Music from The War of the Worlds album by Jeff Wayne, with Richard Burton.
The music and lyrics for this best-selling album and single were adapted from the classic science fiction story by H.G. Wells, who lived nearby in Southsea and Harting village.
Composed by Jeff Wayne in 1978, ‘The Eve of The War’ is one of the world’s most iconic and instantly recognisable pieces of modern day music. It was a big hit in the charts and Jeff’s musical version of ‘The War of The Worlds’ has sold over 16 million records to date. The song was performed by Justin Hayward.
H.G. Wells had a significant local connection as he worked a draper’s apprentice from 1881 to 1883 at Hyde’s Drapery Emporium on King’s Road, Southsea. Wells used Southsea and areas around Portsmouth as setting for his fictional novels, including The War of the Worlds.
Did You Know?
Wells described his time as an apprentice as a ‘miserable experience’, but it fuelled his desire to write, inspiring novels like ‘Kipps’, pushing him into becoming a famous novelist worldwide.