There are certain things in life that stay with you for the rest of your days. No matter how far you get away from them, the moment you encounter items intractably connected with them, that's it: you're thrown back decades as memories come flooding back. I had such a moment late last year; while Proust had his Madeleine bun, I had an advert. I had my back to the telly, but the music - a full orchestra intoning great dark chords - was enough. "Dah Dah Dah! Dah Dah Dah!" A mixture of terror and excitement worked its way up my back, and on the screen a 19th-century typescript spelled out what I already knew: Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of War of the Worlds was being re-issued.
This month Jeff Wayne and his 53-piece orchestra tour the UK with a stage version of the album, visiting terror upon tens of thousands of twenty- and thirtysomethings, now ready to face up to their fears. For anyone who thinks I'm overstating the case for the record's continuing importance, consider this: when re-released last year, it was only held off the number one slot by Coldplay's X&Y [pictured] due to a distribution glitch. The live show has already sold 90,000 tickets.
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