1. Aspects of Love
  2. The Beautiful Game
  3. Bombay Dreams
  4. Cats
  5. Evita
  6. Jesus Christ Superstar
  7. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
  8. The Likes of Us
  9. Love Never Dies
  10. The Phantom of the Opera
  11. Song and Dance
  12. The Sound of Music
  13. Starlight Express
  14. Sunset Boulevard
    1. Sunset Boulevard opens in LA
  15. Tell Me on a Sunday
  16. Whistle Down the Wind
  17. The Wizard of Oz
  18. The Woman in White
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  3. Sunset Boulevard

Sunset Boulevard

I first saw Sunset Boulevard sometime in the early 70s. It inspired a tune. This tune was supposed to be the title song. However, I neither had the rights to the film, nor at that time was likely to be able to obtain them. Eventually I used a couple of fragments of that tune in Stephen Frears’ affectionate Bogart spoof, Gumshoe.

Hal Prince began working with me on the musical Evita. We discussed Sunset Boulevard and I saw the movie again since Hal Prince had obtained the rights. It all came to nothing but I wrote an idea for the moment when Norma Desmond returns to Paramount Studios.

At around the same time I met with Christopher Hampton whom I had known for some years as he was at school with Tim Rice. He had already declared an interest in writing the libretto for the English National Opera of Sunset Boulevard, but this too had come to nothing. We thought it was a wonderful idea but came to the conclusion that in both our cases other projects made Sunset impossible and there was yet again the question of whether we would get the rights.

I thought of Sunset on and off over the next 12 years, but it was only after Aspects of Love that I felt it was the subject I had to compose next. I contacted Paramount and, this time, the rights were available. So I took an option and started work. As ever, several early jottings were discarded. Then I had the idea of working with Chris Hampton once more. Chris was intrigued but felt that he would be happy working with somebody who had experience of lyrics before. I introduced him to my old friend and collaborator, Don Black, and what I hoped most would happen appears to have done so. They collaborated on both the book and lyrics together.

I began composing the score shortly after the opening of Aspects of Love in London in 1989. I tried various versions of the title song, but came back to the original idea I had in the early 70s, albeit in a very different style and form. I stayed with my late 70s draft of the moment where Norma returns to Paramount, “As If We Never Said Goodbye”. Otherwise mostly everything has been written since 1989.

Andrew Lloyd Webber
From the original London Production Programme

Visit the official Sunset Boulevard website.