"Unexpected Song" is a 1984 song from the musical ''

Song and Dance ''Song and Dance'' is a musical comprising two acts, one told entirely in "Song" and one entirely in "Dance", tied together by a unifying love story. The "Song" act is '' Tell Me on a Sunday'', with lyrics by Don Black and music by Andrew Ll ...

'' originally sung (on Broadway) by

Bernadette Peters Bernadette Peters ( ''née'' Lazzara; born February 28, 1948) is an American actress and singer. Over a career spanning more than six decades, she has starred in musical theatre, television and film, performed in solo concerts and released reco ...

. The music was written by

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...

, with lyrics by Don Black. It is one of Lloyd Webber's most frequently performed compositions.

Background

The music for "Unexpected Song" originates from Lloyd Webber's instrumental album ''

Variations Variation or Variations may refer to: Science and mathematics * Variation (astronomy), any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite, particularly of the moon * Genetic variation, the difference in DNA among individual ...

'', much of which became the dance music in the second half of Lloyd Webber's musical ''Song and Dance''. Black wrote lyrics to one of the tracks, "Variation 5," which became "Unexpected Song." The song was released by

Marti Webb Marti Webb (born 1943) is an English actress and singer. She appeared on stage in '' Evita'' before starring in Andrew Lloyd Webber's one-woman show '' Tell Me on a Sunday'' in 1980. This included her biggest hit single, " Take That Look Off Yo ...

and

Justin Hayward David Justin Hayward (born 14 October 1946) is an English musician. He was the guitarist and frontman of the rock band the Moody Blues from 1966 until its dissolution in 2018. He became the group's principal vocalist and its most prolific son ...

as a duet in 1981. Later, Black wrote new lyrics to the melody and retitled the song "When You Want to Fall in Love." The original lyrics were re-instated when the show was re-written for Sarah Brightman's run. Brightman released the song as a single in 1984. "Unexpected Song" was later used in Lloyd Webber's and Black's reworking of the show, returning to the original album title of ''

Tell Me on a Sunday ''Tell Me on a Sunday'' is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Don Black. A one-woman show, it has been performed by a number of female singers/actors, most notably Marti Webb and Bernadette Peters. A one-act song cycle, ...

''.

Composition

"Unexpected Song" is a ballad.

Chart performance

Brightman's single peaked at #76 on the UK Singles Chart.

Track listing

# "Unexpected Song" # "Come Back With the Same Look in Your Eyes"

Covers

on ''Song & Dance: Original Broadway Cast Recording'' (1985) *

Michael Crawford Michael Patrick Smith (born 19 January 1942), known professionally as Michael Crawford, is an English actor, comedian and singer. Crawford is best known for playing the hapless Frank Spencer in the sitcom '' Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'', Cornel ...

, with the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

, on '' Songs from the Stage and Screen'' (1987) * Paul Jones on ''The Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection'' (1991) * Clare Burt on ''Aspects of Andrew Lloyd Webber Volume 2'' (1996) *

Michael Ball Michael Ashley Ball (born 27 June 1962) is an English singer, presenter and actor. In 1985, he made his West End debut as Marius Pontmercy in the original production of ''Les Misérables''. In 1989, he reached number two in the UK Singles C ...

on Julian Lloyd Webber's ''

Unexpected Songs ''Unexpected Songs'' is a 2006 album by Julian Lloyd Webber. Track listing # "Star of the County Down"/"Lady D'Arbanville" by Cat Stevens/Trad. arr. Chowhan # "Oblivion" by Ástor Piazzolla arr. Lenehan # "Marble Halls" by Michael Balfe # "Prelud ...

'' (2006) *

Anthony Warlow Anthony Warlow (born 18 November 1961) is an Australian musical theatre performer, noted for his character acting and considerable vocal range. He is a classically trained lyric baritone and made his debut with the Australian Opera in 1980. ...

on ''Best of Act One'' * Denise Van Outen on ''Tell Me On a Sunday'' (2006) * Myrra Malmberg on ''Unexpected: Myrra Malmberg Sings Lloyd Webber'' (1997) *

Dave Willetts Dave Willetts (born 24 June 1952) is an English singer and actor known for having leading roles in West End musicals. His West End credits include leading roles in ''The Phantom of the Opera'', ''Cats'', ''Ragtime'', ''Les Misérables'', ' ...

on ''The Musicals Unplugged'' (2003) *

Marie Osmond Olive Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959) is an American singer, actress, television personality, author, and businesswoman. She is known for her girl next door, girl-next-door image and her decades-long career in many different areas. Her musi ...

on ''Unexpected'' (2021)

References

1984 singles Songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals Sarah Brightman songs Songs with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber Songs with lyrics by Don Black (lyricist) 1984 songs {{1980s-single-stub