Andrew Lloyd Webber "Joseph" began life as a short cantata that gained some recognition on its second staging with a favourable review in "The Times". For its subsequent performances, Rice and Lloyd Webber revised the show and added new songs to expand it to a more substantial length. Continued expansion eventually culminated in a 1972 stage musical and then a two-hour-long production being staged in the West End in 1973 on the back of the success of "Jesus Christ Superstar". In 1969 Rice and Lloyd Webber wrote a song for the Eurovision Song Contest called "Try It and See", which was not selected.
Variations (Andrew Lloyd Webber album) for cello and rock band. The work premiered at the 1977 Sydmonton Festival with rock band Colosseum II, featuring Gary Moore, Jon Hiseman and Don Airey being joined by Barbara Thompson (sax, flute), Rod Argent (piano, synthesizer, keyboards) and Julian Lloyd Webber (cello). It was subsequently rearranged and recorded in 1978. It reached Number 2 on the UK album charts. The cover is based on the painting "" by Philip Mercier. The work was used in musical "Song and Dance" (1982) and David Cullen made an arrangement of the work for cello and orchestra. The opening and closing variations have