a b c "The War of the Worlds: The Musical Drama - Interview - Jeff Wayne". Sci-Fi Bulletin. 29 November 2018 . Retrieved 16 February 2022. a b c d Burrows, Alex (26 September 2020). "The story behind Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds". Loudersound . Retrieved 16 February 2022. Later in the year, the final guest was announced as actor Callum O'Neill, who portrayed H.G. Wells on stage in three separate stages of his life.

Dome, Malcolm (4 September 2017). "The Prog Interview: Inside the Mind of The Moody Blues frontman Justin Hayward". Loudersound . Retrieved 21 February 2022. Musical Version Of "The War Of The Worlds" ". Dutch Charts . Retrieved 25 October 2023. {{ cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= ( help)

Following lengthy negotiations, Universal Pictures agreed to film Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds live. The show was filmed live on April 25th, 2006 at Wembley Arena. Musical Version Of "The War Of The Worlds" ". RMNZ . Retrieved 25 October 2023. {{ cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= ( help)

Flynn, John L. (2005). "Chapter 6:The Jeff Wayne album". War of the worlds: from Wells to Spielberg. Galactic Books. pp.75–84. ISBN 0-9769400-0-0. Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds – The New Generation: Alive On Stage (2012)". Contains Moderate Peril. 20 January 2014. Archived from the original on 31 May 2015 . Retrieved 30 May 2015. Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of the War of the Worlds The New Generation - New Double Album Released By Sony Music". Metro Radio Arena. 12 November 2012. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015 . Retrieved 30 May 2015. In January 1975, [6] Wayne and his father acquired the rights to adapt the work from Wells's estate, which at the time was overseen by Wells's son Frank. Wayne spent three months locating Frank Wells, and found his ideas were well received because it was the first adaptation that stayed true to the story. [4] Wayne was aware of the famous 1938 radio drama adaptation directed and narrated by Orson Welles, but he wanted to stay close to the original story and set his version in Victorian England. [4] From the start Wayne saw his adaptation as an opera, with "story, leitmotifs, musical phrases, sounds and compositions that relate to the whole." [3] He wanted the music to have a "big, symphonic" sound when humans were telling the story, and a more aggressive and electric-based sound when the Martians were in action. [8] Wayne started by "organising a cast of characters", while having the book adapted to fit the content of the songs he had outlined for it by Doreen Wayne, his future stepmother who at the time was an established script writer and journalist. [9] Wayne used artistic license to create a love interest by replacing The Journalist's brother for Carrie, his wife. [10] At the same time, Wayne started to write the score and recorded demos in the studio, paying particular attention to how Wells originally wrote the story as a series of episodes with multiple cliff hangers to each chapter. [7] [3] Wayne recalled that he "wanted to have a bit of pressure" applied to the project in January 1976, so he booked studio time at Advision Studios in Fitzrovia, London for May of that year. The idea proved to be a productive for Wayne, who completed a draft of the entire work in six weeks. [3] a b Shea, Christopher D. (20 March 2016). " 'War of the Worlds' Shape-Shifts Onto the London Stage". The New York Times . Retrieved 21 March 2016.Album of the week - Various Artists: The War of the Worlds" (PDF). Music Week. 3 June 1978. p.46 . Retrieved 17 February 2022– via World Radio History. Wayne's alternate version of the album with the songs edited for radio airplay was distributed to stations to promote the original concept album. It became a success in its own right, prompting Wayne to prepare a full commercial release. The set, entitled Highlights from Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds, was released in 1981 by Columbia Records.

British album certifications – Jeff Wayne – War of the Worlds". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 16 November 2019. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrateded.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p.19. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds". LiveNation. 1 November 2012. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013 . Retrieved 23 December 2012. a b c d e f Wyatt, Malcolm (15 November 2014). "The Eve of the Final Tour – The Jeff Wayne Interview". WriteWyattUK . Retrieved 15 February 2022.a b Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDFed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p.298. The album originated when Wayne was touring with singer-songwriter David Essex, for whom he also worked as his producer and musical director. Wayne felt the composing side of his career "had diminished" by this time, and started looking for a story "to get passionate about" and interpret musically, to which his father Jerry suggested the science-fiction novel The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells. [3] [4] The story instantly caught Wayne's imagination, and he finished the book in a single read. [5] He later said that a musical adaptation of other books were possible, and recalled being impressed by 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham, and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. [4] However, Wayne went on to read Wells's book "three or four times" and saw the 1953 film adaption, and decided it was the most suitable for a musical adaptation. [6] [7]

Fortunately I wasn’t the only person who felt that a Musical work based upon HG Wells’ iconic novel had promise, and we managed to attract an incredible cast - Richard Burton one of the leading men of his day, played The Journalist. The rest of our cast were musically based - and what a diverse and special group they were. The Moody Blues’ Justin Hayward (The Sung Thoughts of The Journalist), David Essex (The young Artilleryman), Thin Lizzy’s Phil Lynott (Parson Nathaniel), Manfred Manns Earth Band’s Chris Thompson (The Voice of Humanity) and Julie Covington (Beth, Parson Nathaniel’s wife). The Final Arena tour ended on 16 December 2014 in Amsterdam. Speaking about the last show, Jeff Wayne said, "Bringing The War of the Worlds to life in many of the world's finest arenas has been the most amazing experience for me over the last seven years. We've achieved more than we ever thought was possible both musically and technologically. However, the time is right to take The War of the Worlds in new directions after the 2014 tour." [27] 2014 The Final Arena tour dates [ edit ] List of The Final Arena European tour 2014 dates In September 1978, Wayne had entered negotiations with Paramount Pictures over the film rights and with two concert producers, one of which being Showco, to present a live stage version of the album. The idea came to nothing, and it took Wayne until 2006 to stage a concert tour of the album. [11] Dates McIver, Brian (30 October 2014). "Scots actor Callum O'Neill ages 50 years every night to wage War of the Worlds on the big stage". DailyRecord.co.uk . Retrieved 24 December 2014.

a b c "Liam Neeson joins War of the Worlds musical as hologram". BBC News. 18 November 2011 . Retrieved 30 May 2015. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Various (2005). Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of The Worlds (Collector's Edition) (Liner notes). Columbia Records/Sony BMG. In 1999, a third-person shooter, also entitled Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds, was developed by Pixelogic and released for the Sony PlayStation. It used much of the 1998 game's music and graphical elements, but featured an entirely different campaign with a focus on vehicular combat. In 1984 CRL Group PLC released Jeff Wayne's Video Game Version of The War of the Worlds for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum home computer. This was released in Germany as Jeff Wayne's Video Version von Der Krieg der Welten. a b Briggs, Bev (10 June 1978). "A direct hit Mr Wayne!" (PDF). Record Mirror. p.21 . Retrieved 17 February 2022– via World Radio History.