Michael Ball and Alfie Boe latest joint venture, an album titled, “Together At Home”, has hit the #1 spot on the official UK Albums Chart, making it their fourth album to do so.
Cumulatively, the pair boast six top 5 albums and four number 1’s, as well as two classic Brit Awards, and three sold-out arena tours.
The release is their sixth studio album, a selection of homegrown songs including hits such as ‘Proud’, ‘Rule The World’ and ‘Welcome Home’. The album also features Heather Small’s ‘Proud’, which has already been released as a single.
“It’s a song that was used for the 2012 London Olympics, and this summer I went to the Paris Olympics to watch Grace, my granddaughter, playing in the rugby sevens with Team GB,” said Ball. “There’s me and my partner Cathy (McGowan) sat in the Stade de France, 66,000 people. On she runs and genuinely, I’ve never felt so proud in my life – or as nervous! And when she scored a try, and there’s her name up on the scoreboard, it was wonderful. The heart-bursting pride Cath and I both felt – incredible!”
“We’re proud of where we’re from,” added Boe. “Proud of this country, of being British and welcoming people home. And welcoming people into our home is something that I think is important.”
Michael Ball is a double Olivier Award-winning, Grammy nominated, multi-platinum recording artist and a hugely popular radio and TV presenter. For over 30 years he has been at the top of his game, starring in musical theatre productions in the West End and on Broadway, winning critical acclaim, a devoted following and awards for his stage work and recording career.
Michael’s theatre include Edna Turnblad in Hairspray (ENO/Coliseum); Javert in Les Misérables – The Staged Concert (Gielgud Theatre); Anatoly in Chess (ENO/Coliseum); Mack in Mack and Mabel (Chichester/UK Tour); Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd (West End) for which he won the Olivier Award for ‘Best Actor in a Musical’; Edna Turnblad in Hairspray (Original West End Cast) for which he won the Olivier Award for ‘Best Actor in a Musical’; Kismet (English National Opera); Patience (New York City Opera); The Woman in White (West End/Broadway); Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (West End); Passion, The Phantom of the Opera, Aspects of Love (West End/Broadway) and creating the role of. Marius in Les Misérables (Original West End Cast). His television credits include the Victoria Wood BBC TV film, That Day We Sang, opposite his Sweeney Todd co-star, Imelda Staunton.
Michael has a successful radio broadcasting career which includes his own show, The Michael Ball Show on BBC Radio 2 on Sundays. He is also a popular TV presenter – he has hosted The Michael Ball Show on ITV1, his first TV travelogue, Wonderful Wales on Channel 5 and most recently an Easter Sunday special for the BBC.
He regularly tours the UK as a concert artist and has sold millions of albums over the last 30 years; he’s performed in Australia, China, USA, Japan and, in 2007, made his BBC Proms debut: An Evening with Michael Ball at the Royal Albert Hall which marked the first time a musical theatre star had been given a solo concert at the Proms. In 2016 he released Together, a collaborative effort with close friend and singer Alfie Boe, that featured performances of classic songs. The album became the UK’s best-selling album of 2016 and beat the likes of Little Mix and The Rolling Stones to the Christmas No.1 spot. Ball & Boe then released ‘Together Again’ which brought the pair yet another No.1 album in 2017, and ‘Back Together’ which landed them the No.2 spot in the Official Albums Chart. In 2020, Michael and Alfie released their first festive album ‘Together at Christmas’ featuring both old favourites and originals. Thanks to their latest release ‘Together in Vegas’, which entered the UK album chart at No.3 in October 2022, they have now sold over 1.5 million albums in the UK, received two Classic Brit Awards, sold out two headline arena tours and presented three ITV Specials.
During the various U.K. lockdowns, Michael started to pen new material — the result was ‘We Are More Than One’, an album more personal than ever before. After learning how to write and record remotely, every track had an inspiring story to tell.
His debut novel, ‘The Empire’ – published in Autumn 2022, became a Sunday Times Bestseller and he recently released his first ever memoir titled ‘Different Aspects’
Multi-platinum selling recording artist, Alfie Boe OBE has established a reputation as one of the most powerful and prestigious UK born and bred voices. ‘The Nations favourite tenor’ also often referred to as ‘West End and Broadway Royalty’ has almost 3 decades of a whirlwind career under his belt so far. The Grammy nominated star has won a Tony Award, multiple Classical Brit Awards, a Silver Clef Award to name but a few.
Alfie’s recording career has not only acquired him eleven top 10 albums including two number 1’s but numerous sold-out headline tours in the UK as a solo artist and as part of his duo act with Michael Ball ‘Ball and Boe’. He also sold out a US tour with Classic Quadrophenia alongside Pete Townsend, Vegas with his solo ‘Showstoppers’ debut and ‘Lights On Broadway’ that he headlined in Japan.
Boe’s spellbinding voice has led him to some of the world’s most prestigious stages. From The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee to the balcony at Buckingham Palace, The Horse Guards Parade for VE Day 70, multiple shows at The Royal Albert Hall, Opera Houses around the world, Theatre stages in The West End and Broadway, U.S Memorial Day at The West Lawn in Washington and many more. A firm favourite of The Royal Family, Alfie also released the official Platinum Jubilee National Anthem as a duet with Sarah Brightman.
Alfie progressed from singing Arias on the factory floor underneath cars during his apprenticeship as a mechanic in his home town, to receiving a place at The Royal College Of Music followed by The National Opera Studio and the Royal Opera House.
It was the moment the legendary Baz Luhrmann discovered him where things really started to propel. He landed his first Broadway role in La Boheme which resulted in him winning his Tony award. Alfie went on to play Alfredo in La Traviata, Tamino in The Magic Flute, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Ferrando in Cosi Fan Tutti, J. M. Barrie in Finding Neverland on Broadway, The Mikado, Billy Bigelow in Carousel, and the role he is best known for, Jean Valjean in Les Misérables.
Alfie’s spine-tingling rendition of ‘Bring Him Home’ continues to blow audiences away. He has played Jean Valjean in the West End and Broadway as well as celebrating the show’s 25th Anniversary at London’s O2 Arena and most recently, The All-Stars Concert version of the show alongside Michael Ball and Matt Lucas.
Alfie’s recording career took off when he was initially signed in 2006 by Classic FM where he released his first album. He then moved to EMI Records and Decca Universal where he went on to become one of the big success stories and acquired his multiple platinum sales and ten top 10 records. In 2016 he partnered with friend Michael Ball, (who he met on the set of Kismet) to form the duo ‘Ball and Boe’. The pair released a Number 1, double platinum album ‘Together’ followed by an equally successful release of ‘Together Again’. They have since had another 3 chart topping records and continue to sell out Arena tours across the UK.
In 2023 Alfie released his most recent solo album ‘Open Arms, The Symphonic Songbook’ on BMG Records. An eleventh top 10 record that showcases an eclectic mix of power ballads accompanied by beautiful orchestral arrangements. He sold out a headline solo tour in the UK and released a Sunday Times Bestselling Memoir book ‘Face The Music’. This followed his appearance in BBC1’s Freeze The Fear with Whim Hoff where fans really grasped an insight to his personal journey. Alfie is set to go back on the road in May this year for his Encore tour.
