Biography
Listening to the remastered edition of Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds (1978) evoked the past on multiple levels, as the lineup of voices—among them David Essex and Justin Hayward, both then frequent presences on the pop and rock charts, along with the late Phil Lynott—also featured Julie Covington. Her dramatic delivery of the name "Nathaniel" immediately brought to mind the crisp, transparent tone that marked her contributions to the television series Rock Follies as well as her hit version of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" two and a half decades earlier. The experience underscored how Covington had once reigned over the musical and dramatic concept album, regularly placing singles on the pop charts and serving as producers' preferred choice whenever a female vocalist capable of dramatic interpretation was required.
Born in London in 1947, Covington participated in a few school productions, including Giradoux's Elektra, yet felt no compelling drive toward a performing career; instead she planned to train as a teacher and enrolled at the teachers' training college of Cambridge University, where she became a member of the Footlights. It was within that student theatrical group that she first began performing songs written by Peter Atkin and Clive James. In 1967 she cut her initial recording, the privately issued While the Music Lasts, a collaboration with Atkin that showcased material by Atkin and James; that same summer and fall she also appeared with him on The David Frost Show. She performed at the Edinburgh Festival in both 1967 and 1968, presenting Shakespeare and jazz selections. Her portrayal in the Brecht/Weill Mahagonny at the 1968 festival drew the notice of producers, agents, and audiences alike, securing her the inaugural Fringe Best Actress award. She further appeared in a pilot episode of the BBC series Twice a Fortnight alongside Terry Jones and Michael Palin. Later that December she made her first North American appearances, playing Peaseblossom in A Midsummer Night's Dream during the Oxford and Cambridge Shakespeare Company's tour.
During 1969 Covington strengthened her musical résumé through cabaret work with Peter Atkin, resulting in the second privately issued recording The Party's Moving On, again devoted to songs by Atkin and James, and she also stood in for Jon Hendricks at a club engagement. She released her debut single, "The Magic Wasn't There" b/w "Tonight Your Love Is Over," in 1970; a year later her first commercially available album, The Beautiful Changes—likewise built around Atkin and James material—appeared on EMI.
Covington made her professional stage debut in 1972 in the original London production of Godspell, which she followed by performing on the cast album that produced the hit British single "Day by Day." After Godspell she undertook an extended BBC engagement reading stories for children. Bridging disparate strands of popular culture, she took part in the original 1973 Royal Court stage production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, originating the role of Janet; that same year she played Charmian in Tony Richardson's stage Antony and Cleopatra and later collaborated with director Sam Wanamaker at the Globe Theatre. She portrayed the Spirit of the Rainbow in Peter Hall's The Tempest (1974) and Dotty in Tom Stoppard's Jumpers (1976).
Although she had already supplied backing vocals on David Essex's Rock On, Covington did not reach a broad public as a featured performer until 1976. That year she received the London Theatre Critics' award as Most Promising New Actress and was cast as Dee in Howard Schuman and Andy Mackay's Thames Television series Rock Follies, sharing the screen with Rula Lenska. The program, later broadcast in the United States, achieved widespread international success and generated a globally released album; its popularity prompted the follow-up series Rock Follies of 1977. Covington also participated in The Mermaid Frolics, the 1977 Amnesty International benefit concert and resulting film that served as precursor to the Secret Policeman's Ball events. While Rock Follies earned her a British Academy of Film and Television Arts nomination for Best Actress, she was chosen that same year to portray Eva Peron on the original studio recording of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita, and her single of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" reached the top of the U.K. charts. She followed with the 1977 hit single "Only Women Bleed," her interpretation of the Alice Cooper song.
Around this period Covington contributed singing and acting to Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds and took part in several folk-oriented projects, recording tracks with the Albion Band that subsequently appeared on the Ashley Hutchings The Guvnor series. In 1978 she recorded her second solo album, Julie Covington, for Virgin Records under producer Joe Boyd and supplied backing vocals on First Light by Richard & Linda Thompson, the Kate & Anna McGarrigle album Pronto Monto, and Rise Up Like the Sun by Ashley Hutchings. No further chart successes followed, and after participating in a production of Guys and Dolls that yielded a cast album, she largely set recording aside after 1978 in favor of stage and television work. Her role in the award-winning period film Ascendancy (1983) remains her sole major screen credit, while the War of the Worlds compact disc sustained her visibility in the early digital age. In 1999 and 2000, See for Miles and Virgin Records reissued both of her solo albums together with the two Rock Follies albums.
