Michael Ball Biography
27 July 1962, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. After spending his early life in Plymouth, this popular actor and singer studied at the Guildford School of Drama in Surrey before embarking on what has been, even by modern standards, a meteoric rise to fame. His first professional job was in the chorus of Godspell on a tour of Wales, after which he auditioned for a Manchester production of The Pirates Of Penzance - again for the chorus. Much to his surprise, he was given a leading role alongside Paul Nicholas and Bonnie Langford. In 1985, Ball created the role of Marius in the smash-hit musical Les Misérables at the Palace Theatre in London, and introduced one of the show's outstanding numbers, "Empty Chairs At Empty Tables". He subsequently took over the role of Raoul, opposite Sarah Brightman, in The Phantom Of The Opera, and then toured with her in the concert presentation of The Music Of Andrew Lloyd Webber.
In 1989 Ball's career really took off when he played Alex, a role that called for him to age from 17 to 40, in the same composer's Aspects Of Love. He was also in the 1990 Broadway production. Ball took the show's hit ballad, "Love Changes Everything", to number 2 in the UK chart, and had modest success with one of the others, the poignant "The First Man You Remember" (with Diana Morrison). Further national recognition came his way when he was contracted (for a reported £100,000) to sing all six of the UK's entries for the 1992 Eurovision Song Contest on the top-rated Wogan television show. He came second with the chosen song, "One Step Out Of Time", which just entered the UK Top 20. In the same year he embarked on an extensive tour of the UK, playing many top venues such as the London Palladium and the Apollo, Hammersmith. He surprised many people with his lively stage presence and a well-planned programme that catered for most tastes and included rock 'n' roll, standards such as "Stormy Weather", "You Made Me Love You", and "New York, New York", and the inevitable show songs. The following year saw more concerts, the release of Ball's version of the title song from Sunset Boulevard (he was tipped for the lead at one time), and his participation in a new studio recording of West Side Story, with Barbara Bonney, La Verne Williams, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. However, the highlight of the year was his own six-part television series, which gave him the opportunity to sing with artists, including Cliff Richard, Dionne Warwick, Ray Charles, Monserrat Caballe and Tammy Wynette. A second television series followed in 1994, along with yet more touring, and on 8 October 1995 Ball recreated his original role of Marius for the 10th anniversary concert staging of Les Misérables at London's Royal Albert Hall. In the following year he played Giorgio to Maria Friedman's Fosca in Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's musical, Passion. In April 1998, he featured prominently in Andrew Lloyd Webber - The Royal Albert Hall Celebration, a concert held in London to mark the composer's 50th birthday, and a month or so later was on the Barbican stage in the all-star charity tribute, Sondheim Tonight. Ball gave his gender-bending version of "Broadway Baby". On record, Ball has enjoyed modest success with "It's Still You", "If I Can Dream (EP)", "From Here To Eternity", "The Lovers We Were", "The Rose", and "(Something Inside) So Strong", while his first album topped the UK chart in 1992.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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