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Oh What a Circus

"Oh What a Circus"
David Essex Oh What a Circus.jpg
Single by David Essex
B-side "High Flying, Adored"
Released August 19, 1978
Format 7"
Recorded 1976
Genre Pop
Length 3:54
Label Mercury
Writer(s)
Producer(s) Mike Batt
David Essex singles chronology
"Stay with Me"
(1978)
"Oh What a Circus"
(1978)
"Brave New World"
(1978)

"Oh What a Circus" is a song from the 1976 musical Evita, written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, and music composed by Webber. It was recorded by English singer David Essex and released as a single on August 19, 1978, by Mercury Records. Essex had played the character of Che in the musical based on Che Guevara, and the song is sung from Che's point-of-view. Produced and arranged by Mike Batt, "Oh What a Circus" is a mid-tempo song, comparing the musical's title character Eva Perón's life with a circus, and calling her actions fraudulent. The song is a contrafactum, and shares its tune with the better known "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" from the same show.

"Oh What a Circus" was a commercial success for Essex, who had been dropped by his previous record company due to his declining sales. The song reached number 3 on the UK Singles Chart, and the top-30 in Belgium and Netherlands. In subsequent versions of the musical, "Oh What a Circus" was sung by a number of performers, including Mandy Patinkin, Ricky Martin and Scottish rock musician Marti Pellow. In the 1996 film adaptation of the musical, the song was sung by Antonio Banderas and American singer Madonna, and received critical appreciation for its flamenco-infused composition.

"Oh What a Circus" was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice while they were developing the Evita for Broadway in 1976. Both were extremely intrigued by the stories surrounding the life of Eva Perón while researching her during the mid-1970s. The duo were also on the lookout for various actors to play the part of the narrator for Evita, inspired by Che Guevara.


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