Andrew Lloyd Webber musical stars now – car crash horror, co-star fling and famous exes

Andrew Lloyd Webber has launched the careers of dozens of musical stars – from Lee Mead to Elaine Page, and Paul Nicholas to Murray Head.

In 2007, he launched the search for another Joseph in BBC reality series Any Dream Will Do, while searching for the next Nancy as a judge on I’d Do Anything one year later.

From Jesus Christ Superstar to Cats, Starlight Express, Evita and beyond, his music has captivated audiences across the world for generations.

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On the 16th anniversary of BBC’s I’d Do Anything, Daily Star takes a closer look at where some of the stars of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musicals are now.

Paul Nicholas

Just Good Friends heartthrob Paul Nicholas has had many iconic roles throughout the decades, including in Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals such as Cats and Jesus Christ Superstar.

That’s not all, as Paul landed top ten hits with songs such as Dancing With The Captain and Grandma’s Party, along with starring in productions such as Hair and the 1974 film Stardust, opposite David Essex.

During his time working on theatre production Hair he met his wife Linzi Jennings, who he has been with for 50 years and married in 1984.

The actor has six children and was previously married to Susan Beuselinck from 1966 to 1970, with whom he had two children, Natasha and Oscar.

However in 1977, he suffered a personal tragedy when Susan was killed in a car crash, saying to The Daily Express: “It was a devastating thing to have happened.

“I’d never lost anyone that close to me before. It affected me deeply.”

Murray Head

Singer-songwriter Murray Head found fame as Judas in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Jesus Christ Superstar, from which he had a top 20 chart hit called Superstar.

In the same year he played a leading role in the Oscar nominated film Sunday Bloody Sunday alongside Glenda Jackson, and subsequently appeared in TV shows and radio dramas such as Return of the Saint, Prince Regent and The Fourth Tower Of Inverness.

A talented musician, Murray has released a number of albums including Say It Ain’t So, Voices, Pipe Dreams and My Back Pages – along with scoring another chart hit in 1984 with One Night In Bangkok from the musical Chess – in which he played The American.

He has since made a move into the soaps, playing Jack Hollins on ITV’s Heartbeat between 2005 to 2006 and Ralphy Aspden in BBC’s Doctors.

Murray is not the only famous star in his family though, as his brother in none other than Buffy The Vampire Slayer star Anthony Stewart Head.

In 2022, Murray was involved in a serious car crash in the south-west of France.

He was travelling on Gan ring road, in Pyrénées-Atlantiques, when he was involved in a crash with a lorry.

However, he later shared a health update with fans and thanked them for their support, saying: “Dear Friends, I’m genuinely overwhelmed by the number of people who expressed concern after my car accident a few days ago – given the photo of the crashed vehicle I’m not surprised.

“So this is a message to put your minds at rest. When I regained consciousness I was surrounded by police and had absolutely no recollection of what happened but miraculously, I got away with a fractured vertebrae and a lot of bruising.

“Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts, I look forward to seeing you all again soon. Love Murray.”

Elaine Page

Musical theatre icon Elaine Page has played a number of iconic roles in Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals – from Eva Peron in Evita, to Grizabella in Cats.

After rising to fame in 1968’s Hair, she has appeared in huge productions such as Anything Goes, Sunset Boulevard, The King and I, Grease and Jesus Christ Superstar.

Like her fellow musical theatre star Murray Head, she landed a top ten record from the musical Chess after she duetted with Barbara Dickinson on the smash-hit I Know Him So Well.

From there she has not left our stages, appearing in Sweeney Todd, Follies, Dick Whittington and most recently Pantoland in 2020, along with releasing a more than 15 albums including 2010’s Elaine Page and Friends.

Elaine has also made TV appearances in Home from Home, Where The Heart Is and Life, and hosts a Radio 2 Sunday show.

The singer has never married or had any children, but was in a relationship with lyricist Sir Tim Rice for more than 11 years.

Speaking to The Mirror, she said: “I hadn’t met the right guy and my life was geared towards the theatre.

“Having a baby wasn’t to be part of my life, unfortunately. On the other hand, I have lots of godchildren and my niece has five-year-old twins who I adore.

