Paige's first professional appearance was in the UK tour of the Anthony Newley/Leslie Bricusse musical The Roar of the Greasepaint—the Smell of the Crowd. She made her West End debut in Hair, and went on to featured roles in Jesus Christ Superstar, Nuts, Grease, and Billy (a musical adaptation of the film Billy Liar.)
In 1978, Hal Prince offered the still relatively unknown Paige the title role in Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita after Julie Covington, who played the role on the album turned down the part. This proved to be the defining moment in her evolution to the self proclaimed title "First Lady of British Musical Theatre".
Paige has portrayed some of Lloyd Webber's most notable female characters, originating the role of Grizabella in Cats (a role she reprised for a video release). She took on the role late in rehearsal when the actress Judi Dench had to pull out due to a torn Achilles tendon. Her performance of the song Memory from that show is her signature piece.
In 1994, Paige took over the role of Norma Desmond in Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard when Betty Buckley was ill, before stepping into the part full time the following year. She transferred to the American production to make her Broadway debut in a performance that Lloyd Webber described as "musically terrific" in 1996, staying with the show until it closed the following year. In 1998, Paige made a guest star appearance at the Andrew Lloyd Webber, fiftieth birthday celebration in the Royal Albert Hall. She sang Memory and Don't Cry for Me Argentina.
By no means has Paige limited her theatre credits to Lloyd Webber projects. In 1986, she appeared as Florence in Chess, (lyrics by Tim Rice, music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, formerly of ABBA), a role she had originated for the 1984 RCA double-disc concept album. The show was notable at the time for its set, which featured a large, tilting stage that resembled an illuminated chess board, with a proscenium built from television screens. For this role Paige was nominated for Laurence Olivier Award in a category Outstandng Performance by an Actress in a Musical.
She followed this success with a hit revival of Cole Porter's Anything Goes in 1989 which she co-produced with Tim Rice, based on the contemporary US (Lincoln Center) production starring Patti LuPone. In 1993, she embarked on a troubled run as famed French chanteuse Édith Piaf in Pam Gems' musical play Piaf (1993). In 2000 she appeared in another acclaimed revival, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's The King and I, in which the King was played by Jason Scott Lee.
In 2004, she sang the role of Mrs. Lovett in the New York City Opera production of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd. In June 2007 Paige will play the title role in the musical comedy The Drowsy Chaperone at London's Novello Theatre.
Paige also has had success in the UK singles charts. I Know Him So Well (from Chess), her duet with Barbara Dickson, held the #1 position in the British charts for four weeks, and still remains the biggest selling record by a female duo in the Guinness Book of Records. She also had a top ten hit with Memory from Cats. Additionally, she has had eight consecutive gold and four multi-platinum albums.
Paige released her first full studio album of new recordings in twelve years, "Essential Musicals" in October 2006. It includes popular songs from musicals identified by a poll on her radio show.
Paige has hosted her own BBC television specials as well as starred in several films for the network, and has also performed in a number of televised Royal Variety Shows. Arts commentator Melvyn Bragg hosted a special edition of The South Bank Show about Paige's career in 1996, entitled The Faces of Elaine Paige. She made special recordings of some of her most famous songs exclusively for the programme. It is frequently shown on PBS in the USA.
More recently, Paige has focused on television appearances, playing Dora Bunner in the 2004 ITV adaptation of Agatha Christie's A Murder is Announced, before performing a guest role as a post mistress in Where the Heart Is.
In September 2004, Paige began a weekly radio show, Elaine Paige on Sunday, on BBC Radio 2, featuring music from musical theatre and film scores. Occasional interviews are also featured, having included theatre impressario Cameron Mackintosh, actress Angela Lansbury, the Pet Shop Boys and Elton John. Paige's show has been described by Elisabeth Mahoney of The Guardian as a "rare wrong move" on the part of Radio 2.
One Night Only
Elaine Paige Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can't see anyone but you
Sha bop sha bop
Are the stars out tonight
I don't know if it's cloudy or bright
I only have eyes for you dear
But I can't see a thing in the sky
I only have eyes for you
I don't know if we're in a garden
Or on a crowded avenue
You are here and so am I
Maybe millions of people go by
But they all disappear from view
And I only have eyes for you
The song “I Only Have Eyes For You” by Elaine Paige is a love song that expresses the intensity of the singer’s devotion towards their lover. The lyrics are metaphorical in nature, portraying the depth of emotions that the singer experiences. The opening line, “My love must be a kind of blind love, I can’t see anyone but you” indicates how the singer is so infatuated by their partner that nobody else seems to exist in their world. The repetition of the phrase “sha bop sha bop” creates a rhythmic effect, enhancing the song’s romantic nature.
The next stanza describes how the singer is so consumed by their love that they are blind to the world around them. They do not know whether the stars are out, or if it’s cloudy or bright - they only have eyes for their beloved. Similarly, the moon may be high, but the singer is so entranced by their sweetheart that they cannot see anything else in the sky. The third stanza describes how the singer doesn't know if they are in a garden or a crowded avenue, as the presence of their lover blinds them to their surroundings. The final lines of the song, “Maybe millions of people go by, but they all disappear from view, and I only have eyes for you” accentuate the depth of the singer's love for their partner, indicating that nothing else matters or exists in their world except for their love.
Line by Line Meaning
My love must be a kind of blind love
My affection seems to be a love that has no sight
I can't see anyone but you
I am incapable of seeing anyone except you
Sha bop sha bop
N/A
Are the stars out tonight
Is the sky clear enough to display the presence of celestial bodies
I don't know if it's cloudy or bright
I have no knowledge of the condition of the weather, be it dull or shiny
I only have eyes for you dear
My attention is solely on you my love
The moon may be high
The moon might be up in the sky
But I can't see a thing in the sky
I am unable to sight any other object that is present in the sky
I only have eyes for you
I am only interested in viewing and focusing on you
I don't know if we're in a garden
I have no idea if we are in a flower-filled, green environment
Or on a crowded avenue
Or in a street that is filled with a lot of people and sounds
You are here and so am I
You and I are currently in the same place
Maybe millions of people go by
Perhaps millions of other individuals go past us
But they all disappear from view
Nevertheless, all others vanish from sight
And I only have eyes for you
And my sight is solely devoted to watching you
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Al Dubin, Harry Warren
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind