If memory serves, I believe that Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds was my introduction to the famous alien invasion story, before I had seen the 1953 film or read H. G. Wells’ novel. My older brother, Gray (Graham) bought a copy of the album at Woolworths in the early ’80s. I didn’t take very long before Gray became quite obsessed by it, and the album was hardly ever off our record player as my brother would play and replay the whole thing over and over. When I said, in the first article, that The War of the Worlds was a part of my childhood for as long as I can remember, it really was. But this is where it all began, with Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds.

I can close my eyes right now and still see the amazing artwork of that gatefold album. The front cover of a fighting machine firing its heat ray and melting Thunder Child (farewell!) is burned into my memory for life. Opening that gatefold and seeing the image of the the first Martian cylinder landing on Horsell Common. The gloriously illustrated booklet that came with it, with key scenes of the story captured brilliantly. Parson Nathaniel holding a cross up at the fighting machines, the red weed taking over a small village, the people fleeing in terror as a fighting machine destroyed buildings, the image of the underground world envisioned by the deluded artilleryman (including cricket), the black birds pecking at and eating the now dead Martians. That booklet, I would look at that booklet all the time, even if the album wasn’t being played. I was drawn to it and the artwork by Geoff Taylor, Mike Trim, and Peter Goodfellow is timeless as it illustrated the story perfectly. A little aside, did you know that artist Roger Dean was first approached to do the art? But it didn’t work out, but Roger’s interpretation of the fighting machine tripods did eventually see the light of day.

As I write this very paragraph, I can hear Richard Burton saying “No one would have believed, in the last years of the 19th century, that human affairs were being watched from the timeless worlds of space.” The urge for me to exclaim “ULAAAAAAAAAAAA!” is frequent. Jeff Wayne’s The War of the Worlds kickstarted something within me that has lasted for decades, and doesn’t show any signs of stopping. This is an album that I can put on, turn the lights off, and be dragged into the music and story, lose myself in its world.

Originally released in 1978, Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds is, quite simply, one of the greatest albums ever recorded and its legacy is massively impressive. With an original budget of around £34,500, the album was finally made for £240,000 (in 1970’s money). The increased budget came about due to Jeff’s ideas, and the album, growing. Originally set to be a single record of simple songs that would vaguely interpret H.G. Wells, story, the idea to have guest artists like Justin Hayward and David Essex play characters and sing songs added to the cost. Then there was the casting of Richard Burton as the narrator, he didn’t come cheap. Did you know that Richard recorded his lines for this album as he was filming Exorcist II: The Heretic? So Richard Burton was making one of the greatest things to ever be recorded, and one of the worst. Anyway, that simple, single record adaption grew to a double album, full-on prog rock opera greatness.

Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds has been adapted several times over the years. In 1984, there was a videogame. Simply called The War of the Worlds, though the title screen called it Jeff Wayne’s The War of the Worlds, and the cover art had the game title as Jeff Wayne’s Video Game Version of The War of the Worlds. Yup, three titles for one game, and that doesn’t include the German version of Jeff Wayne’s Video Version von Der Krieg der Welten. Info on this one is hard to come by and I could only find one printed review, from Sinclair User Magazine in 1984.

The general consensus is that it’s not very good. You do play as the journalist and having to visit various locations from the album, while trying to make it to London, and saving Carrie. Of course, there’s some fighting machine action and all that stuff. I had never played it before, but I did give it a go for this article and yeah, it’s pretty awful, even by 1984 standards. As a side note, I thought it a bit strange that there as a videogame version of Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds that features no music, you know, the main selling point of the album. I found a YouTube playthrough, if you really want to see the game in action. Interestingly, the two page ad for the game stated that it was available for the ZX Spectrum, but claimed that other formats would be available. However, none of the other versions were ever released.

From what I gather, Jeff Wayne was not impressed by the ZX Spectrum game, nor the poor reviews it was getting, so he pulled the licence for the other versions. I did learn that the Commodore 64 version was going to be a very different game that would feature more arcade-adventure elements, such as the battle between Thunder Child and the fighting machines. It only got into very early  development, which was then stopped in autumn of 1985. Sticking with videogames for a while, there was another released in 1998. This version, Jeff Wayne’s The War of the Worlds was a RTS title where you could play as either the humans or the Martians. It’s pretty good, not great, not bad… good. Do you know what? It features music too, remixed versions of Jeff Wayne’s from the album that Jeff himself oversaw.

The following year in 1999, there was another game, Jeff Wayne’s The War of the Worlds, this time released on the PlayStation. This version of the game reused graphics, cinematics and music assets from the previous game, but instead of being an RTS, this was a third-person action/shooter. Yeah, this one’s pretty good. A bit rough by today’s standards, but a very playable game back then. It expands on the story and even goes to locations outside of London. This game was not too bad at all.

