Andrew Lloyd Webber - Leyton Orient (England)

This article was generously provided to ClubFootball by the British Council, which operates in China as the Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy.

Andrew Lloyd Webber, the world-famous composer of musicals such as "Cats", "Phantom of the Opera" and "Jesus Christ Superstar" that have been performed before millions worldwide, has just embarked on his most ambitious project to date. A musical, "The Beautiful Game" about a Belfast (Northern Ireland) football team struggling to compete amidst the political turmoil of the region.
 
Andrew and his brother Julian (one of the world's finest cellists of his generation) are proud lifelong fans of Leyton Orient, a London team presently in the Third Division. Indeed, one of Andrew's compositions resulted from a bet with his brother over the outcome of a particular Leyton Orient match. Julian won the bet, and Andrew was obliged to write what turned out to be one of his most vivid and inspired pieces, "Variations on a Theme of Paganini".

May 2001