Harley had to audition for the recording of the song at Lloyd Webber's home. Although he was currently working on his own solo album El Gran Senor, under a new contract with Mickie Most's label RAK, Harley 'jumped at the chance' to record the song. Batt believed Harley's voice was just right for the song. Having worked together on the 1983 single ' Ballerina (Prima Donna)', Batt phoned Steve Harley with the offer of singing as the Phantom on the track, and duly suggested Harley to Lloyd Webber. He stressed that he wanted the song to have a rock 'n' roll sound, to which producer Mike Batt added an 'electro-pop beat and heavy metal guitars'. As development of the musical continued, Lloyd Webber decided that releasing the title track as a pop single would be a good way of promoting the upcoming musical and to 'test the water' in terms of public reception. Sarah Brightman, whom Lloyd Webber married in 1984, was set to play the heroine Christine. In 1984, Lloyd Webber and producer Cameron Mackintosh began working on the Phantom of the Opera musical.

The song became a Top 10 hit in the UK, peaking at number 7 and remaining in the charts for ten weeks.

The duet was performed by Sarah Brightman and Steve Harley. In January 1986, the original recording of ' The Phantom of the Opera' was released as a single to promote the upcoming musical of the same name. Single by Sarah Brightman and Steve Harley Sarah Brightman and Steve Harley version 'The Phantom of the Opera' In different shows, Sarah Brightman sings this song in different duets with other performers, Antonio Banderas, Chris Thompson, Alessandro Safina, Mario Frangoulis, Colm Wilkinson, Anthony Warlow, John Owen-Jones, Peter Jöback and Erkan Aki. At the end of the song, Christine sings her highest note in the show, an E 6.

It is sung as a duet by Christine and the Phantom. It takes place as the Phantom escorts Christine by boat to his lair beneath the Opera Garnier. The song is performed in Act I after the song 'Angel of Music' (The Mirror) and before ' The Music of the Night' (and is reprised in Act Two at the end of the song 'Notes/Twisted Every Way').

2 Sarah Brightman and Steve Harley version.

The phantom of the opera overture