bjorn Ulvaeus and
Benny Andersson.
In 1986, she sang
their work on stage
for a second time
in "Chess",
when they collaborated
with Tim Rice, for
which she was nominated
for the Olivier
Award for Outstanding
Performance of the
Year by an Actress
in a Musical. Her
single from the
show's "I Know
Him So Well",
a duet with Barbara
Dickson, held the
number one position
in the British charts
for four weeks.
It still remains
the biggest selling
record by a female
duo in the Guiness
Book of Records.
In
the same year she
was awarded the
Variety Club Award
for Recording Artiste
of the Year. Her
phonomenal success
was particularly
evident in 1985
when "Stages"
and "Cinema"
rejoined "Chess"
in the top 40, giving
her three simultaneous
hit albums to complement
her number one single.
In the same year,
she went on to record
her very successful
"Love Hurts"
album.
The
"Queen"
album of 1988 brought
Elaine a further
challenge and more
praise, most notable
from Freddie Mercury
and the other members
of Queen.
Her
subsequent solo
albums are the contemporary
"Love Can Do
That", produced
by Dennis Lambert,
and the contrasting
"Romance and
the Stage",
a collection of
classic songs drawn
from the theatre.
In
1989, Elaine accomplished
the dual role of
starring in and
co-producing the
smash hit Lincoln
Centre New York
production of "Anything
Goes" in London's
West End. Directed
by Jerry Zaks, she
was nominated for
an Olivier Award
for Outstanding
Performance of the
Year by an Actress
in a Musical.
One
of her most recent
theatrical achievements
was as Edith Piaf
in the musical play
by Pam Gems entitled
"Piaf".
Her critically acclaimed
performance at London's
Piccadilly Theatre
led to a nomination
for an Olivier Award
for Best Actress
in a Musical and
she has recently
released an album
of Piaf songs.
At
the personal request
of Sir Andrew Lloyd
Webber, Elaine stepped
into the role of
Norma Desmond in
"Sunset Boulevard"
at extremely short
notice and received
rave reviews during
her six weeks in
the show at Christmas.
Elaine
has performed all
over the world and
toured Australia,
New Zealand, Europe,
the Middle and Far
East, in addition
to the UK. She has
gathered eight consecutive
gold albums, four
of them multi-platinum.
In 1994 the British
Academy of Songwriters,
Composers and Authors
awarded her with
the Gold Badge of
Merit.
[
Back
]
