'Save the Children' 1988 Broadway/London CD

Hi everybody,

I recently acquired the 2-CD set "Save the Children: A Christmas Spectacular of Carols and Songs", which was recorded in 1988 using the London and Broadway casts from a lot of the hit shows of the time. The casts of Cats, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Me and My Girl, Chess, etc. participated.

It's a great CD! Elaine Paige, Colm Wilkinson, Michael Ball, Claire Moore, Jonathan Pryce, and Paul Nicholas are just a few of the artists who participated.

The aggravating thing, though, is that there's no insert to tell you exactly who the soloists are on some of the songs. If I didn't know Paul Nicholas soloed on 'Away in a Manger', I'd have a hard time figuring it out because the listing on the back of the CD case only says "Cast of Cats New York."

I did buy this secondhand, though, so I think maybe there's an insert and I just didn't get it? Does anyone have this CD and can tell me?

Anyway, it's a must have for the musical fan because the performances are all fantastic. AND they filmed several of the performances for a special, which is really cool because you can see how they incorporated the shows' sets and costumes into the numbers. Ever want to hear 'Ding Dong Merrily on High' sung on a barricade? Here's your chance! Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1p1En8GKPk&t=1256s

I still have that CD (Save the Children) which I then got from London's Dress Circle Shop. It has the inset of the song listings/singers. Please feel free to ask the info for any particular song( s). There are 22 songs all in all.

There was also a video of the songs as they were presented for the SAVE THE CHILDREN benefit, with most of the performances taking place either where they performed their original musical ( e.g., The Les Mis performers were in costume...and if I am not mistaken it was on the Les Mis stage...I think Michael Ball and Claire Moore sang WHEN A CHILD IS BORN on the staircase for PHANTOM, where they were the first replacement cast of the show back then, with the Phantom cast singing in the background, etc). Sarah Brightman's IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER was also quite exquisite. At the end, the actors (or most of them) gather together to sing together. Michael Ball starts off the singing.

Unfortunately, I cannot locate my copy now - although I think it was still on VHS format ( not sure that it was ever transferred to DVD).

Updated On: 12/21/16 at 08:12 PM