It’s competition time again – this time we have three Classic Quadrophenia programmes signed by Alfie Boe to give away. All you have to do is answer this question:
Who conducted the five performances of Classic Quadrophenia in the US?
The competition is now closed.
In the meantime, let’s take a look at Alfie in Classic Quad:
Good luck!
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Classic Quadrophenia in the USA came to a close on Saturday night at the Greek Theatre, LA. Luckily, our roving US reporter, Roberta Kappus was on hand to review for us.
As the saying goes “Alfie never disappoints” and he certainly didn’t at The Greek Theatre. He came bounding onto the stage to applause with the same enthusiasm and energy as his first night at Tanglewood and accelerated from there. From the beginning Alfie tried to encourage the audience to join in singing but this audience was a little more laid back as although some joined in, most were happy to enjoy Alfie’s singing. I hasten to add this was not indicative of any lack of appreciation of Alfie’s performance; there was more applause for Alfie throughout the show than at any other venue I attended. The Real Me, his opening song, was interrupted by applause three or four times. In addition to noteworthy shouts and applause there were scattered standing ovations at the ends of many songs. It seemed as though Alfie was reading the audience very well and the audience seemed happy with Alfie as applause and shouts of approval came throughout the show. The audience seemed especially appreciative of Alfie’s punctuation of songs with dramatic arm gestures along with all the legwork. Alfie’s exertions were in no way inhibited by the warmth on the stage. It was not a large stage and the orchestra seemed a bit cramped. Alfie wiped his brow numerous times, finished at least one water bottle which he tossed into the crowd and during the second half stripped off his jacket, tossing that aside.
Only professional cameras were prohibited and when Billy Idol made his entrance so many phones went up you could not even see the stage. Alfie and Billy played off each other very well in their duets, with both snarling. Pete was greeted with a standing ovation as has been the case since the beginning of the tour. His dancing with Alfie went up a level at The Greek with all the steps being very pronounced followed by several twirls. His guitar playing was once again masterful.
My take on Alfie as a performer is that he puts a lot of thought into his performance and keeps on thinking about it and adjusting throughout the run. It is one of the reasons that I can see the same show multiple times. It simply isn’t the same show even though the words and the songs are the same. With Classic Quad this was best exemplified in Love Reign O’er Me. Alfie fills this song with such physical and vocal intensity that there does not seem room for adjustment and yet he finds ways. At the Met he sank to his knees and leaned back on the final “Love” in the song. At The Greek Alfie walked out onto a darkened stage during the symphonic introduction, crouched down in the very front and centre of the stage, stayed there unmoving and then began singing from that position. After he had sung several bars he rose to a standing position and continued with what seemed like an added intensity to the final “Love”. The audience responded with thunderous applause and a standing ovation.
Thus ends five performances of Classic Quadrophenia in two weeks. From the first to the last Alfie gave totally outstanding performances. His singing was superb; the emotion he poured into song after song incredible; the power of his voice at each performance remarkable. Without a doubt Alfie owns this role.
Thank you once again to Roberta for a fabulous review, the next best thing to being there.
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As August winds to a close and Classic Quadrophenia in USA gets closer (less than a week!), it’s time for another look at your favourite Alfie Boe songs. This week it’s the turn of Helen Linden, who first heard Alfie sing in 2010 at the Les Miserables 25th anniversary concert. Helen says “I’d never even heard of Alfie Boe up to this point – it was my then sixteen year old daughter who persuaded me to go with her to see Marius as she was a massive Nick Jonas fan. That’s when I discovered Alfie and have been a fan ever since.
These are Helen’s six sensational songs:
Caruso, chosen “because I love the tone of Alfie’s voice for this dramatic song. It’s a powerful melody and how Alfie manages to fit in all the words, I’ll never know! It was a favourite of my Dad’s when Pavarotti used to sing it but I think Alfie does it better.”
Chitarra Romana, added to Helen’s list of favourites when Alfie performed it at the MEN arena in Manchester. It was just a joy to hear Alfie singing this upbeat song on the sofa with Murray and the rest of the band.
The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face, chosen because it’s one of Helen’s favourite songs and “when I heard Alfie singing the first line….followed by ‘I was sick’, I just roared with laughter. It took Alfie a while to get back ‘n the zone’ but love how he doesn’t take himself too seriously.” I couldn’t find that particular video so I included another where he was clearly enjoying himself with a laugh.
Volare, chosen because “I just love this song and Alfie’s interaction with the audience during this one. I even brought Castanets to play during one of the shows!”
Love Reign O’er Me, from Classic Quad. As Helen says, “not an easy song to sing but Alfie just nails it. And that last note. Well, what can I say?” Having written about this song for to years now, I agree that there aren’t enough superlatives to do justice to Alfie’s voice on this song and indeed the whole album.
The song that started it all for Helen: “I first heard Alfie sing this back in 2010 at the O2 for the Les Miserables 25th anniversary concert. I’d never even heard of Alfie Boe up to this point. But I was hooked, just like so many others after hearing Alfie Bring Him Home. It’s my favourite favourite Alfie song and I never get tired of hearing him sing it.”
Love Reign O’er Me and Bring Him Home now tie with A Living Prayer as the most chosen songs for your choice of Alfie Boe’s Six Sensational Songs and nice to see three new songs in this series. Thanks Helen for sharing your songs with us. If you would like to share your six sensational songs with us, please fill in the form:
The summer tour is over but no need to cry because we are in the rather unusual position of having lots to look forward to! Performances in three countries, a new album, we’re in danger of being rather spoilt in the latter half of 2017.
In the meantime, let’s take a look at six more sensational songs, this time from Karen Rogers. I first met Karen, very briefly, at a Storyteller album signing in London’s Oxford Street and since then we have run into each other at several concerts, culminating in a memorable evening in Bournemouth last year. Ball and Boe were the warm up act for an absolutely hilarious evening with our Boe Buddies – how many Alfie Boe fans can you get into a single hotel room was the name of the game! Here are Karen’s six songs:
A Living Prayer, which appears in this series for the fourth time now. Karen says “I’m not religious in any shape or form but absolutely love this song. The words, even as a non believer are so very beautiful. The video that accompanies the song is lovely too and adds to the emotion.”
Bring Him Home at the 25th anniversary concert. Karen says that she chose it because “as Alfie’s signature song how could I not include it? However the reason I chose it was because of the memories it evokes. I never thought I would get to see Alfie, live, in Les Miserables but when he announced he would be reprising the role in New York I knew I had to get there. I went with the lovely Carole Hunt and we saw him 4 times. Each time was as special as the first. The picture in my head of him sat at the barricade with Marius at his side asleep as he sings it brings tears to my mind every time. Very special times.” We don’t have footage of his stage appearances so I chose this video as the next best thing.
Doctor Jimmy, from Classic Quadrophenia – what a fabulous evening that was. Karen says “I absolutely love this song for the totally shallow reason that Alfie says the f’ word!!! I know its awful to admit but I do. The raw emotion as he swears is amazing. As the wife of a Who fan who was totally bowled over by Alfie’s performance at the RAH I cannot put into words how special it all was.”
Run – Karen’s choice because “it’s a fabulous song with wonderful words but given the Alfie Boe treatment becomes an all time great anthem.”
It’s Only Love – another song that gets me up and dancing every time! Karen chose it as she “absolutely adored Alfie on the Storyteller Tour. It is as a Rock God that I adore him the most.His performance of the song as he charged from side of the stage to the other, jumping on the speakers in those tight jeans was sublime.”
O Sole Mio / Now or Never at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Karen says “again it shows his versatility as he goes from classic to rock and roll. The highlight for me of the Queens Jubilee. Rocking out in his tight black jeans (I do love him in tight jeans!) and lovely black shirt. Doing what no one expected him to do and bringing the house down in the process. Fantastic!”
