Liza Minnelli - London Palladium at age 18
- Lauryn Johnson
- Mar 12
- 4 min read
In her recently published memoir, she talks about her first professional onstage appearance with her mother Judy Garland—headlining a concert at the London Palladium at 18! It was a trial by fire and she had to learn to hold the stage and make her own name next to her competitive mother.
"London was going mad with Judy Garland fever. Fans stampeded the box office for tickets, and the November 8 date quickly sold out. A second concert was set for November 15.
When Mama walked onstage opening night, the audience gave her an ovation. She'd always thought of London as her second home, maybe her favorite place in the world. The orchestra played a beautiful overture, weaving in 'Over the Rainbow,' 'Once in a Lifetime,' 'Never Will I Marry,' 'What Now, My Love,' 'Maybe This Time,' and 'The Man That Got Away.' Then she opened with five solid-gold songs, including 'As Long as He Needs Me' and 'Just in Time.' Big applause. When it died down, she said sim-ply, 'Ladies and gentlemen, Liza Minnelli,' and walked offstage.
"She had kept her word. And Jesus, was I nervous. Praying it didn't show. My entrance was greeted with polite applause. I began with 'The Travelin' Life.' If any song was a sweet spot for me, this was it. I belted it out. The audience, which had seemed mildly curious about me, woke up in a hurry. They cheered! I suddenly believed that I belonged up there. Remember, this was decades before YouTube. There were no videos of me circulating around England. The audience had a right to ask, who the hell is Liza Minnelli? They were beginning to get an idea. And I was just getting warmed up.
"I moved into 'Pass That Peace Pipe,' 'The Gypsy in My Soul,' and the comic 'How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Love You When You Know I've Been a Liar All My Life?' By now, the crowd was on my side, with strong applause for each number. Then I began to notice something in the wings. Mama was watching me intently. After my first song I heard her shout, 'Yeah, baby! Go get 'em!' After the second song, another "Yeah!" but not quite as strong. By the third song, let's just say she was losing enthusiasm. When I finished my last song, she was nodding and freshening her lipstick. Like she was putting on armor and getting ready for battle.
"I heard her whispering to our producer, Harold Davison: 'Harold, get her off my fucking stage!' I heard it! I just kept singing to wild applause as Mama fumed. Our eyes locked. She walked back onstage, and we sang the hit Broadway song from Hello, Doly.-now retitled 'Hello, Liza!' We began to move together, and I had a stunning realization. I had begun the night as Mama's daughter. Now, I was onstage with Judy Garland. And Judy Garland dominated any stage she was ever on.
"We hadn't choreographed this moment, and I had to keep up with her, every step. I had to open myself up to what she was going to do, how she would move, while singing my brains out. Mama was challenging me. She kept reaching out to push my arm down, as if she was teaching me how to use a mic. I pushed it away, while still trying to maintain a professional demeanor. Not exactly the help I needed to get through a song. Maybe she felt it was a way of showing the crowd I was still a novice, and she was helping me get through the show. Our duet may have looked great. Who could tell? All I knew was that I was learning to hold my own with the very best. Her drive, her competitive force, wouldn't let her take a back seat to anyone. It didn't matter that I was her daughter. As I've said so many times, she was a lion that night. She was protecting her turf, the stage, and I was invading her sacred space. It took me several years... no, decades...before I understood that her competition with me was a compliment to the performer I was becoming. I'd always been on guard about appearing with her. Now I knew that I could pass the test.
"Don't get me wrong: Mama was always a generous performer. Ask anybody who ever worked with her. She always gave, never took. But that night in London was something else. There was a creative tension that I'd never experienced before. A baptism like no other. Mama was going to give her all that night, so nerves be damned, I'd do the same."
After the concert ended, Judy told her, “I knew you’d be so cute out there and so darling—my little baby girl. When we were dancing you put one foot forward and one hip went back, just right on beat. And then the hand went out. It was PERFECT.”
Her memoir, Kids, Wait Till You Hear This! is out now!
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