Born in London in 1947, Covington participated in a few school productions, including Giradoux's Elektra, yet felt no compelling drive toward a performing career; instead she planned to train as a teacher and enrolled at the teachers' training college of Cambridge University, where she became a member of the Footlights. It was within that student theatrical group that she first began performing songs written by Peter Atkin and Clive James. In 1967 she cut her initial recording, the privately issued While the Music Lasts, a collaboration with Atkin that showcased material by Atkin and James; that same summer and fall she also appeared with him on The David Frost Show. She performed at the Edinburgh Festival in both 1967 and 1968, presenting Shakespeare and jazz selections. Her portrayal in the Brecht/Weill Mahagonny at the 1968 festival drew the notice of producers, agents, and audiences alike, securing her the inaugural Fringe Best Actress award. She further appeared in a pilot episode of the BBC series Twice a Fortnight alongside Terry Jones and Michael Palin. Later that December she made her first North American appearances, playing Peaseblossom in A Midsummer Night's Dream during the Oxford and Cambridge Shakespeare Company's tour.
During 1969 Covington strengthened her musical résumé through cabaret work with Peter Atkin, resulting in the second privately issued recording The Party's Moving On, again devoted to songs by Atkin and James, and she also stood in for Jon Hendricks at a club engagement. She released her debut single, "The Magic Wasn't There" b/w "Tonight Your Love Is Over," in 1970; a year later her first commercially available album, The Beautiful Changes—likewise built around Atkin and James material—appeared on EMI.
Covington made her professional stage debut in 1972 in the original London production of Godspell, which she followed by performing on the cast album that produced the hit British single "Day by Day." After Godspell she undertook an extended BBC engagement reading stories for children. Bridging disparate strands of popular culture, she took part in the original 1973 Royal Court stage production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, originating the role of Janet; that same year she played Charmian in Tony Richardson's stage Antony and Cleopatra and later collaborated with director Sam Wanamaker at the Globe Theatre. She portrayed the Spirit of the Rainbow in Peter Hall's The Tempest (1974) and Dotty in Tom Stoppard's Jumpers (1976).
Although she had already supplied backing vocals on David Essex's Rock On, Covington did not reach a broad public as a featured performer until 1976. That year she received the London Theatre Critics' award as Most Promising New Actress and was cast as Dee in Howard Schuman and Andy Mackay's Thames Television series Rock Follies, sharing the screen with Rula Lenska. The program, later broadcast in the United States, achieved widespread international success and generated a globally released album; its popularity prompted the follow-up series Rock Follies of 1977. Covington also participated in The Mermaid Frolics, the 1977 Amnesty International benefit concert and resulting film that served as precursor to the Secret Policeman's Ball events. While Rock Follies earned her a British Academy of Film and Television Arts nomination for Best Actress, she was chosen that same year to portray Eva Peron on the original studio recording of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita, and her single of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" reached the top of the U.K. charts. She followed with the 1977 hit single "Only Women Bleed," her interpretation of the Alice Cooper song.
Around this period Covington contributed singing and acting to Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds and took part in several folk-oriented projects, recording tracks with the Albion Band that subsequently appeared on the Ashley Hutchings The Guvnor series. In 1978 she recorded her second solo album, Julie Covington, for Virgin Records under producer Joe Boyd and supplied backing vocals on First Light by Richard & Linda Thompson, the Kate & Anna McGarrigle album Pronto Monto, and Rise Up Like the Sun by Ashley Hutchings. No further chart successes followed, and after participating in a production of Guys and Dolls that yielded a cast album, she largely set recording aside after 1978 in favor of stage and television work. Her role in the award-winning period film Ascendancy (1983) remains her sole major screen credit, while the War of the Worlds compact disc sustained her visibility in the early digital age. In 1999 and 2000, See for Miles and Virgin Records reissued both of her solo albums together with the two Rock Follies albums.
Albums
