The Stage

Don Black 70th birthday show to air on Radio 2

Published Wednesday 9 April 2008 at 15:45 by Matthew Hemley

Sunset Boulevard lyricist Don Black’s 70th birthday is set to be marked with a special concert staged at the London Palladium and broadcast by the BBC.

Radio 2 is understood to be in early discussions with Black about the event, which is expected to feature the most popular songs from his catalogue of works.

In a career spanning 40 years, Black has collaborated with many high-profile musical theatre composers, including Andrew Lloyd Webber on the productions Sunset Boulevard, Aspects of Love and Tell Me on a Sunday, which was revived in 2003 with Denise Van Outen in the lead role.

The lyricist, who turns 70 in June, also worked on the Bollywood show Bombay Dreams and, most recently, with Michel Legrand on a musical version of The Count of Monte Cristo.

In addition, Black penned the words for hit song Diamonds Are Forever and the theme to Born Free, for which he won an Oscar.

Radio 2’s concert is expected to feature an array of top talent and will have support from Capital Voices, a singing group regularly booked to provide vocals for major television, film and theatre events.

Anne Skates, the group’s director, told The Stage: “The concert is set to take place in August. Don’s lyrics are fabulous - he has written so many shows. It will be a really nice event to do.”

The show is scheduled for August 17 and a spokeswoman for the Really Useful Group, owner of the Palladium, confirmed a booking had been made by the BBC on that date.

A spokeswoman for Radio 2 said discussions were taking place, but insisted that it was too early to confirm details and that the concert was not yet in the schedule. The Corporation is being particularly guarded about revealing too much, after plans for a special Radio 2 concert of The Phantom of the Opera, scheduled to be held at the Royal Albert Hall in June this year, had to be put on hold.

Lee Mead and Josh Groban were due to take part in the event, part of the BBC’s celebrations to mark Lloyd Webber’s 60th birthday, but the concert has since been postponed because the composer is too busy this year.

Meanwhile, Black is to appear as part of a new series of events at the Shaw Theatre in London. Called Spotlight On, the series will see Elaine Paige interview a variety of talent from the world of theatre in regular lunchtime slots at the venue. Other names set to take part include Willy Russell and Michael Ball. Black will be interviewed on April 17 at 1pm.