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Glen Campbell's songwriter comes to The Apex...

Songwriter Jimmy Webb has had chart-topping hits in a unique range of genres over the last 50 years, from country to pop to disco, with songs including ‘Wichita Lineman’, ‘Up, Up and Away’ and ‘MacArthur Park’. But perhaps the most enduring partnership out of all those memorable songs is his musical brotherhood with Glen Campbell.

On Tuesday 20 September at The Apex, Webb offers fans a very personal music event that celebrates the legacy he created with Glen Campbell, including virtual duets and stories of how these iconic songs came to be in Jimmy Webb: The Glen Campbell Years. Webb pays homage to his friend and collaborator, a longtime musical hero whose impact on American families now extends to his role as one of the most public faces of Alzheimer’s disease.

A gifted composer whose complicated chords and song structures could not be performed by just anybody and a musician with an almost unnatural vocal range and musical abilities - theirs was a fated partnership that began before they even met. Webb’s moving and often humorous show, punctuated with photos, video and audio clips, offers a rare window into the process by which songs become radio hits.

As a young teen in Oklahoma, Webb heard Campbell's voice on the radio and prayed that someday he would hear that voice sing his own compositions. Just a few years later, halfway across the country in Hollywood, Campbell hears a Webb composition on the radio. He recognizes the song’s potential and covers it, making it a Grammy Award-winning hit. The duo made the charts a few more times together before they would actually meet during the recording of an advertising jingle – and the rest is musical history.

Jimmy Webb: The Glen Campbell Years covers highlights of the 100+ recordings from the Webb/Campbell songbook in a multimedia experience of songs and stories. Webb has a treasure trove of gems about his collaborations with Campbell, pulling the audience in with the personal side of touchstones like ‘Honey Come Back’. A centerpiece of this tour is when Webb trades verses with recordings of Campbell and adds insights to ‘By the Time I Get to Phoenix’, ‘Wichita Lineman’ and more. Personal video and photos from Webb’s private collection and from other friends, mostly never-before-seen, bring back decades of shared musical memories. In addition, Webb peppers the evening with many surprises that demonstrate the singular talents of these two pop icons and the indelible mark their symbiotic craftsmanship made on music.

Jimmy Webb plays at The Apex on Tuesday 20 September at 7.30pm. Tickets are £23, for more information, or to book, call the Box Office on 01284 758000, or visit www.theapex.co.uk.