Tag Archives: Laura Wright

Your Favourite Alfie Boe Come What May Duet is…

A long way ahead of the competition was Rebecca Newman at Leeds – well done Rebecca.  Second place went to Laura Wright, closely followed by Kerry Ellis.  Click here to see the entire Favourite Alfie Boe Come What May playlist.

Of course, Alfie also sings this as a solo song but I prefer it as a duet and have done since I first saw the movie from which it is taken, Moulin Rouge, one of my favourite films.  For those who are not familiar, Come What May is the only original song to feature in Baz Luhrman’s (another Alfie connection) musical reworking of La Boheme and is the big love song between Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman:

Ewan McGregor does a good job here – fun fact of the day, he appeared on the West End stage ten years ago in Guys and Dolls and was excellent.  Whenever I hear Luck Be A Lady, I always think of Ewan in that production.

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Come What May: Vote for Your Favourite Duet with Alfie

Some time last year thoughtsofjustafan ran a poll to find out the fan’s favourite Alfie Boe duet (the winner was of course Bryn Terfel with the Pearl Fishers duet) which threw up a variety of favourites ranging from the classical to Melanie C.  This poll came back to me recently when I saw the video (thanks Linda) of Rebecca Newman singing with Alfie on Come What May in Leeds.

This was a staple of Alfie’s repertoire on his Bring Him Home tour which enabled him to duet with his guest singer and promote his album at the same time but it fell out of favour until the Serenata tour of 2014, although Alfie sang it as a solo song.  I really like this song and have done since I first saw Moulin Rouge and have loved having it back in Alfie’s set so let’s see how many of you like it too, and which version do you like best?

Rebecca Newman’s chart topping album, Dare to Dream is available here:

rebecca newman

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On This Day, 22 July 2012, Alfie Boe Sang…

…at Ponty’s Big Weekend, Pontypridd, South Wales.  It was part of his UK Summer Tour of that year, recently featured in the Favourite Alfie Boe Tour poll.  For fans of the jeans and white shirt look, this is one for you (thanks to Annie for sharing):

This isn’t my favourite Alfie song by a long way but it seems to perfectly sum up that summer tour – and it also features the lovely Laura Wright who was touring with Alfie at the time.

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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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How Alfie Boe is Changing Our Musical Tastes

Just over a week ago I posted about the music that Alfie Boe has introduced me to and how my musical tastes have changed.  I then asked you to tell me how Alfie has educated you musically and you have responded enthusiastically!  A wide range of musical tastes and choices were talked about and interestingly, it’s not just new music that we are spending our money on.  Alfie has changed our musical horizons so much that we are as likely to go to a concert by a new artist or a theatrical production as we are to buy a new album which costs a fraction of the price.  Most of us are also just as likely to go alone to these concerts and shows, having never thought of doing so before.

As we already know, most fans first came to be an Alfie fan through Les Mis and were already listening to music from musicals; some were even lucky enough to be at the O2 in 2010! Some however, were not into musicals at all and have since become immersed in that world as a result.  Alfie’s first two Decca albums in particular are rich with musical numbers and seem to have inspired a lot of fans to revisit those tunes and shows.  Blues and swing, following Alfie’s most recent albums, have also been re-introduced to many of your music collections.

Again, most fans had some affinity with light classical music before Alfie but have become much keener once they discovered Alfie’s rich back catalogue of classical music and opera.  I think that most of us can say that we know a whole lot more about opera than we did before we heard Alfie, whether that means re-learning what we once knew or coming to it from a blank canvas.  La Boheme was mentioned several times as a favourite opera, probably because Alfie has played Rodolfo a few times and we can watch him on DVD whenever we want – that also means that we know the words when we go to see that same production at the Coliseum with ENO!

In my original post, I mentioned the likes of Led Zeppelin, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, The Clint Boon Experience as artists who I had come to listen to through Alfie and who I would never have listened to before.  I think I can safely say that having looked at all your responses, I am not alone in that view – Led Zeppelin and The Who were the top two artists that are being discovered or revisited.  I’m sure that we’ll all be Who / Quadrophenia experts by the time 5th July has come around.

Lastly, Laura Wright, John Owen-Jones and Michael Boe were the top three new artists that you told me about; singers who it is unlikely that you would have heard about and become fans of, without Alfie.  Emilia Mitiku and Warren Zevon were other names mentioned – Alfie recorded Zevon’s Keep Me In Your Heart on Trust (it’s the one with the buttons on your blouse, so careful now!):

The comment that came over most often, however, was how much you are all enjoying Alfie’s musical journey – one reason being that we have no idea which way he’ll go next!  One thing’s for sure – it won’t be what we expect!

