Wilson: Boy Friend (The) (Orginal London Cast) / Slade: Salad Days (Original London Cast) (1954)
4/30/2008, 29 Tracks, 1:16:13
Featuring
Violetta Becket-Williams
Anne Rogers
Anthony Hayes
Denise Hirst
Hugh Paddick
Joan Sterndale Bennett
John Rutland
Larry Drew
Maria Charles
Stan Edwards
Julian Slade
Christine Finn
Edward Rubach
Eleanor Drew
James Cairncross
John Warner
Michael Meacham
Robert Docker
London Orchestra
Sandy Wilson
Did you know?
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Composer Biography
Sandy Wilson and Julian Slade, composers featured on this album, both gained their first writing and acting experience at university, Wilson at Oxford and Slade at Cambridge.
Historical Context
In 1950s British theatre, while playwrights like John Osborne and Harold Pinter introduced realism, Sandy Wilson and Julian Slade continued the tradition of light, frothy musical comedies.
Composition History
Julian Slade's musical, Salad Days, was initially conceived as a three-week end-of-season show for the Bristol Old Vic before becoming a major London hit.
Composition History
Sandy Wilson's musical, The Boy Friend, began as a short piece for 11pm performances at The Players' Theatre before being expanded into a full-length musical due to its success.
Notable Performances
The Boy Friend opened at Wyndham's Theatre in London in 1954 and ran for five years, with a Broadway production later that year introducing Julie Andrews to American audiences.
Cultural Impact
Salad Days set a new record for the longest run of a British theatre musical, surpassing Chu Chin Chow, The Boy Friend, and My Fair Lady, a record held until Lionel Bart's Oliver.
Critical Reception
Julian Slade, composer of Salad Days, reportedly found it 'depressing always to be known as the Salad Days man' because nothing else he wrote achieved the same popularity.
