Russell Watson has enjoyed a career that has so far spanned over a decade and seen him score hit album after hit album.
Later this month he will release his new record Anthems which sees him tackle some of our most loved patriotic songs such as Jerusalem and Land of Hope and Glory.
I caught up with the singer to talk about the new album, getting back in the road and we find out just how patriotic he is.
- You are about to release your new album Anthems so what can Russell Watson fans expect from the record this time around?
Well it’s a celebration of everything British. Everyone’s feeling, well I hope everyone’s feeling, extra patriotic this year with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the focus of the world on the UK because of the Olympics and England have made it through to European Championships, not quite as exciting as all the rest because they will probably lose, and this is my tip of the hat to everything that is going on in the UK this year.
It’s a celebration of great British music over the years as we have likes Jerusalem, Land of Hope & Glory, Swing Low Sweet Chariot, White Cliffs of Dover with Dame Vera Lynn all the way through to Flower of Scotland and Danny Boy - I can’t believe I remember I remembered all that without looking at a piece of paper.
- Obviously the album ties in nicely with the Jubilee and the Olympics but what made you want to record this type of album? Is this something that you have wanted to do for a while or was it an idea from the record label?
It was my idea in all fairness and it was just honing in on the fact that there is going to be a real sense of patriotism in the UK this year.
But this is material that I have been singing in concert for quite a few years, I have done a lot of the Last Night of the Proms style concerts where I have been singing Jerusalem and Rule Britannia and that sort of repertoire, but I have never recorded any of it.
So this just seemed like a good time to make that record and I have thoroughly enjoyed it as well. But it has also been good for me as it has allowed me to make a record that isn’t predominately Italian based.
- Well you have touched on my next question really you are best known as a classical artist so how great is it for you to be able to move away from that genre slightly and show yourself in a different light?
I think that the last record was all Italian repertoire and, if I am being honest, that wouldn’t have been my choice but I was kind of swayed by the record label on the last record as to what went on it.
But with this album I have had more say about what has gone on it, which has been nice.
It’s nice to sing in English because I understand what I am singing and so do the audience (laughs) unless they are Italian.
The great thing about singing Italian is it is so lyrical and the words just flow of out your mouth and off your tongue so that is what is extra special about it.
- The album mixes traditional anthems such as Swing Low Sweet Chariot and Land Of Hope and Glory with more pop records such as Proud and We Are The Champions so how did you decide what made the album? Do you have a personal favourite?
I don’t have a favourite but I do really like how the Swing Low Sweet Chariot track has turned out and I have a special place in my heart for the Dame Vera Lynn track and I am pleased at how that has turned out.
We Are The Champions was one of the suggestions from the label and I have to be honest I approached it was a certain amount of scepticism because it is Queen holy grail. I am very dubious when I record songs that are stereotypically and specifically linked with specific artists, particularly the likes of Freddie Mercury and his legendary status as an artist.
But we put it together and it is different from the original and I am really pleased with the way that it came out, it I hadn’t have felt comfortable with the way it turned out it wouldn’t have ended up on the record because you can’t cover a Queen song and not do it justice.
There might be people that listen to the track and think ‘god that’s awful’ but I am happy with the way that it has come out and most people who have heard it so far have said that they really like it. - You are about to hit the road with a new tour so how much are you looking forward to getting back out there and performing live?
There is nothing that I love more than being on the road and performing live. All the other that goes on in between that people don’t know about in the music industry and there is a hell of a lot of stuff that goes on and red tape to cut through and business takes up so much of your time so when you get down to doing what it is that you do that’s when it really starts to get exciting.
I am really looking forward to getting back on the road again. It’s not my usual tour as it’s Raymond Gubbay Presents Russell Watson, the big tour is going to be next year where we do twenty five or thirty dates, this is a series of seven or eight concerts in total.
- And what can those people with a ticket expect from the show - is it set to be a mix between the classical and the new album?
I guess the new album is classically orientated with the likes of Jerusalem and Land of Hope and Glory, pomp and circumstance, so it’s going to be the great British repertoire, I will probably throw in a few of the old classics as well.
But it will be predominantly flag waving; bring your flags, bring your banners and your voices so we can have a good sing song and join in. It’s going to be a fun tour this time around.
- I saw you perform in Salford Quays last year so how much is Manchester/Salford still a very special place for you to perform live?
I did two concerts this week at the MEN Arena the Coronation Street: Street of Dreams premiere and the response I got when I walked out on stage were absolutely amazing - it’s very touching.
There is a lot of warmth towards me and it’s lovely walking out on stage when you get that sort of reaction because for me that is real and that is what I got into the music industry for and that is what counts.
- You have also recently been part of Coronation Street - Street of Dreams so can you tell me how you got involved in that?
Well they contacted me and they wanted me… I don’t know they obviously had a hit list of who they wanted involved in the show and maybe Alfie Boe and Paul Potts weren’t available (laughs) so they rang me.
- Having seen you on TV talking about the show you did seem to be excited about being part of the whole Coronation Street legacy.
I am excited about everything that I do, when you have been through two life threatening illnesses and nearly died and then you are walking on a stage and doing something that you love and being paid for it it is very exciting.
I love what I do and I love positivity in my life. I am delighted to be alive and still doing what it is that I love.
I hate negative people and I can’t abide negativity and I haven’t got time for time wasters I just love getting out on stage and doing what I do as I get a real kick and a thrill out of it.
When I am alive and thriving is when I am doing what I enjoy.
- You have touched on your health problems and I don't want to dwell too much on the problems that you have had with your health but how are you?
I am very good thank you. I am five years down the line now and I haven’t had a problem, I am in a very small bracket of survivors: I think it’s about 15% of people who manage to get past five years without any repercussions.
So I am very lucky and very fortunate to still be here. I am loving life and I am a very lucky man.
There are times, like all of us, where your head drops a bit and you start feeling sorry for yourself and I just ‘come on Russ bloody hell for or five years ago you were lying on a bed having 25 blasts of radiotherapy with your hair falling out’. Life is good and I appreciate what I have.
- And you have enjoyed a career that has spanned over a decade you have had a string of hit albums, not just here but in the Stares as well, so what else would you like to achieve?
My main ambition in life is life is about getting the balance right in every aspect of what you do. Business is something I don’t like but I have to do because if you are not a businessman in this industry then you won’t last five minutes and then family life is incredibly important to me and so I like to get a balance between my career and my family.
Obviously my career is crucial to me but not as crucial as it was six or seven years ago when it was about striving all the time to be there and be on everything and be at the opening of an envelope.
Now it’s a bit more like ’no I don’t want to do that’ and the music industry doesn’t accept the word no it like ‘what do you mean you are not doing that?’ So that can be difficult.
But striking that balance is difficult and the point that I am getting to is the thing that is most important to me in my life and that is happiness, and that is it. My whole life revolves around that and if you don’t have that then you don’t have much - it’s important to be happy in life.
- You have a very patriotic album so do you consider yourself to be a patriotic person? And how much are you looking forward to the Olympics and the football this summer?
I am a big sports fan and I cannot wait for the Olympics. I am looking forward to the football but I don’t think that England will do particularly well because they never do.
It’s a bit like me singing my Italian stuff to the public and they don’t understand what I am singing and I just wonder how the England football team have managed to understand Fabio Capello for the last few years, maybe that’s why they haven’t done so well. So maybe who can speak the language to them might improve things, hopefully.
But I am looking forward do the football and the Olympics but I am also looking forward to the Diamond Jubilee as well. I am quite patriotic as I am an ambassador for the Prince’s Trust so I have had a lot to do with the Royal Family; I have done various bits and bobs for them over the years.
I did something recently for the Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace and I have done something not so long back for the Queen and a celebration of a hundred years of British music and pop culture. I am quite patriotic and I am proud of our nation’s history.
- Finally what's coming up for you for the rest of 2012?
It’s going to be promoting this record I think for most of the year. I am off to Asia later in the year.
And I am doing a huge performance in a few weeks in Washington and I am doing a performance on Capital Hill just in front of the White House and it will televised across the whole of the United States for Memorial Day, it’s their equivalent to Remembrance Day. I am very excited about that and I will be singing two songs for that.
Russell Watson’s new album Anthems is released 28th May
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Click to buy: Russell Watson - Anthems CD £10.99
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