The Carpenters Story

Now touring the UK, The Carpenters Story tells the tale of the famous brother/sister musical duo that produced the hits “Top of the World,” “Please Mr. Postman,” “Superstar,” “We’ve Only Just Begun,” and more.

Dates are scheduled from the end of November through the end of March 2018. The show will make stops in Buckinghamshire, Wiltshire, Surrey, Edinburgh, Bedfordshire, Kent, Glasgow, Dorset, Lancashire, Devon, London and more.

In its early days, the tribute act was simply called “Tribute to the Carpenters.” Phil Aldridge, founder of the act, fielded a band for a large agency. His ensemble was larger than normal, with a flute, clarinet, oboe, violin and sax. The group blew away the audience. Their 20-minute session landed them 34 show bookings and eventually, a British tour.

The tour opened in 1992 at the London Palladium. A full, 22-piece orchestra performed along with a harp. The 2,600-seat show sold out. Shortly after, the entire 40-date tour sold out.

The success of the tour garnered attention from the press, with mentions in The Star, Daily Telegraph, The People and the Daily Mirror. The group made an appearance on Richard and Judy’s Breakfast show.

Phil soon held auditions at Southend on Sea’s Trackside Studios. Many hopefuls applied for the role of Karen Carpenter. Claire Furley landed the role after singing just four bars of “Close to You.”

Throughout the years, The Carpenters Story has toured throughout the UK, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and New Zealand.

The Carpenters was an instrumental and vocal duo that was popular in the 1970s. Over their 14-year career, the duo – Karen and Richard Carpenter – released ten albums and several singles. The pair also hosted several television specials.

Their first album, called Offerings, was a flop as well as their very first single “Ticket to Ride.” It wasn’t until the release of their second album Close to You that the duo rose to fame. The pair reached commercial success with their hits “We’ve Only Just Begun” and “(They Long to Be) Close to You.”

While their music appealed to and was loved by people of all ages, The Carpenters were often criticized for their squeaky clean, “goody two shoes” image.

The Carpenters produced a record-breaking number of hit recordings on the Adult Contemporary and Top 40 charts. The two toured continuously throughout the 1970s. Extensive touring put a strain on Karen and Richard.

The duo’s most popular hits include “Yesterday Once More,” “Rainy Days and Mondays,” “Goodbye to Love,” “Hurting Each Other,” “Merry Christmas Darling,” “Jambalaya,” and “Sweet Swet Smile.”