"Oh What a Circus" is a song from the 1976 musical ''
Evita Evita may refer to:
Arts
* Evita (1996 film), ''Evita'' (1996 film), a 1996 American musical drama film based on the 1976 concept album of the same name
* Evita (2008 film), ''Evita'' (2008 film), a documentary about Eva Péron
* Evita (album), ''E ...
'', which had lyrics by
Tim Rice
Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English lyricist and author. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ' ...
and music by
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...
. It was recorded by English singer
David Essex and released as a single on August 19, 1978, by
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...
. Essex played the character of Che in the original London production of the musical, and the song is sung from his point-of-view. Produced and arranged by
Mike Batt
Michael Philip Batt, LVO (born 6 February 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, record producer, director and conductor. He was formerly the Deputy Chairman of the British Phonographic Industry.
Having achieved substantial ...
, "Oh What a Circus" is a mid-tempo song, comparing the musical's title character
Eva Perón's life with a circus, and calling her actions fraudulent. The song is a
contrafactum, and shares its tune with the better known "
Don't Cry for Me Argentina" from the same show.
"Oh What a Circus" was a commercial success for Essex, who had been dropped by his previous record company due to his declining sales. The song reached number 3 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, and the top-30 in Belgium and Netherlands. In subsequent productions of the musical, "Oh What a Circus" has been sung by numerous performers, including
Mandy Patinkin
Mandel Bruce Patinkin (; born November 30, 1952) is an American actor and singer, known for his work in musical theatre, television and film. He is a critically acclaimed Broadway performer, having received three Tony Award nominations, winning ...
,
Ricky Martin and Scottish rock musician
Marti Pellow
Marti Pellow (born Mark McLachlan; 23 March 1965) is a Scottish singer. He was the lead singer of the Scottish pop group Wet Wet Wet for 28 years: from their formation in 1982 until their split in 1997, and again from their reformation in 2004 ...
. In the
1996 film adaptation of the show, the song was sung by
Antonio Banderas
José Antonio Domínguez Bandera (born 10 August 1960), known professionally as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish actor and singer. Known for his work in films of several genres, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Antonio Ba ...
and American singer
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
, and received critical appreciation for its flamenco-infused composition.
Background and release
"Oh What a Circus" was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice while they were developing the ''
Evita Evita may refer to:
Arts
* Evita (1996 film), ''Evita'' (1996 film), a 1996 American musical drama film based on the 1976 concept album of the same name
* Evita (2008 film), ''Evita'' (2008 film), a documentary about Eva Péron
* Evita (album), ''E ...
'' as a musical in between 1974 and 1976. Rice was extremely intrigued by the stories surrounding the life of
Eva Perón while researching her during the mid-1970s. The duo were also on the lookout for various actors to play the part of the narrator for ''Evita''.
In the meantime, English singer
David Essex had completed his work on ''
Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds
''Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds'' is a studio double album by American-born British musician, composer, and record producer Jeff Wayne, released on 9 June 1978 by CBS Records. It is an album musical adapted from the sci ...
'', and was interested in theatrical productions. He received a call from Rice and Webber, and immediately accepted the part. ''Evita'' had already generated interest with its
concept album of the same name, as well as the commercial success of singer
Julie Covington's released
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
, "
Don't Cry for Me Argentina". Essex met director
Hal Prince
Harold Smith Prince (born Harold Smith; January 30, 1928 – July 31, 2019), commonly known as Hal Prince, was an American theatre director and producer known for his work in musical theatre.
One of the foremost figures in 20th century America ...
and talked about the character of Che, an Argentine
everyman narrating and commenting on the events, including the vision that Rice and Webber had about him. Due to his
Romany ancestry, Essex had the characteristic laconic nature and idealistic looks needed for the role of Che.
''Evita'' was a success from its opening night, with Derek Jewell of ''
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'' praising Webber's score, as well as Essex's portrayal of Che as a "brooding, enigmatic" character.
Meanwhile, Essex had released a cover version of the
Lorraine Ellison
Lorraine Ellison (March 17, 1931 – January 31, 1983) was an American soul singer and songwriter known for her recording of the song " Stay with Me" (sometimes known as "Stay With Me Baby") in 1966.
Life and career
Born Marybelle Luraine Elli ...
song, "
Stay with Me, which reached number 45 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, thus
CBS Records cancelled their contract with him. Essex's manager started looking for a new record deal for him, and signed one with
Phonogram Records, who suggested that he release one of the songs from the ''Evita'' album as his single. They decided to release "Oh What a Circus", with another of Che's songs, "High Flying, Adored" as its
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
. The song was released on August 19, 1978, under the
Mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
subsidiary of Phonogram in the United Kingdom.
