John:  One of Britains biggest musical stars, when tickets went on sale for his Royal Albert Hall Concert, 75,000 were sold in three days, and here's why.  A clip from the new video.  Here's the man himself, in fine fettle and fine voice you were there

Michael:    Thank you

John:  Lovely to see you

Michael:    Nice to be here.

John:  So, 75,000 tickets sold out for the Royal Albert Hall.

Michael:  It's the most successful tour we have done and everybody's dream, certainly in this business,  is to play those venues like the Royal Albert Hall.

John:  Was that your first time at the Royal Albert Hall?

Michael:  It was the second time doing my own show - the first time ever I did it was the Les Miserables Tenth Anniversary Concert which was the most extraordinary atmosphere and you always worry that you are not going to be able to create the atmosphere that you have on the night in the video and on the film

John:  What kind of venue is that for you as a performer, does it suit your type of performance that venue?

Michael:  Yes, because it's big but everyone is around you so people feel quite close even though you can get so many people in.

Ruth:  It is, it's quite intimate isn't it even though its actually huge.

Michael:  Yes and it also has all that history with it - you say "I sold out the Royal Albert Hall actually" and you can never take it away from me.

Ruth:    He says as he puffs his chest out.  But we also know you from the big musicals, Aspects of Love, Les Miserables.  What is the difference from being in a huge show like that to walking out on stage alone thinking I am going to have to entertain these people for two hours.

Michael:  There are two really different disciplines, you've got the musicals which first of all there's eight shows a week, and it's always the same, you don't change what you are doing but you are with a company of people who are like a family so there is a camaraderie there and if you are feeling low or someone else is you have got someone to cheer you up.

Ruth:  I suppose a responsibility to your fellow actors

Michael:  But you can't change anything - it's not your thing but with your own show it is lonely, and being on the road ...

Ruth:  Oh, bless

Michael:  Will you come next time

Ruth:  I'll come, I'll stand in the wings

John:  If you can get a ticket that is

Michael:  You can come back stage love, but you are on your own, you do have that responsibility but it's your own creation and having come from the Theatre I don't just sit up and stand in front of a microphone and sings songs, I can make a kind of a theatrical experience.

Ruth:  But do you stand when you are waiting to go on - do you do all that peek through the curtain like you did at school in the school play?

Michael:  You go Ugh, or there is an empty seat! (pointing)

Ruth:  But do you get the nerves

Michael:  Oh yes, absolutely, you get for something like the Royal Albert Hall which is a biggie or something like the NEC, they're more scary, there seems to be more riding on it for some reason.  As you get into the run of things you still have the nerves and the excitement but it is a bit more positive.  I quite relish when things go wrong, I quite enjoy when surprises happen.

Ruth:  Masochist here (Laughing)

John:  It is like this show isn't it, because if the phones go down or we're out of time, it's manic all of a sudden, because it's live ...
 
Michael:  The adrenalin goes, oh this is new this is great (he says smiling and clicking his fingers) it's exactly the same thing but the worst this is when the nerves get so ... I used to suffer from nerves terribly badly and get panic attacks

Ruth: You hear actors saying  I used to throw up in the wings and I thought I was going to faint

Michael:  Oh yeah and it's bizarre, you step on the stage and you're fine ... its when you can’t leave it behind that you're in trouble

Ruth: How do you prepare physically for a tour its quite gruelling isn't it

Michael:  With a lot of Guinness (laughing)

Ruth:  With the voice and things and just keeping up your physical fitness

Michael:  It'is like anyhing really, the voice is like every muscle in your body the more you use it the better  it gets, the stronger it gets.  I do make myself go to the gym.  This tour we did, because I was doing the whole show two and a half  hours on stage …….

Ruth: It is a long time isn't it?

Michael:  … Normally turns have a first half, someone else does it then the interval, then I'll sing about one hour fifteen, one hour twenty minutes.  I decided, no I was going to do the whole lot because there were so many different kinds of music and so many different ideas I wanted to get in

Ruth:  Good for you

John:  Now seriously you were singing Hot Stuff there, (referring to the previous clip shown)  is there anything you won't sing? (Michael laughed)  You are a bit of a musical tart aren't you?

Michael:  I am

Ruth:  Musical tart? (laughing)

Michael:  That is a really good term, I am a musical tart.  No, you're right.  Yes, you're right.  As long as I think I can get away with it and it suits me

John:  Where does your musical taste lie? 

Michael:  It lies ….. I love, mainly with lyrics although if you are doing the opening of a show with "Hot Stuff" it's not the strongest lyric in the world, but it is mainly lyric based and story based things that I can identify with and I think audiences can identify with.  But it also got to be ….. have a fun element for performing.  For listening to ….  I like listening to great singer/songwriters … Joni Mitchell is my heroine, I listen to her constantly.  I listen to everything

Ruth:  Do you write music yourself?  Are you into that?

Michael:  First time ……

John:  Just about starting

Ruth:  This is the first time in your concert there is a song you have written yourself

Michael:  Yeah  Yeah  I always wanted to try it but have always been intimidated, really because of the other peoples songs ….. we would trot along have a lovely show, all these great songs and suddenly my song would come in and it would be really embarrassing, but I was persuaded to do a song, I had an idea for one from years back and decided to include it in the show

Ruth:  With your heart pounding

Michael:  It really was, now you're stood there in the Albert Hall ….

John:  This is me! About time though …. seven albums

Michael:  I'm really pleased and now I can't stop,  but I'm not going to become a singer/songwriter but I’m going to be doing …  I also wrote …  next week we have a Christmas album and live album of this coming out and that's got another song I've written on it, a Christmas song

Ruth:  As always we are out of time which is such a shame

Michael: That's because I talk too much

Ruth:  No, just quickly, what are you doing this weekend?

Michael:   I'm going straight up to Cardiff and I'm singing for the closing ceremony of the rugby.  I've been to virtually every match.

Ruth:  Fantastic

John:   Sorry Wales didn't make the final

Michael:  And Scotland

John:  I know don't mention that.  (Both John and Michael pretending to cry)  If you want to see and hear more of Michael the video is there with behind the scenes scenes as well.  OK Marvellous
Thanks Mike