OUR PATRONS

Sir Tim Rice Tim Rice has just about coped with the transformation from boy wonder to ageing C-list legend over the 30-plus years since he and Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR. Before working on that epic from 1969-1971, he and ALW had written the first version of JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICAL DREAMCOAT, EVITA followed SUPERSTAR and then the two went their separate ways. Tim wrote BLONDEL with the late Stephen Oliver and CHESS with ABBA’S Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Anderson. In the fag-end of that decade he also translated (into English) the enormously successful (in France) French musical STARMANIA, with music by the late Michel Berger. In his view, most of his stuff in the eighties was under appreciated, but then most of his stuff in the nineties was over appreciated. This comprised several smashes for Disney, including THE LION KING, with music by Sir Elton. He also wrote great chunks of ALADDIN and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, as well as all of KING DAVID, all to Alan Menken’s music. Then there was HEATHCLIFF, nothing to do with Disney, and not a lot to do with Emily Bronte, with music by John Farrar, in which Sir Cliff routed the critics with a record-breaking tour. In the new century Tim Rice’s main fresh achievement in the theatre has been the Broadway hit AIDA, which reunited him with Elton John. If his publishers ask, he is working hard on volume two of his autobiography (due out a year ago). Tim is a former President of Marylebone Cricket club, writes about cricket in the London Daily Telegraph, has 3 children, 3 Oscars and a Knighthood.