The Woman in Black / Paul Weller / Science Festival / Pioneer

what’s oncambridge-news.co.uk/whatson

music / theatre / / family days out

12:03:15

Classical crossover artistRussell Watson wins us over

What a charmer

26 | March 12, 2015 | cambridge-news.co.uk | Cambridge News

The best sellingclassicalcrossoverartist ever isfinally visitingCambridge CornExchange. ELLAWALKER finds himrather surprising– and massivelylikeable

Editor:Ella Walkeremail:ella.walker@cambridge-news.co.uk

For breakingentertainment newsfor the city, visitcambridge-news.co.uk/whatson

Follow@CamWhatsOnon Twitter

THE HEADLINER: MUSIC

the critical listThis week’s entertainment highlights

RussellWatson

“When you’ve nearlydied twice and you see

some s*** written aboutyou in the newspaper,

it’s like, so what?!?”

HOT TICKETS WHAT’S ON

WHAT’S ON HOT TICKETS

HOT TICKETS WHAT’S ON

WHAT’S ON HOT TICKETS

Russell Watson, Cambridge Corn

Exchange, Wednesday, March 18 at

7.30pm. Tickets £27.50 - £35 from

(01223) 357851 / cornex.co.uk.

Cambridge News | cambridge-news.co.uk | March 12, 2015 | 27

THE HEADLINER: MUSIC

IN no way was I looking forwardto interviewing Russell Watson.A 48-year-old former bolt-cutter

turned People’s Tenor who’sperformed for the Pope and has ablonde fiancée practically the sameage as his daughters.

His biography reads all too muchlike a Daily Mail editor’s dreamarticle.

Mostly though it was the fact he’sresponsible for creating the ‘classicalcrossover’ genre, inadvertentlysubjecting us to a decade (andcounting) of insipid talent showcopycats. The man has a lot toanswer for.

However, in a snatched 20 minuteswhile on the road to ManchesterUnited for an interview with MUTV(“I have to talk about how greatMan United are, when they’re not.I’m trying to think of nice things tosay and struggling,”), the motorwayroaring in the background, RussellWatson completely won me over, andthat never happens.

He’s bringing his latest tour, UpClose & Personal, to CambridgeCorn Exchange, celebrating 25years in show business and 15 as aprofessional recording artist. A scaleddown version of his usual shows(don’t expect a symphony orchestra,you’ll be disappointed), he’ll beperforming his trademark mix ofshow tunes, arias and big, beltingnumbers.

“The stuff that I sing in my show ismaterial that I’m really fond of and Ireally like so if I got to a point whereI’m singing a song and I thought,‘that’s crap’, I probably wouldn’t singit anymore,” he laughs. “’Tonightladies and gentlemen I’m going tosing a song from West Side Story thatI really don’t like!’ It’s not going towork out is it? I think you have tohave the connection with the songs;you have to like what you’re doing.

“The fans know when you’regetting a bit flippant with the song, orgetting a bit bored. That’s why I liketo change my repertoire around quitea lot; no two shows are the same.”

To chat to he’s rather a joy: frank,jokey and completely devoid of anydiva-ish traits, although it’s frequentlynecessary to point out that he’s goingoff on tangents and getting gleefullycarried away (“I am! Sorry!”). Youhave to reign him back in or he’dwarble on, tumbling into silly voiceafter silly voice like a big kid who’shad too many Smarties.

It being an up close and personalaffair, you’ll be getting even moreof that chat and charm from Russellthan normal on tour. “You may havenoticed that I’ve not got much tosay for myself and I don’t like talkingtoo much, so I probably won’t saya word!” he jokes, with a wheezy‘heeheehee’. “I do like talking. WhenI was a kid my father always usedto say to me ‘You like the sound ofyour own bloody voice’ I’d say, ‘Yes,

actually I do, is that a bad thing?!”If the stats are anything to go by,

it certainly isn’t. Having producednine albums to date, Russell is theUK’s best selling classical artist ever –Katherine Jenkins can barely compete– and has four Classical BRIT Awardsat home.

Born in Salford, Lancashire, he leftschool without any qualifications andbegan performing as Elvis in workingmen’s clubs to support his then wifeand baby daughter. One night hesang Nessun Dorma from Puccini’sTurandot and swiftly found himselfpropelled to stardom, becoming the“godfather” of classical crossover,“which I quite liked,” he muses.“It’s better than ‘great uncle’ whichsomebody called me once.”

