Andrew Lloyd Webber reveals the Queen's favourite songs
The Superstar creator tells of the monarch's enthusiasm for musicals and old-time blues
Andrew Lloyd Webber says that the Queen is rather partial to a bit of Oklahoma! and old-time blues, revealing that two of the monarch’s favourite tunes are People Will Say We’re in Love and Cole Porter’s Miss Otis Regrets.
The Phantom of the Opera composer told Radio Times magazine that he’d been made privy to Elizabeth II’s taste in music at her recent birthday celebrations, which were held at the Lloyd Webbers’ home.
He said: “She came round to my house and we did the cake there and a small cabaret that ended with us performing [Diamond Jubilee song] Sing twice for her, and she loved it.
“I was tipped off by someone who’s quite close to her what some of her favourite songs are, so we put them in the cabaret. We had Gareth [Malone] there and half a dozen Military Wives…It was a great evening.”
People Will Say We’re in Love was first performed in the original Broadway run of the Rogers and Hammerstein musical Oklahoma! in 1943, while Porter’s song, which has been recorded by a multitude of artists, was heard for the first time in 1934 during a performance of the comedy Hi Diddle Diddle.
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While the first song’s a heart-warming tale of two lovers attempting to disguise their mutual affection, Miss Otis Regrets details a woman’s lynching after shooting dead her lover.
Read the full interview with Lloyd Webber, in which he discusses The Voice UK, racism at Eurovision and his new show Superstar in this week’s issue of Radio Times.
