SalfordOnline.com Rating: 5 out of 5
Russell Watson has come a long way in the last 25 years, the local lad from Irlam first found fame on Piccadilly Radio’s search for a star having entered a heat in his local pub The Railway in Irlam.
He then spent 9 years doing the rounds of working men’s clubs throughout the North West before getting his big break in 1999.
His first album spent 52 weeks at number 1 in the classical charts here in the UK and concurrently in the US charts too.
Russell has become one of the world’s most prominent tenors and having released 9 studio albums to date with another in the making due for release at Christmas.
This show was different from the rest being a more personal guide through his journey from working in an engineering factory to the stage at The Lowry for this evening’s performance.
It was very relaxed and full of humour and there was plenty of audience participation.
Russell really is keen to keep these shows as intimate as can be, and he starts off by thanking us and saying how lovely the hall is.
And he isn’t faking it, Russell is the real deal; a genuinely decent bloke who, despite his 25 years in the business, is remarkably unjaded, and still truly grateful to his fans.
Gone has the cocksure young man we once knew replaced by a more mature and a more humble guy. One whom I personally like much more.
The first half included Russell’s more musical-based favourites, from The Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables, and some of his early numbers such as ‘Love on the Rocks’ these earned him the first of many standing ovations.
He managed to reduce me to tears when he sang ‘Bring Him Home’ and I don’t cry easily but it was very moving and powerful.
Then later when he mentioned his Mum was in the audience and sang ‘You Are So Beautiful’, everyone suddenly had a speck in their eye.
It was lovely to see his daughters there too excitedly supporting their father. One was reduced to tears when Russell sang ‘You Raise Me Up’ my friend and I were convinced it was meant especially for her.
There were treats in store. Now joined on stage by the Altrincham Choral Society Choir, Russell and his accompanying musicians (all individually and collectively superb) stunned us with ‘O Sole Mio’, ‘Toreodor’ and ‘Nessum Dorma’, while guest singer, chart-topping beautiful soprano and knockout blonde bombshell Rebecca Newman, was simply stunning. Their duet of ‘The Prayer’ was a match made in heaven.
Suffice it to stay, there were a few encores and plenty of standing ovations too. We just couldn’t let him go.
If this night proved anything, it is that people still crave the intimacy of smaller gigs for good reason, and that goes for both audiences and performers alike.
I hope you enjoyed it as much as we all did, Russell.
I for one most certainly hope his journey gets much easier, that he can continue to entertain us in his own wonderful style for many years to come.
