Editing Andrew Lloyd Webber (section)

===1980s===
[[File:Palladium Theatre (16427934069).jpg|thumb|''[[Cats (musical)|Cats]]'' at the [[London Palladium]]]]
Lloyd Webber was the subject of ''[[This Is Your Life (British TV series)|This Is Your Life]]'' in November 1980 when he was surprised by [[Eamonn Andrews]] in the foyer of [[Thames Television]]'s Euston Road Studios in London.<ref>Michael Coveney (1999). ''Cats on a Chandelier: The Andrew Lloyd Webber Story''. p. 89. Hutchinson</ref> He would be honoured a second time by the television programme in November 1994 when [[Michael Aspel]] surprised him at the West End's [[Adelphi Theatre]].<ref>{{cite news |title=This Is Your Life (1994) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7dd27f3f |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211130121218/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7dd27f3f |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 November 2021 |access-date=30 November 2021 |publisher=British Film Institute}}</ref>

Lloyd Webber embarked on his next project without a lyricist, turning instead to the poetry of [[T. S. Eliot]]. ''[[Cats (musical)|Cats]]'' (1981) was to become the longest-running musical in London, where it ran for 21 years and 8,949 performances before closing.<ref>{{cite magazine |title='Cats' To Close In London |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/cats-to-close-in-london-77149/ |access-date=21 November 2023 |magazine=Billboard}}</ref> On Broadway, ''Cats'' ran for 18 years, a record which would ultimately be broken by another Lloyd Webber musical, ''The Phantom of the Opera''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/cats-4186 |title=Cats |website=IBDB.com |publisher=[[Internet Broadway Database]]}}</ref><ref name=BroadwayLength>{{cite web |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/the-phantom-of-the-opera-4491 |title=The Phantom of the Opera |website=IBDB.com |publisher=[[Internet Broadway Database]]}}</ref> Elaine Paige collaborated again with Lloyd Webber, originating the role of [[Grizabella]] in ''Cats'', and had a Top&nbsp;10 UK hit with "[[Memory (Cats song)|Memory]]".<ref>{{cite web|title=Elaine Paige – Full Official Chart History|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/17213/elaine-paige/|website=Official Charts Company|date=21 October 1978 |access-date=20 January 2016}}</ref>

[[File:Matthew Goodgame als Greaseball.JPG|thumb|left|upright=0.8|''[[Starlight Express]]'' has been running in Bochum, Germany, since 1988.]]

''[[Starlight Express]]'' (1984) was a commercial hit, but received negative reviews from the critics. It ran for 7,409 performances in London, making it the [[List of the longest-running West End shows|ninth longest-running West End show]]. It ran for less than two years on Broadway. The show has also seen two tours of the US, as well as an Australian/Japanese production, a three-year UK touring production, which transferred to New Zealand later in 2009. ''Starlight Express'' runs full-time in a custom-built theatre in [[Bochum]], Germany, where it has been running since 1988.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thestage.co.uk/features/2016/international-how-lloyd-webbers-starlight-express-keeps-on-track-in-germany/|title=International: How Lloyd Webber's Starlight Express keeps on track in Germany|date=19 May 2016|work=The Stage|access-date=3 July 2018}}</ref> The German production holds the ''[[Guinness World Record]]'' for most visitors to a musical in a single theatre.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.waz.de/staedte/bochum/starlight-express-in-bochum-feiert-neuen-rekord-id12197252.html |title="Starlight Express" in Bochum feiert neuen Rekord |first=Kristina |last=Gerstenmaier|date=19 June 2019 |work=Waz |access-date=21 November 2023}}</ref>

Lloyd Webber wrote a [[Requiem (Lloyd Webber)|Requiem Mass]] dedicated to his father, William, who had died in 1982. It premiered at [[Saint Thomas Church (Manhattan)|St. Thomas Church]] in New York on 24 February 1985. Church music had been a part of the composer's upbringing and the composition was inspired by an article he had read about the plight of Cambodian orphans. Lloyd Webber had on a number of occasions written sacred music for the annual [[Sydmonton Festival]].<ref>Snelson, 2004</ref> Lloyd Webber received a [[Grammy Award]] in 1986 for ''Requiem'' in the category of best classical composition. ''[[Pie Jesu]]'' from Requiem achieved a high placing on the UK Singles Chart and was certified silver.<ref>{{cite certification|region=United Kingdom|artist=Sarah Brightman & Paul Miles-Kingston|title=Pie Jesu|id=5101-380-1}}</ref> Perhaps because of its large orchestration, live performances of the Requiem are rare.

In 1986, [[Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh|Prince Edward]], the youngest son of Queen [[Elizabeth II]], commissioned a short musical from Lloyd Webber and Rice for his mother's 60th birthday celebration.<ref>Snelson, John. [https://books.google.com/books?id=RRFx7fFsi0AC&pg=PA223q=%22a%20commission%20from%20Prince%20Edward%2C%20The%20Queen's%20youngest%20son%22 ''Andrew Lloyd Webber'']. Yale University Press, 2009. p. 223.</ref> ''[[Cricket (musical)|Cricket]]'' (1986), also called ''Cricket (Hearts and Wickets)'', reunited Lloyd Webber with Rice to create this short musical for the Queen's birthday, first performed at [[Windsor Castle]].<ref>[http://webspace.webring.com/people/oc/camillofan/cricket/musical.html ''Cricket'' – The Musical] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727062109/http://webspace.webring.com/people/oc/camillofan/cricket/musical.html |date=27 July 2011}}</ref><ref name=citron355>Citron, Stephen. [https://books.google.com/books?id=AWaZ1LAFAZEC&pg=PA355&q=cricket%20musical%20%22lloyd%20webber%22%20rice%20ian%20%22charleson%22 ''Sondheim and Lloyd-Webber: The New Musical.''] Oxford University Press, 2001. p. 355.</ref> Several of the tunes were later used for ''Aspects of Love'' and ''Sunset Boulevard''.

[[File:Lighted Princess of Wales theatre on King's Street, Toronto (27899773785).jpg|thumb|right| ''[[The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)|The Phantom of the Opera]]'' at the Princess of Wales Theatre, Toronto]]

Lloyd Webber premiered ''[[The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)|The Phantom of the Opera]]'' at [[Her Majesty's Theatre]] in the West End in 1986, inspired by the [[The Phantom of the Opera (novel)|1911 Gaston Leroux novel]]. He wrote the part of Christine for his then wife, [[Sarah Brightman]], who played the role in the original London and Broadway productions alongside [[Michael Crawford]] as the Phantom. The production was directed by Harold Prince, who had also earlier directed ''Evita''. [[Charles Hart (lyricist)|Charles Hart]] wrote the lyrics for ''Phantom'' with some additional material provided by [[Richard Stilgoe]], with whom Lloyd Webber co-wrote the book of the musical. It became a hit and is still running in the West End; in January 2006 it overtook Lloyd Webber's ''Cats'' as the [[List of the longest-running Broadway shows|longest-running show on Broadway]]. On 11 February 2012, ''Phantom of the Opera'' played its 10,000th show on Broadway.<ref name=BroadwayLength /> With over 14,200 London productions it is the [[List of the longest-running West End shows|second longest-running West End musical]].<ref>[http://londonist.com/2011/04/top-10-longest-running-london-theatre-shows.php Top 10 Longest-Running London Theatre Shows] Londonist.com. Retrieved 29 June 2019</ref> The Broadway production closed on 16 April 2023, having played 13,981 performances, the most in Broadway history.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The Phantom of the Opera" Takes a Final Bow |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-theatre/the-phantom-of-the-opera-takes-a-final-bow |access-date=20 April 2023 |magazine=The New Yorker}}</ref>

''[[Aspects of Love]]'' followed in 1989, a musical based on the story by [[David Garnett]]. The lyrics were by [[Don Black (lyricist)|Don Black]] and Charles Hart and the original production was directed by Trevor Nunn. ''Aspects'' had a run of four years in London, but closed after less than a year on Broadway. It has since gone on a tour of the UK. It is famous for the song "[[Love Changes Everything (song)|Love Changes Everything]]", which was performed by [[Michael Ball]] in both the West End and Broadway casts. It stayed in the UK Singles Chart for 14 weeks, peaking at number 2 and becoming Ball's signature tune.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theofficialcharts.com/artist/_/michael%20ball/ |title=Michael Ball &#124; Artist |publisher=Official Charts |access-date=24 November 2019}}</ref>