I think it's great that it beat all the odds, it was an extremly brave move and something that I doubt would be repeated in a hurry.
Prior to Cats, ALW was very successful, Joseph was becoming very popular, JCS speaks for itself and Evita was going extremely well. In fact Evita was more successful than JCS at that time, it won more awards and had more hit songs from it. And don't forget the album Variations was a massive hit in the UK. So Cats was released on the back of a string of successes. I'm not surprised Cats was a success, ALW could do no wrong at the time, I am surprised it's a continuing success, that kinda beggars belief.
Jeeves was a mistake because they tried to encompass typical Ayckbourn tomfoolery into the songs, which didn't work. Instead of it being an outright musical, it was a musical/play which to me didn't work. I'm not surprised it tanked.
The big question is, would Phantom have been the success it is today had Jim written the lyrics? Whistle was the right project at the right time for Jim.
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