…O Sole Mio / Now or Never in Swindon on the Bring Him Home tour:
Seems a long time ago now doesn’t it? Of course it is now five years since we saw Alfie do so many solo tour dates. It’s been a while since I’ve sat and watched this combination of O Sole Mio and Now or Never and I’d forgotten how effective it was. Lots of you haven’t though as it featured in the top ten of last year’s Best Alfie Boe Live Song.
O Sole Mio was written in 1898 and has been recorded and performed by huge numbers of people, making it one of the most famous Neapolitan songs around. Alfie himself sang it on his 2007 album La Passione although that hasn’t stopped him having to explain that it’s not about ice cream to UK audiences. For those of you outside our sunny shores, the tune of O Sole Mio was the theme of Cornetto ice cream TV adverts for a ten year period in the 1970’s and 1980’s. It’s certainly where I remember it from originally.
Welcome to the nominations for the third annual Alfie Boe Best Ever (recorded) song poll – I know it doesn’t seem too long since we chose our favourite live song but we need something to keep us going over the summer, don’t we?
The current list of songs nominated in past years can be found on Spotify by clicking here – if your favourite song isn’t listed, please let me know and we’ll add to the list. All you need to do is fill in the form*:
The only restriction is that it needs to be a song recorded by Alfie.
Nominations will close mid August ready for voting to begin shortly after and the top ten will be counted down from the end of August…which will be ten weeks until the start of the Ball and Boe tour!
The first winner was, to no one’s surprise, Bring Him Home but the second winner was from Alfie’s most recent album, Serenata, Addio Sogni do Gloria. Bring Him Home didn’t even make the top three! Will it make it back to the top this year? It’s over to you – here’s last year’s top ten to help you think:
If you haven’t yet ordered Alfie’s forthcoming album with Michael Ball, it’s available here:
The Alfie Boe Goody Bags have been won – thank you to everyone for entering – and the winners are (picked at random from Twitter):
Donamarie Triandafilou
Linda Gleason
Diane Davis
Jo Rowe
Janet Hudson
Please can the winners send their addresses via the contact me page and I’ll pass them to Vector to get the bundles sent out!
Of course we should be in Scarborough (and a fair number of fans are!) but in Alfie’s absence (get well soon Alfie), here is our favourite Alfie Boe Live Song,Run, from last year:
We have reached the top two places! The run down so far has been:
Bond Medley – Strictly Come Dancing – 2011
O Sole Mio / Now or Never – Queen’s Diamond Jubilee – 2012
You Are My Hearts Delight – Blackpool Opera House – 2013
Buona Sera – Belfast Proms in the Park – 2014
Jacobs Ladder – Bring Him Home Tour – 2011/12
Barcelona (Laura Wright) – Mercury Phoenix Trust – 2013
Rank Strangers – Royal Albert Hall – 2013
Addio Sogni Di Gloria – Classic FM Live – 2014
Without further ado, number two is:
Yes, the top song from 2014 is this year’s number two and features Alfie singing with Gary Barlow on his 2013 New Year TV show – and a complete surprise to us all! I still haven’t got over my annoyance at missing it! Click here to see the Queen version.
So, with the previous top song now at number two, the new number one is (to no one’s surprise, I’m sure):
Thanks to Linda for sharing – this video was picked for all those jeans fans! Unfortunately, you can hear me singing along at the end so apologies!
Alfie first performed this song at the VE Day 75th anniversary celebrations and it then became a staple of his summer concerts of 2015. It’s been so popular it was by far and away the most nominated song for this poll and was the runaway winner with 36% of the final vote.
We have reached numbers three and four in our search to find the fans favourite Alfie Boe Live Song 2016 and number four is a song first heard back in 2012 and recorded for the Storyteller album of that year. The version chosen here though is from the encore of the Storyteller tour of 2013, Rank Strangers (thanks Nikki for sharing):
The song, which was voted in at number eight last year’s Best Recorded Song poll, is an American folk song from the early twentieth century written by Albert Brumley, a musician and singer born in Oklahoma in 1905. After studying at the Hartford Musical Institute, Arkansas, Brumley toured with the Hartford Quartet and went on to write / copyright an astonishing 800 songs. The most famous of these is I’ll Fly Away from 1932. In 1970 he was inducted into the Country Song Writer’s Hall of Fame and his songs have been covered by amongst others, Bob Dylan, who I’m sure introduced Alfie to the song. Click here to see the version by The Stanley Brothers from the 1950’s. I have to confess though, to a liking for a different version, featuring the much loved Al Vosper, Toby Chapman and co (thanks Linda for sharing) from a meltingly hot (in more ways than one) Buxton Opera House:
Completely different to number four is a new entry to the Best Live Song top ten, Addio Sogni Di Gloria from Classic FM Live (thanks Marcia for sharing):
The song was originally recorded by Italian singer Luciano Virgili and written by Italian Carlo Innocenzi who wrote music for many Italian films from the 1940’s onward. Translated, the title means Goodbye, Dreams of Glory and the poignancy of the song sits effortlessly against the glorious soaring melody. This wonderful song is from Serenata and was the one that unseated Bring Him Home from the top spot in the Alfie Boe 2015 best ever song poll.
Next week brings us to the top two spots in this year’s countdown.
Storyteller and Serenata are available here:
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Although we’re in the midst of full blown excitement about the Alfie Boe and Michael Ball Together Tour, we’re also counting down the fans favourite Alfie Boe Live Song. Last week saw the publication of numbers 9 and 10, both new entries this year.
This week, we’re looking at 7 and 8. The song voted in at number 8 is a song that made it to the top five in 2014, You Are My Heart’s Delight from Blackpool (thanks Nikki Lewis for sharing):
Oh what a magical moment that was, made all the more special by knowing Alfie’s family were in the audience that night. Anyone familiar with Alfie story knows that You Are My Heart’s Delight is a personal favourite for him and his father, Alfred. As well as singing it for his first D’oyly Carte audition, Alfie spent many a Sunday lunchtime in the Boe household listening to Alf senior’s music and Alfie says that Richard Tauber was one of his father’s favourite singers. Tauber became particularly well known for singing the song; indeed it comes from a 1929 operetta, The Land of Smiles, written for his voice by Franz Lehar. Click here to see Tauber’s version. Alfie’s English version is one my joint favourite album, Love Was A Dream. My other favourite album is nothing like this!
Onto the next song, number 7 in the countdown which is another top five number from 2014: Buona Sera. At that time, we had only seen Alfie sing it live at the Belfast Proms and at a charity concert in Utah earlier that year but that was before the Serenata tour when we heard it at the end of every concert:
Thanks to Linda W for sharing, this was the first concert of that tour – roll on the next one in November!
Written by Peter de Rose and Carl Sigman (Sigman also wrote the lyrics to the English version of Arrivederci Roma), most people will be familiar with the Dean Martin version. However, the song was first recorded by Louis Prima (click here to see that version). Prima was a big band, swing singer of the mid twentieth century and Buona Sera was one of a long line of hits. Incidentally, Prima is the voice of King Louis in Disney’s The Jungle Book.
Love Was A Dream and Serenata are available here:
thanks for reading and sharing – songs 6 to 5 will be revealed next week!
Yes, the nominations are in and it’s now time to take part in another poll and vote for your favourite Alfie Boe Live Song. There have been a number of additions to the poll with one song having an overwhelming number of nominations…I’ll be surprised if that isn’t the eventual winner but I’ve been wrong before about winners so let’s see!
Which of these is your favourite then? Take a look at the playlist to help you decide:
The playlist starts with last year’s winner, Don’t Stop Me Now from New Year’s Eve 2013 and encompasses all the previous top ten songs as well as those nominated this year. I’ll admit to liking one or two in this list!
Voting will end Friday May 20th and the results counted down in the weeks up to Scarborough.
In the meantime, we in the UK get to see Alfie on TV this week with the live concert for the Queen’s 90th birthday. It’s a great week!
Two months today and I hope to be seeing quite a few of you at Alfie’s only live concert this year (not counting his guest appearance for the Queen) at Scarborough. My tickets arrived last week and I’ve booked the train ticket as well so all I need now is nice weather!
Amidst all the excitement I thought it would be the perfect time to revisit our 2014 poll to find the Best Alfie Boe Live Song. I’m aware we’ve just voted in one poll (results next week) but polls on this blog are like buses and they’re such fun – the voting never goes the way I think it will.
The choices in 2014 are on this playlist
and I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that the eventual winner was the New Years Eve performance of Don’t Stop Me Now.
You can choose any song you like as long as Alfie has performed it live – video evidence would just be absolutely perfect – so please get nominating below:
The nominations will close in a week and the new poll will open shortly after (notice how I never say ‘soon’?).
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Two weeks until the start of the tour and we have three songs left in Alfie Boe’s Best Ever Live Song Countdown! Yes, you heard correctly – this is the number two slot but there was a tie for the vote so two songs are at number 2!
The first is a song that we haven’t heard from Alfie since the Bring Him Home tour and it is the song he used to end the show with. Jacob’sLadder is spiritual, gospel tinged song that has been recorded by a variety of artists including Bruce Springsteen (again, I am continuing my musical education thanks to Alfie and only just getting into Springsteen – I know! – and thinking that he must be an amazing artist to see live):
For a completely different sound, here is Paul Robeson from 1958:
Here is Alfie’s version:
The second song in at number 2 is the much loved Barcelona duet with Laura Wright. This song also made the top five duets poll earlier in the year and is one that is most often cited as a favourite amongst fans. Alfie and Laura performed this at the Mercury Phoenix Trust Freddie for a Day fundraising celebrations in 2013 and later featured on Alfie’s exploration of Queen frontman, Freddie Mercury.
Breathtaking every time.
Don’t forget, from Monday, you can also download Alfie’s recorded version on Katherine Jenkins’ new album, Home Sweet Home:
Serenata is also released on Monday and can be ordered below:
thanks for reading and sharing – #AlfieBoeSerenata #AlfieBoeUKTour
Mid way through the Alfie Boe Best Ever Live Song Countdown now…three weeks until the start of the tour!…and we have a new song, from Serenata. Number 3 is Buona Sera.
Nominated by Sylvia MacArthur, I suspect this particular performance was nominated for the kiss at the end as much as the beauty of the song! What do you say Sylvia?
Written by Peter de Rose and Carl Sigman (Sigman also wrote the lyrics to the English version of Arrivederci Roma), most people will be familiar with the Dean Martin version. However, the song was first recorded by Louis Prima, below:
Prima was a big band, swing singer of the mid twentieth century and Buona Sera was one of a long line of hits. Incidentally, Prima is the voice of King Louis in Disney’s The Jungle Book.
Let’s enjoy Alfie’s Buona Sera in Belfast (the video shows the entire performance – Buona Sera starts at 11 mins):
Alfie’s new album, Serenata, can be ordered below:
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