The last thing that I need to see is a picture of Michael Ball and me on my bedroom wall
Singer Alfie Boe might be solo again, but he tells MARION McMULLEN that the bromance with his recent singing partner is far from over
IT WAS a match made in musical heaven when Alfie Boe and Michael Ball joined forces in the recording studio. The result was one of the biggest selling albums of 2016 and the recent follow-up, Together Again, ended up as the Christmas number one. Now the pair are back doing their own solo projects, but Alfie has not ruled out future joint projects.
“We had been talking about making an album together for a number of years, but the time was never really right, but then we started talking about it again and the opportunity presented itself. Everything was just in the right place and it was very positive really. We’re both thrilled by the result, we didn’t really expect it, but we’re thrilled by it.”
Alfie says one of the reasons the singing partnership works so well is that it is a case of opposites attract. “We have a different sense of humour and we are both very different people, but we work well together and play off each other very well.
“I’m sure in the future we will work together again. We’ve both got our solo projects to do at the moment, so it’s not in the cards right now, but if people still want us to make music and bring out an album later then it would be silly not to.”
Alfie certainly does not let the success go to his head but reveals that he doesn’t have his mementoes and bestselling albums on display at home.
“They are in a storage unit and and I can go and see them when I want, but I don’t need to put them out all around me at home,” he laughs. “The last thing I need to see is a big picture of myself and Michael hanging on the wall in the bedroom.”
Alfie is just back from a family holiday with his wife Sarah and children Grace, aged 10, and six-year-old Alfie and says the hardest part of touring is being away from them.
“My daughter gets it now but my son does not get it as much. He loves to sing though.”
Alfie, who grew up the youngest of nine children, says his own family were always very supportive of his singing ambitions. “They backed all my choices and decisions, my dad especially, and my mother was very happy when I got offered my first job with D’Oyly Carte Opera Company. They were thrilled. My dad was over the moon about it.
“They didn’t understand the business or anything about job security, but then neither did I. I took everything day by day and step by step, just working and progressing. It can be a very fickle business, but I’ve been lucky to continue working.”
His touring schedule takes the 44-year-old tenor all over the world and he will be taking part in the Heritage Live season on
June 16 at Kenwood House in London. The season also includes concert dates by Kris Kristofferson, Katherine
Jenkins, 2Cellos and Hacienda Classical.
“I’ve toured so much over the years I pack pretty much automatically these days,” says Alfie. “I pack a toothbrush and my gym gear and the necessities for being on the road.
“I go to the gym quite a lot. I exercise for my muscles and to keep energy levels high.
“Being on the road, it can be a bit tricky while you are away from home and your schedule is late nights and concerts. You have to make sure you keep the energy levels high, make sure you are rested and keep going.”
The Lancashire-born lad says the one thing that never changes is the thrill of singing before a live audience.
“The moment you go up on stage and perform, I love it. It’s a joyful thing to do.”
So after leading the cast of Les Miserables for nearly a year, sell-out tours and performing at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace, are there still any other ambitions?
“Just to continue what I’m doing for as long as I possibly can,” says Alfie simply. “I want to keep performing and making good music and good albums.”
I’m sure in the future we will work together again... if people still want us to make music... it would be silly not to. Alfie on his partnership with Michael Ball