Celebrate National Album Day with Jeff Wayne’s Epic Masterpiece

Notable Performers: Richard Burton (Original), Liam Neeson (New Generation)

Length of Track: Original Double Album - 11:36, The New Generation Double Album - 12:14

 Position on album: Side 1, Track 2

Jeff's Favourite Instruments on the track: The Persian Tar and Santur

Did you know:

• This track builds the tension as the first encounter between humans and Martians.
• The Martians' Heat Ray is an unstoppable weapon, incinerating everything in its path.
• Features Richard Burton’s (or Liam Neeson's) narration, capturing the awe and terror of witnessing the Martian invasion.
• Jeff Wayne’s innovative use of Persian instruments, like the tar and santur, creates a unique musical texture for the alien menace.
• The "Fat Man" theme symbolizes the slow, lumbering quality of the Martians, contrasting their terrifying technology with their physical limitations on Earth due to gravity.

‘Horsell Common and The Heat Ray’ is the second track on the double album which sees the Martian’s first land on Earth, on Hosell Common, Surrey. The inspiration behind this track can be linked back to HG Wells’ original story. “When I was composing the sequence for my original double album, the sequence ‘Horsell Common and the Heat Ray’, contained a theme that I titled - ‘Fat Man’.” Jeff goes on to tell us more about his:

 “This [theme] represented the ‘lumbering’ qualities of the Martians once they arrived and began walking on Earth.”

Jeff continues to explain the origins of naming this theme ‘Fat Man’ - “HG Wells’ knowledge of science helped him with his story to include the major differences of the pull of gravity between Mars and Earth. Once on Earth, the Martians, unless in one of their Machines, were far too heavy to move fast. So a heavy Martian, to me, could only be called - ‘Fat Man’! The Persian Tar and Santur play the lead to the ‘Fat Man’ theme. The sound of these instruments are so unique and gave me the qualities I was looking for in this theme.” 

Both Persian string instruments, the Tar is similar to a lute and is plucked, whereas the Santur is a percussion string instrument. Played by hitting the strings of the instrument with a hammer, the Santur’s origins can be traced back thousands of years.

Notable Performers: Richard Burton and Phil Lynott (original double album), Liam Neeson and Maverick Sabre (The New Generation)  Length of Track: 5 minutes and 53 seconds (original album) 6 minutes and 57 seconds (The New Generation album)  Position on album: Side 3 (Act 2) Track 1, Side 3 (Act 2) Track 3  Jeff's Favourite Instruments on the track: The accompanying piano and symphonic stringsThe Red Weed is a composition from Jeff Wayne’s The War of The Worlds which symbolizes the Martians taking over in Act 2. The Red Weed is one of the Martian’s weapons which spreads uncontrollably and suffocates the landscape.

• Jeff Wayne composed the piece using two separate keys to reflect the beautiful but deadly nature of the alien vegetation.
• The track combines beautiful yet unsettling symphonic strings and piano, giving the weed an ominous, creeping presence.
• The immersive experience reflects this as guests explore a world taken over by the Martians and the suffocating Red Weed.

In the Immersive Experience, The Red Weed Part 1 forms the storyline during the interval. You enter a secret themed bar only accessible to those fleeing the Martian forces.

Kept in a holding area in Whitstable, where the Red Weed has already begun to take over, before advancing to safer pastures – a church where you will meet Parson Nathaniel and his wife, Beth. 

Jeff Wayne remixed The Red Weed Part 1, extending it to 20 minutes, which is heard in the interval - as Jeff puts it “Whilst guests enjoy a Red Weed cocktail, take in the beauty of the set design and discuss the first half of the show, The Red Weed will be playing around them in surround sound.”

Act 2 begins and Earth has become a blanket of red whilst George Herbert and his fiancée, Carrie, remain separated. George traverses through a ‘weird and lurid landscape, as if of another planet’ because The Red Weed has taken root on Earth. 

With scarlet feelers The Red Weed clings to streams, blankets fields and crawls along trees, transforming the world around The Journalist into a place he doesn’t recognise.

The track was inspired by HG Wells’ descriptions of the 'Vegetation Of Death' which the Martians brought to Earth in seed-form via their cylinders.

Jeff said: “What I did as a composer, which I’d never done before, is compose a piece of music that was in two separate keys and hopefully achieve what HG Wells did with his writing, which is to give the impression in musical form of something that had a beauty but also had a menace and a suffocating quality.

“I composed the part to sound very free form, almost jazz-like. This was deliberate to achieve a haunting and dreamlike sound which represents what The Red Weed has done to Earth’s environment. It’s now my favourite track on the double album. It seems it’s others' favourite too, particularly mothers-to-be! Bizarrely I’ve had tons of letters over the years from pregnant mothers who listen to The Red Weed Part 1 frequently, finding it rather calming during their pregnancy!”

Notable Performers: Justin Hayward, Gary Barlow

Length of Track: 7 minutes and 43 seconds

Position on album: Track 4 (Original Double Album & The New Generation)

Jeff's Favourite Instruments on the track: Pipe Synthesisers & Mandolin

Did you know:

• The song was originally written as a jingle for a Lego commercial
• Justin Hayward performs the vocals on the original double album.
• It was the only song on the album that existed before Jeff began composing The War of The Worlds.
• The single reached #5 on the UK charts.
• The song is played at many autumnal events and festivals worldwide.

