Lift Off Live - Songs from the Musical | |
---|---|
Album cover (CD) | |
Performers |
Mark Mitchell as Mr. Fish |
Music |
Chris Neal |
Lyrics |
Chris Neal |
Label |
ACTF Records |
Released |
1996 |
Recorded |
October/November 1995. The Living Room, Sydney |
Lift-Off Live - Songs from the Musical is the original cast recording album for Lift Off Live. It was released independently by the ACTF under their own label ACTF Records in 1996 on both CD and cassette. The album was distributed by Movieplay Australia. As a result of the production's low publicity and the fact that it was only available after performances and directly from the ACTF, the album sold very poorly and has thus become one of Australia's rarest cast albums.
Writing and Recording[]
Writing for both the book, lyrics and music began in 1993. Garth Boomer had taken the position of writer, however, he was very unwell, so composer Chris Neal and producer Patricia Edgar started pre-production at Garth's residence. Sadly, Garth passed away from cancer shortly after starting the book and lyrics, this indefinitely put the production on hold, and it wasn't until two years later when development began again. Helena Harris was brought on as producer alongside Patricia, and writers Chris Anastassiades, Sue Amoddio, Ray Boseley and Robert Greenberg took on the task of finishing Garth's script, as well as the remaining lyrics.
The cast of Lift Off Live mostly consisted of very well known Australian performers, and the production's voice soundtrack and song vocals were recorded at Artec Studios in Naremburn. The music was created by Chris Neal at his former home studio in Chatswood, Sydney. Two additional musicians (Andrew Oh, sax and Kirk Lorange, guitar) were brought in to provide more of a realistic feel to Chris' keyboard tunes.
Chris Neal believes that the tracks written for the production were some of the best in Lift Off.
Personnel[]
Performers[]
- Mark Mitchell as Mr. Fish
- Toni Lamond as Boss
- Philip Quast as Lonely
- Monica Trapaga as Zelda
- Tony Sheldon as Wolf
- Bob Baines as Boris
- David Whitney as Morris
- Linda Nagle as Doris
Musicians[]
- Chris Neal (keyboards and programming)
- Kirk Lorange (guitars)
- Andrew Oh (saxophone)
Additional crew and notes[]
- Engineer - Mike Stavrou
- Producer - Chris Neal
- Project Coordinator - Karen Telfer, Screensong Pty Ltd.
- Lift Off Live producers - Patricia Edgar and Helena Harris
- Lift Off Live director - Wayne Harrison
- Script of the musical - Garth Boomer, Robert Greenberg, Sue Amoddio and Chris Anastassiades.
Tracklisting[]
- Do the Wakadoo
- Waiting for a Friend
- Rules Rule OK!
- E.C.
- Same Again
- Rule the World
- Gotta Get Back
- Lotis Lifts Off
- Yucky Poo at Wakadoo
- Waiting for a Friend (reprise)
- Pig Heaven
- I'm Sorry
- My Name is Wolf
- The Tummy Ache Song
- Do the Wakadoo (reprise)
- Lift Off Theme (instrumental)
Trivia[]
- Mark Mitchell was the only live performer in Lift Off Live, his vocals on the album were recorded especially for the publication of the soundtrack.
- The character voices (with the exception of Mark Mitchell as Mr. Fish) featured on this album were the exact same recordings used during the production of Lift Off Live. This was due to the fact that it is nearly impossible to sing professionally while dancing in a full body suit, and the fact that many of the voice cast weren't trained in that department; so a team of professional dancers were brought in to perform the costume roles and sync up with the soundtrack and songs.
- This album is one of the last pieces of Lift Off merchandise to ever be produced.
- It is estimated that less than 100 copies of the album still exist today.