Corrie announces 50th anniversary CD

[Perdita]

A special Coronation Street CD titled Rogues, Angels, Heroes and Fools is to be released in celebration of the soap's 50th anniversary, it has been announced.

Corrie cast members past and present have teamed up with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to record the album, which contains ten original songs composed by the award-winning musical writer Trisha Ward.

Billed as an "epic musical journey through 50 years of Corrie history", the disc will revisit some of the humorous and dramatic plotlines which have featured in the show over the past five decades.

One of the songs - 'If It's Too Late', sung by Weatherfield favourite Katherine Kelly (Becky McDonald) - will be released as a single to support the album on December 6.

Another track on the CD sees Kym Marsh (Michelle Connor) pay tribute to Elsie Tanner, while Rachel Leskovac (Natasha Blakeman) also features as she celebrates Bet Lynch's time on the cobbles.

Additionally, Brian Capron and Kevin Kennedy reprise their respective roles as Richard Hillman and Curly Watts for the album, while other cast members involved in the project include Bill Roache (Ken Barlow), Betty Driver (Betty Williams), Julie Hesmondhalgh (Hayley Cropper) and David Neilson (Roy Cropper).

Speaking of the CD release, Corrie's executive producer Kieran Roberts commented: "When I first heard that award-winning composer Trisha Ward wanted to celebrate 50 years of Coronation Street in music, I was intrigued.

"When I met Trisha and saw how passionate she was about the show and heard the brilliant songs she was writing, I very quickly became excited about the idea. Two years down the line, I'm thrilled this music project has come to fruition in such a wonderful album of original songs - it is without doubt a unique and fitting way to celebrate 50 years of Coronation Street."

Rogues, Angels, Heroes and Fools will be on sale exclusively at Tesco stores from November 29. It is also available to pre-order on the supermarket chain's website.

[alan45]

As you may have already read, the team at Coronation Street are releasing a special CD next month to mark the soap's 50th anniversary.

The album features vocals from cast members past and present - as some play their own characters and others pay tribute to some Weatherfield legends.

For all the details on how the project came about and who's involved, click here for our main article.

Below, however, we present the disc's track listing and cover art, as well as pictures of Kym Marsh (Michelle Connor) and Rachel Leskovac (Natasha Blakman) in the recording studio…

Full song list:
1) Opening Episode (Ena Sharples, Elsie Tanner, Young Ken Barlow, Annie Walker)
2) He's My Man - (Bet Lynch & Elsie Tanner)
3) Woman Stanley Woman (Hilda & Stan Ogden)
4) Cunning Clever Crafty (Jack & Vera Duckworth)
5) I Know How it Feels (Elsie Tanner)
6) Eh Chuck (Original cast)
7) If it's Too Late (Becky McDonald)
8) Norman Bates with a Briefcase (Richard Hillman/Gail Platt)
9) Sweet Butterfly (Sean Tully)
10) Curly's Song - Your Star Shines So Bright (Curly Watts)

[Perdita]

IT'S a Corrie chorus - as the Street's cast records tracks for 50th anniversary album Rogues, Angels, Heroes and Fools.

The album - featuring Betty Driver (Betty Williams), Malcolm Hebden (Norris Cole) and Michelle Keegan (Tina McIntyre) singing Eh Chuck - should sell faster than a batch of Betty's hotpots.

Sam Aston (Chesney Brown) also has a croon on the album - which features the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

[alan45]

IT'S a Corrie chorus - as the Street's cast records tracks for 50th anniversary album Rogues, Angels, Heroes and Fools.

The album - featuring Betty Driver (Betty Williams), Malcolm Hebden (Norris Cole) and Michelle Keegan (Tina McIntyre) singing Eh Chuck - should sell faster than a batch of Betty's hotpots.

Sam Aston (Chesney Brown) also has a croon on the album - which features the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

And here they are in all their glory

[Perdita]

Katherine Kelly has said that the songs which appear on Coronation Street's 50th anniversary CD are likely to feature in a musical based on the soap next year.

The actress - who plays Weatherfield's Becky McDonald - gave the strongest indication yet that a Corrie musical is on the cards in a TV interview this morning.

Show bosses recently released a CD titled Rogues, Angels, Heroes and Fools, containing ten original songs and billed as an "epic musical journey through 50 years of Corrie history".

Kelly, Kym Marsh, Rachel Leskovac, Bill Roache and Kevin Kennedy were among the cast members past and present who recorded contributions to the project.

Speaking on Lorraine today, Kelly explained: "I think you can really tell when you listen to the whole album that it is the soundtrack of a musical that is very much in the pipeline for next year, that ITV Studios are working on with Trisha Ward, who is the writer of the musical. You can really tell that actually.

"[The CD] is brilliant - there's 23 of us in it. We all popped up to Blueprint Studios and a few of us to Abbey Road Studios to record this, while we were practicing for the live [episode] and the 50th!"

A Coronation Street musical has been rumoured for some time, but the project remains unconfirmed at this stage.