Julie Covington (born 11 September 1946) is an English singer and actress, best known for recording the original version of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina",[1] which she sang on the 1976 concept album Evita.
[2] Covington started singing songs written by Pete Atkin and Clive James after joining the Footlights while still at teachers' training college in Cambridge.
[3] In 1971, she was cast in the original London production of Godspell at The Roundhouse, alongside David Essex, Jeremy Irons and Marti Webb.
[7] In 1976, the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber saw her perform in cabaret, and recognising her from Rock Follies, suggested to lyricist Tim Rice that she might be the actress to play the title role in their original studio recording of their musical Evita.
[9] Speaking in 1985, Covington expressed some regret at this decision, but explained that she did not like Eva Perón and that without some positive feeling for the person she preferred to turn the role down.
In 1978, Covington performed the role of Beth, wife of Parson Nathaniel (Phil Lynott), on the recording of "The Spirit of Man" from Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds.
"[12] In 1989 she took part in a British television special with Colm Wilkinson, Carol Woods and Paul Jones called Let's Face the Music of Lennon and McCartney.