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Artist
Elaine Paige
12+ albums
female vocalistsmusicalmusicalsBroadwaymusical theater
about
Elaine Paige née Bickerstaff OBE (born on 5 March 1948 in Barnet, Hertfordshire) is a well-known English singer and actress, primarily in musicals. Paige's first professional appearance was in the UK tour of the Anthony Newley/Leslie Bricusse musical The Roar of the Greasepaint—the Smell of the Crowd. She made her West End debut in Hair, and went on to featured roles in Jesus Christ Superstar, Nuts, Grease, and Billy (a musical adaptation of the film Billy Liar.) In 1978, Hal Prince offered the still relatively unknown Paige the title role in Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita after Julie Covington, who played the role on the album turned down the part. This proved to be the defining moment in her evolution to the self proclaimed title "First Lady of British Musical Theatre". Paige has portrayed some of Lloyd Webber's most notable female characters, originating the role of Grizabella in Cats (a role she reprised for a video release). She took on the role late in rehearsal when the actress Judi Dench had to pull out due to a torn Achilles tendon. Her performance of the song Memory from that show is her signature piece. In 1994, Paige took over the role of Norma Desmond in Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard when Betty Buckley was ill, before stepping into the part full time the following year. She transferred to the American production to make her Broadway debut in a performance that Lloyd Webber described as "musically terrific" in 1996, staying with the show until it c
top songs
1
Memory
27,8642I Know Him So Well
24,6423Don't Cry For Me Argentina
6,6834Heaven Help My Heart
5,0115The American And Florence / Nobody's Side
4,6066I Dreamed a Dream
4,2537Quartet (A Model Of Decorum And Tranquillity)
3,9478I Know Him So Well - Musical "Chess"
3,2019Memory - UK 1981 / Musical "Cats"
3,07810Florence Quits
3,070