“Sometimes I wish that maybe I was lucky enough to have had a child, but you can’t have everything in life.”

David Essex

Music icon David Essex has delighted generations of fans with his music and theatre performances, starring in Andrew Lloyd Webber productions such as Evita.

However, his life could have taken a completely different path.

As a teenager, he played for West Ham Juniors, telling Great British Life: “I loved my football and I was not bad at it.

“That’s why I played for West Ham juniors when I was still at school. I had this great dream that one day I would be a professional footballer and play in the Hammers’ first team, maybe even play for England.

“Yes, that was my dream, along with a few million other boys of course.”

However, a trip to the Flamingo Club in Soho, London sparked his love of music – leading to a career that would see David top the charts in multiple countries around the world with hits such as Rock On, Hold Me Close and A Winter’s Tale.

That’s not all, as David has appeared in theatre productions such as Godspell, along with films and TV shows such as That’ll Be The Day, Stardust, The River and EastEnders.

The singer also headed out on tour across the UK in 2022, and wowed fans with his youthful appearance during a chat on ITV’s Loose Women.

Lee Mead

Lee Mead won BBC reality series Any Dream Will Do and the chance to play the lead role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat in a new stage adaptation.

It was not just the role of Joseph that Lee won however, as he found love with show judge and fellow musical theatre star Denise Van Outen.

The couple later married in 2009 and later welcomed a daughter called Betsy, in 2010.

However in 2013, they announced that they were divorcing, with a statement from Denise Van Outen’s spokesperson saying: “Following continued speculation, Denise Van Outen and Lee Mead are sad to confirm they have decided to separate.

“The couple remain the best of friends, with their daughter Betsy as their number one priority. The family ask for privacy at this time.”

Talking about their split, Denise said to You Magazine that she was heartbroken, saying: “Oh God, I get so hurt. I am very sensitive when it comes to affairs of the heart.”

She added: “I have distracted myself with work and obviously I am a busy mum,” with her and Lee continuing to co-parent their daughter Betsy.

Since his Joseph days, Lee has joined BBC hospital drama Casualty as Ben ‘Lofty’ Chiltern and played the role in spin-off Holby City.

He has also returned to the stage in productions such as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Legally Blonde, Aladdin and Robin Hood.

Lee most recently appeared as Drew in children’s drama The Dumping Ground in 2022, and as Billy Flynn in the UK touring production of Chicago.

Sarah Brightman

Sarah Brightman is famous for playing the role of Christine in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera, after making her theatre debut in his musical Cats.

Long before she appeared on the theatre stage though, she had a career as a dancer in the troupe Hot Gossip, alongside former Strictly Come Dancing star Arlene Phillips.

The troupe appeared on programmes such as The Kenny Everett Video Show, and were the backing dancers for Sarah Brightman’s 1978 hit I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper.

It was not just fame that she found through her musical performances though, as she also found love with Andrew Lloyd Webber – with the couple marrying in 1983.

Sarah was previously married to Andrew Graham-Stewart between 1979 to 1983.

Following her divorce from Andrew Lloyd Webber, she and the composer have remained close, with Sarah telling Hello! Magazine: “Andrew and I are still good friends.”

She continued: “I went through a terrible time after my divorce, but I don’t think of negative things in my life – there are only challenges.

“So I went somewhere else and stood on my own two feet. It turned out to be the right decision. I carved out a great career and an interesting life.”

Michael Ball

Michael Ball rose to fame as a musical theatre star in Andrew Lloyd Webber productions such as Phantom Of The Opera and Aspects of Love – from which he also had a top ten smash hit called Love Changes Everything in 1992.

In the same year, he also narrowly missed out on winning the Eurovision Song Contest after finishing in second place with One Step Out Of Time in 1992.

He was beaten to the top spot by Ireland’s Eurovision entry, Why Me by Linda Martin, which was composed by the King of Eurovision himself Johnny Logan.

After rising to fame as a musical theatre star in productions such as Phantom Of The Opera and Sweeney Todd, he had a top ten chart smash with Love Changes Everything from the musical Aspects of Love in 1992.

It is no surprise then that the singer’s estimated net worth is an eye-watering £21m.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk