Russell Watson
(born 24 November 1966) is an British tenor who has released singles and albums of both operatic-style and pop songs. The self-styled "People's Tenor" had been singing since he was a child, and became known after performing at a working men's club. He came to attention in 1999 when he sang the UK's national anthem at the Rugby League Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, "Barcelona" at the last match of the Premiership season between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford and a full set of songs at the final of the UEFA Champions League in Barcelona between Manchester United and Bayern Munich.
Watson's debut album entitled The Voice
was released in May 2001; four others followed. However, an album planned for November 2006 was delayed due to the removal of a benign pituitary tumour. This album, entitled That's Life
, was eventually released on 5 March 2007.
On 24 October 2007, it was discovered that there had been a regrowth of his pituitary tumour and bleeding into his brain. He underwent emergency surgery and was discharged from hospital on 31 October. He underwent an extensive rehabilitation programme, including radiotherapy. His sixth studio album, Outside In
, was released on 26 November 2007.
|
RUSSELL WATSON TICKETS
|
Early career
Watson was born on 24 November 1966 in
Salford,
Lancashire,
[1] England. Although he had been singing since he was a child, he never sought a career as a professional singer. He left school with no
GCSEs, and started earning
£90 a week on a
Youth Training Scheme [2] as a bolt-cutter
[3] in
Irlam, near
Manchester. Then married with a baby, to help support his young family he began to earn extra cash singing
Elvis Presley and
MC Hammer covers in north-west clubs.
The turning point in his career came at an engagement at Wigan Road
working men's club one night, when the secretary suggested he try singing "
Nessun Dorma" from
Puccini's
Turandot
. Although Russell Watson was not a classically-trained singer he continued to perform the
aria, and was encouraged to try other
classical pieces.
[4]
In 1998 he was invited to sing at
Old Trafford during the interval at a memorial football match for the
Munich air disaster, a huge privilege for a lifelong
Manchester United fan. However, his appearance was cancelled at the last minute when player
Eric Cantona requested that
Mick Hucknall sing instead.
In 1999 he sang the
UK's national anthem at the Rugby League
Challenge Cup Final at
Wembley Stadium, then finally got to sing at Old Trafford before the last match of the
Premiership season between Manchester United and
Tottenham Hotspur. After the game, when his team had won the league championship, he returned on to the pitch to sing the
Freddie Mercury and
Montserrat Caballé song "
Barcelona", during which he tore off his dinner jacket to reveal a Manchester United shirt.
This appearance sealed his success, and only a week later he was invited to sing a full set at the final of the
UEFA Champions League in
Barcelona between United and
Bayern Munich, duetting with
Montserrat Caballé.
Watson used to work at St. Ambrose College, Altrincham or Hale.
2000–2005: The "People's Tenor"
Watson's debut album entitled
The Voice
followed in May 2001. A mixture of operatic
arias and
covers of
pop songs, it topped the
UK Classical Chart and eventually reached number five in the
UK Albums Chart. Later, when released in the United States, the album took the number one spot and made history as the first time a British artist had held both the US and UK classical number one. The album contained perhaps Watson's most unusual collaboration to date, with former
Happy Mondays singer
Shaun Ryder who lent his vocals to the
Freddie Mercury and
Montserrat Caballé song "Barcelona". The album also featured a duet with
Cleo of
girl group Cleopatra on the song "Someone Like You". Cleo later duetted with Russell again on his third album
Reprise
on the song "The Best That Love Can Be".
Prior to the formation of
Velvet Revolver, Watson was asked by
Slash (former guitarist of
Guns N' Roses and currently in Velvet Revolver) whether he would be their singer. Watson turned down this opportunity, at least for the time being, to concentrate on his solo career.
[5]
Also in 2001, Watson sang the opening theme of
Star Trek: Enterprise
, "
Where My Heart Will Take Me",
[6] which was written by
Diane Warren. Watson also sang it live at the opening ceremony of the
Commonwealth Games in
Manchester,
England in 2002. In 2003, the song was remixed to produce a more upbeat version. In August 2007, the song was played as a wake-up call for American Mission Specialist
Richard Mastracchio on
Space Shuttle Endeavour mission
STS-118.
[7]
In late 2002, Watson released the single "Nothing Sacred – A Song for Kirsty" to raise money for the Francis House children's hospice in
Didsbury, Manchester. The campaign to raise £5 million was fronted by
Kirsty Howard, a seven-year-old girl with a serious heart defect. The song reached number 17 in the
UK Singles Chart.
[8]
The self-styled "People's Tenor",
[9] who is also known as "The Voice" after his first album, won the Album of the Year at the
Classical BRIT Awards in both 2001
[10] and 2002,
[11] also collecting awards for Best-Selling Debut Album (2001) and Best-Selling Album (2002).
