Andrew Lloyd Webber has spoken publicly about the death of his eldest son, Nicholas Webber, who passed away in 2023 at the age of 43 after a battle with cancer. The composer, 78, reflected on the loss in a new interview with The Independent, describing how difficult it was to lose Nicholas, particularly after his son had turned his life around.
A Sudden and Terminal Diagnosis
Lloyd Webber explained that Nicholas had not shown symptoms before his diagnosis. "I lost my oldest son to cancer, and he didn't really have any symptoms until suddenly," he said. "And then he had stomach cancer. He couldn't get a loo, you know. By that time, it was terminal."
The composer added that the situation was especially hard because Nicholas had endured a difficult period in his life. "It was very difficult, and it was particularly difficult because he had had a pretty rough patch medically himself, and I think he'd been through a few demons," he said.
A New Chapter Cut Short
Nicholas had recently married and welcomed a son of his own, which made the loss even more painful. "And he'd come up the other end and married a lovely girl and just had a baby, a son. And suddenly that was the situation," Lloyd Webber said.
Nicholas was a Grammy-nominated composer who scored the original 2021 London cast album for his father's musical, Cinderella. He was also a record producer and scored the music for an adaptation of The Little Prince.
Final Memory Shared
Lloyd Webber revealed that his last memory of Nicholas was of them reading together. "The last memory I had of him, and he was actually better, was we were just reading P.G. Wodehouse to each other. He loved that wonderful Woodhouse line, 'An apple a day, if well aimed, keeps the doctor away.' He loved it," he said. "That's the last memory I have of him."
Nicholas had been receiving treatment for gastric cancer and died at Basingstoke Hospital in Hampshire. Announcing his death on X, Lloyd Webber wrote: "I am shattered to have to announce that my beloved elder son Nick died a few hours ago in Basingstoke Hospital. His whole family is gathered together and we are all totally bereft."
He added: "Thank you for all your thoughts during this difficult time." The death came shortly after Lloyd Webber had told followers that Nicholas was recovering from "this first bout of pneumonia" caught as a result of his cancer. Lloyd Webber has five children, including two sons and a daughter with his third wife, Madeleine Gurdon, to whom he has been married since 1991.