With the release of his first record,The Voice, he explains, he “igniteda new breed of classical artists thatpondered between classical andsemi-classical with a little bit of popmusic”.

“I remember doing an interviewwith Michael Parkinson who said:‘You’re very lucky because you’re notlike a rock band or a boy band or apop artist where you’ve got a lot ofcompetition. At the moment you’rein a queue of one’, well, now I’m in aqueue of hundreds.”

He’s still on top though and, sincethose early days, has performed with– and for – almost every major namein the worlds of music and politics,from The Queen, Bill Clinton andPope John Paul II, to Lionel Richie,Cliff Richard, Lulu and Meatloaf. “Idon’t feel intimidated by anybodyin the industry, I do what I do andother people do what they doand if I get the opportunityto perform with them. . . that’s quitesomething.”

Russell citeshis all-timemusical heroesas Pavarotti,Frank Sinatra,WhitneyHuston (“Atotal tragedy,I’d haveloved to havedone a duetwith her.Fabulous,fabulous,natural,beautifulvoice andagain, oftenemulatedbut seldomsurpassed”),Nat KingCole(“He wascompletelydistinctive”),and MichaelJackson(“He did

morefor thepopindustrythananyotherartisthas everdone”).

“Youlook atartists likethat andwonder wherethe next ones arecoming from,” the singersighs. “At the moment itdoesn’t look like they’ll everbe replaced.”

He’s not all that impressedby the current crop of musiciansin the charts, apart from the BlackEyed Peas (“I like working out tothat kind of music when I get in thegym, I get a bit of Boom Boom Powon and rock the punch bag to that,”)and Pharrell, (“The production onHappy was just immense,”). He canjust about appreciate Sam Smith andEd Sheeran but feels it’s getting alltoo commercial.

I wonder how differenthis own music andcareer might havepanned outhad he

“I remember doing an interview with MichaelParkinson who said: ‘You’re very luckybecause you’re not like a rock band or aboy band or a pop artist where you’ve gota lot of competition. At the moment you’rein a queue of one’, well, now I’m in aqueue of hundreds”

28 | March 12, 2015 | cambridge-news.co.uk | Cambridge News

THE HEADLINER: MUSIC

not been diagnosed with a benign butdebilitating brain tumour in 2006.

“It’s difficult to say really,” he says.“In many respects my becomingill has added layers to who I amas a human being. In retrospectI look back at who I am and mycareer and if certain things hadn’thave happened, if I hadn’t had theincredible highs – like singing for thePope and at the opening ceremonyof the Commonwealth Games andsinging for the President of the UnitedStates – and all the rest of it, if Ihadn’t had those career highlightscombined with the terrible things, thebad things that have happened to me,then I wouldn’t be who I am today.

“What’s happened to me, the highsand lows, it’s the fabric of who I amas an artist and a human being.”

He adds: “You tend to find as well,and I’m not necessarily relating thisto myself, but if you look at the musicindustry, generally the ones that arethe best are ones that have had themost mess going on in their lives. Thetortured souls are often the biggeststars.

“If it’s all good then it becomeseasy, you can’t generate passion andinspiration into music.”

Pausing and then laughing, Russellthe joker re-emerges: “That was quiteprofound wasn’t it?!”

Fighting off illness twice has meantthe seamier sides of fame – like thepress making sport out of his less thanamicable divorce – are something hejust shrugs off though.

“When you’ve nearly died twiceand you see some s*** written aboutyou in the newspaper it’s like, sowhat?” he says baldly. “It doesn’tbother me. Even in the early days Iused to get a lot of criticism from theclassical fraternity about the fact Iwasn’t trained properly and I didn’tgo to the right schools and all therest of it. Did it bother me? Nah, notreally, when I’ve got a triple platinumalbum, and won four BRITs in a row,it’s like cheers!”

“When you get reallyfantastic things writtenabout you, don’t takethem too seriously, neverbelieve your own bulls***.But when you get reallybad reviews written aboutyou, don’t take themtoo seriously either. Youare who you are. I’m nodifferent to anyone else,apart from when I walkon a stage.”

Russell’sadvice forbuddingsingers: