In the spring of 1989, Sean, a young man from the UK just discharged from the Royal Air Force, takes a trip to the United States. He meets and befriends Russ, a local program analyst. Sean has with him an audiotape that contains a most unusual set of songs. They are all based on H.G. Wells’s novel The Time Machine. Russ hears the tape and takes a liking to it. Sean tells him that these songs are a musical adaptation of The Time Machine.

Sean departs and Russ looses track of him.

About the same time in Germany, Gabriela, a physics student, enjoys listening to popular music on the radio. One afternoon she hears on the radio a discussion about a musical adaptation of The Time Machine. Intrigued, she listens closely and hears a series of songs based on the story.

For years, neither Russ nor Gabriela learn any more about it. They wonder what became of this musical. Who wrote it ? Who sung it ? Who recorded it ? Who published it ? Why is it so difficult to find out anything more about it ?

Early in 2002, Russ discovers Don’s website and relates his story. Don tells me about it and we both try very hard to find information on it – without the least success. We even come to wonder if Russ somehow imagined it all ! How could such an elaborate production have gone unnoticed ?

Two years go by and, in January 2004, out of the blue, Don receives a most amazing message from one Gabriela. She has just found Don’s website and tells another story about the same illusive musical…

The Story so far…

After discussing at length with both Russ and Gabriela, I was able to piece together the following:

Russ recalls that the musical starts out with a narration about the nature of Time and the fourth dimension, which introduces the first song. Russ gave us the lyrics to this theme song as he remembers them. However, he emphasizes that this song is an introduction to a full-length musical. Indeed, there are many songs in the production he heard and all are based on the storyline of Wells’s book and organized so that one can follow the events of the story by listening to the lyrics as the musical progresses.

Each song blends into the other and narration is interspersed throughout the musical. There is a song about Weena, another about the Time Traveller’s encounters with the Morlocks and yet another about the visit to the Palace of Green Porcelain.

On the other hand, it would appear that none of the lyrics borrow any lines from the novel – even in the narrated passages. It is an entirely original creation even though it is clearly inspired by Wells’s story.

The production appears to have been put together around 1987 and it would seem that it was published as an LP record around the same time.

Your part…

We hope that some fans of The Time Machine will read these lines and help us in our search !

Please contact this website if you have any information about this illusive musical.

Narrated introduction:

[We know of three] dimensions:
Height
Width
And length -
The perimeter of space…
But I know there's a fourth dimension:
Time

Theme song:

I talk about four dimensions
It's logical they agree
Mathematical pure abstractions
Sounds sweeter than harmony
Time flying in all directions
They call it my fantasy
Now sitting in my invention -
All nickel and ivory

In my Time Machine
I'm off to find another space and time
To see what's in the future
In my Time Machine
God only knows what mysteries I'll find

Speed fever and the confusion
Can't tell the night from day
Time running like an illusion
Too many to change the same way
So many magical images
So hard to get inside my head
Still travelin’ down the ages
And I don't know what's up ahead.

In my Time Machine
I'm off to find another space and time
To see what's in the future
In my Time Machine
God only knows what mysteries I'll find

In my Time Machine
I'm off to find another space and time
To see what's in the future
In my Time Machine
God only knows what mysteries I'll find

In my Time Machine
I'm off to find another space and time
To see what's in the future
In my Time Machine
God only knows what mysteries I'll find

Introduction to the following song:

This must be London Town
Time is rearranged
Not so familiar now
So many things have changed
Should I really have expected so much more

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