After Dinner Speakers - Tim Rice
Tim Rice began his career in the music industry when he became an Assistant Record Producer with the Norrie Paramor Organisation, London in 1968. His distinguished career spans several decades commencing with his meeting Andrew Lloyd Webber. Their subsequent collaboration on many musicals such as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita brought world-wide recognition and these productions continue to enjoy spectacular success around the world. In 1986 Webber and Rice wrote a thirty minute comic musical entitled Cricket whose world premiere took place in the presence of HM The Queen and other members of the Royal Family at Windsor Castle in June of that year.
Tim Rice has written with other renowned songwriters including Marvin Hamlisch, Mike Batt, Paul McCartney, Paul Jones, Vangelis, Rick Wakeman, Freddie Mercury and Elton John. With John Barry he wrote All Time High sung by Rita Coolidge for the James Bond film Octopussy. Other lyrics for film songs include Christmas Dream (Perry Como in the Odessa File) and two titles The Sea Otter.
In 1982 Time Rice, with Stephen Oliver wrote a musical comedy for children of all ages entitled Blondel, which is regularly produced by schools and companies amateur and professional around the world.
1982-1984 Rice, in conjunction with ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, wrote Chess which opened in the West End at the Prince Edward Theatre in 1986 and ran for three years. A tour of the production in the UK began in 1990. Rice was co-producer with Robert Fox of Cole Porter's immortal Anything Goes.
1992 he wrote the lyrics for three songs for the feature film Aladdin for which he won an Oscar. Tim also wrote the words for the entire score of another Disney full-length cartoon The Lion King.
He also broadcasts regularly for radio and TV networks - disc jockeying, quiz shows, interviewer, interviewee etc., he hosted his own chat show series and has featured in the Radio 4 Trivia Test Match.
1987 he joined the Test Match Special commentary team and commentated for Radio 3 on two England matches for the World Cup in India. He has written a book The Treasures of Lords which was televised.
He was commissioned by the BBC World Service to write a fifteen part history of Western pop music which when broadcast introduced the Chinese to hitherto unknown performers such as Elvis Presley and the Beatles.
Tim Rice is co-author of the Guiness Books of Hit Records, the enormously successful series of books that chronicle the history of Britain's popular music charts since 1952.
Rice is a fanatical cricketer running his own team Heartaches C.C. founded in 1973, now the veterans of 250 matches. He took his first hat-trick in 1987.
He is also a versatile and accomplished After Dinner Speaker.
