EMILY PRESCOTT: Joan Collins’ daughter Tara Newley has unearthed a lost musical masterpiece by her late father Anthony
Talking about life imitating art…here’s a perfect example. Tara Newley, daughter of 1960s singer Anthony Newley and film legend Joan Collinshas unearthed a lost musical masterpiece of her father.
The man who wrote the score for the 1971 film Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory and co-wrote the classic song Feeling Good was working on a musical about King Richard III when he died in 1999 at the age of 67.
And, of course, it was Richard III who himself was unearthed in 2012… under a parking lot in Leicester.
Tara Newley, pictured with her parents, Joan Collins, has left, and Tony has discovered a lost musical masterpiece by her late father, who wrote the score for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Tara is the first child of screen legend Joan Collins and her first husband Tony Newley
Theater producer Tara, 58, tells me reviving her father’s musical has now become an ‘obsession’
Theater producer Tara, 58, tells me that reviving her father’s musical has now become an “obsession.”
“I got curious about it a few years ago when I had to fly to America with my other siblings to update Dad’s contracts. I saw Richard III in his catalog and began to wonder what the hell had happened to it.’
Tara was a new mother when her father died. “I think searching for his last words and music has been a way of grieving and getting closer to him,” she explains.
But her search for the manuscript was hampered by Covid restrictions, as she was unable to return to America and many of her father’s former colleagues had also passed away.
Finally, Tara’s fate changed when her father’s agent’s secretary called to say she had found the manuscript in the back of an old filing cabinet. “It had a cover with pictures of Dad on the front in medieval clothes. It was like he was winking at me. I was overjoyed,” Tara says.
“Mom knows. She likes that I work with him from beyond the grave.’
She has staged the play’s first performance, a musical comedy called Digging Up Dick, referring to how the king’s body was found, and has her sights set on the West End.
Blackadder writer Ben Elton has promised to share a champagne toast with her on opening night!
Happy Branson Day!
Richard Branson clearly has an ego to match his gigantic bank balance. The billionaire celebrated his 72nd birthday with a “Richard Branson Through the Ages” party aboard one of his Virgin Voyage ships.
Guests, who showed up in a variety of Branson-inspired outfits — from flight attendants to astronauts — were even able to wear masks of his face. Richard’s musician, son Sam, 37 – above, along with his father and sister Holly, 40 – performed a song called Sympathy For The Legend which he wrote in tribute.
And just in case anyone didn’t know it was his big day, Branson announced that “a smart person” had created an Instagram filter featuring a cartoon of himself for fans to download.
Richard’s musician, son Sam, 37 – above, along with his father and sister Holly, 40 – performed a song called Sympathy For The Legend which he wrote in tribute