"Any Dream Will Do" is a popular song written 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 theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...

and

Tim Rice Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English songwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ''Jesus C ...

for the 1968 musical '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat''. It is generally the beginning and the concluding song of the musical, sung by the title character of Joseph. The song has been sung by numerous performers. In 1969, it was released as the B-side of the 7-inch single "We Will Rock You" by child singer Christopher. This recording was produced by

and

, and arranged by

. Max Bygraves released a popular version in 1972 which had another track from the film on the B-side "Close Every Door To Me". This may have been the most popular version released. Joe Cuddy's version was a number-one hit in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in 1974. The song was voted Broadway Song of the Year in 1981, and won an

Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...

in 1991. The song was also covered by

Jason Donovan Jason Sean Donovan (born 1 June 1968) is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap ''Neighbours'', playing Scott Robinson, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 millio ...

and Lee Mead, whose versions reached number one and number two respectively in the UK chart. Donovan, Mead and

Donny Osmond Donald Clark Osmond (born December 9, 1957) is an American singer, dancer, actor, television host and former teen idol. He gained fame performing with four of his elder brothers as the Osmonds, earning several top ten hits and gold albums. In the ...

performed the song at the

Concert for Diana Concert for Diana was a benefit concert held at the then newly built Wembley Stadium in London, United Kingdom in honour of Diana, Princess of Wales, on 1 July 2007, which would have been her 46th birthday. 31 August that year brought the 10t ...

on 1 July 2007. Donovan performed the song at the Platinum Party at the Palace on 4 June 2022.

Jason Donovan version

In 1991, the song was released as a single by

, who was then playing Joseph in the West End production of the musical at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...

. The single topped the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in June and July 1991; in July, it was certified Gold by the BPI for sales greater than 400,000 copies. In Donovan's native Australia, "Any Dream Will Do" peaked at number 92 on the ARIA Singles Chart in August 1991. The song was also a number-one hit in Ireland and a number-three hit in Austria.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

''Any Dream Will Do'' and Lee Mead version

In 2007, the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

television series '' Any Dream Will Do'', named after the song, searched for a new, unknown lead to play Joseph in a West End revival of '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat''. The song was performed by the twelve contestants on the programme as the opening number to the first show, and it was performed again by Lee Mead, voted by the public as the winner of the series, as the finale to the series. After the series, a single was released featuring "Any Dream Will Do", sung by Mead as the winner, and " Close Every Door", another song from ''Joseph'' which had been used each week as a contestant left the programme. It was performed by Mead along with second-placed Keith Jack and third-placed Lewis Bradley. The single was released for digital download on 12 June 2007 and entered the UK Singles Chart on 17 June at number 18. After being released on CD on 18 June, it charted at number two on 24 June. It was held from the number-one spot by

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

and

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

with their hit single "

Umbrella An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is usually designed to protect a person against rain. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally used when protec ...

". Downloads and CD single sales raise funds for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's annual ''

Children in Need ''BBC Children in Need'' is the BBC's UK Charitable organization, charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the country. Established in 1980, the organisation has raised over £1 billion by 2023 through its ...

'' charity appeal.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Performances and influences

, who has performed as Joseph in the musical successfully for many years in the 1990s, also recorded the song. His recording of the musical with the Canadian cast has sold 250,000 copies. He was also cast in the role of Joseph in the 1999 film of '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat''. * The songs " Ripple" (1970) by the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

and the gospel hymn " Because He Lives" (1971), are both similar musically to "Any Dream Will Do".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Any Dream Will Do (Song) 1968 songs 1974 singles 1991 singles 2007 singles Charity singles Donny Osmond songs Fascination Records singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Jason Donovan songs Number-one singles in Scotland Polydor Records singles Sarah Brightman songs Song recordings produced by Nigel Wright (record producer) Songs from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Songs with lyrics by Tim Rice Songs with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber UK singles chart number-one singles