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Really Useful Group

The Really Useful Group Ltd. (RUG) is an international company set up in 1977 by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It is involved in theatre, film, television, video and concert productions, merchandising, magazine publishing, records and music publishing. The name is inspired by a phrase from the children's book series The Railway Series (which also inspired Webber to create Starlight Express) in which Thomas the Tank Engine and other locomotives are referred to as "Really Useful Engines".

Really Useful Group Ltd.
TypePrivate company
IndustryMedia
Genre
  • Theatre
  • Film
  • Television
  • Video
  • Concert productions
  • Merchandising
  • Magazine publishing
  • Records
  • Music publishing
Founded1977
FounderAndrew Lloyd Webber
Headquarters
London, England
Sydney, Australia
Key people
Andrew Lloyd Webber (Chairman)
OwnerAndrew Lloyd Webber
DivisionsSee below
Websitereallyuseful.com

History

The company was set up in 1977 when Lloyd Webber, frustrated with the terms of his contract with the impresario Robert Stigwood, decided to take greater control over the management of his creative works. All Lloyd Webber compositions and productions created from that point have been owned by the company.

The Really Useful Group was floated on the stock market in 1986. Four years later, Lloyd Webber took it back into private ownership, selling 30% to film and music group PolyGram to fund the cost of buying back shares. In 1995, PolyGram was bought by Canadian conglomerate Seagram, with the Really Useful stake being passed to its own film and music subsidiary, Universal. In 1999, Lloyd Webber paid $75m for Universal's 30% stake, giving the composer 100% ownership of the group.[1]

Divisions

Really Useful Theatre Company

The Really Useful Theatre Company produces and manages plays and musicals, mainly, but not limited to those written by Lloyd Webber. It is also responsible for licensing its productions worldwide. In the 1990s, RUT mainly produced shows on its own, but more recently has again developed partnerships with other producers and production companies, notably Bill Kenwright, to produce its works, as it had done in the 1980s with Cameron Mackintosh.

Among its productions and co-productions are:

In 2016, Really Useful partnered with Concord Theatricals to act as representative for licensing its works in North America. In October 2021, the groups extended the partnership through 2025.[2]

Really Useful Films

 
Really Useful Films logo

Really Useful Films is responsible for the production of film versions of Lloyd Webber's catalogue. Initially, these had consisted of lower budget straight-to-video versions of the shows (Cats, Joseph, Jesus Christ Superstar, and By Jeeves), but in 2004 the Really Useful Films completed the film The Phantom of the Opera, directed by Joel Schumacher and starring Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum, which was nominated for three Academy Awards and three Golden Globes.

It has also released DVD and video versions of Lloyd Webber's 50th birthday concert at the Royal Albert Hall, the 2001 Masterpiece – Andrew Lloyd Webber in China concert and a musical version of The Gruffalo.

The film director Nick Morris is regularly involved with the films division.

Really Useful Records

Really Useful Records produces cast albums of Lloyd Webber musicals. From 1986 until Lloyd Webber regained full control of the company in 1999, Really Useful Records had an exclusive deal with PolyGram to release albums through its Polydor label. Really Useful continues to release its albums and DVDs through Universal, current owners of PolyGram. Aside from cast albums, Lloyd Webber has also produced albums for Marti Webb, Sarah Brightman, Connie Fisher, Andrea Ross and Michael Ball via the label.

Lee Mead, who won the lead role in 2007's West End revival of Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat by taking part in BBC One's Any Dream Will Do! recorded a single of the song "Any Dream Will Do". The contest's third-placed Lewis Bradley and second-placed Keith Jack joined him on "Close Every Door To Me". Really Useful Records released the double-A side single to raise funds for the BBC's annual Children in Need charity appeal.[3]

LW Theatres

LW Theatres owns and manages six West End theatres:

The group also included the Off West End venue The Other Palace, formerly known as the St James Theatre which it sold to Bill Kenwright in October 2021. The theatre reopened under its new owner following a closure caused by the Coronavirus pandemic with a revival of the musical Heathers.

Lloyd Webber purchased the Palace Theatre in 1983, followed by the New London (now Gillian Lynne) and the Adelphi. In 1999, Lloyd Webber and NatWest Equity Partners bought the Stoll Moss group, owner of 10 London theatres, including the London Palladium and the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, for £85 million from Australian businesswoman Janet Holmes à Court, and formed Really Useful Theatres.[4]

In 2004, operational control of the Queen's Theatre reverted from Really Useful Theatres back to Cameron Mackintosh's Delfont Mackintosh Theatres. The transfer of operational control of the adjoining Gielgud Theatre from Really Useful Theatres to Delfont Mackintosh Theatres followed two years later. On 11 July 2005, the company sold four theatres (the Apollo, the Duchess, the Lyric, and the Garrick) to Nimax Theatres Ltd, a company owned by Broadway producer Max Weitzenhoffer, who previously had been a rival bidder for the Stoll Moss theatres, and Nica Burns, production director of Really Useful Theatres.[5] Lloyd Webber invested £10 million of the proceeds from the sales in October 2005 to buy the interest of his partner Bridgepoint (formerly NatWest Equity Partners), and renamed the group Really Useful Theatres Group.[6] Nimax purchased The Palace in 2012.[7] In 2014, the group split into two companies, and the owner of the theatres was named Really Useful Theatres.[8] In 2018, Really Useful Theatres changed its name to LW Theatres to avoid confusion with the other companies owned by Lloyd Webber.[9]

Really Useful Magazines

The company formed Really Useful Magazines Ltd to distribute Theatregoer magazine, a monthly magazine edited and published on the Really Useful Group's behalf by the publishing agency Axon Publishing. Published beginning in 2000, the magazine was available in conjunction with the programmes in all Really Useful Theatres. Really Useful sold Theatregoer magazine to Bandwidth Communications, the publisher of Whatsonstage.com, in April 2005.[10]

Other interests

The Really Useful Group has, in the past, set up sub-labels to cater for pop and dance acts, such as Carpet Records, featuring Timmy Mallett's Bombalurina ("Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini") and Doctor Spin ("Tetris"); and It Records, home to My Life Story in the late 1990s. The name Carpet Records was a play on the acronym RUG, of the Really Useful Group.

Charitable donation

The group on 27 June 2007 announced that it would donate all receipts from two special performances of a revived West End production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat to the BBC's Children in Need charity appeal, which would benefit from ticket sales for 16 July's preview and performance of 16 November, on the night of the annual Children in Need telethon.[11] Viewers of a BBC One television show, Any Dream Will Do! had voted 25-year-old West End ensemble player and understudy Lee Mead to take role of Joseph in the production.[12][13] During the contest's 9 June 2007 final, host Graham Norton said that Children in Need had benefited by more than £500,000 in income from viewer voting on premium-rate telephone lines.

See also

References

  1. ^ (Press release). Universal Music Group. 18 April 1999. Archived from the original on 5 February 2007. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  2. ^ Lang, Brent (27 October 2021). "Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group, Concord Theatricals Extend Partnership (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  3. ^ "About". Any Dream Will Do. 28 October 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  4. ^ "Lloyd Webber buys London theatres". BBC News. 9 January 2000. Retrieved 29 May 2007.
  5. ^ "Lloyd Webber sells four theatres". BBC News. 11 July 2005. Retrieved 29 May 2007.
  6. ^ "Lloyd Webber takes over theatres". BBC News. 5 November 2005. Retrieved 29 May 2007.
  7. ^ Gans, Andrew (11 April 2012). . Playbill. Archived from the original on 14 April 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  8. ^ Dennys, Harriet (24 March 2014). "Lord Lloyd-Webber splits theatre group to expand on a global stage". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  9. ^ Hetrick, Adam (July 26, 2018). "Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Theatres Announces Name Change". Playbill.
  10. ^ "Lloyd Webber offloads Theatregoer magazine". Campaign. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  11. ^ (Press release). Archived from the original on 24 June 2007.[failed verification]
  12. ^ Gans, Andrew (10 June 2007). "Mead Wins Lead in London Revival of Lloyd Webber and Rice's Joseph". Playbill. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  13. ^ (Press release). BBC One. 9 June 2007. Archived from the original on 20 September 2007.

External links

  • Really Useful Group

really, useful, group, international, company, 1977, andrew, lloyd, webber, involved, theatre, film, television, video, concert, productions, merchandising, magazine, publishing, records, music, publishing, name, inspired, phrase, from, children, book, series,. The Really Useful Group Ltd RUG is an international company set up in 1977 by Andrew Lloyd Webber It is involved in theatre film television video and concert productions merchandising magazine publishing records and music publishing The name is inspired by a phrase from the children s book series The Railway Series which also inspired Webber to create Starlight Express in which Thomas the Tank Engine and other locomotives are referred to as Really Useful Engines Really Useful Group Ltd TypePrivate companyIndustryMediaGenreTheatre Film Television Video Concert productions Merchandising Magazine publishing Records Music publishingFounded1977FounderAndrew Lloyd WebberHeadquartersLondon EnglandSydney AustraliaKey peopleAndrew Lloyd Webber Chairman OwnerAndrew Lloyd WebberDivisionsSee belowWebsitereallyuseful wbr com Contents 1 History 2 Divisions 2 1 Really Useful Theatre Company 2 2 Really Useful Films 2 3 Really Useful Records 2 4 LW Theatres 2 5 Really Useful Magazines 2 6 Other interests 2 7 Charitable donation 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksHistory EditThe company was set up in 1977 when Lloyd Webber frustrated with the terms of his contract with the impresario Robert Stigwood decided to take greater control over the management of his creative works All Lloyd Webber compositions and productions created from that point have been owned by the company The Really Useful Group was floated on the stock market in 1986 Four years later Lloyd Webber took it back into private ownership selling 30 to film and music group PolyGram to fund the cost of buying back shares In 1995 PolyGram was bought by Canadian conglomerate Seagram with the Really Useful stake being passed to its own film and music subsidiary Universal In 1999 Lloyd Webber paid 75m for Universal s 30 stake giving the composer 100 ownership of the group 1 Divisions EditReally Useful Theatre Company Edit The Really Useful Theatre Company produces and manages plays and musicals mainly but not limited to those written by Lloyd Webber It is also responsible for licensing its productions worldwide In the 1990s RUT mainly produced shows on its own but more recently has again developed partnerships with other producers and production companies notably Bill Kenwright to produce its works as it had done in the 1980s with Cameron Mackintosh Among its productions and co productions are Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Lloyd Webber Tim Rice London Broadway Los Angeles worldwide Jesus Christ Superstar Lloyd Webber Rice London Broadway worldwide Evita Lloyd Webber Rice London Broadway worldwide Tell Me on a Sunday Lloyd Webber Don Black London UK tour Cats Lloyd Webber T S Eliot London Broadway worldwide Starlight Express Lloyd Webber Richard Stilgoe London Broadway worldwide Song and Dance Lloyd Webber Black London Broadway The Phantom of the Opera Lloyd Webber Charles Hart Stilgoe London Broadway worldwide Aspects of Love Lloyd Webber Black amp Hart London Broadway 2007 UK tour By Jeeves Lloyd Webber Alan Ayckbourn London Broadway Whistle Down the Wind Lloyd Webber Jim Steinman Washington D C London UK tours The Beautiful Game Lloyd Webber Ben Elton London The Woman in White Lloyd Webber David Zippel London Broadway Bombay Dreams Rahman Black London Broadway The Sound of Music Richard Rodgers Oscar Hammerstein II 2006 London Palladium production Priscilla Queen of the Desert The Musical Various London 2009 Love Never Dies Lloyd Webber Elton Glenn Slater London 2010 The Wizard of Oz London 2010 Daisy Pulls it Off Denise Deegan London The Hired Man Howard Goodall Melvyn Bragg London Lend Me a Tenor Ken Ludwig London Broadway La Bete David Hirson Broadway London School of Rock Broadway 2015In 2016 Really Useful partnered with Concord Theatricals to act as representative for licensing its works in North America In October 2021 the groups extended the partnership through 2025 2 Really Useful Films Edit Really Useful Films logo Really Useful Films is responsible for the production of film versions of Lloyd Webber s catalogue Initially these had consisted of lower budget straight to video versions of the shows Cats Joseph Jesus Christ Superstar and By Jeeves but in 2004 the Really Useful Films completed the film The Phantom of the Opera directed by Joel Schumacher and starring Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum which was nominated for three Academy Awards and three Golden Globes It has also released DVD and video versions of Lloyd Webber s 50th birthday concert at the Royal Albert Hall the 2001 Masterpiece Andrew Lloyd Webber in China concert and a musical version of The Gruffalo The film director Nick Morris is regularly involved with the films division Really Useful Records Edit See also Category Albums produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber Really Useful Records produces cast albums of Lloyd Webber musicals From 1986 until Lloyd Webber regained full control of the company in 1999 Really Useful Records had an exclusive deal with PolyGram to release albums through its Polydor label Really Useful continues to release its albums and DVDs through Universal current owners of PolyGram Aside from cast albums Lloyd Webber has also produced albums for Marti Webb Sarah Brightman Connie Fisher Andrea Ross and Michael Ball via the label Lee Mead who won the lead role in 2007 s West End revival of Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat by taking part in BBC One s Any Dream Will Do recorded a single of the song Any Dream Will Do The contest s third placed Lewis Bradley and second placed Keith Jack joined him on Close Every Door To Me Really Useful Records released the double A side single to raise funds for the BBC s annual Children in Need charity appeal 3 LW Theatres Edit LW Theatres owns and manages six West End theatres Adelphi Theatre in association with the Nederlander Organization Cambridge Theatre Gillian Lynne Theatre His Majesty s Theatre London Palladium Theatre Royal Drury LaneThe group also included the Off West End venue The Other Palace formerly known as the St James Theatre which it sold to Bill Kenwright in October 2021 The theatre reopened under its new owner following a closure caused by the Coronavirus pandemic with a revival of the musical Heathers Lloyd Webber purchased the Palace Theatre in 1983 followed by the New London now Gillian Lynne and the Adelphi In 1999 Lloyd Webber and NatWest Equity Partners bought the Stoll Moss group owner of 10 London theatres including the London Palladium and the Theatre Royal Drury Lane for 85 million from Australian businesswoman Janet Holmes a Court and formed Really Useful Theatres 4 In 2004 operational control of the Queen s Theatre reverted from Really Useful Theatres back to Cameron Mackintosh s Delfont Mackintosh Theatres The transfer of operational control of the adjoining Gielgud Theatre from Really Useful Theatres to Delfont Mackintosh Theatres followed two years later On 11 July 2005 the company sold four theatres the Apollo the Duchess the Lyric and the Garrick to Nimax Theatres Ltd a company owned by Broadway producer Max Weitzenhoffer who previously had been a rival bidder for the Stoll Moss theatres and Nica Burns production director of Really Useful Theatres 5 Lloyd Webber invested 10 million of the proceeds from the sales in October 2005 to buy the interest of his partner Bridgepoint formerly NatWest Equity Partners and renamed the group Really Useful Theatres Group 6 Nimax purchased The Palace in 2012 7 In 2014 the group split into two companies and the owner of the theatres was named Really Useful Theatres 8 In 2018 Really Useful Theatres changed its name to LW Theatres to avoid confusion with the other companies owned by Lloyd Webber 9 Really Useful Magazines Edit The company formed Really Useful Magazines Ltd to distribute Theatregoer magazine a monthly magazine edited and published on the Really Useful Group s behalf by the publishing agency Axon Publishing Published beginning in 2000 the magazine was available in conjunction with the programmes in all Really Useful Theatres Really Useful sold Theatregoer magazine to Bandwidth Communications the publisher of Whatsonstage com in April 2005 10 Other interests Edit The Really Useful Group has in the past set up sub labels to cater for pop and dance acts such as Carpet Records featuring Timmy Mallett s Bombalurina Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini and Doctor Spin Tetris and It Records home to My Life Story in the late 1990s The name Carpet Records was a play on the acronym RUG of the Really Useful Group Charitable donation Edit The group on 27 June 2007 announced that it would donate all receipts from two special performances of a revived West End production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat to the BBC s Children in Need charity appeal which would benefit from ticket sales for 16 July s preview and performance of 16 November on the night of the annual Children in Need telethon 11 Viewers of a BBC One television show Any Dream Will Do had voted 25 year old West End ensemble player and understudy Lee Mead to take role of Joseph in the production 12 13 During the contest s 9 June 2007 final host Graham Norton said that Children in Need had benefited by more than 500 000 in income from viewer voting on premium rate telephone lines See also EditList of record labelsReferences Edit Universal sells 30 stake in Really Useful back to Lloyd Webber Press release Universal Music Group 18 April 1999 Archived from the original on 5 February 2007 Retrieved 22 October 2020 Lang Brent 27 October 2021 Andrew Lloyd Webber s Really Useful Group Concord Theatricals Extend Partnership EXCLUSIVE Variety Retrieved 7 November 2021 About Any Dream Will Do 28 October 2014 Retrieved 7 November 2021 Lloyd Webber buys London theatres BBC News 9 January 2000 Retrieved 29 May 2007 Lloyd Webber sells four theatres BBC News 11 July 2005 Retrieved 29 May 2007 Lloyd Webber takes over theatres BBC News 5 November 2005 Retrieved 29 May 2007 Gans Andrew 11 April 2012 Andrew Lloyd Webber Sells London s Palace Theatre Playbill Archived from the original on 14 April 2012 Retrieved 7 November 2021 Dennys Harriet 24 March 2014 Lord Lloyd Webber splits theatre group to expand on a global stage The Daily Telegraph London Retrieved 3 October 2014 Hetrick Adam July 26 2018 Andrew Lloyd Webber s Really Useful Theatres Announces Name Change Playbill Lloyd Webber offloads Theatregoer magazine Campaign Retrieved 7 November 2021 Joseph The Musical Press release Archived from the original on 24 June 2007 failed verification Gans Andrew 10 June 2007 Mead Wins Lead in London Revival of Lloyd Webber and Rice s Joseph Playbill Retrieved 7 November 2021 Public vote says West End in need of Lee Mead Press release BBC One 9 June 2007 Archived from the original on 20 September 2007 External links EditReally Useful Group Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Really Useful Group amp oldid 1145420672, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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