MICHAEL ON BBC RADIO WALES
Thursday, 25th October 2001
Lisa: Michael Ball is Britain's leading musical star and he has dominated many many West End shows for more than a decade. He's won acclaim and of course the hearts of the public with his memorable performances on stage, film and television and of course last month he released a solo CD called Centre Stage. It features songs from the Musical Theatre and entered the album charts at a very respectable number 11 and Michael joins us now on the line from London to tell us more about it. Hello Michael.
Michael: Hello Lisa.
Lisa: Always good to have you on the show. Thanks for joining us.
Michael: Nice to be back.
Lisa: So why did you decide, cos you did another album with Musicals on it, why did you decide to do another one.
Michael: Well I did that album probably about five years ago and when I was doing it I realised that there were a lot of songs that I couldn't put on there, there was not enough room, so I always knew that there was going to be another musical album, another album concentrating on songs from Musical Theatre, and in that five years a lot of great songs have come along, songs from new shows, songs that have crossed over into musical theatre and the other way round if you like, songs that have crossed over from movies or the charts, songs like Can You Feel The Love Tonight from the Lion King, The Winner Takes It All from Mamma Mia and Immortality that the Bee Gees wrote for Saturday Night Fever so I wanted to do those songs, and songs from Musicals that I had been in like Les Mis, Phantom of the Opera, they are songs that I hadn't got to perform myself and I'd always listened to other people doing them, thought it was time I recorded them myself.
Lisa: I'm glad you've included one from Blood Brothers.
Michael: It's a great show. It's up there with the Les Mis' and the Phantoms, traditionally British Shows, and it's still running, hugely successful, and that song from Blood Brothers, Tell Me It's Not True, its just such a stirring, great, great piece of music.
Lisa: It's a wonderful song. I've said that Blood Brothers is my favourite musical.
Michael: Yes it's one of mine.
Lisa: Do you have a complete favourite?
Michael: I think if I could only take one with me, on a desert island or something, I think probably Les Mis. It's just an extraordinary piece of work.
Lisa: Challenging for you though as a singer ...
Michael: Yes and as an actor, but that's what I think the best shows are, they are not just challenging vocally but they make you plum emotional depths and stretch yourself as an actor as well as a singer and I think that's what an audience loves as well, they like to be stirred and moved, to laugh and to cry and made to think really.
Lisa: Exactly. Now you fulfilled a bit of a dream recently going to Australia and singing, how was that?
Michael: It was as good, if not better, than I thought it would be. It was my first trip down there and I didn't know what to expect. I'll tell you what there's a quality, there's a quality to the light even, when you arrive that is so different than we have up here, the southern hemisphere, I think it's because they've got less ozone, but to actually see the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Bridge and the people there were just lovely. I was made to feel really welcome. Brilliant Time.
Lisa: You've had an amazing ten years. Could you single out a moment as being the best?
Michael: Em, there's a couple. I mean I think back to ... there was a terrific show we did for ALW's 50th Birthday at the Royal Albert Hall, but to finish the show with Love Changes Everything, the whole cast came on so among my backing singers are Glenn Close, Antonio Banderas, Sarah Brightman, Elaine Page, Boyzone ... it was fantastic ... I was the only person I had never heard of!!
Lisa: No that's not true, because all our listeners, we're always getting requests,play Michael Ball songs, can you ask Michael Ball a question so we've got one for you from, it's Nan Lightfoot from Chester and she wants to know have you got any plans for a West End Musical next year.
Michael: Em. I'm always looking for the right thing to go back into the West End, one will come along I am sure. The thing is it's eight shows a weeks its a huge commitment you have to make to go into the west end ... I've been talking about a couple and if they come off I'll announce them, but at the moment no definite and firm plans, things change all the time but yeah, I am in discussion about a couple of things and I'm not sure if it's absolutely right.
Lisa: So a definate maybe?
Michael: A definate maybe possibly.
Lisa: It's always nice to have you in the show. Thank you for joining us and have a great weekend.
Michael: Thank you.
They play the Boy From Nowhere
:-)