Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Queens back in charts
Exclusive: Judi takes on Olivia... in music battle!
They’re both Oscar-winning actresses famed for playing queens and now Dame Judi Dench and Olivia Colman are about to go head to head in the music charts.
Both will feature on music releases out the same day. Dame Judi collaborates with Aled Jones, a friend for 25 years, and Olivia appears on a classical album. But who will reign supreme?
Dame Judi, who won an Oscar as Queen Elizabeth I and has played Queen Victoria twice, recorded a version of How Can I Keep From Singing, honouring her Quaker faith. Dame Judi and Olivia starred together in Murder on the Orient Express and work together for the Story of Christmas charity. Aled said of Judi: “Hearing her iconic voice on the track sends shivers down my spine.” His Blessings album, which represents various faiths and also features Brian Blessed and Susan Boyle among others, is due out on November 6, the same date as Olivia’s. Olivia, who won an Oscar as Queen Anne, and plays Elizabeth II in The Crown, recites poems by War Horse Michael Morpurgo. author
The accompanying music, SaintSaens’ Carnival of the Animals, is performed by the seven Kanneh-mason siblings including cellist Sheku, who performed at the wedding of Prince Harry Meghan. and Olivia is on a 2019 Children in Need album, covering Portishead’s Glory Box.
But she said at the time she had no plans to pursue a singing career. Olivia quipped: “I think I should definitely stick to my day job.”