Okay, I’ve gone off on a bit of a videogame tangent there. Let me get back to the album itself. I did mention, in a previous article, that this album scared me as a kid and that I was tricked into believing that it really happened. Hey, I was about 6 or 7 at the time and kids are easily to fool. For this tale, I need a little background. Growing up, me and my brothers would spend a fair bit of time at our aunt’s house with our two cousins, Gail and Sam. They had an old record player in their converted loft (attic if your an American) and a recording of Peter and the Wolf. For some reason, I was terrified of that record… which my older brothers and cousins were fully aware of. We would be in the loft playing and they would set the record up to play, clear out of the loft and shut me in, leaving me alone… in the dark with Peter and the Wolf playing. I think this kickstarted a childhood trauma of being scared of some music. Just ask my mom about the Dr Who intro.

Anyway, back to Jeff Wayne’s The War of the Worlds. There’s a bit near the end of the album, when the Martians are dying, and the narrator makes his way through Primrose Hill, London. Back then, I went to a school called Primrose Hill in Kings Norton, Birmingham. Knowing about my fear of the Peter and the Wolf record, and how my own brothers and cousins loved to torment me over it, the opportunity to link the Primrose Hill in the album to my school was too great to ignore. So my brother, Gray and cousin, Sam told me that The War of the Worlds really happened, not far form where we lived. They would go through that awesome illustrated booklet from the album and tell me that they were drawings of real events. We had a church (St. Nicolas) not too far away from where we lived at the time. You know that image from the booklet with Parson Nathaniel holding a cross up at the fighting machines? I was told that was the vicar from that church. Side fact for you, the curate of St. Nicolas’ church was Reverend Wilbert Awdry and he created Thomas the Tank Engine. Thomas the Tank engine vs the Martian fighting machines, there’s a crossover I’d like to see.

The image from the booklet of the village being overrun by red weed. I was told that was my school. The image of the fighting machine destroying buildings as people ran away in fear. I was told that was our street where we lived. For every picture in that booklet, my brother and cousin made up a little story and linked it to a place I knew. I was a kid, I was scared of Peter and the Wolf and the Dr Who music, I fell for it. I honestly believed that, not only did The War of the Worlds really happen, it happened in and around places I knew. Do you have any idea how much more effective listening to the album became when you really believed it was true? You know that bit with the cylinder unscrewing? That sound terrified my as a kid. The reveal of the Martian, the music that kicks in and the heat ray killing everyone? I was scared shitless! I swear Jeff Wayne’s The War of the Worlds had a massive effect on me growing up. I really didn’t like being scared by my own family at the time but in retrospect, it was awesome! Thank you Gray and Sam for terrifying me like that.

Over the years, that original album has been translated into multiple languages and sold globally. It has also seen various remixes and re-releases, such as the The War of the Worlds: ULLAdubULLA The Remix Album from 2000, if you want dance versions of the famed tunes. In 2012 Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of The Worlds – The New Generation was released. This was a complete reworking of the album from the ground up. All new recordings of the classic songs, new guest artists playing the role and even a new narrator. Yes, Richard Burton was out and Liam Neeson was in. How very dare they!

You know what? I kind of like this new version. It’s not as classic as the original (which I very much prefer), but I think it’s pretty damn good and I quite like The New Generation. Some of the music sounds amazing and the new compositions do a better job of conveying the story. However, there are things that just don’t work. There’s an over use of synthesizers and most of the sound effects are a little overbearing. Almost none of the performances come anywhere near close to the originals, such as the Artilleryman. Played by David Essex in the original, and he was amazing. My favourite character, and my favourite song is Brave New World. With David’s performance on the original album, he genuinely sounds scared. When he talking about seeing the fighting machines, it sounds authentic, real and you believe him. When he sings Brave New World, it is brilliant and you get the feeling that he is close to snapping, just a step or two away from going insane. Ricky Wilson takes over the role for The New Generation and… he’s not very good. He doesn’t sound scared and Brave New World has been butchered.

Okay, I need to make a confession here. A confession that could have Jeff Wayne’s The War of the Worlds fans hunting me down with pitchforks. I much preferred Liam Neeson as the narrator over Richard Burton. I almost felt the heat ray from the fans whiz over my head as I typed that line. Don’t get me wrong, Richard’s voice is perfect, but that’s the problem, it is too perfect. Richard Burton has this rich, plumb, Shakespearian voice. It’s booming, it’s amazing and I could happily listen to Richard read a phonebook in the middle of an insurance salesman seminar. But I don’t think his voice suited the character. Liam Neeson’s voice isn’t perfect, it cracks a little, it sounds a little rough. Those little flaws add to the narration and the character sounds more genuine. Overall, I do quite like Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of The Worlds – The New Generation and I’m more than happy to listen to it. Yeah, nine times out of ten, I’d pick the original. But for that one time out of ten, The New Generation hits the spot.

