Dame Elaine Paige has promised to send King Charles a signed copy of her new album once it is completed, after receiving her damehood at Windsor Castle. The 77-year-old West End star was honoured for her services to music and charity.
Wearing a blue feathered hat made by a milliner to the late Queen and carrying a bag designed by Victoria Beckham, whose husband received a knighthood at the same event, Dame Elaine said she made the King laugh during their conversation. She told the PA news agency: 'The King has a very quiet voice and he said to me, I think he said to me, “Are you keeping your hand in?” after having said to me, “I haven’t seen you in quite a while”, which was true. And so I said I was keeping my hand in and that I was in fact about to embark on a new album and that I would send him a signed copy if he would like it once it’s done. He thought that was rather amusing and laughed.'
The album will feature songs from her childhood, including tracks by The Beatles and Joni Mitchell. Born Elaine Bickerstaff in north London in 1948, she rose to fame portraying Eva Peron in Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Evita, winning an Olivier Award for performance of the year in a musical in 1978.
Reflecting on the recent revival of Evita at The London Palladium, starring Rachel Zegler, Dame Elaine said: 'When I sat there on the first night watching her be rather brilliant with that extraordinary voice, one so young, a completely and utterly different take on the original version that I did… it just goes to show really how things evolve and how life changes from one decade to another.'
Beyond Evita, Dame Elaine has starred in Cats, Chess, Piaf, and Sunset Boulevard, and has recorded more than 20 solo albums. She has also supported charities including The Children’s Trust, the Royal Voluntary Service, and the Dan Maskell Tennis Trust, of which she has been president since 2010. She said it was 'fantastic' to be recognised for her charity work, adding: 'And to be given this for, as I said, for something that I love doing and that I’ve been passionate and had the privilege to do, it doesn’t lay lightly with me.'