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Laura Wright – A Soprano with Strength

Thoughtsofjustafan’s favourite soprano, Laura Wright, is currently wowing audiences on her first headline tour of the UK and fan and photographer, Nikki Lewis went along to two venues; here is her review.

Wow, & I’ll say it again .. WOW! I recently saw Laura Wright on tour and she sure stands up to the title ‘A Soprano with Strength’! This amazingly slender & stunning woman sings with the strength that she obviously has, not just for the music scene, but also in rugby and the fitness that she loves equally alongside her singing.

The first night of Laura’s 2015 tour I attended was at The Sage, Gateshead, where, with friends, I sat in awe of her beautiful warm tones and was enraptured in her performance.   Laura performed around a dozen mesmerising songs from her albums, accompanied by an intimate trio of musicians.  The songs ranged from the slightly more classical side with Holst and Handel, to the more modern Barber and the amazing Benedictus by Karl Jenkins, with a selection of those ol’ rugby favourites weaved in between – where there was audience participation! Laura looks so natural on stage and amazingly makes it all look effortless; believe me, that is a skill in itself! We all had a ‘mini’ workout with Laura too, which had most of the audience in stitches of laughter!

I was lucky enough to see Laura again, thanks to Kathryn Nash, in the beautiful setting of Union Chapel, London. This venue is almost the perfect setting for Laura, with the church acoustics and slightly sacred atmosphere. The audience greeted her with ‘whoops’, cheers and a couple of standing ovations throughout the evening.   As before, Laura put on an amazing song-filled evening which captured everyone’s attention throughout!

Laura Wright #2

 

 

Thanks Nikki for that great review – click here for more photos of Laura.

Laura was kind enough a few months ago to answer some questions about her career so far (Make Some Noise with Laura Wright) and she hinted then that music and sport would be married together on this tour.  Little did I think that she meant active audience participation!  She may be young, but Laura’s already wide ranging experience of touring with Alfie and Russell Watson have clearly paid off in learning stage craft – by the sounds of it, her audiences are putty in her hands.

Laura’s album, Sound of Strength, is available now:

laura wright sos

 

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Alfie Boe and Me: Changing Musical Tastes

Part of the appeal and fun of being an Alfie Boe fan is the friends I’ve made along the way…and there a lot of you out there that I would never have known had it not been for Alfie. Chatting to one of my closest friends recently, we were struck by how much the music we listen to now has been influenced by Alfie and his musical choices.  Some of you will be amazed to hear that I do actually listen to other artists (oh alright, it’s not often!) but a lot of the music I’ve discovered in the last couple of years has been driven by Alfie’s musical train.  So the next logical step was to write about it!

Looking through my iPod I now have music from Led Zeppelin, Bonnie Raitt, The Clint Boon Experience, The D’Oyly Carte, Emilia Mitiku, Laura Wright, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, John Owen-Jones, Ramin Karimloo, Al Vosper.  For me, this diverse group of artists has only one thing in common: Alfie Boe introduced me to them.

Obviously some are a lot more well known than others (I can just imagine the gasp of horror from Linda W at my only really listening to Led Zeppelin in the last year or so) and although I was aware of them I never considered listening to them until Alfie sang their songs or worked with them.  This is certainly the case with The Who and Quadrophenia which I listened to for the first time two weeks ago in preparation for Alfie Boe and Quadrophenia – I can honestly say that I really liked it and have listened to some of it again…and I didn’t have to!  It goes without saying that I prefer Alfie’s take on I’m One and Love Reigns O’er Me.

Alfie’s well known saying “there’s only two types of music, good and bad” has obviously rubbed off on me or maybe I’m just more willing to embrace new music as I find myself not only listening to but buying music I had previously discarded as being “not my thing”.  This is definitely the case with Clint Boon; I was not a fan of the Inspiral Carpets and wasn’t particularly keen to listen to the Clint Boon Experience albums even though Alfie was featured.  Of course, when I did listen, I liked it (and not just for Alfie!).  As I write this, the thought occurs that super fans can sometimes be categorised by their willingness to go and do whatever their favourite artist asks or mentions…I leave that with you for later discussion.

One of the joys of my musical education with Alfie has been finding out about extremely talented musicians who I would almost certainly never have heard of otherwise.  These include Laura Wright and John Owen-Jones who I have had the pleasure of interviewing and the awesome Al Vosper, Emilia Mitiku and Michael Boe.  They all produce the sort of music I have always listened to but I am absolutely sure their work would have passed me by without Alfie.

