Tag Archives: Murray Gould

On This Day, 4 October 2013, Alfie Boe Sang…

The Sun Always Shines on TV on Chris Evans’ BBC Radio 2 breakfast show:

That final note – wow! He then went on to perform Queen’s Radio GaGa – much to the delight of Take That’s Gary Barlow, who even joined in on backing vocals:

We know how much Alfie loves the music of Queen and Freddie Mercury but I loved hearing him sing such an iconic eighties tune as The Sun Always Shines on TV – I’m sure I’m not the only one who has a soft spot for A-ha and Morten Harket!

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Against the Tide – New Song from Alfie Boe

Hello everyone!

Bit late to the party with this one but just come back from holiday and listened to Alfie’s new song for the first time – wow!  Just love it…but then you didn’t really think I’d say anything else did you?  If you haven’t yet listened, here it is:

I chose a cracker of a concert to miss out on as well!  I followed the reports from holiday and the song title competition run by Alfie via twitter – an apt title chosen by Sonia, Annie, Sue and Rebecca, well done ladies.

Updated the YouTube page with all the new videos too – thanks Linda as always.  Click here to go to the page.

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Alfie Boe – Alive @ Delapre

This summer of 2015 has meant a short season of Alfie Boe concerts encompassing a range of different Alfie shows from the delights of Alfie and the band to Proms concerts whilst taking in headline musical theatre shows.  Not forgetting the world premiere of Classic Quadrophenia of course.

The penultimate show of this mini UK tour (the last show is this Friday in Leeds) was the last night of the Northampton festival, Alive @ Delapre and my last concert for, well, I don’t know at the moment.  Hopefully, more UK concerts will be announced for 2016 but we don’t know as yet.  I was not planning to attend this concert until very recently and was perfectly happy to end on the high of Classic Quad at the Royal Albert Hall but lovely Linda W, she of the fabulous Alfie Boe gallery photos, had other ideas which is how I came to be in Northampton with my nine year old son.  This was to be his first concert ever, not just his first Alfie concert and I’m hoping it will be the first of many although I’m not altogether sure if he will come to many more Alfie shows!  Having said that, he did enjoy the experience, mainly having so much attention lavished on him by the wonderful Sue, Jan, Carole, Pauline and Paul, Jayne, Jane, Kate, Michelle, Nikki, Pauline and Mike and of course lovely Linda.  I’ll tell you his favourite concert moments later.

And so to the review itself; Alfie was in fine form wearing an outfit that caused one or two ladies in the crowd to feel a bit hot under the collar (black jeans with waistcoat and white shirt to start followed by black tshirt later in the show).  The show started with Serenata songs, accompanied again by the superb NSO (National Symphony Orchestra) and the band. This gave way to the musical theatre section which was slightly shorter than some previous concerts at just Bring Him Home and Come What May, this last a duet with soprano Annette Wardell who then took us into the interval with a selection of arias.  Ms. Wardell returned later with a breathtaking rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow which was the highlight of her set.

As the summer has progressed, so we have heard more and more songs from Quadrophenia – this was different only that we heard the full overture as well as several songs.  Love Reign O’er Me was the highlight of that particular group of songs, thanks to Jayne for sharing:

As you can see, Alfie had been very energetic immediately prior to this and took a breather at the beginning!

Matt White was back on guitar (I believe he was also with the band at Llangollen) and he, along with Dan McKinna, John Tonks, Richard Causon and Murray Gould were magnificent throughout, especially on Trust’s Keep Me In Your Heart and the encore of Suspicious Minds and Run.  These last two, along with the flag waving extravaganza of Pomp and Circumstance, Jerusalem, Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory were my son’s favourites.  A note to all festival organisers everywhere that include these patriotic songs – please please please show the words on a screen as we don’t all know the words!  Yesterday, Alfie was sufficiently unimpressed with our singing of Land and Hope and Glory that he demanded we do it again – not sure we were any better the second time Alfie!

Inevitably, the evening came to a close and we had to go home.  For most of those there it was the last time we would see Alfie and other fans we have come to regard as lifelong friends for a good long while and it was a bittersweet moment.  For those who are going to Leeds and/or the European dates for Classic Quadrophenia and of course Les Mis on Broadway, wishing you the best of times and don’t forget to tell us all about it – we will be with you in spirit.  For those who aren’t jetting off to New York or Europe, don’t fret, thoughtsofjustafan will still be here with all your Alfie Boe news and reviews so keep up to date by entering your email to the right – go on, do it now!  There’s some exciting goodies to be won in the Autumn!

