Eric Woolfson's SOMEWHERE IN THE AUDIENCE Set for March 18 Release

Eric Woolfson'S SOMEWHERE IN THE AUDIENCE is set for release 18th March 2013 on Limelight Records. The alumb will be released on the anniversary of what would have been the late Eric Woolfson's 68th birthday. 'Somewhere in the Audience' is a compilation of music from four of Eric's musicals 'GAUDI', 'GAMBLER', 'POE' and 'DANCING SHADOWS'.

Vocalists include leading West End and Broadway performers, who have lent their talents to recording new vocals for a selection of songs from Woolfson's musicals including:

Steve Balsamo (Jesus Christ Superstar) www.stevebalsamo.co.uk

Anna-Jane Casey (Chicago) www.annajanecasey.com

Sharon D Clarke (Ghost the musical)

Jacqui Dankworth (Les Miserables) www.jacquidankworth.com

Louise Dearman (Wicked) www.louisedearman.com

Pia Douwes (Chicago) www.pia-douwes.de

Ben Forster (Jesus Christ Superstar) www.officialbenforster.com

James Fox (Let it Be, Chess) www.officialjamesfox.com

Gareth Gates (Les Miserables, runner up in UK's first Pop Idol) www.garethgates.com

Tim Howar (Rock of Ages, Mike & The Mechanics) www.facebook.com/ timhowarfanpage

Jon Lee (Jersey Boys, S Club 7) www.jonleeofficial.com

The late Eric Woolfson was the creator, songwriter and lyricist of The Alan Parsons Project, which has sold over 50 million albums world-wide and continues to sell and be used in films and adverts internationally. After completing the final APP album in 1986 Eric turned his attention to musical theatre - a seemingly natural progression as he always wrote concept albums with a theme or story in mind. As the APP never toured, seeing his material come to life on the musical stage brought Eric tremendous satisfaction and enjoyment.

The musicals have all had great success on stages in Europe and Asia. It was Eric's ambition to have these shows presented on stages in the West End and Broadway and it is hoped this will become a reality soon helped by the launch of this stunning album.

GAUDI -Eric initially wrote the last Alan Parsons Project album 'Gaudi' inspired by the work of the great Catalonian architect, Antonio Gaudi. He encountered Gaudi architecture whilst on a visit to Barcelona for a PR tour of an earlier APP album and it became one of his favourite cities. Some songs from the APP album were rearranged for the musical along with many songs written especially for the show. It follows the struggle of a young author in Barcelona who is writing a book about Gaudi, and has to make the impossible choice between his art, true love and the lure of money. 'Gaudi' had its premiere in Germany in 1993 and was eventually moved to a theatre which was built especially for it where it ran for four years and was seen by over half a million people.

GAMBLER - Eric wrote two APP albums inspired by gambling - 'Turn of a Friendly Card' and 'Eye in the Sky'. In 1996 he combined some of the music from these albums with new compositions for a musical inspired by Dostoyevsky's short story of the same name. The musical follows the fate of a young man who thinks he finds the key to winning in the casino. GAMBLER premiered in Germany in 1996 and ran for 18 months. Seven productions of the show have also been staged in Korea including one that toured Japan (a first for South East Asian theatre).

POE - Eric's fascination with the macabre life and work of the creator of murder mystery and science fiction - Edgar Allan Poe, inspired the first ever APP album Tales Of Mystery and Imagination and 30 years after its release, Eric decided to create a Tales of Mystery and Imagination volume 2. Whilst writing the album Eric realised that Poe's life and works would make a wonderful musical. POE premiered in a concert version at London's 'Abbey Road Studios' where a special set and seating was constructing in Studio 1 - a first of it's kind at the historic building. It went on to be staged for 18 months in Germany. Steve Balsamo and Anna-Jane Casey both starred in the Abbey Road concert version, which is available on DVD.

DANCING SHADOWS - Eric collaborated with world renowned playwright Ariel Dorfman (Death and the Maiden) who wrote the book for this musical. Inspired by a famous Korean play 'A Forest Fire' this is an anti-war love story which unfolds like a folk fairy-tale. It premiered in Seoul in Korea in 2007 and won 5 Korean Tony Awards including Best Musical. Anna-Jane Casey and Jacqui Dankworth both performed in a workshop version of the piece in London in 2006 and Eric loved how they interpreted his music. They both perform songs from Dancing Shadows on this album. This is the first time any songs from Dancing Shadows have been released.

www.somewhereintheaudience.com | www.ericwoolfsonmusic.com

The album is engineered by Haydn Bendall who is one of the world's most successful sound engineers and former chief engineer of the renowned Abbey Road Studios. He has worked with more than 100 artists including Elton John, Kate Bush, Tina Turner and the The Pet Shop Boys. He's also worked on many film soundtracks including The Long Good Friday and Ryuicki Sakamoto's piece on the Oscar and Grammy winning soundtrack to The Last Emperor. Recently Bendall mixed and engineered 'La Voce' for Russell Watson and 'Noel' for The Priests. Other projects include engineering and mixing the Vatican album 'Alma Mater' featuring the voice of Pope Benedict XVI and recording orchestral tracks for Andrea Bocelli. He is currently working with Katie Melua.

TRACK LISTING
1) Chorus Of Hope - The Brighton Festival Chorus
2) Tiny Star - Pia Douwes
3) Golden Key - Oliver Tompsett, Jon Lee
4) Parca Guell - Louise Dearman, Tim Howar
5) Somewhere In The Audience - Ben Forster
6) Forbidden Fruit - Sharon D Clarke
7) What Kind Of World - Jacqui Dankworth
8) Too Late - Louise Dearman, Tim Howar, James Fox
9) The Bells - The Brighton Festival Chorus
10) Far Away - Pia Douwes
11) If I Could Write The Book Of Life Again - Steve Balsamo & Anna-Jane Casey 12) Halfway - Sharon D. Clarke
13) Closer To Heaven - Gareth Gates

All tracks published by Woolfsongs Ltd except tracks Closer to Heaven and Too Late (*) Published by Woolfsongs Ltd/ Universal
Features Musical Direction by Rock Of Ages MD Elliott Ware.