Tim Rice, a renowned songwriter, was born in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, and educated at Aldwickbury School, St Albans School, and Lancing College. He briefly attended Sorbonne Université before meeting Andrew Lloyd Webber in 1965. The two young men collaborated on a 20-minute pop oratorio, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat", which premiered on March 1, 1968, at Colet Court School in London.
Rice and Webber's partnership continued with "Jesus Christ Superstar", a concept album released in 1970, which propelled them to international stardom. The opera was staged in 1971, and its popularity led to the film "Jesus Christ Superstar" in 1973.
After "Superstar", Rice and Webber returned to "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat", releasing its concept album in 1974. Their next project was "Evita", released in 1976, which cemented their status as a successful songwriting duo.
Rice's solo projects included "Blondel" in 1983, set to music by Stephen Oliver, and "Chess" in 1984, with music by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson. "Chess" was staged in London in 1986 and on Broadway in 1988, but the latter was revised without Rice's knowledge.
In 1987, Rice collaborated with Freddie Mercury and Mike Moran on the album "Barcelona", released in 1988. He also worked on the Disney films "Aladdin" (1992) and "The Lion King" (1994),as well as the stage version of "Beauty and the Beast" (1991).
The 1991 to 2000 period saw revivals of Rice's earlier works, including "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and "Jesus Christ Superstar", as well as the film "Evita" (1996). Rice has also written columns for UK newspapers, appeared on BBC Radio and Television, and founded a cricket side, The Heartaches, which he manages and plays for.
Rice continues to work on new projects, with a revival of the 1986 London version of "Chess" eagerly anticipated by audiences in Canada and the United States.
