The one lesson I’ve learned from life

DUBBED first lady of British musical theatre, Elaine Paige, 68, is best known for andrew lloyd Webber’s Evita. she went on to appear in Cats (the song, Memory, becoming her signature tune) and Chess, recording i Know Him so Well with Barbara Dickson. she has recorded 22 solo albums. she has never married and lives in london.

Being stubborn is the key to success

EVER SINCE i can remember, determination has played a key part in my life and my career. i distinctly remember a day at school when my headmistress asked me what i’d like to do when i grew up. i told her i wanted to play tennis. ‘Don’t be ridiculous, Elaine,’ she said. ‘You can’t even see over the net.’

As i’m barely 5ft tall, she was right. i was upset, but throughout my teens, even though i pursued a stage career, i didn’t put down my racket.

When i was playing a hippy in Hair in my late teens, i became fascinated by a pearl of wisdom in an ancient chinese text. it was: ‘Perseverance Furthers’. it instantly struck a chord with me.

During my 20s, i got a number of small parts in successful musicals such as Grease, Billy and The Boyfriend. But never the star role. i’d audition for the lead, get down to the last three and then not be chosen. it was incredibly frustrating. in fact, i got so disillusioned that i seriously thought about giving up and going to work in a nursery.

Then came the auditions for Evita. i remember clearly my father, Eric, saying: ‘ You’re always quoting that phrase ‘Perseverance Furthers’. Well, now’s the time to put it into action.’ it was all to do with a positive attitude, he said. i had to persevere, move forward and give it my best shot. And so i did.

i held that phrase to my heart as i was called back many times to sing again for Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim rice and director Hal Prince. On the eighth occasion, i went to Andrew’s house in Belgravia and sang for all three of them in his study. i was terrified, but i was determined to give it all i’d got.

Waiting for the news over the next couple of weeks was agonising, but finally my agent got in touch: i’d won the part.

it’s no exaggeration to say my life was never the same again. now i know that if you persevere long enough and hard enough for what you really want, you’ll get there.

All these years later, though, and i still play tennis three or four times a week.

ELAINE’s series of UK concerts, stripped Back, start in October. For tickets go to elainepaige.com