As he releases new album Open Arms via BMG (October 27) – a covers set that mixes rock classics with orchestral bombast – operatic superstar Alfie Boe looks back on a career that’s seen him team up with everyone from Michael Ball to Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder...
I had the idea for my new album Open Arms...
“Over 20 years ago! It was a project I’d wanted to do for a long time – to collaborate with an orchestra, have a contemporary band and do well-known classic rock songs that can show the versatility of that music and how associated it is with the classical world. The Aerosmith song I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing is a really cool song to sing and Journey’s Open Arms is another beautiful track, but the song that really hit me the most is Wicked Game by Chris Isaak. On the album, it’s simply myself and five string players and my two backing singers. It’s just so broken down, so emotional and emotive.”
Writing my memoir Face The Music taught me...
“Not to put things off. I learned to not procrastinate and address things that need to be addressed. Sometimes with depression or mental illness, people put things off and ask themselves, ‘How long can I stay in bed until I really have to get up?’ I learned that I like self-motivation.”
The best advice I’ve received is, ‘When you’re not working, rehearse’...
“When I trained as an opera singer, I had a lot of old school opera singers who’d been in the business for years tell me that whenever I’m not working, that’s the time to master your craft to really improve yourself. A guy called Richard Van Allen and another fella called Paul Griffiths were amazing mentors for me. And weirdly, completely not associated with music in any form, but the old school comedian Frank Carson said exactly the same, that whenever you have time off, improve yourself, learn new things.”
Playing the role of Jimmy for Pete Townshend’s Classic Quadrophenia was incredible…
“To work with Pete Townshend and Billy Idol, they really inspired me as performers to break out into a genre I love but hadn’t had the opportunity to perform. Phil Daniels as well, being on stage with the guy that played the original Jimmy. All really humble, cool, beautiful people. One of the best memories of the whole thing was when we toured the US and in Chicago, we were joined on stage by Eddie Vedder. To get to duet with Eddie was a dream come true because I was a massive Pearl Jam fan. It was crazy.”
You have to remember where you’re from...
“And who you are as a person and not let the glitz and glamour take you away. I’m just a guy from Fleetwood. It’s important to keep your feet on the ground and I’ve always tried to maintain that – and when you look at some of the biggest artists, they’re all like that. Another mate of mine, Ian McKellen, is from Wigan and he’s never forgotten his roots, he always loves going back home. Robert Plant again, one of the biggest rock stars in the world, he knows that he’s a Midlands boy. It’s those people that inspire me and I admire, for who they are and what they’ve achieved.”
Signing to BMG feels like things are coming full circle...
“I’m so grateful that BMG have taken on this project and brought me on board as one of their artists. They’re a great label. In the early days, I made my first album with Sony BMG when they were together so it’s nice to come full circle with BMG now. They have a wonderful team with some amazing ideas for this album and hopefully the future.”
Michael Ball is a lot more superstitious than me...
“He’s got a routine, certain things that he has to do before he goes on stage. There’s no whistling allowed backstage, if anybody whistles, he’ll shout at them and say, ‘Stop whistling!’ And you have to go out of the room, spin three times, spit and swear and then knock on the door and ask to be let back in. It’s just outrageous. He’s got all these routines and he has to do the same thing every single day, like his shoes have to be in a certain place in his dressing room every night. I’m not like that, I’m completely different, so I think it annoys him when I do stuff that goes against the grain. The thing with me and Michael is that we just have fun, we get on really well.”
