Amsterdam - just like a lot of Dutchmen often go to London for a couple of days, the British singer
Michael Ball likes to hop over to Amsterdam every once in a while.  "The atmosphere is just so relaxed
here, there's nothing like it", he says.  That atmosphere is apparently contagious, because Ball appears to
be very relaxed.  Especially for someone who came to The Netherlands for his Dutch debut, dreaming of
a career in Europe.

He grew up in London, which can still be heard *by/in/because* of his accent.  But his 'roots' are in
Wales.  "That's right; the nation of singers.  They've asked me to appear at the opening of the new Welsh Parliament, together with stars such as Tom Jones and Shirley Bassey".  Singing with the stars and the
British Royalty at his feet.  Who would've thought?  Certainly not him:  "My father used to take me with
him to theatre performances when I was a kid.  I always thought that I would become an actor.  I went to acting school and ended up in a theatre company that performed a new play every fortnight.

LES MISERABLES

"I was only in it for a couple of months and then I decided to go along to these open auditions for a play
called "The Pirates of Penzance", a kind of operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan.  It was only my third
audition and there were about a hundred other people auditioning.  We had to audition in front of people
that included Trevor Nunn and Cameron Mackintosh, the director and producer who would end up
staging 'Les Miserables'.

"They asked me for the role of Marius.  And there I was, a completely unknown artist between all these
mega-names like Colm Wilkinson and Patti LuPone ... but that's when Trevor Nunn's talent shines
through:  of all these people with big reputations he created a unity.  Because the audience had to come
for the performance itself, not for the people who were performing it.  A nice man who brings out the
best in you.  A director who gives you a feeling of being secure".

After Les Mis came more lead parts in big productions such as 'Phantom of the Opera' and 'Aspects of
Love' by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Stephen Sondheim's 'Passion'.  Eventually he chose to embark on a
career as a solo singer.  A good choice, because people flocked to the concert halls and the CD's flew out
of the shops.

SINATRA

Sometimes, as a former actor, he misses the theatre, the musical. "But singing a song also means you
have to act:  to know what you sing, to be conscious of the meaning behind every sentence.  My heroes
are people like Barbra Streisand and Frank Sinatra.  Terrific singers AND outstanding actors as well".

"Besides, singing just songs is almost a privilege to me.  Musicals are a lot like opera:  you have to struggle through long recitatives before you can sing the proper big aria.  Now, I only sing the best bits from all the shows".

His concert tonight will round off his Spring Tour.  He performed in twelve British cities.  He played the
Royal Albert Hall in London twice.  "RAH is round, just like the Carre Theatre and that enhances the
atmosphere.  Besides, in the Carre Theatre, just like for instance Carnegie Hall and The Palladium, you
feel the history, the grandeur of the people that once performed there:  Josephine Baker, Shirley
MacLaine, Bette Midler and Harry Belafonte".

MEMORY

The show, to him, is one big musical memory.  "Songs from musicals I was in or have seen.  That feeling of memory forced itself on me when I decided to use the song 'Love Changes Everything' as a starting
point for the show.  That was my first hit, from the musical 'Aspects of Love'.  When I realised that, I
saw that practically all the songs recalled memories in my life, be it highs or lows.  You could say I try to
take the audience on a journey through all these emotional moments."

Will he ever return to the musical theatre?  "I'm waiting for a good script.  Something that I can relate to.
I'd love to make something completely new.  But for the moment I will stick to doing concerts, CD's and
Television.  But Michel Legrand is working on a musical that I might be interested in.  In any case, I will
be singing in concert his 'Les parapluies de Cherbourg' in the Hollywood Bowl".

And so he goes on in his profession, not knowing what his next project will be.  "But I would never want
to do anything else.  I love the excitement, the craziness, the passion but also the insecurity!  'Cause you
never know what might happen next.  Getting at the top isn't really difficult, but staying there, THAT'S
the challenge".