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Alfie Boe Delivers a Superb Seaside Prom

A beautiful sunny day, not a hint of rain, just a slight breeze and the lovely seaside setting of Scarborough combined to make a fabulous evening out at the Scarborough Proms.  Not to mention the fabulous company of amazing friends…once we all found each other.  All I can say is don’t mention the trains!

This trip to Scarborough was a birthday treat for the lovely Linda W who so kindly shares her videos and photos with us when she can and although we weren’t entirely sure where we were sitting, we were absolutely certain we weren’t at the back.  Suffice to say when we climbed the seemingly endless steps we were in the very back row!  However, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it meant we could dance about to our heart’s content without getting in anyone’s way whilst also having a fabulous view – lesson learnt that being at the back can sometimes be a good thing, depending on the venue.  There’s a lake in between the stage and the seating area at this venue so being at the front doesn’t necessarily mean being closer to the performers either.

Being a Prom concert, and Armed Forces Day to boot, the evening had a different feel and set list to other shows in this mini UK tour, starting off with some beautiful harmonies from the Military Wives Choir of York.  The National Symphony Orchestra then performed a medley of Les Mis songs before Alfie first appeared to sing Bring Him Home, the first time I can remember hearing this staple at the beginning of a concert.  As usual, it went down a storm.  The musical theatre section then went into Come What May with Alfie duetting with London based American soprano, Angel Blue.  Alfie probably thought he was suffering deja vu from Swansea when Angel first started singing as her microphone failed!  Angel performed several songs throughout the evening including Mio Babbino Caro and Summertime before returning for the finale of  Jerusalem, Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory.  She was absolutely superb with her acting fully complimenting her voice.

The repertoire that Alfie has been singing most recently was curtailed slightly due to this being a Prom concert but he still fitted in Mambo Italiano, Keep Me In Your Heart (which featured a men vs. women singing match – women won due to overwhelming numbers!), Volare (or oh Scarborough) Marechiari, Run and of course Quadrophenia.  The orchestra was bigger for this concert and they contributed magnificently to the epic sound needed for Classic Quadrophenia.  Alfie’s last note on Love Reign O’er Me was spectacular – it will be a long week until the world premiere of this next Sunday.

The evening was rounded off by the traditional Prom sound of Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance with Alfie, Angel Blue and the Military Wives Choir singing Jerusalem, Land of Hope and Glory and Rule Britannia – all accompanied by ferocious flag waving and singing.  My first Alfie concert was Last Night of the Proms in Hyde Park in 2012 and I was there with lovely Linda W so it was doubly nice to be there with her again,  Here is her video of Jerusalem:

Lovely weekend with amazing friends The Two Linda’s, Jan, Carole, Pat, Janet, Paul and Janet, Nikki, Marie, Annie and Pauline.  We also discovered that every single person staying in our (small hotel) was there for the concert and we made some new Alfie friends in the bar afterwards – hello Roger and Barbara and the two from Leeds whose names I don’t know, sorry!

Speaking of names I don’t know – lovely Carole has told me the new guitarist is Al Cherry – and we have seen him before as he was with Emilia Mitiku on the Storyteller tour! No need to keep calling him “the other one” out of Murray Gould, Richard Causon, John Tonks and Dan McKinna!

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My Kind of Festival: Alfie Boe at Hampton Court

After the fantastic review of Alfie Boe’s Belfast shows earlier this week, my expectations of his show at the Hampton Court Festival were sky high.  Luckily, along with the weather, he didn’t disappoint.  The evening was glorious, the setting perfection and the company of fabulous friends made it an evening to remember. I suspect it will also be an evening to remember for the poor audience member who popped to the loo at the wrong moment and Alfie stopped the show for her!

And so to the show itself.  Alfie was accompanied by the usual band line up of Murray Gould, Richard Causon, John Tonks and Dan McKinna who were joined by a new guitarist, Al in place of Matt White.  Apologies to Al but I didn’t catch his surname so if anyone has it please let me know!  Launching into A Marechiari and Mamma, the evening got off to a lively start before giving way to the gentler sounds of Parlami D’amore Mariu.  The musical theatre section included a lot of references to Les Mis although the only song included was Bring Him Home.  Alfie jested that he would in fact be singing I Dreamed A Dream but sadly / luckily (delete as appropriate) he stopped himself.  Prior to that, we had Come What May and Being Alive.

It was around this time that Alfie said that he was now coming to the part of the concert that involved him taking his jacket off which he duly proceeded to do…unfortunately, this was the wrong part of the concert and Murray had to point out the order of the set list.  Those in the front row were then able to get a close hand view of Alfie down on all fours as he peered at the set list – they may have recovered by now!  Happily for me, the set list dictated that the next songs were from my favourite Alfie album (and favourite EVER), Trust.  The title song was followed by Keep Me In Your Heart which had us all in fine voice and up out of our seats dancing.  After listening to the song countless times, I can confirm that “the buttons on your blouse” still has the same effect on me.  Here is Linda’s video of Trust and showcases the incredible musicianship of the band (with the biggest shout out reserved for Murray):

As you can see from this, Alfie was at his quick witted best with the audience, taking photos of the band and himself with a lady’s phone…before being beaten to the punchline by an even more quick witted audience member.

Before rounding off the evening with Mambo Italiano and Buona Sera from Serenata, Alfie gave us four songs from the newly released Classic Quadrophenia.  Alfie is one of those rare singers who sound better live than on recording but as the sound of Alfie’s vocals on Quadrophenia sound as if they were recorded live (click here to see what Alfie said about the recording process) I was keen to hear these songs live.  Two of them were already included on the Serenata tour but Sea and Sand and Drowned are new to his live repertoire.  After hearing them live, I can safely say that the lucky ticket holders for the Royal Albert Hall on 5 July will be blown out of their seats by the production.

When the Serenata tour ended in December, I felt that I had seen and heard Alfie at his best.  The repertoire, the range, his stage presence not to mention the voice were all far better than I had previously seen him.  At Hampton Court last night, he again raised his game and was quite simply phenomenal – this was without a doubt the best.  I’ve no doubt that when we revisit the Favourite Alfie Boe Tour poll in 2016 (it’s still open – click here) this mini UK tour will be head and shoulders above the rest.

After singing for almost two hours, Alfie’s encore was a song that he sang for the first time only a few weeks ago but has swiftly become a fan favourite, Snow Patrol’s Run.  Thanks to Linda for sharing:

Classic Quadrophenia is available here:

classic quad

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Alfie Boe’s Intimate Belfast Set – A Review

So, hot on the heels of the Alfie Boe Favourite Tour poll, Alfie this week started his mini UK summer tour 2015.  Or to be more precise, the first big show is planned for tomorrow evening at Hampton Court and the two concerts earlier this week were something  a bit more special.  Monday and Tuesday this week saw Alfie play two intimate concerts at the Culloden Estate and Spa, Northern Ireland and luckily thoughtsofjustafan had a willing reporter on hand to tell us how the two evenings went.  Here is Carole’s guest review of the two concerts:

“An intimate dinner & show with Alfie Boe” is what it said on the front of the menus for our pre-concert meal and that is certainly what we got. In anticipation of this Alfie experience we thought that it may be a little different and a bit special but the reality was quite simply magical. Our Boe odyssey to Belfast took us away for three days so that we could attend both nights.

Before the main man appeared we had a 30 minute performance by the Belfast Community Gospel Choir who were wonderful and got everyone in the party mood, you could tell they were as excited to be there as we were! The stage was very small and just a foot or so high so we knew we were in for a very up close and personal experience indeed. The band was the same as on the Serenata tour – Murray, Richard, Dan, Matt and John (aka Tonksy!) . Bit of déjà vu crept in as Alfie appeared to huge applause and launched into A Marachiare, Parliami d’Amore Mariu, Buona Sera, Volare and Mambo Italiano. The musical theatre section was Come What May, Wheels of a Dream and finally Bring Him Home.  Tuesday’s rendition was extra special as Alfie sang to Mark and Declan McMullan:

On Monday night someone had requested he sing Georgia, he got the first line or two out then dried up – cue giggles and a couple of unrepeatable words – he said he’d go back to it and would sing it all the way through before the night was out.  He did manage to get through it after somebody brought him out a laptop with the words googled, it was put on the floor so he got down on all fours to see a bit closer, then of course half way through the screen blacked out! Funny funny.

It was a thrill to hear two new songs from Quadrophenia, Sea & Sand and Drowned although on Tuesday he changed these to I’m One and Love Reign O’er Me. I am reliably informed that the band are working really hard on getting as big a sound as possible for some of these songs, particularly the Quad numbers, and somehow they are doing an amazing job recreating those big thumping orchestral accompaniments like the kettle drums on Love Reign. 

