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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Tom Bryant

Jackie Weaver brands Andrew Lloyd Webber 'arrogant' over song he wrote about her

Local council chief Jackie Weaver has blasted Andrew Lloyd Webber over a song that he composed about her.

Weaver - who became a household name during lockdown when a recording of a chaotic Zoom meeting went viral - claims that the track was done without her permission.

A Song for Jackie Weaver was released by the composer, 73, on social media last year - with it featuring lyrics by Don Black and performed by Carrie Hope Fletcher.

The lyrics of the song include the opening line: "When you're stuck in a tunnel and you can't find your way out, thank the Lord there is a Jackie Weaver about."

Andrew Lloyd Webber composed A Song for Jackie Weaver, which he uploaded on social media (Getty Images)
The song was performed by Carrie Hope Fletcher (Getty Images for Bauer Media)

Discussing the track, Weaver branded Lloyd Webber "incredibly arrogant," claiming that the composer and West End theatre boss didn't contact her in advance of uploading it.

She said: "It felt like he'd used my name and story to keep himself relevant. It would have cost him nothing to reach out but I'm too ordinary for the likes of Andrew Lloyd Webber."

"I just felt that my name was good enough for him to use but I was not even good enough for him to bother to send a text message to or an email to," she further commented.

Further commenting on A Song for Jackie Weaver - which describes her as being "our saviour" - she added: "I wouldn’t even call it a song, I'd call it an anthem."

Lloyd Webber previously spoke about composing the song whilst on Good Morning Britain, with him stating that it was "just a laugh." He added: "I was doing nothing on a Sunday afternoon."

He said that some of his friends stateside didn't get the reference, with him commenting that it's "a very British thing." He said the iconic council meeting had been "sort of operatic."

Jackie Weaver came to prominence through a recording of a Handforth Parish Council meeting (Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)

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And joking about the prospect of the song turning into a West End musical, he referenced the inspiration behind Evita, saying: "You never know! People said Eva Perón was a bad idea."

Weaver became an internet sensation during a rowdy Zoom meeting of Handforth Parish Council, in which chairman Brian Tolver told her: "You have no authority here, Jackie Weaver."

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