Composition and reception
Musically, "Oh What a Circus" is a
contrafactum, and shares its composition with the better known "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" from the same show, but has a faster tempo and completely different lyrics. The song includes a
choral chant in Latin, based on the Catholic anthem "
Salve Regina". Alternative lyrics to "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" appear as a prelude to the song from Act 2, sung by a young girl characterizing Eva's younger self.
The version of "Oh What a Circus" present on the ''Evita'' concept album was sung by
Colm Wilkinson
Colm Wilkinson (born 5 June 1944), also known as C. T. Wilkinson, is an Irish tenor and actor who is best known for originating the lead role of Jean Valjean in ''Les Misérables'' (in the West End and Broadway) and for taking the title role in ...
.
However it was not used, instead Essex recorded a new version which was
arranged and
produced by
Mike Batt
Michael Philip Batt, LVO (born 6 February 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, record producer, director and conductor. He was formerly the Deputy Chairman of the British Phonographic Industry.
Having achieved substantial ...
, in the style of
Phil Spector
Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...
. A video for the song was filmed at
Clifton Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of SS. Peter and Paul is the Roman Catholic cathedral of the city of Bristol (not to be confused with the Church of England Bristol Cathedral). Located in the Clifton area of the city, it is the seat and mother church of the ...
in Bristol and showed Essex singing the song as a crowd moves around inside a building carrying candles.
An uptempo version of the main melody for "Don't Cry for Me Argentina", "Oh What a Circus" acts as an introduction to the whole musical and is sung after "Requiem for Evita", as Che ponders about the life of Eva. The song was composed in a key of
C major
C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and ...
with a medium tempo of 128
beats per minute. Essex's voice spans from C
3 to E
5 and the song follows a basic sequence of F/C–G
7–C–Am/C–Dsus–C–D
7/C–G/B as its
chord progression. Lyrically, it talks about the news of Eva's death and her funeral, as well as Che's belief that the mourning for her was misplaced and Eva's life and preaching was fraudulent. It compares her life to that of a
circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...
with a
choir
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
added during the middle section.
The lyrics question the sainthood of Eva and her praise as a godly character among the Argentinians, while taunting her that she had failed her people by not being immortal. The words had rhyming across the verses like those of ("show/go") and ("town/down") which Rice explained was done intentionally to make the song appear asymmetrical.
:Oh what a circus, oh what a ''show'', Argentina has gone to ''town''
:Over the death of an actress called Eva Perón
:Oh what an exit, that's how to ''go'', When they're ringing your curtain ''down''
:Demand to be buried like Eva Perón
After its release in August 1978 as the third single from the ''Evita'' concept album, "Oh What a Circus" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 36. It progressed and climbed the charts rapidly, ultimately reaching a peak of number 3 in its sixth week. It was Essex's highest charting song, since "
Hold Me Close" had topped the charts in 1975. "Oh What a Circus" was present within the top-100 of the UK Singles Chart for a total of 11 weeks.
Across Europe the song charted in Belgium for 5 weeks, reaching a peak of number 26.
In Netherlands, the song charted on both the
Dutch Top 40
The Dutch Top 40 ( nl, Nederlandse Top 40) is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica ...
and
Single Top 100
The Dutch Single Top 100 or Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales, legal downloads and since July 2013 streaming and composed by Dutch Charts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the Du ...
charts, reaching peaks of number 18 and number 20 respectively.
The song also charted at number eight in Ireland.
Although not released in Australia, the song managed to enter the
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...
charts for one week at number 72.
Other versions
Mandy Patinkin
Mandel Bruce Patinkin (; born November 30, 1952) is an American actor and singer, known for his work in musical theatre, television and film. He is a critically acclaimed Broadway performer, having received three Tony Award nominations, winning ...
played Che for the American premiere production and recording, and sings the song. Author William A. Everett wrote in his book, ''The A to Z of the Broadway Musical'' that Patinkin's singing and portrayal of Che "interracted on a psychological level with the title character (played by
Patti LuPone
Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949) is an American actress and singer best known for her work in musical theater. She has won three Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, two Grammy Awards, and was a 2006 inductee to the American Theater Hall of Fa ...
), challenging her actions and motivations." In the 1996 film ''
Evita Evita may refer to:
Arts
* Evita (1996 film), ''Evita'' (1996 film), a 1996 American musical drama film based on the 1976 concept album of the same name
* Evita (2008 film), ''Evita'' (2008 film), a documentary about Eva Péron
* Evita (album), ''E ...
