Richard & Adam
Richard & Adam grabbed everyone’s attention on Britain’s Got Talent as they finished third earlier this year.
Now the duo are back with their debut album The Impossible Dream; a record that sees them tackle some of the best-known tracks and put their own spin on them.
We caught up with them to chat about the debut album, their experience on Britain’s Got Talent and what lies ahead.
- You are about to release your debut album The Impossible Dream so what can fans expect from this new record?
Adam: This album is really what Richard and I love doing, and that is a bit of classical music. It is a bit of a crossover as we have one Spanish song on there; two Italian and the rest are English.
We have also got some Les Miserables on there; we love a bit of Les Mis, and we have seen that show a few times. It is always nice to sing to a different language as it is a different experience.
Richard: The title track is The Impossible Dream, and that says it all really.
- This is an album of very well known songs such as Bring Him Home, Ava Maria and Unchained Melody so can you talk about how you chose the songs for this record?
Adam: We sat down as a team with Sony and discussed the record. Richard and I have always sung a wide variety of songs and play around with things; we would sing things like the Righteous Brothers but in our own classical way.
So when we sat down with Sony, they chucked some ideas and us, and we chucked some ideas at them. It worked together really well as they really allowed us to do what we wanted with this album.
They have helped us a lot with this album as well. The songs that we picked are songs that we love and songs that we truly felt that we could get the most out of.
- Sony suggested a few ideas for tracks, as you say, so did they suggest any songs that perhaps you hadn’t thought of?
Richard: Yeah, they came up with The Power of Love and The Winner Takes It All; initially, you wouldn’t think that they were something that you can do classically.
But when they said The Winner Takes It All, it reminded me of the Il Divo version, which we have in the car, and I went to listen to that, and it is absolutely amazing.
Also The Power of Love is another amazing song when it is done with an orchestra in that way. So there were a couple of ideas from them that we absolutely loved.
We really liked the ideas that they were going for and that was what we wanted to achieve; something that is a little bit different but something quite up to date.
- These are well known tracks as I said so how nerve-wracking was it taking them on? And how easy a process was it putting your own style on them?
Adam: It was really fine doing that with this album as we had the greatest people and had the best time. It was amazing working in the studio and hearing the tracks back every day, and seeing it all come together.
I suppose on some of the songs a classical turn wouldn’t work but Sony being as good as they are they knew what would work and what wouldn’t work. The songs that they picked for us were the right songs. Fingers crossed the public love it when the album comes out.
- How did you find the whole process of getting into the studio and recording this album?
Richard: For us, it was amazing because we haven’t had any sort of musical training, and we have always tried to learn as we go; we would research things on the internet. It was amazing to work with professional musicians, a professional company and a professional team that deals with music.
It was really interesting to get some really constructive advice on what we should be singing, the styles and how different notes can be sung. It was just a great being able to take all of that on board, and it made it a great experience for us both.
- Who has served as producer?
Richard: It was Graham Stack. It was absolutely amazing getting the chance to work with him. He is the most down to earth, and the nicest person that we have ever met. He was just so nice. He was really supportive and patient. He was absolutely brilliant every step of the way.
Going into the studio to record this album, we were extremely nervous, and we just wanted to do the best, but he made it a really relaxed situation; it was almost like we were singing in our bedroom at home. It was absolutely brilliant and we just loved the whole experience.
- Everyone will know you from this year's Britain's Got Talent so what made you want to go on the show?
Adam: When we performed in the past people would always say ‘you should go on Britain’s Got Talent’. We applied for Britain’s Got Talent quite late because with working in mum’s shop and going some gigs, we just lost track of time.
But when we eventually sent off for it, we found out that they had already finished the auditions, so we couldn’t do it. But then I discovered that there was a last minute audition tent in Morrisons in Liverpool, so we just went for it.
At the end of the day it is such an amazing experience and being on TV just exposes you to such a large audience. It has given us that fantastic platform that we have always needed.
- Your time on the show was hugely successful coming third - so how would you sum up your time on there when you look back on it now?
Richard: AllI think we would sum it up as a great life experience and something that we will always have with us. All of a sudden, you are in a professional environment and every day you have something new to do, somewhere to be or something to learn, and it was really nice for us to be on that journey and to work in that way. It was great for us both, and we really loved every single second of it.
Getting on that stage every single night and performing those songs was amazing. Having the professional support as well with choosing the songs and making the music was just brilliant. The whole experience was absolutely out of this world.
- What have you taken away from being on the show that you will be able to take forward as you launch your music careers?
Richard: The main thing would be performing on a stage on live telly; it is not something that you often have the chance to do. Today we have performed on QVC, and that was another new experience for us.
We are here to grow and learn as artists, work as hard as we possibly can and to do the best as we possibly can. We just want to have a long a career as possible.
- Since the final, you have signed with Sony Music so what made you go with that label?
Adam: Sony is very much involved with the show, and they are a fantastic international company. We couldn’t have any better support as they have just been incredible from day one.
- Are there other live shows in the pipeline?
Richard: We are actually talking about doing a tour in February; that is just another dream of ours. Every step of the way we have done TV, album and now a tour, and it is just unbelievable.
- So where did your love of music start? And what music were you listening to as you were growing up?
Richard: When we were growing up, we were always listening to what was fashionable at the time; so pop music and stuff like that. We use to go down to Nan’s house for the summer holidays, and while we were down there we would listen to musicals such as Carousel, Sound of Music and Phantom of the Opera, and we would learn them while we were down there.
So we started to develop a bit of a passion for it - never thinking that we could ever sing that style of music. As we got more and more into it, we grew a bit of a passion for opera and popera; which is a mixture of the two. It was something that we never expected to enjoy as much as we do.
- You have an ever growing fanbase so for any of them reading this interview do you have a message for them?
Adam: We would like to thank everyone for their support as we couldn’t do this without that support, and the votes that they gave us on Britain’s Got Talent. We will keep working hard, and we hope that they enjoy everything that we do.
- Finally, what is next for you going through the rest of this year?
Adam: Well, we have got the album coming out and so that is our big focus at the moment. There is talk of a tour in February next year. We stood in the Olympic Stadium yesterday; we did QVC this morning...
Richard: Every week there is another amazing gig; there are great venues coming up every week. If we can stay on that path, we will be absolutely over the moon.
Richard & Adam - The Impossible Dream is out now.
Tagged in Richard & Adam