Michael Ball's recent UK concert tour has been captured on film by Universal and will be released on dvd on November 14th. The 28-track ‘HEROES LIVE' proves once again that Michael Ball, dynamic performer, platinum-selling recording artist and No. 1 Olivier Award-winning UK musical theatre star, is at the top of his game.
‘HEROES LIVE' was recorded at Birmingham Symphony Hall on June 11th when Michael performed his outstanding new show, Heroes, named after his Top 10 album in which he paid tribute to some of his favourite singers such as Billy Joel, Barry Manilow, Scott Walker, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and more. ‘HEROES LIVE' is a must-have for the loyal legions of Ball fans up and down the country who love to watch their hero in action and for the growing thousands of fans who tune in to ‘Michael Ball's Sunday Brunch' on BBC Radio 2.
Michael Ball continues to be one of the UK's most popular live performers on the concert circuit and on ‘HEROES LIVE' performs a dream collection of beautiful ballads, torch songs and hand-picked favourites from a great selection of West End and Broadway musicals. Many of the songs featured on ‘HEROES LIVE' were massive hits in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s and have stood the test of time with their universal themes of love and understanding: "I grew up listening to Sinatra,
Johnny Mathis, Jim Reeves,
Tony Bennett at home," remembers Michael, "and in my teens I bought records by
Barry Manilow,
Neil Diamond,
Tom Jones and
Billy Joel; I practiced their vocal styles and their phrasing and since then, I've had the privilege of meeting and working with many of them."
Michael's passion for great songs and great singers is reflected in this impressively filmed DVD allowing concert goers to relive the atmosphere, the band, the singers and, above all, Michael himself. ‘HEROES LIVE' bursts open with a rousing overture of superhero themes before
Michael Storms straight into
Bonnie Tyler's ‘Holding Out For A Hero' which has the entire audience on its feet in seconds. During the first half of the show, the pace softens when Michael performs the truly heartfelt ‘Let The Heartaches Begin', a big hit for Long John Baldry in 1967, ‘Play Me' written by
Neil Diamond in 1972, and ‘I'll Never Fall In Love Again' originally a big hit for
Tom Jones.
Then the five guest vocalists - some of whom performed with Michael in ‘Hairspray' - join Michael downstage for the New York Montage, a truly roof-raising homage to Michael's "second favourite city," which kicks off with a thrilling rendition of the opening bars of
George Gershwin's ‘Rhapsody In Blue' segueing beautifully into
Billy Joel's classic, ‘New York State Of Mind'. The performers get into serious harmonic and choreographic stride with ‘On Broadway', Sting's ‘An Englishman In New York' and ‘Broadway Baby' before the interval lights come up.
The second half of the show features songs from some of Michael's own favourite West End and Broadway shows and performances such as ‘Empty Chairs' and ‘I Dreamed A Dream' from Les Miserables, ‘This Is The Moment' from ‘Jekyll and Hyde' and ‘Love Changes Everything' from Aspects of Love and, as a sneak preview of his forthcoming starring role in ‘Sweeney Todd', he performs the exquisite Sondheim numbers, ‘Pretty Woman' and ‘Not While I'm Around'.
Showing off his impressive rock chops, Michael does more than justice to Queen's mighty ‘Somebody To Love' and to the soaring, 1968
Tom Jones hit, ‘Just Help Yourself'. Then he rips into one of his own personal all-time favourites, the all-singing all-dancing ‘Avenues and Alleyways' by
Tony Christie which Michael discovered in 1973 when the song was the opening theme to the popular TV series, ‘The Protectors'! Towards the end of this excellent live concert Michael performs the
Tony Bennett-inspired ballad, ‘For Once In My Life'. He remarks: "If ever there was a hero it's
Tony Bennett - he's never been out of fashion and he's been true to himself, to his music and his audience. I hope I'm still working at 80 like Tony!"
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