As always, I would love to hear about your musical education with Alfie – what do you now listen to that you didn’t before, or perhaps you have been drawn back to something you haven’t listened to for years?  Leave me a comment in the box!

I’ll leave you with one of my favourite songs from the Storyteller tour, Jimi Hendrix’s Angel (thanks to Linda W for sharing):

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Happy New Year! On This Day, 31 Dec 2013, Alfie Boe Sang…

…I’m sure that you don’t need reminding that it was Alfie Boe’s Best Live Song (as voted by you), Don’t Stop Me Now, on Gary Barlow’s New Year’s Eve Celebration:

What a great end / start to the year that was!

So, to round off the year, I’m looking back at my top ten thoughtsofjustafan moments (in no particular order) – hope you enjoy.

1 – Alfie’s best ever recorded song countdown – some great songs nominated (click here for the longlist) and while the      result was never really in doubt, some of the top ten were very unexpected.  This was my most commented on post      of the year!

2 – Michael Boe’s interview and the release of the track list for his next album – great news, Michael told me that him       and Sean will shortly be back in the studio!  The release of the track list was the 3rd most viewed post!

3 – Serenata – my favourite track changes all the time.  The first post about the new album was the 2nd most viewed        post this year, sandwiched between the Alfie on the Royal Variety Show and Michael’s new album.

4 – Caruso live at Newcastle (thanks Linda for sharing):

5 – Symfunny stage door – so lucky to be able to chat to relaxed Alfie!  But it was so cold…in June!

6 – Getting published on the Huffington Post UK!  Such a thrill!

7 – Hearing Addio Sogni di Gloria at Classic FM live (thanks Marcia for sharing):

8 – Quadrophenia on tour – roll on Royal Albert Hall next July:

9 – Laura Wright’s interview.

10 – Two (!!!) interviews from James Morgan – such a lovely man.

Last, but not least, thank you for all the support that you have given me since day one of this blog.  Thank you doesn’t seem adequate somehow but a huge big thank you hug for each and every one of you – some I’ve met, some I haven’t but your support is very much appreciated.  In particular, thanks to:

Debbie Bannigan for her unstinting support, encouragement and willingness to share her amazing fount of knowledge – thoughtsofjustafan truly would not exist in its current form without you xxx

Sue Black for sharing every single blog post ever published! xxx

Linda Wellington, Nikki Lewis, Marcia Studley for sharing their Alfie videos xxx

Carole Hunt for letting me use the banner photo of Alfie on the site xxx

Claire Smith and Michelle Keogh for sharing my Alfie survey on their facebook sites – and thanks to all who filled it in xxx

Cynthia Shepherd, Cecelia Powell, Linda McCann and Annie Lloyd for being my top commenters xxx

What are your top ten moments – leave me a comment!

Happy New Year to you all 

xx

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Merry Christmas – On This Day, 23 December 2007 Alfie Boe Sang…

I Wonder As I Wander on Songs of Praise:

Love this song and the intensity Alfie brings to it.  He later returned to this song for the MoTab Christmas Concert in 2012.  This arrangement, featured on Alfie’s Onward album, is by John Rutter, from a hymn collected and put together by John Jacob Niles in 1933.

If you haven’t yet seen it, Alfie Boe on Carols by Kindlelight is now available on Amazon Prime in the UK and is also available for Amazon US and Germany customers.  I highly recommend taking out membership (you can get one month’s free membership on trial from Amazon UK) to see this – Alfie is superb on his two songs, Hark the Herald Angels Sing and Elton John’s Step Into Christmas and you also get to see Sol3 Mio and Laura Wright sing two songs each as well.  In case you can’t see it, here is a clip of Hark the Herald Angels Sing:

Onward and the MoTab Christmas Concert are both available here:

Alfie onward

home for the holidays

 

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Alfie Boe – Carols by Kindlelight

Amazon UK customers can Click here for the chance to win tickets to Carols by Kindlelight, a concert on 4th December at Abbey Road Studios, London.  Alfie Boe will join Annie Lennox, Laura Wright and Sol3 Mio (fresh from supporting Alfie on the tour) at this exclusive event which will be filmed for Amazon Prime customers in the UK, US and Germany.  I guess I’ll be getting Amazon Prime then!

And as if this wasn’t exciting enough…it’s only 4 sleeps until the start of the tour!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As it’s almost the festive season, let’s look back at Alfie and Matt Lucas on the Bring Him Home tour (thanks to Jayne for sharing):

Alfie Boe’s new album Serenata is available now:

serenata

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