Happy Birthday to the “First Lady of British Musical Theatre,” Olivier-winning performer Elaine Paige, born Elaine Bickerstaff on March 5, 1948, in Barnet, Hertfordshire, England. After graduating from Aida Foster Theatre School, Paige made her professional debut in a UK tour of The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd (1964) and her West End debut in the London premiere of Hair (1968). Simultaneously, she began her recording career, singing with the bands Colors of Love (1968) and Sparrow (1972).
She soon worked her way out of the ensemble of such shows as the short-lived 1971 musical Maybe That’s Your Problem and into leading roles such as Sandy in Grease (1973), Rita in Billy (1974), and Maisie in The Boyfriend (1975). Then Paige was cast as Eva Perón in the premiere of Evita (1978), for which she won an Olivier Award. That same year, she released Sitting Pretty, her first solo album. Below is Paige singing “It’s Raining on Prom Night” from Grease on the Sept. 30, 1983, episode of Ladybirds and “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” from Evita.
Next, Paige originated the role of Grizabella in Cats, landing a UK Top 10 hit with “Memory.” In 1983, she starred in Abbacadabra, then originated the role of Florence in the 1984 concept album of Chess, landing a #1 UK hit with “I Know Him So Well,” a duet with Barbara Dickson. The single topped the charts for four weeks and remains the biggest-selling record by a female duo. She then appeared in the 1986 premiere of the show, earning her second Olivier nomination. Below is Paige singing “Memory” from Cats and “I Know Him So Well” from Chess.
She continued her recording career with the albums Stages (1983, #2 UK), Cinema (1984, #12 UK), and Love Hurts (1985, #8 UK), as well as her first compilation, Memories (1987). Her next stage roles were Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes (1989), earning another Olivier nomination, and the title role in Piaf (1993), earning her fourth Olivier nod. Below is Paige singing the title song of Anything Goes at the 1990 Royal Variety performance and “Hymne a l’Amour (If You Love Me)” from Piaf.
In 1995, she took over the role of Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, receiving her fifth Olivier nomination. That same year, Paige was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. A year later, she made her Broadway debut in Sunset Boulevard. She returned to the West End in The King and I (2000), then to New York in a revival of Sweeney Todd (2004), earning a Drama Desk nomination. In 2004, she also began her weekly BBC radio show Elaine Paige on Sunday. Below is Paige singing “As If We Never Said Goodbye” from Sunset Boulevard and “Getting to Know You” from The King and I.
In 2007, she was back on the West End in The Drowsy Chaperone and, a year later, released her autobiography, Memories. In 2010, she released the UK Top 20 album Elaine Paige and Friends, then was back in the US a year later in the Broadway revival of Follies, for which she earned Drama Desk and Grammy nominations. In celebration of her 50 years in show business, Paige began a 2013 farewell tour, Page by Page by Paige, followed by the miniseries retrospective The Elaine Paige Show (2014). Below is a montage of Drowsy Chaperone (beginning and ending with Paige singing “As We Stumble Along”) and Paige singing “I’m Still Here” from Follies.