Forever Autumn is one of the tracks that features on the original double album and on The New Generation album. It has been performed world-wide by solo artists, pop groups and choirs as well as instrumentally by small groups with varied line-ups right up to symphony orchestras. 

It is now a part of Jeff Wayne's The War of The Worlds: The Immersive Experience. 

"The Forever Autumn narrative is a major part of the story" says Jeff. The song follows George Herbert, The Journalist, in his search for his fiancée Carrie. He is desperate to get them to safety, out of England and away from the Martians. 

“When George arrives at their house, Carrie isn't there" says Jeff, "he sees on the ground a locket he had given to Carrie, raising greater concern if he will ever see her again. It’s a song of heartbreak and loss that almost anyone of any age can relate to. I‘ve been deeply touched by the letters I’ve received, or the numerous fans, young and old, that I’ve met over the years who have told me how Forever Autumn has affected them so deeply.”

Jeff continues “in every way the song is performed, it always seems to have a deep emotion captured in the words and the music.” 

“[Forever Autumn] started life around 1968, as the music from a 30 second Lego TV advert I was commissioned to compose.” 

“With the volume of letters and calls received because of the ad, I decided to extend the music and asked two highly talented artists that I was producing, (Paul Vigrass and Gary Osborne) to see if they’d consider writing lyrics to what could become a completed song”, explains Jeff.

The completed song was released on their debut album Queues. The single went on to reach No.3 in Japan and Top 30 in the US. 

“Several years later when writing The War of The Worlds, I added Forever Autumn into the score, as within the storyline of the double album, it fit so perfectly.” said Jeff

Notable Performers: Phil Lynott and Julie Covington (Original Double Album), Maverick Sabre and Joss Stone (The New Generation)

Length of Track: 9 minutes and 52 seconds

Position on album: Disc 2, Track 2

Jeff's Favourite Instruments on the track: Electric Guitars and Symphonic Strings

Did you know…

• Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy played Parson Nathaniel in the original album.
• Julie Covington had achieved fame with Evita before being featured on The War of The Worlds.
• The song delves into the struggle between Love and Hate, Good and Evil, Hope and Hopelessness. 
• Lynott’s portrayal of Parson Nathaniel was praised for its raw emotional intensity.
• The song was re-imagined in the 2012 New Generation album with Joss Stone and Maverick Sabre.
• The live performances of this song often feature intense lighting to reflect the emotional conflict.

The Spirit of Man is a deeply dramatic track, reflecting the internal struggle between Love and Hate, Good and Evil, Hope and Hopelessness as the Martian invasion ravages the world. Sung by Julie Covington and Phil Lynott, the song is a powerful duet between two characters with opposing worldviews. 

Jeff explained the story behind the classic song, and the characters introduced to us here; “The Spirit of Man is a duet between Parson Nathaniel and his wife Beth. Nathaniel arrives in the scene declaring the Martians are the Devil only he can save the world but soon sinks into madness believing all hope is lost for Mankind. Beth, his wife, believes the complete opposite - that there is everything to live for, even to die for, and tries to bring Nathaniel back from his now obvious madness, and loss of faith.”

Notable Performers: Richard Burton and David Essex (original double album), Liam Neeson and Ricky Wilson (The New Generation)

Length of Track: 12 minutes and 13 seconds (original double album)

Position on album: Side 4 (Act 2) Track 1

Jeff's Favourite Instruments on the track: Symphonic Strings and Brass Band

Did you know…

• Brave New World relates the utopian dreams of The Artilleryman, who thinks that Mankind can be saved from the Martian invasion by building a new world underground.
• The character of the Artilleryman is brought to life by actor and musician David Essex, whose passionate and dynamic vocals convey both the character's charm and vulnerability.
• The song features dramatic shifts in tempo and tone, mirroring the Artilleryman's fluctuating emotions as he navigates his ambitious dreams and the harsh reality of the situation.
• Blending rock elements with orchestral arrangements, Jeff created a soundscape that evokes both the urgency of battle and the allure of hope.

In the immersive experience The Artilleryman’s plan is told partially inside a dome.

Jeff explains the new opportunities this produced -  “Brave New World was mixed in surround sound because in the dome, there are multiple speakers that are situated all around, giving control over where sound is placed and creating a unique 360 sonic experience for our guests.”

Jeff Wayne remixed and remastered classic tracks from the album exclusively for The Immersive Experience. For the sequence surrounding Brave New World specifically Jeff “rearranged the sequence’s structure, shortening it from 12 minutes to 4-5 minutes to work with the impressive projection mapping, so both visual and audio elements would work together creating a most imaginative multi-sensory experience.”

Jeff continues by explaining changes made for the Immersive Experience - “the acting sections in The Immersive Experience have been extended to give a more personal interaction with The Artilleryman and our audiences - he had a plan and wanted everyone to know about it!”