A regular face on British stage and television, performer Michael Ball was born in 1962 in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, U.K. Moving to South West England when he was three, Ball grew up learning to sing along to records by Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra. After an unhappy stint at boarding school in his teens, where he discovered his love of Shakespeare during school holidays, Ball went on to study at the Guilford School of Acting. Graduating in 1984, his first role was in the Aberystwyth Arts Centre's production of Godspell, but his major break came a year later when he took on the role of Frederick in the Manchester Opera House's production of The Pirates of Penzance. Ball secured his first West End role playing Marius in Les Misérables, and two years later, in 1987, he took over the role of Raoul in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera at the request of Cameron Mackintosh. A performance in Aspects of Love in 1989 -- on both sides of the Atlantic -- saw Ball's popularity grow, and with the release of the single "Love Changes Everything" from the show -- which went on to reach number two on the U.K. singles chart -- he became a household name. 

After a few not-so-successful follow-up singles, Ball was chosen to represent the U.K. in the 1992 Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden. Coming in at a respectable second place, the track "One Step Out of Time" would pave the way for his debut album. His self-titled release reached the top of the U.K. album chart, and Always (1993), One Careful Owner (1994), and First Love (1996) all reached the U.K. Top Ten. Returning to the stage in 2002 as Caractacus Potts in the West End production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Ball would continue to wow audiences with his performances and went on to take the lead role in the 2007 production of Hairspray, earning the 2008 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of Edna Turnblad. Splitting his time between stage, radio, and a recording career, Ball continued to release albums throughout the noughties, most notably 2005's Music and 2007’s Back to Bacharach. 

In 2011, he released Heroes, a collection of covers featuring songs that had inspired him to become a performer. Both Sides Now followed in 2013 and featured a reworked version -- performed with Il Divo -- of his original breakthrough hit "Love Changes Everything." Ball returned at the end of 2014 with the album If Everyone Was Listening..., which brought together 15 of his favorite songs. The release saw him joined by vocal harmony group the Overtones on the track "Let It Be Me," originally recorded by the Everly Brothers. In 2016 he released Together, a collaborative effort with close friend and tenor singer Alfie Boe, that featured performances of classics from Broadway shows. The album was a huge success, going to number one in the U.K., and the pair toured nationwide that winter, performing sold-out shows at some of the country's most prestigious music venues. The popularity of the album and tour led to a follow-up, Together Again, released the following year. After the success of both duet albums with Boe, Ball decided to head into the studio to record his first solo album in over four years. Bringing together a handful of classics from over the years, the album includes material written by Ball himself. The result, Coming Home to You, was issued at the beginning of 2019. That same year, Ball reunited with Boe once again for the release of Back Together, on which they took on a collection of standards, contemporary pop, and show tunes before heading out on tour in support of the release in 2020. 

With the COVID-19 pandemic putting a stop to touring, Ball continued to work on his BBC Radio 2 show, while also teaming up with the war veteran Captain Tom Moore -- who had raised nearly £40 million for the British NHS in his own right -- to record a cover of "You'll Never Walk Alone." Upon release the single went straight into the U.K. charts at number one, giving Ball his first-ever U.K. chart-topping single; Moore was the oldest person, at age 99, to have a number one hit. The track went on to raise more money for the NHS. During the various U.K. lockdowns, Ball started to write new material -- inspired by his work for charity and community -- as well as learning to record and produce. Teaming up with Amy Wadge and Liz Rose, the three started to remotely put together an album that would feature Ball's own material alongside a few covers. The album We Are More Than One was issued in May 2021. ~ Rich Wilson, Rovi

Michael Ball

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