Lawsuit
In 2003, Ian Boasman, a businessman from
Preston,
Lancashire, and Keith Chadwick, an entrepreneur, launched a
High Court action through Union Music Ltd. (a company set up by Boasman) and a related firm Arias Ltd., claiming that they had transformed Watson from a cabaret club entertainer into an internationally-famous star and that they had been wronged when Watson signed with
Decca Records and cut them out of the deal. Union Music and Arias sought 51% of Watson's earnings since he joined them, as well as the return of cash they said was invested in Watson early in his career. The plaintiffs' solicitors, Wacks Caller, estimated legal costs at that stage at £750,000.
[12]
The plaintiffs claimed that Boasman spotted Watson singing at the
Princess Diana Memorial Hall in Manchester in spring 1998 and agreed to be his manager. Boasman and Chadwick then set up Union Music. A separate firm, Arias, was incorporated, with Watson holding a
directorship and 49% shareholding and Union Music holding the remaining 51%. Watson was given a wage of £3,000 a month, an
Audi A4 car, and cash for dental work and a gym membership.
Watson countersued, claiming that advice that the firms gave had cost him money.
The outcome of the case is not currently known.
2006–present
In addition to his recording work, Watson played Parson Nathaniel in the stage adaptation of
Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds
which toured the UK in early 2006. In the same year, he also took part in the
BBC reality TV show
Just the Two of Us
. The programme involved eight couples, including
Sian Reeves and Watson, competing in a duet-singing showdown, complete with a live band, a panel of judges and viewer voting, to see who would be crowned champions. A wide array of music was performed, from
country and western to
rock. The scores each week were tallied from both a judging vote (the judges were
Lulu,
Trevor Nelson,
Stewart Copeland and
Cece Sammy) and a public phone-in vote. Watson, a late arrival to the competition replacing Reeves' original partner
Rick Astley who had pulled out, took the crown despite the low scores awarded by the judges to their performances. Following the competition Reeves and Watson released a victory single, "Can't Help Falling In Love". Russell Watson was scheduled to defend his title in the 2007 series with a new celebrity partner,
Loui Batley, but had to withdraw at the last minute due to serious health problems.
First pituitary tumour
In 2005, Watson began having
headaches, which he described as "like a knife being pressed into the bridge of my nose". He consulted a specialist who told him there was nothing to worry about as he was suffering from
stress and should find ways of relaxing. When his
peripheral vision began to be affected in late 2006, he visited another specialist who also said he was suffering from stress. Watson told him, "The only thing that's stressing me is this pain in my head."
In September 2006, Watson flew to Los Angeles,
California, to record his album
That's Life
. On the flight, he told his
producer that he was experiencing terrible pressure inside his skull. When they landed, his producer suggested a game of tennis to clear his head. Watson could not see the ball at all. After a visit to the
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and an
MRI scan, he was advised that he had a developing
pituitary adenoma, which was the size of two golf balls. According to Watson, "Since an early age I've had an in-built premonition, a vision that I wouldn't make 40. For the previous seven years I'd have a recurring nightmare in which my head exploded. And here I was with a brain tumour on the eve of my 40th birthday; I thought, 'This is it, I was right, I knew it'." Watson recalled that the tumours were "like a figure of eight, one filling the frontal cavity of my skull, the other forced through into the top of my nose." He stayed in Los Angeles for two days and continued recording his album while tests confirmed whether the tumour was
malignant or not – it turned out to be
benign.
Watson then returned to the UK, and had a five-hour emergency operation to remove the eight-centimetre lump at
St George's Hospital in
Tooting,
South London, on Monday, 24 September 2006. As the tumour was pressing against his
optic nerve, the surgeon removed the tumour through his nose.
[13]
After the operation, Watson could barely walk, and the tumour had affected his
pituitary gland which controls
hormone levels: "My mood swings went from ecstatic to suicidal. I remember one night standing on the balcony, full of dark thoughts and self-pity, thinking 'God, this is f**king terrible, why me?' I went back to bed, couldn't sleep, got up again. I thought I'd had enough. If it hadn't been for the girls [his daughters]..." His energy levels were very low and he did not leave his house for two months: "I couldn't deal with more than one person at a time or with multitasking and I cried easily."
Watson was readmitted to hospital in Manchester for tests on 6 October 2006 after complaining of dizziness, headaches and blurred vision.
[14]
Upon recovering, Watson returned to the recording studio to finish his album
That's Life
. Originally due out in November 2006, it was subsequently released on 5 March 2007. On the advice of his doctors, his latest UK tour, which had been due to start in late October 2006, was also postponed until March 2007 to coincide with the album release.
[15] The rescheduled tour met with huge approval throughout the country, with night after night of standing ovations to a visibly-moved Watson. On 19 May 2007, Watson sang the UK's
National Anthem at the
2007 FA Cup Final.
Second pituitary tumour
Whilst in the middle of the studio recording of his album
Outside In
on 24 October 2007 Watson suddenly became incapacitated, with multiple symptoms including a dramatic deterioration of vision. An MRI scan showed he had a regrowth of his tumour with bleeding into his brain. He underwent emergency surgery to remove the tumour at the Alexandra Hospital in
Cheadle, Greater Manchester, and was for a while in critical condition in the hospital's Intensive Therapy Unit.