Thanks Karen for six very different choices – I love seeing the songs people choose and the reasons why.
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Alfie Boe and Michael Ball last night bid farewell to their very own summer of love at the first night of the 2017 Greenwich Music Festival and as with the other dates, held the audience in the palms of their hands. The title of this piece is Summer of Love and it’s been a joy to see so much love surrounding this tour of outdoor venues; love for Alfie and Michael from fans and on social media, love from Alfie and Michael for the fans and also the almost epic scale bromance between the two. This may be the first show of this tour that I’ve seen but I’m sure that Alfie and Michael have not missed any opportunity to spread the love and gratitude to fans and each other for the absolutely fantastic year they’ve had.
Although Greenwich was my only show of this tour, I’m so glad that I was able to be there for the last one – last nights are very special and I wasn’t disappointed. How could I be when my favourite song, Keep Me In Your Heart (come on, you know my favourite line by now!) was included, along with last year’s Best Alfie Boe Live Song, Run. Of the rest of the changes, I was most impressed by Luck Be A Lady (from one of my favourite old style musicals) and of course the addition of One Day More to the end of the Les Mis medley – just when you think Alfie can’t get any better, he does. At this rate, I’ll need to research lots more superlatives with which to describe Alfie’s voice – for now, I’ll just say that for me, he was perfection last night.
The song that surprised me the most was the encore of You’ll Never Walk Alone which I have never really felt an emotional connection to. Last night though, the theme of unity and standing strong through adversity spoke to me and the tears came. Michael had earlier spoken very movingly about the troubled times we find ourselves in and it strikes me that You’ll Never Walk Alone is the perfect song to reflect our unity and strength – none of us have perfect lives, after all, despite what we say on social media!
Earlier in the day, Alfie and Michael had presented an award at the 02 Silver Clefs in aid of Nordoff Robbins and Alfie, an ambassador for the charity, spoke a few words during his solo slot about their work – click here to find out more about music therapy from Nordoff Robbins.
Now if all this sounds somewhat sombre, the concert did contain the usual amount of humour from these two likely lads, as can be seen from the beginning of A Thousand Years – rear of the year anyone?
Alfie and Michael’s Summer of Love may be over for the time being but it won’t be long until we see them again for Together Again 2017 and before that, Alfie will of course be seen as Jimmy in Classic Quadrophenia(click here for tickets). Until then, we’ll have to be content to send the boys all our love – we’ve loved these two weeks!
Special thanks to Linda Wellington for taking such fabulous videos for us all to share and to my two reviewers, Cecelia and Barbara. And I must give a special mention to the Boe Buddies I had the good fortune to spend the Greenwich concert with, particularly Margie who is here from Australia via Paris.
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Song number three is last year’s number one, Love Reign O’er Me from Classic Quadrophenia (CQ):
This song, perhaps more than any other from Classic Quadrophenia, shows off Alfie’s vocal strength and versatility. The high notes are just majestic, there’s no other word for it, whilst the quieter moments have such warmth and restraint. Anyone who has been lucky enough to see Alfie sing this live will attest to the power of his voice. Hearing it at the premiere of Classic Quad at the Royal Albert Hall was one of the best musical experiences of my life. Quite simply took my breath away.
The song was originally performed by Roger Daltrey but here is Pete Townshend at Symfunny 2 last month:
Anyone who gets the chance to hear Alfie sing CQ in its entirety should grab it with both hands – he is absolutely sublime in the role. As and when those chances become available, I’ll be sure to let you know.
Welcome to Six Sensational Songs, a new occasional series of blog posts featuring fans talking about their favourite Alfie Boe songs and why they are our favourites. As the title suggests, each post will feature just six songs – it might seem a herculean task to choose just six but you can do it! Details of how to send in your six favourites will be given later so keep reading!
As today marks the first anniversary of thoughtsofjustafan becoming the Official Alfie Boe Fan Blog, I’ll start us off.
Keep Me In Your Heart:
None of you will be surprised that this is my first choice but this particular video is from the last date of the 2016 Together tour and was a really special night, so glad I was able to be there. I’m always asked what it is about this song that I love – and yes, at lot of the appeal comes down to one line “like the buttons on your blouse”. What can I say – I love this song and it helps that it’s from my favourite Alfie album, Trust.
You Are My Heart’s Delight:
This was the first song I ever heard Alfie sing live and I was lucky enough to be in the company of the fabulous Linda Wellington (whose birthday it is today!) on a blisteringly hot day in September. Alfie’s autobiography had been released the previous week (I first met Linda at the book signing) and knowing that this song was so personal to Alfie made it even more special. This is just one of Alfie’s appearances at Proms in the Park and, we hope, there will be many more to come.
Love Reign O’Er Me:
Never having been a Who fan or a fan of rock opera, I was dubious about Alfie singing Classic Quadrophenia – or I was until I heard this song. Spine tingling doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel about Alfie singing this or any part of Classic Quad. The world premiere at the Royal Albert Hall in July 2015 was one of the best evenings of my life and I know that anyone who was there feels the same.
Suspicious Minds:
Alfie singing Elvis is frequently one of my most popular subjects and the day that we heard Suspicious Minds at Carfest South in 2013 still ranks in top five Alfie concerts. The 45 minute set was absolutely perfect for the setting and Alfie had the crowd, not to mention Chris Evans, completely in the palm of his hand.
Angel:
Jimi Hendrix’s Angel was a song I had never heard before Alfie’s Storyteller tour but as with nearly everything else that Alfie sings (there are exceptions, but not many), I fell in love with the song. We haven’t heard this since Storyteller and maybe that’s right as it fitted in perfectly with that tour – but I do miss it. If you’re reading this Alfie, please bring it back, just once!
Brindisi:
It was a struggle to choose just six songs and you might have noticed that there are actually eight songs in the videos as some videos contain two songs (not cheating, I promise!). I’ve chosen Alfie’s duet on Brindisi with Lesley Garrett as the chemistry between them makes the song. And Alfie nearly missing his first note due to laughing is worth another look every time. Not everyone likes opera Alfie but I would dearly love to hear him singing this live. It’s not unthinkable – he’s given us Nessun Dorma, Recondita Armonia and La Donna e Mobile in recent years after all.
Now, I’m sure that you’ll all have your own choices so if you want to share them with us, please fill in the form below. You’ll need to choose six songs, they can be live or recorded but if you want a particular video to accompany your choices, please mention it. Please also tell us why you have chosen them.
Last week I asked you a few questions about Alfie Boe in 2016 – how did you get on? Remember, you’re playing for pride, not prizes!
Q: With which product did Alfie make his TV commercial debut in 2016?
A: Fisherman’s Friend – the ad is now playing again on UK TV.
Q: At which football team’s ground did Alfie sing the National Anthem in 2016?
A: His home town of Fleetwood.
Q: How many dates were there on the 2016 Together tour?
A: 29 – Blackpool was the 29th, added during the first Blackpool date.
Q: Name Alfie’s three opera heroes from the Spring radio 2 show.
A: Enrico Caruso, Maria Callas and Mario Lanza.
Q: What was special about 12th November 2016?
A: Alfie was in two places at once – or, to be accurate, he was on TV at the Festival of Remembrance, recorded earlier that evening, and live at the London Palladium.
Q: Which actress and singer featured as a guest artist on Ball and Boe: One Night Only?
A: Maria Friedman, singing a brilliant Being Alive / Chitty Chitty Bang Bang mash up.
Q: Alfie will play which role in Carousel in 2017?
A: Billy Bigelow.
Q: Katherine Jenkins will play Julie Jordan; where will she sing with Alfie before that?
A: Dubai at the White Nights festival.
