Musician and composer Jeff Wayne's musical version of The War of the Worlds was released in 1978.
The musical – based on H.G. Wells' 1898 novel of the same name – was mostly recorded in Advision Studios, in Fitzrovia, London the previous year. The story centres around an unnamed person's survival during an alien invasion, and Wayne enlisted the likes of Richard Burton, David Essex, Julie Covington and The Moody Blues' Justin Hayward to bring Wells' apocalyptic vision to life.
Here, the New Yorker details his bond with the late, great Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott and why he thought he'd make the perfect fire-and-brimstone cleric Parson Nathaniel.
"Before we met I was a fan of Thin Lizzy. I loved their work, I loved Phil’s songwriting, and his voice was so distinctive. I approached him because of Thin Lizzy’s Fool’s Gold; he starts it off quite dramatically before singing. I thought: ‘Gosh, he’s got such a great speaking voice, lots of natural drama.’ That’s what triggered my hope that Phil might be interested in appearing on The War Of The Worlds.
"His managers passed the idea on to Phil, who was very keen and he agreed to come into the studio for a demo to give him an idea of what it was all about. He loved it and came on board instantly.
“As far as I know, he hadn’t had any acting experience, but he took direction absolutely beautifully and in good spirit. My dad, who was an actor and singer, did the acting direction, while I produced the music. Phil and my dad got on really well – there were some great outtakes. Once, they were chatting in the studio, then my dad went over to the piano. He played Tea For Two and Phil was on the mic, acting as if he was an MC for a nightclub. It was hilarious!
“Phil was a very physical being. He didn’t hold back performing on Spirit Of Man and his acting. He was very professional. If you have a perception of him as an out-of-control rock’n’roller, that’s not the guy I worked with. He was prepared, he knew the song after the first demo. He was engaged and had a very positive vibe about the production.
"We did a few takes of Phil’s scream [near the start of The Red Weed (Part 2)], because his voice broke on one attempt and he just burst into hysterics! He was into the idea of being the parson and how the character responded to the situation. That’s all you can ask from anyone – to believe they’re giving you all that they’re capable of.
“As much as he was a rock’n’roller, Phil had a very sensitive side. He gave me a signed copy of his book of poetry and prose – Songs For While I’m Away – on the last day. It revealed somebody who had a real soulful being. It’s a tragedy he didn’t go on. I spoke with him in hospital two or three weeks before he passed. He was quite coherent but you could tell the fight had gone out of him. That’s what hit me the most. It was just tragic. So young.
“That book he gave me, you just see the soul of the guy in a different way to that of Thin Lizzy’s persona and their music. You would have to be not only intelligent but soulful to have written that. Compared to his rock persona on stage with Thin Lizzy, it’s as opposite as you can get."
Jeff Wayne was speaking to Alex Burrows. The original version of this feature appeared in Classic Rock 249, in May 2018