[16] On 26 October a hospital spokesman said that Watson was "recovering well" from his surgery and was in a stable condition, although the recovery process might be "a long haul".
[17] Watson was discharged from hospital on 31 October, telling reporters "I'm just happy to be alive and be with my children at the moment", and paying tribute to messages of support from his fans, calling them "amazing". A statement from Watson's management added: "We would like to pass on Russell's heartfelt thanks for the overwhelming amount of messages and gifts from his fans." Watson later underwent an extensive rehabilitation programme including
radiotherapy.
[18] He released his sixth studio album,
Outside In
, on 26 November 2007.
[19]
Recent activities
Watson appeared as a judge on the
talent show Last Choir Standing
, which was broadcast on
BBC One beginning 5 July 2008.
[20] His album
People Get Ready
, containing
easy listening,
rock and
soul music standards, was released on 17 November 2008.
[21] He performed at the
Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special 2008
on 25 December 2008,
[22] and at the BBC's
New Year Live 2008
programme from the
HMS Belfast on the
Thames on
New Year's Eve.
[23] In April and May 2009, Watson undertook a 20-date tour of the UK backed by Liverpool's Sense of Sound, who came to his attention after they performed in the BBC's
Last Choir Standing
.
[24] In July 2009, he performed at the opening ceremony of the
World Games 2009 in
Kaohsiung,
Taiwan.
[25]
Watson will be one of the principal singers in the English world premiere of the Swedish musical
Kristina från Duvemåla
(
Kristina from Duvemåla
) by
Benny Andersson and
Bjorn Ulvaeus, which is scheduled to be performed at
Carnegie Hall in New York in September 2009.
[26]
In August 2009 it was reported that Watson is set to switch record label from Decca to
Sony Records.
Critical reception
Some critics have said that Watson's untrained tenor voice is not up to operatic standards;
[27] Rupert Christiansen, music critic of
The Daily Telegraph
has, for instance, called him a "
karaoke crooner".
[28] Watson has responded that it "[d]oesn't bother me. Seven years ago classical crossover didn't exist – putting Italian lyrics to pop songs in a big ballsy way. Now every bugger's doing it. I've transcended all that bickering and bitching." Watson's career ambition is "[l]ongevity, that's the most important thing. I want to be a musical force for a good long while."
On 5 June 2008 Watson released his autobiography
Finding My Voice
.
[29]
Discography
Albums
- The Voice
(2001)
- Encore
(2002)
- Reprise
(2003)
- Amore Musica
(2005)
- The Ultimate Collection
(2006)
- That's Life
(2007)
- Outside In
(2007)
- The Ultimate Collection Special Edition
(2008) – re-release of The Ultimate Collection
(2006) with a bonus disc containing a live concert recorded at the Royal Albert Hall in London
- ''People Get Ready (2008)
Singles
- "Swing Low '99" (1999) (official song of the England team in the 1999 Rugby Union World Cup)
- "Someone Like You" (2002) (with Faye Tozer, formerly of Steps)
- "Nothing Sacred – A Song For Kirsty" (2002) (to raise money for the Francis House hospice)
- "Can't Help Falling in Love" (April 2006) – Just the Two of Us
victory single
Personal life
Watson has two daughters: Rebecca and Hannah.
[30] He is divorced,
having separated from his former wife soon after the release of his first album.
Watson has been reported as saying: "It [his first pituitary tumour] changed my priorities. Made me appreciate the importance of relationships, of friends and family and, most of all, my two daughters. My fear for them if I died – that was the worst part."
Notes
- Salford, Greater Manchester is now in the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester.
- 'The Voice' to be sued for half his opera earnings
- 'You have a brain tumour,' the doctor told me. 'Quite a big one'
- Profiles: Russell Watson
- Roses – Slash begged British tenor to be in Velvet Revolver
- Status Report: STS-118-02; STS-118 MCC Status Report #02
- Status Report: STS-118-02; STS-118 MCC Status Report #02
- Single to boost Kirsty appeal
- 'You have a brain tumour,' the doctor told me. 'Quite a big one'
- Classical Brits for ex-factory worker
- Salford singer wins again
- Press information: Opera singer and multi-millionaire Russell Watson is facing a legal battle
- Brain surgery for Russell Watson
- Russell Watson back in hospital
- Singer Watson postpones UK tour
- Watson 'critical' after surgery
- Russell Watson 'recovering well'
- Watson discharged from hospital
- Release date obtained from Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved on 3 June 2008.
- Russell Watson
- People Get Ready
- Strictly Come Dancing: New vote controversy
- Watch this: New Year Live 2008
- Audience loves Russell Watson
- British singer Russell Watson to sing at opening Kaohsiung World Games
- Helen Sjöholm and Russell Watson to Star in ''Kristina'' at Carnegie Hall
- Is this former bolt cutter really the new Pavarotti?
- Karaoke on a grand scale
- 'You should try that Nesty Doormat': What Russell Watson was told when he discovered his opera voice
- 'You have a brain tumour,' the doctor told me. 'Quite a big one'