In 2018, Jeff Wayne’s The War of The Worlds: The Musical Drama was released. This was another retelling of the tale with an all-new cast. Michael Sheen, Taron Egerton, Ade Edmondson and even Jeff Wayne’s daughter, Anna Marie Wayne. It is over 5 hours of War of the Worlds that uses much more of the original H. G. Wells novel (and some new ideas) to delve into more detail of the story, and new musical compositions from Jeff Wayne. It is only available from Amazon’s Audible service and I listened to it for the first time as I was writing this article. It… is… amazing. The book, in far greater detail and Jeff’s music together is sublime. The music is closer to The New Generation over the original, but I think the newer compositions do work far better with the re-telling of the book. I’ve listened to it three times now.

2019 saw something pretty damn special, Jeff Wayne’s The War of The Worlds: The Immersive Experience. Blending Jeff’s music with pre-recorded video, live actors, real world sets and virtual reality. You and several friends can be transported back to Victorian England and face the Martians with their fighting machines, face-to-face. This is about as close to being in The War of the Worlds as you can ever be. There is only one problem, it’s in London… and I’m not. You see, the price of the tickets to the experience, travel to London, a place to stay while there, food and drink, etc. That’s not a cheap day out. Maybe one day, if I’m ever on London. It is definitely something that I want to do.

Oh, there’s more. Jeff Wayne himself took the the roads and turned his album into a mightily impressive live stage show…. multiple times between 2006 and 2025. The First Tour (2006-2007) saw Jeff conduct a 48-piece ULLAdubULLA Strings ensemble and the 10-piece Black Smoke Band. Richard Burton was the narrator, as a projection that was synced to his original recording from the album. Live actors took to the stage to sing the songs as screens played CGI animations of the Martians and their attack. Plus, a massive fighting machine prop that would descend onto the stage. The 30th Anniversary Tour (2009-2011) was to celebrate 30 years since the original album’s release. Pretty much the same show, but with some improvements to the CGI animations and Richard Burton’s projection.

Alive on Stage! The New Generation (2012-2013) was a rearranged show that used the then newly released Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of The Worlds – The New Generation as its basis. Final Arena Tour (2014) updated the previous tour with new characters, a pre-show act and even H. G. Wells himself. Okay, so it was an actor playing Wells as he talked about his life and work at three different stages of his life. 40th Anniversary Tour (2018) is pretty self-explanatory, it was to celebrate 40 years since the original album. Life Begins Again Tour (2021-2022) was held to celebrate 15 years since the First Tour and featured a whole host of new CGI work, pyrotechnics, and other effects. More recently, there has been the The Spirit of Man Tour (2025) too.

Alas, I’ve never got the chance to see any of these tours in person, but a couple of them have been released on DVD/Bluray, which I have seen. Yeah, they’re great and I can only imagine how much more impressive they would’ve been in person. I think all of them should’ve been released. There should be a huge boxset of all of the tours, special features and all that. Get all of these things available to watch, not one or two.

Well, I covered pretty much everything connected to Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds from that original, ground breaking album to videogames, virtual reality experiences, live shows and everything in between. However, have you noticed that there is something missing and a question that I have been dying to ask? Why has there never been a movie version? Yeah, there have been numerous movies based on and inspired by H. G. Wells’ book, but why has there never been a movie of Jeff Wayne’s The War of the Worlds? It’s all there, the story, the characters, the art designs, the music. The amazing musical drama on Amazon is proof that it could work, and work well.

It turns out that it almost happened, multiple times. Jeff was approached as far back as 1978 to turn his album into a movie by Paramount Pictures, but it things didn’t work out. Then, there was a time when a film version of Jeff’s album was in the works in 2004, and it was going to be CGI animated and based on the famed artwork from the album. There were some animation done, but the movie never saw the light of day. I’m not sure how true this is, but I have heard that some of those animations made it into the live shows. So, after decades of false and non-starts, it looks like a film version is just not going to happen… right? Time for a very recent update. I am editing this on the 8th of October, ready for publishing on the 30th. As I sit here editing and checking my research, I find a story (7th of October) about the Jeff Wayne’s The War of The Worlds: The Immersive Experience breaking a Guinness World Record for the longest theatrical run of a musical immersive theatre production. Impressive stuff. Jeff was there to celebrate the record breaking and was asked by Gold Radio why there has never been a film version of his album.

Jeff Wayne: “It’s been a mixture of being very protective, because I have been approached, not tonnes of times, but several times by filmmakers or a director that have a vision for it that just doesn’t correspond with what I fell in love with and what I know my dad and I promised to Frank Wells, the son of H. G. Wells. But watch this space, actually, because in the middle of October we’re going to see the first assembly of a sequence of our own version of the film version of The War of the Worlds and I’m hoping we’ll take it to complete fruition. Maybe partner with a media company or take it in our own way.”

From Jeff himself, you can check out the whole interview right here. Could we finally see Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds: The Movie? It sounds very possible, not definite, but possible. This is about as close as we have ever come. Jeff’s album is the best adaption of H. G. Wells’ book and given that there have been plenty of adaptions of that book (good and terrible), the fact there has never been a film of Jeff’s vison is pretty insane. Fingers crossed, it finally does happen.

ULAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!