'', the song is sung by actor
Antonio Banderas
José Antonio Domínguez Bandera (born 10 August 1960), known professionally as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish actor and singer. Known for his work in films of several genres, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Antonio Ba ...
and singer
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
. In the film, Che muses while in an empty bar following the lavish funeral procession for Eva Perón, and then on the streets of Buenos Aires as the community mourns and later riots. Eva's lyrics come during a pan over her funeral casket and is not sung directly by Eva. It begins with Spanish guitars as Banderas takes the lead vocals, with a changing choir throughout.
A different
rhythm
Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular recu ...
and
tempo
In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...
occurs in the middle where the main composition has
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
influences and piano, as Banderas uttered the line, "She didn't say much, but she said it loud". The choir is brought back towards the end, followed by an orchestral passage consisting of the main theme, accompanied by sounds of
gong and
timpani
Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionall ...
. Madonna sings the final verses, uttering the lines "share my glory, so share my coffin".
Author J. Randy Taraborrelli complemented Madonna's singing in the book, ''
Madonna: An Intimate Biography'', describing her vocals as "supple and strong". This view was shared by author
Lucy O'Brien in ''
Madonna: Like an Icon'' who said that "the sweetness and the power of Madonna's voice comes out as never before on these tracks". It also received positive review from Paul Verna of ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'', who listed the "flamenco flavored" song as a highlight from the
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
.
For the 2006 First West End Revival of ''Evita'', actor Matt Rawle portrayed Che and sang the song. Michael Billington from ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' received it negatively, saying that "Lacking any coherent idea, the show is motored by a succession of Lloyd Webber songs: '
Another Suitcase in Another Hall
"Another Suitcase in Another Hall" is a song recorded by Scottish singer Barbara Dickson, for the 1976 concept album '' Evita'', the basis of the musical of the same name. The musical was based on the life of Argentinian leader Eva Perón. Writ ...
', ... 'Oh What a Circus', 'High Flying, Adored' and all the rest." While reviving the play for Broadway in 2012, singer
Ricky Martin was signed to play Che. According to Joe Dziemianowicz from ''
Daily News'', Martin's performance as Che gave it "a great big touch of star quality... He also gives an appealing performance in the role of Che," the writer added. James Hebert from ''
The San Diego Union-Tribune
''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868.
Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...
'' complimented Martin for setting "the tone right away in the opening number 'Oh What a Circus'" with his "bemused, smilingly cynical" characterization of Che. In the 2014 Second West End Revival of the play, the role of Che was played by
Marti Pellow
Marti Pellow (born Mark McLachlan; 23 March 1965) is a Scottish singer. He was the lead singer of the Scottish pop group Wet Wet Wet for 28 years: from their formation in 1982 until their split in 1997, and again from their reformation in 2004 ...
from Scottish rock band
Wet Wet Wet
Wet Wet Wet are a Scottish soft rock band formed in 1982. They scored a number of hits in the UK charts and around the world in the 1980s and 1990s. They are best known for their 1994 cover of The Troggs' 1960s hit "Love Is All Around", which w ...
. Natalie Banyard complimented the choice of Pellow as Che, adding in an article for ''
Bristol Post'' that "Never was there a more inspired piece of casting than that of
ellowas
he Guevarain ''Evita''." Banyard also noticed that there was "no hint of Marti's
Scottish brogue as he stops the show with his renditions of 'Oh What a Circus' and 'The Lady's Got Potential'."
Hank Marvin performed an instrumental version of the song on his 1997 album ''Hank Marvin and the Shadows Play the Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice''.
Track listing
*;UK 7" single
# "Oh What a Circus" – 3:54
# "High Flying, Adored" – 3:19
Credits and personnel
*
David Essex –
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
*
Tim Rice
Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English lyricist and author. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ' ...
–
songwriter
A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...
*
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...
– songwriter,
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
*
Mike Batt
Michael Philip Batt, LVO (born 6 February 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, record producer, director and conductor. He was formerly the Deputy Chairman of the British Phonographic Industry.
Having achieved substantial ...
–
producer
Producer or producers may refer to:
Occupations
*Producer (agriculture), a farm operator
*A stakeholder of economic production
*Film producer, supervises the making of films
**Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...
,
arrangement
In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...
* Tony Bridge –
mastering at
Pye Studios
Credits adapted from the 7" single liner notes.
Charts
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Official website of David Essex: ''Evita''
{{Authority control
1976 songs
1978 singles
David Essex songs
Madonna songs
Macaronic songs
Song recordings produced by Mike Batt
Songs from Evita
Songs with lyrics by Tim Rice
Songs with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber