Vivarchive media full view

Russell Watson in concert RAH [2001-10-18]

vai1-001.pdf

Subject:

Russell Watson in concert RAH

Classification:

Concert

Sub-classification:

Programme

Location:

I1 Russell Watson

Year:

2001

Date:

October 18th, 2001

Text content:

ahie

VOICE

LI
=

RELEASED ON

VIDEO 29TH OCTOBER

& DYD 12TH NOVEMBER

PERRY HUGHES
In association with

SJM CONCERTS
PRESENTS

Sl
Bl

L)
S =

W
A T S ()
LN

g1
€
3

GO NCER
T

This time last year you were about to take

the UK by storm. Since then you have taken
‘the voice’ all over the world.
What a year! What a voice! What a pal!
PERRY HUGHES

Just don't say it all came as a bit
of a surprise, that's all. You were

told this would happen. And | know

because | was the one who told
you in the sleeve notes to THE
VOICE, Russell Watson’s debut

album. To be fair, he %Ven told you
himself. “You can either do it or you
can’t”, he smiled at

righteous self-belief.

For those few still

not familiar with

Russell’'s backgroun 4§

you should

know that Watson V\Z&S the YTS kid
charged with puttinf nuts and
bolts in a machine
before he was Iifte

from a

monochromatic life :“o%%drudgery
and repetition by viftue of his
voice and a determination to let the

rest of the world hear it for
themselves.

WA
T © O N

At least one and a half million people
across the globe have bought Russell

Watson's first aloum THE VOICE.
Hook, line and sinker. And there are
people buying it still. It is a voice so

powerful énd versatile that his voice

coach, Wililiam Hayward, does not
hesitate to call it unigue and with no

qualifying adjectives. It is a voice
which has been at number one in the
UK Classical chart since it was
released (and is still there at the
time of writing) whilst also
gracing the top spot in
several other countries.

Was it really 12 months

ago since | saw Him
break down and cry as
he listened to the final

edit of his genre-defining
and inspirational duet with

oi.

.~—TR

;

/baseball cap, sweatshirt and tennis sh orts.
L

doesn't.seem like five
. ;'r, . “‘Q:m;j

e 5? ,1

= S

minutes .

| ‘w‘ aF w_ i

e g)g,v;.w.m

¥u

records.
Fai

S C

ed on the s
Pavarotti, and in fro
President of the Unit

America.

“We were inthe States

h to ignor

stage as
the

recording the new second album and

made a lot of friends over“’fitheljfe. Ja

begin with; leaving home for tha%“
amount of time

V, but even._se-it was
Roth ing like singifg in Italy, essentially
the home of opera music. | did a lot of

TV there and.the first showswasithe

hére except for the faét that
there

—_—

| were abdut

people sat in° angs

amphitheatre. When | walked driffte
s

ide

| feltilike:Spartacus going int

singing Nessun Dorma

d | was thinking....l

ords right, but at the
on the audience started

. | finished the

cheering

“had conquered

ltaly. Veni, vidi, vici.... Well almost.”

“That might have to wait for the success

of this album to outstrip the first and,
when you consider that THE VOICE is the
fastest-selling classical recording in UK
history, that is asking for a lot.”

“But if you don't ask; you don't get. You
learn that as you put nuts and bolts into a

machine on the shop floor in a factory.”

“I have matured as an artiste", he explains.
"I am more confident as an entertainer,

move around the stage more and

communicate better with my audience, |
think. It is all experience... | started out in
the clubs in front of 200 people and it is a
bit of a culture shock to work with a 70 or

thousands. The very first time | worked
with the Royal Philharmonic it was..." he
lets his bottom lip tremble. And then bursts &
out laughing.

“l sort of had this feeling that all these guys

are at the top of their trade and | kept
thifihking‘ fere's little old me, fresh from
clubland...Yeah it was daunting and | have
to say that, at first, they possibly didn't take
me particularly seriously as a result of
where | am from but | have worked with the
Royal Philharmonic several times now and
feel at least ten feet taller. Now | am

introduced as Russell Watson and they
cheer and that makes you feel good
because it's like | have been recognised by
real musicians.

‘It makes you feel good, makes you feel like

you are part of a team. You aren't given
e

et DU have to earn Iit.”

' Presumably that is why, combining his

trademark mix of pop classics and opératic
arias, he has worked on his new album with
songwriters of the calibre of Lionel Richie

and Diane Warren, who has written the theme

song for the new worldwide STAR TREK TV

series (Enterprise), ‘Where
my Heart will take me’,

and duetted with Lionel
and the legendary Lulu.

But before you sit back
and float away, please, if
you Wwill, observe a

minute’s silence for the

Sunday newspaper critic
who said that Russell

Watson would never be
successful until he
received formal and
classical musical training.
That notice appeared the

same day the first album
went double platinum.
Well, as the nameless

critic is doubtless aware,
you can't put a premium

on timing. Goodnight.

BILL BORROWS,

OCTOBER 2001

Concert guests
L ulu
Lulu has always had a unique ability to be
everywhere and nowhere, always heard, even if she
was not seen. She has always managed to straddle

cutting-edge and high octane middle brow with
equal aplomb. Now she is brushing uberdame with

typical savvy. There is something about her energy
that's drawn it all in at once.
She has written with her brother Billy, hits for Tina

Turner “| Don't Wanna Fight”, Winona Judd “My
Angel is Here” and Lulu's last chart entry in the year
2000 “Where the Poor Boys Dance”.

Lulu has spanned four decades of always managing
to have the chicest, the cleverest, the most relevant
musicians and celebrities counting on her as a best

friend.

At the moment she is recording a duets album with
the likes of Elton John, Westlife and, of course,
Russell Watson, to name but a few. She will appear

at Russell’s concerts wherever possible. There is no
|

doubt that Lulu’s career will go on and on and on...

Cleo

‘

Cleo the 18-year-old lead vocalist with the group

~ Throughout her career, she has created a phenomenal

Cleopatra, has been associated with the music

Interest in the media and has appeared on many TV

industry from the tender age of 10.

programmes. She even had her own two top rating TV

During this time, her career has gone from

shows.

strength to strength as she has developed into

After being invited to perform at the Vatican for the

the beautiful young woman we see today.

Pope and in Brunei for the Sultan and his family, this

Recognised for her energetic and vivacious

only goes to show how Cleo’s radiant personality is

Cleo duetted with Russell on his debut album ‘the
voice’ and will appear at concerts wherever possible.

L_ionel Richie
Although Lionel Richie has just started his fourth
decade of making music, you would never know it from
listening to his recent Platinum selling album
‘Renaissance’.
During his career he

has sold 70 million
albums. He has won
five grammies, an

Oscar, a Golden Globe
and numerous
American Music
Awards.

‘Three Times a Lady’
way back in 1978 was

his first American
Number one and he
wrote another Number

One every year until
1986.
In 1985 Lionel got

;

together with Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones to
write and record ‘We are the World’ the US Live Aid
theme which earned millions for famine relief in

Africa. '‘Say You Say Me’ won him an Oscar for Best
Original Song in 1986.
During the nineties he took a deliberate break from
touring and recording but in 1996 after signing a new
recording deal with Mercury/Universal he released the
critically acclaimed ‘Louder than Words’, followed two
years later by ‘Time’.
Lionel duetted with Russell on his new album ‘Encore’
and will appear at concerts wherever possible.

Schooldays
Russell always liked going to school as a young man
and he had a natural ability to keep his friends and

class members entertained when the teachers weren't

looking! The added incentive for his classmates was

their anticipation of which day it was going fo be
when one of the teachers caught him mimicking

them! More often than not, Russell’s personality 4
couldn’t help but target the teacher that happened to

be conducting the lesson at the time ..v.and the
result was inevitable — this back in the days when

corporal punishment was administered swiftly to the

backside.
“l didn’t enjoy the pain” Russell remembers “but it

just added to the notoriety of the things | got up to”.
Did it deter him from the playful disruption during
class? (“The disruption was only from the teachers

point of view”). “The rest of us were having a great
time and no it didn’t deter me for long — maybe a day
or so!” Russell just became more careful when and
where to make the delivery, a twisted face, a
comment, a movement, all of which honed his
delivery and timing from this early age. Was he the
only young man at school that did this? Certainly not!
There were several, but as one teacher recalls “he
always had the special knack of making you feel

worse than he did — especially after administering

corrective punishment for the jokes, whispers and
contorted faces that erupted each time you turned
your back to write on the blackboard”.

TR
Nt

PRy

(remii

Ayl M
X ‘. .

WuLFE

P
eP A
*

A W

e
it

On November 9th 2001, Russell will be the first artist to
perform live together with the 75-member Hollywood Bowl

Orchestra at the new permanent home for the Oscars, the
Kodak Theatre, Hollywood, Los Angeles.
For more information see the Russell Watson website
www.russellwatson.com and click on ‘concert appearance’.

; "‘Ifréfl'*'n‘?}fi;'i
5
etKA

SRR

5,
5

Figi h

e
Ol »,;,iz‘:.
LY
s, T A
ol
O
PR

"Ny

MICHAEL REEDVAND:

THE ROYAL PHILHARMONIC

ORCH ESTRA
Michael-Reed'’s conducting (and in many cases

Life, the first Michael Ball series, T/Te Roya/

orchestrating
and arranging) credits for over

. Gala for the Pr/nces Trust (lncludmg Prlnce

twenty West End shows include Phantom of

Charles’ 50th B|rthday Celebratlon) FO‘T th€~

the Opera, Barnum and Singin’.in the Rain. As

millennium; as part of BBC’s Iuvecoverage frao.

Musieal Supervisor he is responsible for-the

Greenwich, Michael Conducte;d the L‘or‘!él‘pn;_d SR

worldwide productions of many of Andrew

Symphony Orchestra along with éimply Red

)

the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Jim

The EurythmiCé andv Lesley -Gafrr’ett.-‘N%b étrangerfi,' ”f; * ,.
to the Royal Albert Hall. Michael supervised
SN

Steinman’s Dance of the Vampires.

and conducted Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 50th

Lloyd Webber's musicals, including Joseph and

Michael has been a guest conductor with all
the leading orchestras in this country, in
particular the Royal Philharmonic, and BBC
Concert orchestras. With the Royal
Philharmonic he was the original conductor for
the highly successful Classical Spectacular
concerts and he is now a regular guest
conductor for the RPO’s open-air ‘Proms’
summer concerts all over England.

A frequent contributor for BBC Radio Two,

Michael has conducted, amongst others, the
broadcast recordings of Guys and Dolls (with
Mandy Patinkin), A Little Night Music (with
Betty Buckley) and Jesus Christ Superstar

(with- Roger Daltrey.and Tony Hadley) with the
BBC Concert Orc’hestra. For television, Michael

has superviséd and conducted the Laurence
“Olivier Awards, the Children’s Royal Variety
Shows, the Royal Variety Shows, the Eurovision

Song Contest, Showstoppers, A Song for Jill
(Dando), Andrew Lloyd Webber’s This is Your

Birthday Celebration featuring, amongst others,

working on the film version of Lloyd Webber's
Osmond. In May last year, he conducted a host

of stars, including Jamiroquai, Marti Pellow
and Lesley Garrett, to celebrate Elizabeth
Taylor's damehood and her contribution to the
Red Hot Aids Charitable Trust.

Phantom of the Opera.
Earlier this year Michael was in Monte Carlo

to conduct the Laureus World Sports Awards
with celebrities such as Leanne Rimes,
Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones,

Michael has recorded numerous cast albums

Boris Becker, Martina Navratilovja,,getc-, and in

including producing a special 20th anniversary

Leeds where he conducted Russe

recording of Jesus Christ Superstar, conducting

with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestraias

Michael Crawford’s album of the music of

of BBC Music Live.

Andrew Lloyd Webber,S
Surrender aIbu

featurrng Sarah Brrghtm'an‘

"He orchestrated and cérrduc"‘

htn

Wag‘snn

OPRThricloaesymtn

Variety Club
It may come as somewhat of a surprise to many people that long

before the bright lights of TV studios and the “not to be missed
concerts” Russell gave his time to various charities, and one in
particular called “The Variety Club of Great Britain” who welcomed
his endeavours to help in any way he could. Naturally his wonderful
gift entertained people at fund raising events, but more importantly

he saw first hand the difference the charity made to various groups
and individuals targeted for help by the Club.

In light of Russell’s dedication to the charity, he was bestowed the

honour of Ambassador well before the release of his first album
“the voice” and naturally Russell reflects “thankfully the more

successful my career the greater help | can be to The Variety Club”.

Should you wish to find out more about the Charity, the link below
is to the North West Region website.
www.variety-northwest.org.uk

;

‘

FREE

TEDDY BEAR

Hugh Laurie

Helen Baxendale

(‘Stuart Little’,101 Dalmations’)

(‘Friends’,‘Cold Feet’)

as Teddy

as Lily

Theme song sung by Russell Watson $
"

Y ATV

Video on sale from 19th November at 4§l
e

Subject to availability from selected WHSmith High Street stockists

ENTERTAINMENT
A

JUST

GROUP

COMPANY

CARION

Russell Watson appointed
Ambassador for Peace

$ .

and Development
Russell Watson has been chosen as a World Association of

Former United Nations Internes and Fellows (WAFUNIF) ‘Goodwill

u ., %%

Ambassador for Peace and Development’ and will be presented
with his certificate on Friday 9 November 2001 at the inaugural

EEYE 2EER Ep)
SEgs

PRSI

Bmaw
9

BeE

concert of the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. He will host and
speak at a fund raising WAFUNIF Gala Dinner which Hollywood's
and the music industry’s VIPs are expected to attend
Russell will be the key in the ‘Culture of Peace Campaign’ which
will engage individuals, sponsors, groups and business in the
WAFUNIF effort to carry out the important directives associated

with the United Nations International Decade for a Culture of

Peace and Non violence for the children of the world 20012010.

www.russellwatson.com
See what you get

when you join Russell’'s online club
M Access to Russell Watson's Public calendar.
M Detailed concert dates up to 90 days in advance.

M Detailed Radio, TV appearances up to 90 days in advance.

M Detailed Special Guest appearances up to 90 days in
advance.

B The Russell Watson Personal Tour
M Russell's time at School
B Performing Venues

M Russell's Tour includes key buildings, events, history, and

places that have left an impression on Russell
M Story told with pictures, text, background sound files
M Access to Russell's library of music tracks

M Access to Russell's library of video clips
B Fans question and answer bulletin board
® and much more to come in the future...

To apply for membership write to:

3www Web Services Ltd, Dept M, Glenfield Park, Site 2
Suite 505, Blakewater Road, Blackburn, Lancashire BB1 5QB
United Kingdom

or visit the website at www.russellwatson.com

WORLDWIDE REPRESENTATION

'RUSSO LIMITED. PERRY HUGHES
THE TEAM LINDY FRETWELL, LISA HUGHES, HAYLEY WATSON, PAUL HUGHES,GRANVILLE CAMPBELL,
RICK BLASKEY, SIMON CLARKE
SERVICES AND CREW
TOUR COORDINATION

‘
LINDY FRETWELL

RECORD COMPANY

DECCA MUSIC

PRODUCTION MANAGER ~ CHRIS VAUGHAN

GROUP 2000

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT ~ DEBBIE BRAY
STAGE MANAGER
FOR RUSSELL

PAUL HUGHES

SOUND ENGINEER

COLIN BOLAND

SECLIRITY

STEVEN CAMPBELL

LEGAL REPRESENTATION
ACCOUNTANTS

LISA DAVIES PR.

VOCAL COACH

WILLIAM

KENNY UNDERWOOD

EQUINOX TV

PA AND SECURITY

LIGHTING DESIGNER

TV AND FILM

TRAVEL

SIMON TUTCHENER

HAYWARD

MUSIC BY

APPOINTMENT

SECURITY

ACT2VATE

PUBLICITY

STANIFORTH PR.

THE MUSIC AND MEDIA

GRANVILLE CAMPBELL

PARTNERSHIP

EVERSHEDS

BAKER TILLY

MERCHANDISE

EVENT MERCHANDISING

CONCERT PROMOTER

S.J.M. CONCERTS

THANKS TO
ALISTAIR GORDON, THE COLONEL AND LYNNE,
GED MAISON, GARY COWEN,

SIMON MORAN,

BILL VICKERMAN, GRAHAM KINNAIRN, TREVOR HULMES,

RICHARD J ALEXANDER,

DAVID SIMONE AND SHELLEY ROSS.