Q: Which song was voted the fans favourite in 2016?
A: Love Reign O’er Me:
Q: Which two songs featured in Alfie’s solo section of the Together tour?
A: Keep Me In Your Heart and Love Reign O’er Me (no prizes for guessing why I chose this video!):
Thanks to Linda W for sharing.
How did you all get on? Ten out of ten for everyone, right?
Into the last week of the Alfie Boe Michael Ball Together tour 2016 and Hammersmith was last night’s destination. Another full house was out in force, amongst them Sir Cameron Mackintosh who proved game for anything when picked upon to sing during Alfie’s singalong Keep Me In Your Heart, and actor Con O’Neill, star of the original Blood Brothers.
After seeing the show on three previous occasions I knew the set list and some of the set piece comedy moments, some of which have developed during the tour itself (Dec and Ant anyone?) but the highlight of the first half was the lady who modelled her newly bought fleece, ably assisted, or should I say forced (?) by Alfie. This very enterprising fan then rushed to help Alfie back onto the stage – lucky her! Further on, Alfie’s difficulty in getting onto his stool before What A Wonderful World was solved, not by Michael’s helping hand but by a helpful fan shouting out that she “can help you, Alfie” – needless to say, Alfie hopped up on that stool in no time at all!
In my previous reviews, my favourite songs (apart from Keep Me In Your Heart obviously) have been A Thousand Years, which according to Michael last night is in the “twilight zone” and Speak Softly Love. Having heard both these songs again, they’re still my favourites although the swing section, particularly Alfie’s Kick in the Head is fast growing on me.
For Alfie’s solo section, the addition of film footage of the end of the Quadrophenia film as a backdrop considerably added to the power of Alfie’s Love Reign O’er Me, although I’m conflicted as to whether I liked it or not. To me, it was a distraction – Alfie’s voice is powerful enough not to warrant it. Having said that, I wasn’t sitting in the centre this time so perhaps if I had been, the film would have been right in front of me, thus creating even more drama.
Those of you who were at the Palladium on 12 November or read the review will be aware that Rick Astley joined Alfie and Michael on stage to sing Just Keep Singing – well, he was back in Hammersmith too! They sang the same song which was amazing (the style suits Alfie to a tee, reminded me of his 2013 album, Trust) and then Rick presented Alfie and Michael with a pair of gold discs for Together. They were completely bowled over by this and clearly not expecting anything of the sort.
Overall, another fabulous evening in the company of Messrs Ball and Boe – roll on the TV special this evening!
If you would like to send Alfie and Michael a message about the tour, to be given to them in a card next week, click here.
We’ve reached the top! Over the last ten weeks we have been counting down to this moment, finding out which song is the winner of the 2016 Best Alfie Boe Song poll. Before we find out, let’s look at the 2 – 10 in reverse order:
10. Forever Young
9. If You Go Away
8. A Living Prayer
7. It’s Over
6. My Heart Is Yours
5. First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
4. Bring Him Home
3. Trust
2. Dimming of the Day
And so, the song at the top, a new entry to both the long list and the top ten is Love Reign O’er Me:
Thanks to Annie Lloyd for nominating this song – great to see it straight in at number 1! This song, perhaps more than any other from Classic Quadrophenia, shows off Alfie’s vocal strength and versatility. The high notes are just majestic, there’s no other word for it, whilst the quieter moments have such warmth and restraint. Anyone who has been lucky enough to see Alfie sing this live will attest to the power of his voice. Hearing it at the premiere of Classic Quad at the Royal Albert Hall last year was one of the best musical experiences of my life – and I don’t expect it to be bettered any time soon. Quite simply took my breath away. You can read more about that amazing evening here.
Thank you everyone for sharing your views on the top ten, it’s been a really enjoyable way (for me) to count down to the tour. Guess what? We’ve done it, we’ve arrived at the tour! Hope to see lots of you at some of the concerts – come and say hi!