It was a joy to hear Run and the audience were in great singalong voice, I think this may become a staple of his upcoming summer dates.   On Tuesday members of the Gospel Choir came back on towards the end and accompanied him, really recreating that amazing moment at the VE Day concert.  The video shows the amazing crowd reaction:

On Monday night I thought I was going to burst when he launched into Don’t Stop Me Now as his encore (yayyy!!).  and he ended with Suspicious Minds (double yayy!!). His final parting gift to Belfast was a perfect acapella rendition of Danny Boy.

Most of the people we met were from Ireland and although they were fans many had never seen him live and never one to disappoint he gave them the full Boe treatment – ringing phones, chasing after loo-break escapees, selfies on stage with the band and it went down an absolute storm. One gentleman right at the front nipped out (never a good move at an Alfie concert especially if you’re sat under his nose) and while he was gone Alfie took his chair up on stage and rifled through his jacket to check for valuables all whilst continuing to sing. Cue confused man upon his return with nowhere to sit! At the end of Come What May, which is always a belter of a tune and done with such passion, he said it’s amazing what goes through his mind when he’s singing and all he could see were the cakes on one of the tables in front him (the mini muffins mentioned earlier!) so he jumped off the stage, picked up the plate and passed them round to the band, although he did managed to drop his on the floor! He was just introducing lovely Murray to everyone and a lady way at the back laughed out loud, so she was hauled up to the front and was sat on a chair right in front of Murray so she could watch and appreciate him while he played the next number. Lucky lady, poor Murray! A phone rang from behind the bar which was way over the back of the room and by then had closed, so he flew off the stage to try and answer it but didn’t make it in time!

Thank you to Carole for an amazing review; I hope she’ll do a few more for us!

The next concert review will be from Hampton Court – hope to see a few of you there.

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Showstopper Alfie Boe Headlines VE 70: A Party to Remember

Saturday May 9 saw the 70th anniversary of VE Day celebrated in style with A Party to Remember at Horseguards Parade.  Unsure of what to expect in terms of the songs Alfie would sing, fans were ecstatic that Alfie had two solo songs and a duet with Katherine Jenkins to end the night – the social media frenzy that followed made it clear that Alfie now has a lot of new fans.

The concert itself was a rip roaring success showcasing the music of the era by performers as diverse as Laura Wright, Elaine Paige, Pixie Lott, Collabro, Rebecca Ferguson and Chas and Dave, although hearing Alexander Armstrong’s great voice was the surprise of the night for some.  The music and dance was interspersed throughout with readings from the time by some of our best known actors including Robert Lindsay, Jane Horrocks, Martin Shaw, Lawrence Fox, Bernard Cribbins and Honeysuckle Weeks which really brought home the reason for our celebrations and commemorations. Alfie’s favourite comedy, Dad’s Army also got an honourable mention with a reading from Pike himself, Ian Lavender.  Another nice touch was video interviews with service men and women there at the time – most of these were also in the audience.

Alfie first sang the anthemic You’ll Never Walk Alone, a song featured on his album Onward and one that he performs very infrequently.  Although the song was enthusiastically received on twitter, it’s pretty fair to say that at least half of the comments generated were concerned with his haircut and specs.  Alex Jones, host of BBC One’s The One Show tweeted her appreciation!  Alfie then returned a short time later to sing Snow Patrol’s Run – a completely new song for him that nevertheless suited both him and the occasion perfectly.  This was the moment that sent twitter into meltdown – mostly positive comments generated by all those new fans.  I must just add that he was accompanied on this one by Murray Gould who was instantly recognisable by his silhouette when he walked on stage (it’s the hair!). Lastly, accompanied by the crowd and the rest of the performers, Alfie and Katherine Jenkins (a former forces sweetheart) sang We’ll Meet Again to end the evening.  Absolutely spellbinding (thanks Marcia for uploading a compilation video):

Altogether, a fabulous performance all around  – bravo to all involved.

Onward is available here:

Alfie onward

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Friday Round Up with Alfie Boe: No. 7

With the New Year celebrations over for another year, it’s time for our first Friday Round Up in 2015 and the first since before Christmas.  Luckily for us, there was a new interview aired this week on BBC Radio Cornwall.  Alfie was interviewed way back in September by Debbie McCrory and they held the whole hour long interview back until this week – just the thing to banish the post tour blues. Thanks Marcia for sharing:

There’s a lot of chat about Les Mis as you would expect (Debbie had previously interviewed Alfie after the 25th anniversary) and amusing to hear Alfie struggling to say something good about Russell Crowe as Javert.  Damning with faint praise I think it’s called!  Also, some nice chat about Murray (he’s a Cornish lad) and the recording process of Serenata as opposed to Love Was A Dream.  Both were quick but one was considerably quicker!  A nice selection of music from Alfie’s earlier career too although it would have been nice to hear some of the Lehar as it was referenced in the interview.  Radio interviewers do tend to play a varied choice of music from Alfie’s career but Love Was A Dream never seems to get a look in – wonder why?  Slippers story gets another airing too!

In addition, Alfie was a guest on Bruce’s Hall of Fame on 27 December.  He sang Volare in tribute to Dean Martin which was lovely and had us all singing along at home I’m sure (two words at least, just like the tour!).  Alfie was first on which was great as it meant we didn’t have to watch the whole programme if we didn’t want to, although that would have meant missing a cracking turn from Alfie’s mate Jason Manford in tribute to Les Dawson.  Volare was Alfie’s only song but it was on the whole well received (I’m discounting the audience reaction here as they gave every performer a standing ovation) on social media.  Incidentally, interesting to see Alfie respond to people’s rude tweets; even with provocation he is always polite to trolls.  That doesn’t stop him putting them in their place though!  Again, thanks to Marcia for sharing the clip:

Volare is of course from Alfie’s new album, Serenata (available below) which is in the classical top ten for a sixth straight week!

serenata

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Storming End to Alfie Boe’s 2014 Tour

So, to paraphrase the opening song of the Storyteller tour, It’s Over for Alfie Boe’s 2014 UK tour.  Just writing that first sentence has taken me most of the day – sad the tour has finished but feeling incredibly thankful that I was able to see five concerts.  Additionally, thanks to the incredible generosity of my lovely friend Linda I was able to get a photo and a hug with the man himself…I just about managed to keep upright!  More about that in a later post!

Anyone who is an Alfie fan will be aware that for him to headline at London’s O2 arena is a very special moment in his career.  As he acknowledged on Friday night, the last time he set foot on that stage was as Jean ValJean at the Les Mis 25th anniversary concert and of course it turned out to be a career changing role.  A considerable number of Alfie Boe fans know him through the Les Mis connection and THAT Bring Him Home moment in particular so although that song always brings the house down wherever Alfie sings it, his rendition on Friday was even more powerful and emotionally charged for audience and Alfie alike.  Here is where I can let you into a secret: I am actually a little bit over Bring Him Home these days.  Sacrilege I know but I’ve heard it plenty and it’s not my favourite Alfie song.  However, on Friday I was completely bowled over by the emotional intensity in Alfie’s performance – and so was the rest of the audience.

The set list had changed again from the last show I saw (Manchester), largely due to Alfie’s throat infection which sadly meant the postponement of Brighton, but I was thrilled that he still sang Nessun Dorma and the two Quadrophenia songs.  Never heard them before but they are fast becoming firm favourites, and I’m really excited for the album and show next year.  One or two of us were worried about Alfie’s voice but we really needn’t have been; he was in fine fettle.  This was one hell of a performance and a resounding success – lots of tweets saying people had taken family members as a treat but been totally blown away and ended up fans themselves.

And so to the end of the tour, Cardiff.  The evening started emotionally for me as Sol3 Mio (who trained in Wales) sang an impromptu Calon Lan which had me in tears…my Dad used to sing it to me when I was a child.  Although their on stage banter could do with changing up a little before their 2015 UK tour, their performances have been outstanding and many Alfie fans have become Sol3  Mio fans too.  The lucky Cardiff audience even got to see and hear them perform Volare with Alfie too – although only after a considerable wait while they were tracked down from somewhere around the venue!

Cardiff audiences are always great and this was no exception; however, even though Alfie invited us to stand up and dance, not many did and this led to some awkward moments for those of us who did want to dance.  Concert etiquette is something I’ll definitely come back to at a later date – there are wildly opposing views on this!

The main change to the set list in Cardiff was the inclusion of Glory Glory Hallelujah from the Trust album – that really got the audience up and dancing.  Alfie looked so happy during that song and the jumping bean dancing was well and truly unleashed!  Apparently his nieces called it Dad dancing but we all loved it.  The revelation for me on this tour was hearing Danny Boy.  It is not one of my favourite songs, in fact I could easily say I can’t stand it…until I heard Alfie sing it.  I have always said that Alfie could sing the phone book to me and I’d be happy but this is the first time that he has transformed a song I hate into one I love – albeit only when he sings it LOL.  Danny Boy will be one of my tour highlights – I’d love to hear your tour highlights so please leave a comment.  Thanks Linda for sharing the video:

Once again, Alfie gave us a fantastic show – every single person I have spoken to about it had only praise, not one single negative comment.  In my experience, that is rare – such a shame there is no official DVD.  The musicians in Boe’s Band, Murray Gould, Matt White, John Tonks, Richard Causon and Dan McKinna were incredible and more about them in a later post but outstanding.

Lastly, as with all Alfie Boe concerts / tours etc, it is not only Alfie but the friends we meet up with and make along the way.  So, in no particular order (and apologies if I miss anyone, please let me know!) huge thanks to Linda W, Linda A, Janet, Nikki, Katie, Sally, Pat and Janet, Jan and Brad, Carole, Shelley, Sue, Pauline, Chelley, Cecelia and Cassie, Annie, Marcia, Tienne, Sonia, Marie, Geri, Linda E, Carole and Eric, Nancy and Marj, Andrea, Sally, Lea Ann, Roberta, Ellen, Emma, Nicola, Claire, Tracie, Margie, Gill and Malc, Karen and Richard, Gloria and Joan for making this tour so memorable and happy.  Some of you were there only in my heart, some of you I’ve known for a while and are fabulous friends and some of you I met for the first time on this tour but you all played your part xxxxx

UK fans need not despair though as new 2015 dates are being added all the time – Hampton Court Festival has just been announced today.

Serenata is available here:

serenata

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Alfie Boe Wows Leeds and Manchester

Wow is the word for Alfie Boe’s current UK Tour!  This was my first concert since the Newcastle opener on 29 November and it is good to see that the show is now much slicker and smoother.  Gone are the disjointed set changes which marked the first show, in fact, they are now so slick that I didn’t even notice them.

This week of course saw the official confirmation that Alfie is to appear in the premiere of Classic Quadrophenia next year and us lucky fans got a preview of two songs, I’m One and Love Reign O’er Me, as part of the encore. How on earth Alfie sings those two songs at the end of a two hour concert is beyond me – spine tingling is the only to describe them.  It is evident how excited Alfie is at the prospect of the role.  The addition of these two songs means that others had to go: Luna Malinconia, Parlami D’amore Mariu, Serenata Celeste and Glory, Glory, Hallelujah were the songs that made way but I don’t think the set list is any worse off.  Once again, Caruso was the first spine tingle, goose bump moment (so fantastic to hear Alfie sing these songs live) although I am a bit hard pressed to choose between that and Danny Boy.  Indeed, Cecelia, experiencing her first concert of this tour was moved to tears by the beauty of Alfie’s performance on that song.  You left the arena thinking it impossible to think of anyone singing it as well.

The musicianship of Alfie’s band (Murray, Matt, Richard, Dan and John) is simply outstanding; Richard’s piano accompaniment to Recondita Armonia and Nessun Dorma is breathtaking, whilst Murray and Matt’s guitar playing is stunning and leads perfectly into the rockier part of the show.  The audiences is Leeds and Manchester were a bit livelier than Newcastle and didn’t need much encouragement to dance and sing through Trust, Keep Me in Your Heart, Volare, Mambo Italiano and Buona Sera.  A highlight of this section was Alfie bringing Sol3 Mio onto the stage to sing Volare with him.  They did well (with what seemed like zero rehearsal) but Alfie easily outshone them.  It will be interesting to see how they fare next time, if there is a next time. Thanks Linda for the video:

Sol3 Mio are the support act for this tour and a very entertaining trio they are.  Having said that, their banter between songs didn’t change at all between Newcastle and Leeds so it was a pleasant change to hear them change it up a bit for Manchester.  Two tenors and a baritone comprise the group and they gave us a lovely insight into what audiences for their headline UK tour next year can expect.  My Way, Sole Mio, Yellow Bird and Nella Fantasia were good but the highlight for me was We Are Samoa which was by far their best song.

On the evidence of these two concerts, Alfie is going from strength to strength and I can’t wait to see what he has in store for us next!

Don’t forget the Royal Variety Show Monday 8th December 7.30pm!

Alfie Boe’s new album, Serenata, is available below:

serenata

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