In 1978, Jeff Wayne released Jeff
Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds,
his musical adaptation of H. G. Wells‘ science-fiction novel The
War of the Worlds.
For “A Unique, Time and Space Travel Adventure,”
check out:
“Time of Destruction.” By John C. Meyer
Go to https://johncmeyer.com
The album was a double vinal album set, with color illustrations of scenes from the
story, and with the celebrated actor, Richard Burton as a reporter/narrator.
In the 1970’s, before starting to write “The Musical War of The Worlds,” Jeff
Wayne wrote approximately 3,000 advertising jingles which appeared on
television in the United Kingdom.
“Jeff Wayne’s Musical War of The Worlds,” uses narration and leitmotifs
to carry the story, and rhyming melodic lyrics that express the feelings of the
various characters.
The two-disc album remains a bestseller, having sold 15 million copies worldwide as
a Vinal 2 disk set, and as a Compact Disk (CD).
In 2018, it was named the 32nd best-selling studio album of all time in the UK. It
has spawned multiple versions including video games, DVDs, and live tours.
In 2006, Wayne’s musical became a touring stage play called Jeff Wayne’s Musical
War of The Worlds – ALIVE, with Burton again as the newspaper
reporter/narrator, but since Burton had died before the traveling tour started,
an image of Burton was projected on a screen on the back of the stage with the voice of Burton as narrator. The tour continued for several years, and in several countries.
In 2016, a new production of the touring stage play, called “Jeff Wayne’s War of
The Worlds: The New Generation,” began touring.
Liam Neeson played the reporter/narrator part, with Neeson appearing as a hologram.
The “New Generation” stage play was filmed by Universal Studios, and Universal
filmed a short additional segment for the beginning of the film, of the “Martians planning an attack of Earth.”
Jeff Wayne Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Wayne
Jeff Wayne’s Musical War of The Worlds:The New Generation, Universal pictures MOVIE: