Fatboy Slim

Fatboy Slim

Norman Quentin Cook[1] (born Quentin Leo Cook; 31 July 1963),[2] also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is an English DJ, musician, and record producer[3] who helped to popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist for the Hull-based indie rock band The Housemartins, who achieved a UK number-one single with their a cappella cover of "Caravan of Love". After the Housemartins split, Norman Cook formed the electronic band Beats International in Brighton, who produced the number-one single "Dub Be Good to Me". Cook then played in Freak Power, Pizzaman, and the Mighty Dub Katz with moderate success.

In 1996, Cook adopted the name Fatboy Slim and released Better Living Through Chemistry to critical acclaim. Follow-up albums You've Come a Long Way, Baby, Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars, and Palookaville, as well as singles such as "The Rockafeller Skank", "Praise You", "Right Here, Right Now", "Weapon of Choice", and "Wonderful Night", achieved commercial and critical success. In 2008, Cook formed The Brighton Port Authority with David Byrne.[4] Cook has been responsible for successful remixes for Cornershop, Beastie Boys, A Tribe Called Quest, Groove Armada, and Wildchild. In 2010, in partnership with Byrne, he released the concept album Here Lies Love. Cook holds the Guinness World Record for the most top 40 hits under different names. As a solo act, he has won ten MTV Video Music Awards and two Brit Awards.

Cook was born in Bromley, Kent. He was raised in Reigate, Surrey, and educated at Reigate Grammar School. He grew up with a love of music. When he was 14, his brother brought home the first album from the punk band The Damned, which turned him onto that genre; he started attending gigs at "the Greyhound" pub in Croydon and playing in punk bands.[5] He played drums in Disque Attack, a British new wave-influenced rock band. When frontman Charlie Alcock was told by his parents that he had to give up the band to concentrate on his O levels, Cook took over as lead vocalist. At The Railway Tavern in Reigate, Cook met Paul Heaton, with whom he formed the Stomping Pondfrogs.

At 18, Cook went to Brighton Polytechnic to read a B.A. in English, politics, and sociology, where he achieved a 2:1 in the British Studies honours course. Although he had begun DJing some years before, it was at this time that he began to develop his skills on the thriving Brighton club scene, regularly appearing at the Brighton Belle and the students' favourite The Basement, where known as DJ Quentox he began laying the base for Brighton's hip hop scene.

1985–1995: The Housemartins to The Mighty Dub Katz

In 1985, Cook's friend Paul Heaton had formed a guitar band called The Housemartins. Their bassist left on the eve of their first national tour, so Cook agreed to move to Hull to join them. The band soon had a hit single with "Happy Hour", and their two albums, London 0 Hull 4 and The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death, peaked in the Top 10 of the UK Albums Chart.[6] They also reached number one just before Christmas 1986 with a version of "Caravan of Love", originally a hit the year before for Isley-Jasper-Isley.[6] However, by 1988 they had split up. Heaton and the band's drummer Dave Hemingway went on to form The Beautiful South, while Cook moved back to Brighton to pursue his interest in the style of music he preferred. It was at this time that he first started working with young studio engineer Simon Thornton, with whom he continues to make records. All of Cook's records released from that point onwards have involved both of them to varying degrees (Thornton is credited in 2004 as "Executive Producer", for example).

Cook achieved his first solo hit in 1989, featuring his future Beats International member MC Wildski, called "Blame It on the Bassline". Credited to "Norman Cook feat. MC Wildski", the song followed the basic template of what was to come in the style of the music of Beats International. It became a modest hit in the UK Singles Chart, reaching number 29.

Cook formed Beats International, a loose confederation of studio musicians including vocalists Lindy Layton and Lester Noel, rappers D.J. Baptiste and MC Wildski, and keyboardist Andy Boucher. Their first album, Let Them Eat Bingo, included the number one single "Dub Be Good to Me", which caused a legal dispute revolving around allegations of infringement of copyright through the liberal use of unauthorised samples: the bassline was a note-for-note lift from "The Guns of Brixton" by The Clash and the lyrics borrowed heavily from "Just Be Good to Me" by The S.O.S. Band. This bankrupted Cook as he lost the case and was ordered to pay back twice the royalties made on the record. The 1991 follow-up album Excursion on the Version, an exploration of dub and reggae music, failed to repeat the success of its predecessor, as it did not chart.

Cook then formed Freak Power with horn player Ashley Slater and singer Jesse Graham. They released their debut album Drive-Thru Booty in 1994, which contained the single "Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out". The cut was picked up by the Levi's company for use in a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign. In 1996, Cook re-joined Freak Power for their second album, More of Everything for Everybody.

Cook enlisted help from producer friends Tim Jeffery and JC Reid to create a house music album as Pizzaman. The 1995 Pizzamania album spawned three UK Top 40 hits: "Trippin' on Sunshine", "Sex on the Streets", and "Happiness". "Happiness" was picked up by the Del Monte Foods corporation for use in a UK fruit juice ad. The music videos for the three singles were all directed by Michael Dominic.

Cook also formed the group The Mighty Dub Katz along with Gareth Hansome (aka GMoney), Cook's former flatmate. Together they started the Boutique Nightclub in Brighton, formerly known as the Big Beat Boutique. Their biggest song together was "Magic Carpet Ride".

1996–2008: Fatboy Slim

Cook adopted the pseudonym Fatboy Slim in 1996. Cook says of the name: "It doesn't mean anything. I've told so many different lies over the years about it I can't actually remember the truth. It's just an oxymoron – a word that can't exist. It kind of suits me – it's kind of goofy and ironic."[7]

The Fatboy Slim album and Cook's second solo album, Better Living Through Chemistry (released through Skint Records in the UK and through Astralwerks in the US), contained the Top 40 UK hit "Everybody Needs a 303". Fatboy Slim's next work was the single "The Rockafeller Skank", released prior to the album You've Come a Long Way, Baby, both of which were released in 1998. "Praise You", also from this album, was Cook's first UK solo number one. Its music video, starring Spike Jonze, won numerous awards.[8] On 9 September 1999, he performed "Praise You" at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards in New York City, and won three awards, including the award for Breakthrough Video.[9]

In 2000, Fatboy Slim released his third studio album, Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars, and featured two collaborations with Macy Gray and "Weapon of Choice", which also was made into an award-winning music video, starring Christopher Walken.[10] The album also included "Sunset (Bird of Prey)," whose socially significant video sampled the 1964 "Daisy Girl" campaign ad.[citation needed] At the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards in New York, Fatboy Slim won six awards for "Weapon of Choice", the most awards at the ceremony.[11][12]

In 2003, he produced "Crazy Beat" and "Gene by Gene" from the Blur album Think Tank, and in 2004, Palookaville was Cook's first studio album for four years.

Fatboy Slim's greatest hits album, Why Try Harder, was released on 19 June 2006. It comprises eighteen tracks, including ten Top 40 singles, a couple of Number Ones and two exclusive new tracks – "Champion Sound" and "That Old Pair of Jeans".

In 2006, Cook travelled to Cuba, and wrote and produced two original Cuban crossover tracks for the album The Revolution Presents: Revolution, which was released by Studio ! K7 and Rapster Records in 2009. The tracks were called "Shelter" (which featured long term collaborator Lateef); and "Siente Mi Ritmo", featuring Cuba's top female vocal group Sexto Sentido. The recordings took place in Cuba's legendary EGREM Studios, home of the Buena Vista Social Club, and featured a band made up of Cuba's top young musicians, including Harold Lopez Nussa. Another track recorded during these sessions entitled "Guaguanco" was released separately under the Mighty Dub Katz moniker in 2006.

2008–2012: The Brighton Port Authority

The Brighton Port Authority debuted in 2008 with a collaboration with David Byrne and Dizzee Rascal titled "Toe Jam", along with a music video featuring nude dancers with censor bars on them, making pictures and words with them.

The soundtrack album for the TV series Heroes also includes The Brighton Port Authority's track "He's Frank (Slight Return)" (a cover of a song by The Monochrome Set), with Iggy Pop as vocalist. The video for this track features a near life size puppet of Iggy Pop. An alternative club version was released under the "He's Frank (Washing Up)" title with the video featuring some footage of Iggy Pop acting and saying lyrics.

The band's debut album, I Think We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat, is the first to be co-produced by Cook's longtime engineer Simon Thornton, who also sings on one track. The album was released 6 January 2009 exclusively at Amazon.com on CD, with downloadable format and other stores scheduled for a month later on 3 February.

Cook released a mix album in 2010 titled The Legend Returns as a covermount album in the June 2010 issue of Mixmag. Cook returned as Fatboy Slim when performing at Ultra Music Festival in Miami in March 2012.

On 12 August 2012 he performed Rockefeller Skank and Right Here, Right Now at the 2012 Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony, and on 1 September Cook performed at Brighton Pride.[13]

Russell Howard

Russell Howard

Russell Joseph Howard (born 23 March 1980)[1] is an English comedian, television presenter, radio presenter and actor, best known for his TV shows Russell Howard's Good News and The Russell Howard Hour and his appearances on the topical panel TV show Mock the Week. He won "Best Compère" at the 2006 Chortle Awards and was nominated for an if.comedy award for his 2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe show. Howard cited comedians Lee Evans, Richard Pryor and Frank Skinner as influences

Early life

Russell was born in Bristol, England to Dave and Ninette Howard. He has two younger siblings, twins Kerry and Daniel (born 1982).[3] Daniel has epilepsy, to which Howard sometimes refers during his act.

Howard attended Bedford Modern School,[4] Perins School in New Alresford and Alton College. He later studied economics at the University of the West of England in Bristol.[5]

Career

TV and radio work

In 2004 he was commissioned by BBC Radio 1 to write, sing and perform on the comedy series The Milk Run. Howard has also appeared on the shows Banter (hosted by Andrew Collins) and Political Animal for BBC Radio 4.[6]

Until 2010, Howard was a regular panellist on Mock the Week. He has also appeared on 8 Out of 10 Cats, Would I Lie to You?, Live at the Apollo, The Secret Policeman's Ball 2008, Law of the Playground and Never Mind the Buzzcocks (Series 18, Episode 2 and Series 20, Episode 4).[7]

He was one of several comedians picked as the best comedy talent from the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe that recorded 10–15-minute spots for the "Edinburgh and Beyond" show which was aired on Paramount Comedy 1 in the autumn of 2006. The show was filmed at the Bloomsbury Theatre. From 2009, he took over as compère of this show from Al Murray.[8]

From November 2006 to July 2008, Russell co-hosted The Russell Howard Show on BBC 6 Music with fellow comedian Jon Richardson in a Sunday morning slot previously hosted by Russell Brand.[9][10] The show continued to air, without Howard, until March 2010. He has since explained that his main reason for leaving the show was that he finds radio "really restrictive" and "I gorge off the audience as a performer, but you can't gauge a reaction on the radio."[11]

Russell was commissioned to make a comedy show called Russell Howard's Good News, aimed at under-25s, for BBC Three. The first episode aired on 22 October 2009 and the show ran for seven episodes as well as a "best of" show and a Christmas Special. It went on to become BBC Three's highest ever rating entertainment series.[12][13] In the show, he gave his take on the week's major news stories, as well as giving attention to some of the more light-hearted stories of the week. Two more series of the show were commissioned, with the second series starting on 25 March 2010.[14] A seventh series began on 27 September 2012 on BBC Three. Series 8 began on 25 April 2013 on BBC Three, and series 9 started broadcast in its new home on BBC Two in October 2014.

Russell Howard's Good News was voted the Best Ever BBC Three show on 9 February 2013[15] as part of the channel's 10th birthday celebrations.[16]

Howard made his United States television debut on the 3 August 2011 episode of Conan. Howard guest-hosted the second episode of the 27th series of Never Mind the Buzzcocks on 30 September 2013.

In November 2013 Howard made a surprise appearance in the North East market town Barnard Castle to preview his latest tour show, Wonderbox.[17]

From 2015 to 2016, Howard presented a show called Russell Howard's Stand Up Central which broadcasts on Comedy Central. However, in 2017 due to tour commitments, Howard was unable to present the show's third series and was replaced by Chris Ramsey.[18] In 2015 he appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon where he performed some stand-up.

In December 2015, Howard made his acting debut in BBC Two's hour-long comedy-drama A Gert Lush Christmas, which he also co-wrote. In the film, Howard played Dan Colman, who takes his girlfriend to meet his family in Bristol for Christmas. The film also co-starred Howard's sister Kerry, who played Dan's sister Julie. On 10 March 2016, Howard appeared on the BBC 1 panel show Room 101.

In March 2016 Howard attacked Conservative MP Philip Davies on his BBC show calling him an "arsehole", "windbag", "wanker" and a "toad-faced hypocrite", accusing the MP of filibustering (talking out a bill). Davies complained on the grounds of "inaccuracy" and "misrepresentation" and the BBC was forced to publish in the Clarifications and Corrections section of the BBC website stating "Davies did not personally use up all the time available for the debate and that almost three hours remained after he sat down". Howard was also found to have misrepresented Davies' views on the disabled and the BBC noted "that the programme did not fully represent his comments, which were, that it would be in the best interests of disabled people, and others, to be allowed to offer to work for less than the minimum wage, if the alternative were no employment at all". The broadcaster also agreed not to air the episode again due to their misrepresentation of Davies' position.[19] The BBC Trust later rejected a further escalation of the complaint by Davies[20]

Starting in October 2016, Howard presented a travel documentary series for Comedy Central called Russell Howard & Mum: USA Road Trip which involved him and his mother Ninette travelling through America.[21]

On 29 November 2016, it was announced that Howard would write and star in a 14-part weekly comedy series entitled The Russell Howard Hour on Sky One in 2017, as part of a two-year deal with Sky.[22] The series began on 21 September 2017.

Live comedy

A show from his 2007 Adventures tour was released on DVD on 17 November 2008,[23] under the title "Russell Howard Live". The show on the DVD was recorded at The Bloomsbury Theatre.[24]

Howard started touring for his show Dingledodies in September 2008 and played various dates through to December. Due to overwhelming demand he further extended the tour twice into 2009. It sold in excess of 125,000 tickets,[25] including three sell-out shows at the Hammersmith Apollo as well as several large arenas such as Wembley Arena and Manchester's MEN Arena. The DVD of this tour was released on 9 November 2009[26] and features a recording of the show from the Brighton Dome.[25]

Howard was named "Best Theatre Show" at the 2009 Chortle Comedy Awards.[27] Howard appeared in UK dates in December 2009 for his "Big Rooms and Belly Laughs" tour.[28] Right Here Right Now, his 2011 arena tour, sold out.

The Independent reported that Howard earned £4 million in 2009 alone,[29] which he denies.[30]

On 23 April 2013 Howard confirmed that he would be performing a stand-up tour called Wonderbox starting in February 2014 with dates in Britain, Ireland, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.[31] The tour was released on DVD in November 2014. This was further extended to include more UK dates in December 2014.

In November 2015, Howard announced that he would be doing a fifth stand-up tour in February to July 2017 called Round The World where he would tour the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and America. In advance of the tour, Howard planned to memorise the capital city of every country in the world alphabetically, in order to recite the full list at the start of each performance.[32]

From September 2019 to September 2020, Howard will do his sixth stand-up tour Respite where he will tour the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe, Canada, America, Australia and New Zealand.[33]

Personal life

When Howard’s career began to take off, he took up residence in Leamington Spa.[34][35][36][37] Howard now lives in Camden, London with his wife Cerys, a doctor, and their dog, a Jack Russell Terrier named Archie.[38][39] On Alan Carr's Christmas Cracker on Christmas Day 2018, Howard confirmed that he would be getting married in 2019; the wedding took place in June 2019.

Howard appeared at Friends of the Earth's LIVEstock comedy and music event at the Hammersmith Apollo in support of the green campaign group's Food Chain Campaign for planet-friendly farming, on 12 November 2009.

Since he was ten, Howard has supported Liverpool F.C..[40] He has said that he is "deadly serious" about football.[41] "I still go down the pub and play football with my mates", he commented in 2010.[41]

In April 2010, Howard ran the London Marathon for the first time with both his brother and sister, to raise money for Epilepsy Society. He completed the 26-mile course in 4 hours and 15 minutes, beating his target time of 5 hours. Sponsorship has raised over £7,000 to date.[42]

For Sport Relief 2010 he took part in the BT Sport Relief Million Pound Bike Ride with David Walliams, Jimmy Carr, Fearne Cotton, Miranda Hart, Patrick Kielty and Davina McCall. They cycled from John o'Groats in Scotland to Land's End in England in 4 days trying to raise £1 million.[12]

In November 2011 whilst filming a Mystery Guest segment for Good News, Howard broke his left hand when attempting to do press ups on a stunt chair.[43]

Russell was voted Heat Magazine's "Weird Crush of the Year 2013",[44] with his friend and former flatmate Jon Richardson coming second.

Credits

Mock the Week – BBC Two (2006–2010) – Panelist

Never Mind the Buzzcocks – BBC Two (2006, 2007) – Panelist; (2013) – Guest Host

Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive – BBC Three (2007)

Would I Lie to You? – BBC One (2007) – Panelist

Live at the Apollo – BBC One (2007, 2009)

Law of the Playground – Channel 4 (2008)

The Secret Policeman's Ball 2008 – Channel 4 (2008)

8 Out of 10 Cats – Channel 4 (2008) – Panelist

Russell Howard's Good News – BBC Three/Two (2009–2015) – Presenter

The Graham Norton Show – BBC One (2010)

Conan – TBS (2011)

Children in Need 2011 – BBC One (2011)

Jon Richardson: A Little Bit OCD – Channel 4 (2012)

The Jonathan Ross Show – ITV (2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)

The Big Fat Quiz of the Year – Channel 4 (2012) – Panelist

Red Nose Day 2013 – BBC One (2013)

A League of Their Own – Sky 1 (2014) – Panelist

Gadget Man – Channel 4 (2014)

Russell Howard's Stand Up Central – Comedy Central (2015–2016) – Presenter

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon – NBC (2015) – Guest Performer

The Last Leg: Stand Up to Cancer Special – Channel 4 (2015) – Guest

Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled – Dave (2015) (Series 3, Episode 4)

A Gert Lush Christmas – BBC Two (2015) – Dan Colman (Also co-writer)

Room 101 – BBC One (2016) – Guest/Panelist

Dara O Briain's Go 8 Bit – Dave (2016) – Guest (Series 1 Episode 4)

Russell Howard & Mum: USA Road Trip – Comedy Central (2016–present)

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown – Channel 4 (2016, 2017) – Contestant (Series 10 episode 7, 2016 Christmas Special, Series 11 Episode 2)

Michael McIntyre's Big Show – BBC One (2016) – Guest Performer (Series 2 episode 2)

The Late Late Show with James Corden – CBS (2017) – Guest

Saturday Kitchen – BBC One (2017) – Guest

The Russell Howard Hour – Sky 1 (2017–present) – Presenter

Taskmaster (2018) – Contestant, Series 6

Sunday Brunch (2018) - Guest (Series 7 episode 38)

Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier - Guest (Series 2 episode 3)

Russell Howard's Home Time - Sky 1 (2020) - Presenter

Saturday Kitchen

Saturday Kitchen

Saturday Kitchen is a British cookery programme, predominantly broadcast on BBC One.

2002–2003

After a pilot hosted by Ainsley Harriott on 14 April 2001,[1] the show was launched on 26 January 2002 and was originally broadcast as a BBC production for the Open University under an educational remit. It was hosted by Gregg Wallace, then a relatively unknown presenter. He was joined by a celebrity chef each week in a pre-recorded format and with a low budget, using archived content from the likes of Keith Floyd and Rick Stein to fill the show. After the first series, the second series was broadcast live.

2003–2006

After the success of the first two series, the programme was relaunched with established celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson as the host, initially guest hosting from May before taking over on 13 September. The format was tweaked, moving away from the educational remit and simple meals to more aspirational food with an increase in chefs, a number of whom had Michelin stars, and celebrity guests. The BBC archive was retained for the revamped format, with Worrall Thompson and the guest chefs preparing dishes, with the clips used to allow clean-up and "resetting" of the studio kitchen.

During the summer of 2004, the programme temporarily moved to BBC One and aired as Saturday Brunch, live from Worrall Thompson's home.[2] Subsequently, in January 2006, the show moved from BBC Two to BBC One on a three-month trial that became permanent, a decision which drew controversy after the moving of children's programming from its regular slot on the channel for the first time since the 1970s.[3][4]

2006–2016

After Worrall Thompson left the network to present Saturday Cooks! in June 2006, James Martin took over as host from 24 June. During Martin's tenure, the audience increased from 1.2 million to around 2.5 million, peaking at 2.7 million on 9 January 2010.

On 8 September 2012, the first episode was broadcast from a new studio set, which saw a new design and the addition of mains gas and running water.

On 23 February 2016, Martin announced that he would be leaving the show to concentrate on other commitments, and "to have a lie in" on a Saturday.[5] His last show was on 26 March.

Among those to cover in Martin's absence were Matt Tebbutt and John Torode.[6][7]

2016–

Presenters

Matt Tebbutt is the predominant presenter. Andi Oliver and Michel Roux Jr. have also presented several episodes.

In the immediate months following James Martin's departure as presenter, the programme was presented by a variety of chefs, food writers, and restaurateurs. Michel Roux, Jr, Donal Skehan, Matt Tebbutt, and John Torode, all presented at least four editions between Martin's March departure and the end of 2016.[8]

Drinks' experts

Each week, a drinks' expert pairs various drinks to go with the studio dishes.

Jane Parkinson and Olly Smith are the predominant experts.[9]

Future (2017–2020)

As part of the tender for the production of the programme released in October 2016, it was confirmed that the show and Best Bites will remain on air until March 2020, airing 52 episodes and 50 episodes per year respectively. It also confirmed the show will remain live and continue to feature guest chefs and archive content, but may see changes to the presenters.

In February 2017, the BBC announced that Cactus TV and Daniel Piotrowski-Taylor had been awarded the tender.[10]

Features

Each show typically includes a host chef and two guest chefs, each cooking in the studio. They are joined by a celebrity guest, usually on to promote a forthcoming or current project.

Each guest chefs dish is paired with a drink chosen by an expert.

In between each studio dish, excerpts are shown from the BBC Archives. The footage has most commonly come from Rick Stein and Keith Floyd, but have also featured James Martin, The Hairy Bikers, and Tom Kerridge, among many others.

Before the introduction of the Heaven and Hell feature, the programme previously featured Worrall Thompson and guest chefs pitching a dish to be cooked, which the public voted on and a running total of wins were recorded by using fridge magnets.

Omelette Challenge

Each week, the guest chefs are challenged to cook a three-egg omelette, as quickly as possible.

The current record holder is Theo Randall with a time of 14.76 seconds, set on 2 May 2015. The achievement was recognised by Guinness World Records and Randall is officially the world's fastest omelette maker.[11]

Heaven or Hell

Each show concludes with the host and guest chefs cooking the celebrity guest a dish containing their favourite or least-favourite ingredient/s.

Which dish is cooked depends on an online vote for viewers at home to choose heaven or hell. Formerly, only the viewers who phoned in to the show were able to vote, along with the guest chefs.

The selection is also drinks' matched.

Abba Kyari

Abba Kyari

Abba Kyari OON (17 November 1938 – 17 April 2020) was a Nigerian politician who served as Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari.[1]

Family and personal life

Early life and education

A Kanuri from Borno, not much is known about his early life. In 1980, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in sociology from the University of Warwick, and also received a bachelor's degree in law from the University of Cambridge.[2] In 1983, he was called to the Nigerian Bar after attending the Nigerian Law School.[3]

In 1984, he obtained a master's degree in law from the University of Cambridge.[4] He later attended the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland and participated in the Program for Management Development at the Harvard Business School, in 1992 and 1994, respectively.

Family

Kyari was married to the sister-in-law of Ibrahim Tahir,[5] and had four children.[6]

Health

On March 24, 2020, it was made public that Kyari tested positive for COVID-19 on March 23, following an official trip to Germany nine days before.[7]

Professional career

Kyari worked for the law firm Fani-Kayode and Sowemimo for some time after his return to Nigeria.[8]

From 1988 to 1990, he was Editor with the New Africa Holdings Limited Kaduna.

In 1990, he served as a Commissioner for Forestry and Animal Resources in Borno State.

From 1990 to 1995, Kyari was the secretary to the board of African International Bank Limited, a subsidiary of Bank of Credit and Commerce International.

Kyari was an executive director in charge of management services at the United Bank for Africa, and was later appointed the chief executive officer. In 2002, he was appointed a board director of Unilever Nigeria, and later served on the board of Exxon Mobil Nigeria.

Political career

In August 2015, Kyari was appointed Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari.[9][10]

Power politics

Kyari was an influential figure within the Buhari administration.[11] During the administration's first term, he worked mainly behind the scenes to implement the president's agenda.[12] In 2019 with Buhari's re-election for a second term, he ordered his cabinet to channel all requests through Kyari's office.[13] Further enhancing his influence within government circles, and being labelled as the de facto head of government.[14]

In 2017, following a leaked memo, Kyari became embroiled in a public argument with the Head of Civil Service,[15] who was later removed from office and arrested.[16][17] In 2020, in another leaked memo, Babagana Monguno the National Security Adviser accused Kyari of meddling in matters of national security

ديمي لوفاتو

ديمي لوفاتو

ديمتريا ديفون لوفاتو (بالبرتغالية: Demetria Devonne Lovato‏) والمعروفة في الوسط الفني باسم ديمي لوفاتو (بالبرتغالية: Demi Lovato‏) (ولدت في 20 أغسطس 1992) هي مغنية وكاتبة أغاني وممثلة أمريكية. بعد أول ظهور لها كطفلة ممثلة في بارني والأصدقاء، ارتقت لوفاتو علي الساحة الفنية في 2008 عندما بدأت في التلفزيون بفيلم كامب روك علي قناة ديزني، بالإضافة إلي معسكر الروك 2: الحفل الختامي في 2010، ووقعت عقد تسجيل مع "هوليوود ركوردز"، وأصدرت أول ألبوم لها بعنوان لاتنسى الصادر سنة 2008، والذي حصل علي المركز الثاني في بيلبورد 200. وفي عام 2009 تلقت لوفاتو عرضا للتمثيل في أول مسلسل في مشوارها التلفزيوني صوني ويذ أه تشانس، ثم أصدرت الألبوم الثاني لها بعنوان نحن نعيد الكرة مرة أخرى الذي أحرز المركز الأول في بيلبورد 200، في حين الأغنية بنفس عنوان الألبوم كانت من ضمن أفضل 20 أغنية في بيلبورد هوت 100. ثم توالت أعمالها: غير مكسورة (2011)، ديمي (2013)، واثقة (2015)، اخبرني انك تحبني (2017). حصلت جميع ألبوماتها علي الشهادة الذهبية من قبل رابطة صناعة التسجيلات الأمريكية.

الحياة والمهنة

ولدت لوفاتو في 20 أغسطس 1992، في ألباكركي، بولاية نيومكسيكو، للمهندس والموسيقي "باتريك مارتن لوفاتو" (1960—22 يونيو 2013)، ولمشجعة دالاس كاوبويز "ديانا دي لي غارزا" (المولودة باسم "ديانا لي سميث"؛ 8 أغسطس 1962). للوفاتو أخت أكبر منها سنا "دالاس" (ولدت في 4 فبراير 1988)، وشقيقتها الأصغر منها سنا من أمها الممثلة "ماديسون دي لا غارزا"، وشقيقها الأكبر سنا منها من الأب "أمبر"، والذي تحدثت إليه أول مرة عندما كان عمرها 20.

تطلق والدا لوفاتو في أواخر صيف 1994، بعد وقت قصير من عيد ميلادها الثاني. وكان والد لوفاتو من أصل مكسيكي، بينما والدتها من أصول إنجليزية وإيرلندية. من خلال والدها، كانت لوفاتو سليلة جندي اتحاد الحرب الأهلية الأمريكية "فرانسيسكو بيريا" (1830–1913) (بالإسبانية: Francisco Perea)‏، وحاكم "سانتا في نيو مكسيكو" (بالإسبانية: Santa Fe de Nuevo México)‏ "فرانسيسكو خافيير شافيز" (بالإسبانية: Francisco Xavier Chávez)‏.

مع سيلينا غوميز، بدأت مسريتها في التمثيل في المسلسل التلفزيوني للأطفال بارني والأصدقاء بدور "أنجيلا". بدأت العزف علي البيانو في سن السابعة والقيثارة في العاشرة، أيضا بدأت الرقص ودروس في التمثيل. وقالت ألين دي جينيريس أن لوفاتو كانت تتعرض للتنمر لدرجة أنها طلبت منها التعليم المنزلي، وحصلت على دبلوم الدراسة الثانوية من خلال التعليم المنزلي في أبريل 2009. أصبحت فيما بعد المتحدث الرسمي لمنظمة "باسر" لمكافحة التنمر وظهرت علي أميركا نيكست توب موديل للتحدث علنا ضد التنمر. في 2006، ظهرت لوفاتو في بريزون بريك، وجاست جوردن في العام التالي.

2009–2010: صوني ويذ أه تشانس ونحن نعيد الكرة مرة أخرى

في 2009 سجلت لوفاتو أغنية أرسلها في، وهي أغنية خيرية لأصدقاء ديزني من أجل التغيير، مع أصدقائها سيلينا غوميز، ومايلي سايرس، وجوناس برذرز. وتم التبرع بجميع عائدات الأغنية للجمعيات الخيرية البيئية التي يدعمها صندوق حفظ ديزني في جميع أنحاء العالم. مثلت لوفاتو في سيت كوم قناة ديزني صوني ويذ أه تشانس، مع شخصيتها "صوني مونرو". وقد وصفت لوفاتو تجربتها في التمثيل عن طريق روبرت لويد من لوس أنجلوس تايمز بأنها "جيدة جدا".

Demi Lovato

Demi Lovato

Demetria Devonne Lovato (/ləˈvɑːtoʊ/ lə-VAH-toh; born August 20, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. She began her career in 2002 appearing on the children's television series Barney & Friends, before rising to prominence for portraying Mitchie Torres in the Disney Channel musical television film Camp Rock (2008) and its sequel Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (2010).

Lovato has released six studio albums: Don't Forget (2008), Here We Go Again (2009), Unbroken (2011), Demi (2013), Confident (2015), and Tell Me You Love Me (2017); all of which debuted in the top five of the Billboard 200. She has earned nine top-20 tracks on the Billboard Hot 100 with "This Is Me", "Here We Go Again", "Send It On", "Skyscraper", "Give Your Heart a Break", "Heart Attack", "Cool for the Summer", "Sorry Not Sorry", and "I Love Me". In total, she has sold over two million albums and 20 million singles in the United States.[8] On television, Lovato has starred as the titular character on Sonny with a Chance (2009–2011), served as a judge and mentor on The X Factor USA in its second and third seasons, and appeared as a recurring character on Glee. Her struggles with several personal issues received significant media attention in the 2010s; in response to which she published the book Staying Strong: 365 Days a Year (2013) and released a YouTube documentary about her life and career, titled Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated (2017).

Lovato is a pop, pop rock, and R&B artist. She has earned numerous awards and nominations, including an MTV Video Music Award, 14 Teen Choice Awards, five People's Choice Awards, and two Latin American Music Awards. She also holds one Guinness World Record and was included on the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world in 2017. Outside the entertainment industry, Lovato is an activist for several social causes.

Life and career

1992–2006: Early life and career beginnings

Lovato was born on August 20, 1992 in Albuquerque, New Mexico[9] to former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Dianna De La Garza (née Dianna Lee Smith)[10] and engineer and musician Patrick Martin Lovato.[11] She has an older sister named Dallas;[12] a younger maternal half-sister, actress Madison De La Garza;[13] and an older paternal half-sister named Amber, whom she first spoke to when she was 20.[14]

Lovato's parents divorced in mid-1994, shortly after her second birthday.[15] Lovato's father was of Mexican descent, with mostly Spanish and Native American ancestors, and came from a family that has been living in New Mexico for generations; he also had distant Portuguese and Jewish ancestry.[16][17] Her mother is of English and Irish ancestry.[18][19] Through her father, Lovato is a descendant of Civil War Union veteran Francisco Perea and Santa Fe de Nuevo México governor Francisco Xavier Chávez.[20] Lovato claims that through DNA testing she discovered that she is also of 16 percent Scandinavian descent and one percent of African descent.[21]

Lovato was raised in Dallas, Texas.[22][23] She began playing piano at age seven and guitar at ten,[24] when she also began dancing and acting classes.[25] In 2002, she began her career on the children's television series Barney & Friends, portraying the role of Angela.[26] Lovato told Ellen DeGeneres that due to her acting career she was bullied so harshly that she asked for homeschooling,[27] and received her high-school diploma through homeschooling in May 2009, one year early.[28] In 2006, Lovato appeared on Prison Break, and on Just Jordan the following year.[9]

2007–2008: Breakthrough with Camp Rock and Don't Forget

From 2007 to 2008, Lovato played Charlotte Adams on the Disney Channel short series As the Bell Rings.[29] Lovato auditioned for the channel's television film Camp Rock and series Sonny with a Chance during 2007 and got both roles.[30] Lovato played the lead character, aspiring singer Mitchie Torres, in Camp Rock.[31] The film premiered on June 20, 2008, to 8.9 million viewers.[32] Gillian Flynn of Entertainment Weekly wrote that Lovato's acting skills were underwhelming and that she "has the knee-jerk smile of someone who is often told she has a great smile".[33] The film's soundtrack was released three days earlier; however, the music was considered less current than that of High School Musical.[34] It debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200, with 188,000 units sold in its first week of release.[35] Lovato sang four songs on the soundtrack, including "We Rock" and "This Is Me".[36] The latter, Lovato's debut single, debuted at number 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and later peaked at number nine, marking her first entry on the chart.[37] That summer, Lovato signed with Hollywood Records and began her Demi Live! Warm Up Tour before the release of her debut studio album,[38] and appeared on the Jonas Brothers' Burnin' Up Tour.[39]

Lovato's debut studio album, Don't Forget, was released on September 23, 2008, and was met with generally positive reviews from critics.[40][41][42] Michael Slezak of Entertainment Weekly said, "Demi Lovato might satisfy her 'tween fans but she won't be winning any rockers over with Don't Forget".[43] The album debuted at number two in the US, with first-week sales of 89,000 copies.[44] Ten of its songs were co-written with the Jonas Brothers.[45]

Don't Forget was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for US sales of over 500,000 copies.[46] Its lead single, "Get Back", was praised for its pop rock style and peaked at number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100, also selling over 560,000 copies in the United States.[47][48][49] The album's second single, "La La Land", was cited for its strong rock elements[50] and peaked at number 52 in the US,[49] and cracked the top 40 in Ireland and the United Kingdom.[51][52] The music video for the song was directed by Brendan Malloy and Tim Wheeler.[53][full citation needed] The third single and title track, "Don't Forget", peaked at number 41 in the US.[54]

2009–2010: Sonny with a Chance and Here We Go Again

In 2009, Lovato recorded "Send It On", a charity single and the theme song for Disney's Friends for Change, with costars the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez.[55][56] All proceeds from the song were donated to environmental charities supported by the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund.[55] Lovato's Disney Channel sitcom Sonny with a Chance, in which she played Sonny Munroe, the newest cast member of the show-within-a-show So Random!, premiered on February 8.[57] Lovato's acting ability was described by Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times as "very good", and he compared her favorably to Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus.[58] That June, she starred alongside Selena Gomez in the Disney Channel film Princess Protection Program, in which Lovato portrayed Rosie Gonzalez / Princess Rosalinda. The film, the fourth highest-rated Disney Channel original movie, premiered to 8.5 million viewers.[59]

Lovato's second studio album, Here We Go Again, was released on July 21, 2009;[9] she described its acoustic style as similar to that of John Mayer.[60] The album received favorable reviews from critics who appreciated its enjoyable pop-rock elements, echoing reviews of Don't Forget.[61] Lovato's first number one album, it debuted atop the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 108,000 copies, and was later certified Gold.[62][63] The album's lead single and title track, "Here We Go Again", debuted at number 59 on the Billboard Hot 100, and managed to peak at number 15, becoming Lovato's highest peaking solo single at the time.[64] The song also peaked at number 68 on the Canadian Hot 100 and number 38 in New Zealand.[65][66] "Here We Go Again" was additionally certified Platinum in the US.[63] The album's second and final single, "Remember December" failed to match the success of its predecessor, but peaked at number 80 on the UK Singles Chart. Lovato made her first 40-city national concert tour, Live in Concert, in support of Here We Go Again.[67] The tour, from June 21 to August 21, 2009,[68] had David Archuleta,[68] KSM and Jordan Pruitt as opening acts.[69] Lovato and Archuleta received the Choice Music Tour award at the 2009 Teen Choice Awards.[70]

In 2010, Lovato and Joe Jonas recorded "Make a Wave" as the second charity single for Disney's Friends for Change.[71] In May of that year, Lovato guest-starred as Hayley May, a teenager with schizophrenia, in the sixth-season Grey's Anatomy episode, "Shiny Happy People".[72] Although critics praised her versatility, they were underwhelmed by her acting and felt that her appearance was designed primarily to attract viewers.[73] Later that year, she headlined her first international tour, Demi Lovato: Live in Concert,[74][75] and joined the Jonas Brothers: Live in Concert tour as a guest.[76]

Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam, with Lovato reprising her role as Mitchie Torres, premiered on September 3, 2010.[77][78] Critics were ambivalent about the film's plot, and it has a 40-percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[79] However, Lovato's performance was called "dependably appealing" by Jennifer Armstrong of Entertainment Weekly.[80] The film premiered to eight million viewers, the number-one cable television movie of the year by the number of viewers.[81] Its accompanying soundtrack was released on August 10 with Lovato singing nine songs, including "Can't Back Down" and "Wouldn't Change a Thing".[82] The soundtrack debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 41,000 copies.[83] The Jonas Brothers: Live in Concert was reworked to incorporate Lovato and the rest of the film's cast;[84] it began on August 7, two weeks later than planned.[85] The Sonny with a Chance soundtrack was released on October 5; Lovato sang on four tracks, including "Me, Myself and Time".[86] It debuted (and peaked) at number 163 on the Billboard 200, her lowest-selling soundtrack. [87] In November 2010, Lovato announced her departure from Sonny with a Chance, putting her acting career on hiatus and ending the series;[88] she later said that she would return to acting when she felt confident doing so.[89] Her departure led to the actual spin-off series So Random! with the Sonny cast, featuring sketches from the former show-within-a-show. The series was cancelled after one season.

Michael Ball

Michael Ball

Michael Ashley Ball, OBE (born 27 June 1962) is an English actor, singer and broadcaster. He made his West End debut in 1985 playing Marius Pontmercy in the original London production of Les Misérables, and went on to star in 1987 as Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera. In 1989, he reached number two in the UK Singles Chart with "Love Changes Everything", a song taken from the musical Aspects of Love, where he played Alex. He played the role in London and on Broadway.

In 1992, Ball represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest, finishing second with the song "One Step Out of Time". In 1995, he reprised the role of Marius in Les Misérables: The Dream Cast in Concert. His other West End roles include Giorgio in Passion (1997) and Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (2002). He has twice won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He won in 2008 for his role as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray,[1] and then in 2013 for the title role in the revival of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.[2]

Ball was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2015 Birthday Honours for his services to musical theatre

Early life

Ball was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire to a Welsh mother and an English father. His father Tony, who originally wanted to be an actor, trained as an Austin apprentice at the Longbridge plant and progressed to become head of global sales at British Leyland.[4] He was awarded an MBE for services to industry.[5] Ball's maternal grandfather was a coal miner. His maternal grandmother was protective of the family. Ball has a brother, Kevin, 4 years his senior and a sister, Katherine, almost a decade his junior. He moved to Dartmoor with his parents when he was three years old. He has never had singing lessons, but as a boy he learned to sing by singing along to music, for example, songs by Ella Fitzgerald, Mahalia Jackson and Frank Sinatra. When he was 11 years old he went to Plymouth College, an independent boarding school, because his parents thought this would give him a good education. However this made him unhappy, as he did not fit into the academic and sporting environment at the school at that time.[1] He did join his fellow junior boarders on Sunday morning at the Pathfinder bible group in St Andrew's church. One summer he went to Pathfinder camp on the isle of Jersey.

Ball was interested in the theatre and his father took him to see shows in the school holidays, including a Royal Shakespeare Company production at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre of King Lear, which impressed him as a youngster of about 14 years' age. He joined a youth theatre, which led to his studying drama at Guildford School of Acting, where he found an environment that suited him. As a student he went busking on Saturdays in Guildford town with a female student friend to earn a little extra money. He graduated in 1984. After his graduation, Ball's singing career rapidly got off the ground. His maternal grandmother, having a musical ear, was proud of Ball's early singing achievements; she died suddenly, however, of a heart attack about one week before his debut in The Pirates of Penzance.[1]

Theatre

See also: Complete list of stage credits

In 1984, after he had left drama school, Ball's first part was in Godspell at Aberystwyth Arts Centre, after which he worked for a few months in rep in Basingstoke,[6] but his first major break was a star part in the production of The Pirates of Penzance at Manchester Opera House; at an open audition he was selected from about 600 applicants who formed a queue to do singing, acting, and dancing interviews, which were held in three separate rooms. His next important role came when Cameron Mackintosh cast him as Marius in the original London cast of Les Misérables, but he caught glandular fever and he took six or seven weeks off sick to recover from the associated tonsillitis and post-viral fatigue. When he returned to work he was still suffering from fatigue, and began to get on-stage panic attacks — overwhelming anxiety, a rapid heartbeat, sweating, and problems with vision. These also started happening at other times, such as when he was going to work. For most of the next nine months he lived alone in his flat feeling depressed; he did not seek therapy and left Les Misérables.[1]

Thames Television invited Ball to sing during the Miss England contest, a live televised event, and he sang well enough despite suffering from anxiety. When he viewed a recording later, he realised that no one would have noticed how nervous he was, and he became less worried about his anxiety problem.[1] At about that time, Cameron Mackintosh asked Ball to play Raoul in the second casting of The Phantom of the Opera in London, which was necessary after Michael Crawford (who played the Phantom) and Steve Barton (who played Raoul) left the London show to appear in the Broadway staging in New York City. Mackintosh thought that Ball would not be under too much pressure as Raoul, and that the part was right for him.[1]

Ball played Alex in Aspects of Love, both in London and New York, and Giorgio in the London production of Stephen Sondheim's Passion. Alone Together was his one-man show first performed at the Donmar Warehouse (which was reprised in 2004 for the Singular Sensations season at the Haymarket). In 1998 Ball performed at three big concerts: The Fiftieth Birthday Concert of Andrew Lloyd Webber at the Royal Albert Hall (released on DVD), Sondheim Tonight at the Barbican Centre (released on CD) and Hey, Mr. Producer: The Musical World of Cameron Mackintosh (released on CD and DVD). In 2002 he took on the role of Caractacus Potts in the Sherman Brothers musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which was largely considered his comeback role.[citation needed]

In 2004, he co-starred with Petula Clark in a production of Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard at the Cork Opera House, later broadcast by the BBC. Later the same year he was a guest star at Clark's Concert, also broadcast by the BBC. He sang three tracks from his latest album, Since You've Been Gone; "Home" and "One Voice", as well as two duets with Clark. Other performances include singing at the BBC's St David's Day concert, in the role of Marius at the Les Misérables: The Dream Cast in Concert, the tenth anniversary concert of Les Misérables in 1995. A lyric baritone, Ball also sang the role of Valjean at a special concert performance of Les Misérables for the Queen and her guests at Windsor Castle in 2004. In 2005, with 10 days' notice, he replaced Michael Crawford as Count Fosco in The Woman in White after poor health forced Crawford to give up the role.[citation needed]

In November 2005, Ball returned to Broadway as Count Fosco in The Woman in White, which transferred from London's West End. He was, however, forced to leave the show because of a viral infection supposedly caused by the fat suit required for the role; this reportedly raised Ball's body temperature by several degrees during the show.[citation needed]

In September 2005, Ball made his New York City Opera debut as Reginald Bunthorne in Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience. He spent the first quarter of 2006 on complete vocal rest, following the illness that caused him to leave The Woman in White on Broadway. By the middle of July, Ball had taken part in the Royal Court Theatre's celebratory performance of The Rocky Horror Show. He took a leading role in Kismet in June and July 2007 for the ENO, and appeared on Channel 4's Richard & Judy on 22 June 2007 to promote this production. He then appeared as the solo artist in a controversial 'Musical Theatre' Prom on 27 August 2007 for the BBC at London's Royal Albert Hall. Ball performed a wide range of musical theatre numbers, including several by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The show was broadcast live on BBC Four, as well as on BBC Radio 3.

From October 2007 – July 2009, Ball made his West End return starring as Edna Turnblad in the hit musical Hairspray at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London. In March 2008, he was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his portrayal. He also won the Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers' Choice Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of Edna Turnblad. He recently starred in a new production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at the Adelphi Theatre in the West End, alongside Imelda Staunton as Mrs. Lovett. The show premiered at the Chichester Festival Theatre for six weeks starting 24 September 2011 before transferring to London in March 2012.[citation needed] Michael and Imelda were both awarded Olivier awards, best actor and best actress in a musical for their Sweeney Todd performances. Ball starred as Mack in Mack and Mabel, which toured the UK in 2015.

Recording work

Ball is a concert artist: he tours frequently around the United Kingdom and has also performed concerts in Australia and the United States. He has also had success in the charts with his recording work. Since reaching Number 2 in the UK Singles Chart with "Love Changes Everything" from Aspects of Love, Ball had lesser success with follow up singles, but in the main has concentrated on releasing albums, all of which achieved gold status within weeks, and in the case of The Movies album in 1998, platinum in seven weeks (released 26 October, confirmed platinum status on 12 December).[citation needed]

Ball represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest 1992 held in Malmö, Sweden, singing the song "One Step Out of Time", which finished second. The single reached number 20 in the UK, while an eponymous album released in the same year reached number 1.[7] This began a run of top 20 albums released over the next two decades. In July 2006, Ball was a guest artist on Julian Lloyd Webber's album Unexpected Songs and in November of that year released a DVD containing all the best songs from his Live in Concert DVDs. This is split into five sections: Musicals, Love Songs, Personal Favourites, Party Time, and Unplugged. The DVD also included a brand new "Unplugged" session which Ball recorded especially with four other musicians in the studio. It was released on 20 November 2006. Ball took part in many promotional activities at the end of the 2006 to coincide with the release of his album One Voice. This involved singing the song "Home" on ITV's GMTV, This Morning, and the BBC One programme The Heaven and Earth Show, hosted by Gloria Hunniford.

A new compilation album entitled Michael Ball: The Silver Collection was released in July 2007, along with the DVD version of his 1995 film England My England. Towards the end of 2007, Ball recorded his 15th solo album for release on 15 October of that year. The album features songs all written by Burt Bacharach and is entitled Back to Bacharach. It was released along with a performance DVD of his 2007 tour, One Voice Live, filmed at London's Hammersmith Apollo. Promotional activities took place throughout October and November 2007 for these releases including appearances on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross and Loose Women.[citation needed]

In February 2013, Ball released his album "Both Sides Now" featuring the song "Fight the Fight" from Tim Rice's new musical From Here to Eternity.[8][9]

In November 2014 Ball released his new album, "If Everyone Was Listening". In March 2019, he released the album "Coming Home To You". The album reached number one in the UK album charts and, although Ball has had many hits, this is his first solo number 1 selling album in 26 years.

He has recorded 3 albums with Alfie Boe..... 2 reached number 1, Ball & Boe Together:in 2016, Ball & Boe: Together Again in 2017 .. their third album Ball & Boe:Back together in 2019 reached number 2 in the album charts.

Television

As an actor, Ball briefly appeared as Malcolm Nuttall in Coronation Street in 1985. Ball has also turned his hand to presenting both on TV and radio. Ball had his own TV series, Michael Ball, in 1993 and 1994 a Christmas Special in 1995 and a three-part series in 1998 filmed by BBC Cymru Wales Ball in the Hall. These three episodes were combined together to make a special which was then broadcast on BBC One. Ball has presented The National Lottery Draws and Children in Need. He guest presented This Morning for a short period.

Ball co-judged the second series of ITV reality television show Soapstar Superstar in 2007. In 2010 Ball took part in the BBC Cymru Wales programme Coming Home about his Welsh family history.[citation needed] In 2010, Ball presented 30 episodes of The Michael Ball Show, his own daytime series for ITV. In 2010 and 2011, Ball guest presented six episodes of Lorraine for ITV Breakfast.

On 10 April 2013, Ball guest hosted The One Show for the first time as a stand-in presenter. He has presented the show on several occasions since. On 18 November 2013, Ball guest presented an episode of teatime chat show The Paul O'Grady Show after Paul O'Grady was taken ill.[10] On 24 November 2013, he guest starred as himself in the British sitcom Toast of London. On 29 December 2013, Ball was a contestant on a celebrity Christmas edition of Catchphrase.

On 3 January 2014, BBC Four broadcast a special tribute programme to the lyricist Don Black called Diamonds are Forever: A tribute to Don Black which took place at the Royal Festival Hall in London. Ball sang two songs on this show; the first was the song Born Free, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and was a hit for the British male singer Matt Monro in 1966. Black wrote the lyrics for this song and the music was composed by John Barry for the film of the same name, Born Free. The second song Ball sang during the programme was Love Changes Everything, a song that Black co-wrote with lyricist Charles Hart for the musical Aspects of Love, composed by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. This song was released as a single by Ball in 1989 and stayed in the British pop charts for fourteen weeks. The BBC Concert Orchestra provided the orchestral backing for Ball on both songs for this performance.

On 26 December 2014, Ball starred in Victoria Wood's musical That Day We Sang, reuniting him with his Sweeney Todd co-star Imelda Staunton.

Michael has fronted 3 ITV shows with Alfie Boe. They were broadcast in 2016,2017,2019. 2016....Ball and Boe :one night only. 2017......Ball and Boe : Back together. 2019......Ball and Boe : A very Merry Christmas.

Radio

Ball had his own radio series, Ball over Broadway on BBC Radio 2, which is in its fourth season, The Greenroom, and several specials for BBC Radio 2 on subjects such as Nat King Cole, Cameron Mackintosh, and Cy Coleman.

His first regular show on Radio 2 was Michael Ball's Sunday Brunch in 2008, replacing Michael Parkinson whose show Parkinson's Sunday Supplement had ended the previous year. The show aired on Sunday mornings between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. until September 2011, latterly sharing its time slot with Weekend Wogan presented by Terry Wogan.

After a short break, in 2013 Ball returned to Radio 2 with a new show, Michael Ball on Sunday, airing on Sunday evenings between 7 pm and 9 pm. Following the death of Sir Terry Wogan, Ball returned to the Sunday morning slot on 10 April 2016, with the show now titled The Michael Ball Show.[11] Claudia Winkleman took over the vacant Sunday evening slot later that month.

He is also a regular stand-in presenter for Ken Bruce on the station.

Recent career

Ball embarked on an extensive British tour during March and April 2007. There were 23 dates on the tour covering England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. The tour started with two nights in Belfast, before a number of shows in the north of England and the Midlands. Ball then headed to Glasgow and Aberdeen before returning for shows in London, Birmingham and Northampton. Ball took a trip to his old home in Plymouth before embarking on the final leg of his tour. It saw Ball perform in Ipswich and Northampton before ending his tour in Cardiff. He made his debut with the English National Opera in the lead role of Hajj/Poet in a new production of Robert Wright and George Forrest's Kismet after this tour.

In August 2007 he made his BBC Proms debut with An Evening with Michael Ball at the Royal Albert Hall, which marked the first time a musical theatre star had been given a solo concert at the classical music festival. Ball appeared in the Royal Variety Performance at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool on 3 December 2007 singing "You Can't Stop the Beat" with the rest of the cast from Hairspray, the musical he was appearing in at the time. He continued in the role of Edna Turnblad in the musical at the Shaftesbury Theatre until 29 April 2009. On 2 March 2008, Ball appeared as the guest on the BBC Radio 4 show Desert Island Discs, during which he talked about his early life and his career, including his struggle with stage fright in his early career, and a little about his personal life.[1] He performed a number of summer concerts, including the Hampton Court Music Festival on 14 June 2008. From 6 April 2008, Ball took over Michael Parkinson's Sunday Supplement on BBC Radio 2 every Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Ball won the 2008 Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers' Choice Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He also won the 2008 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical, his first Olivier Award.

Ball's solo album Past and Present was released on 9 March 2009 by Universal Music. The album includes a compilation of previously released material celebrating Ball's 25-year anniversary in the music industry, as well as six new tracks, including "You Can't Stop the Beat", from Hairspray. Ball appeared on a number of television and radio programmes to promote the album. He toured the United Kingdom with an orchestra and five West End stars, (Louise Clare Marshall, Louise Dearman, Emma Williams, Adrian Hansel and Ben James-Ellis), in the autumn, celebrating 25 years in the music industry. His concert at the Royal Albert Hall on 19 September 2009 was filmed for DVD release. Ball performed in a "pne-off" Christmas Concert on 12 December 2009 in aid of The Shooting Star Children's Hospice, which he supports. All profits made went to this charity.[12] The Shooting Star Children's Hospice and CHASE Hospice Care for Children joined together to become Shooting Star CHASE in 2011 and Ball is a patron for this charity.[13]

On 14 February 2010, Ball stepped in as a guest judge for Robin Cousins on ITV1's Dancing on Ice. while Cousins was in Vancouver for the Winter Olympics. On 10 February 2010, Ball recorded a television pilot for ITV1, which was commissioned as a full series in the summer, titled The Michael Ball Show.[citation needed]

The 25th Anniversary Concert of Les Misérables was held at The O2 Arena. It featured Alfie Boe as Jean Valjean, Norm Lewis as Javert, Lea Salonga as Fantine, Ramin Karimloo as Enjolras, Hadley Fraser as Grantaire, Katie Hall as Cosette, Matt Lucas as Thénardier, Jenny Galloway as Madame Thénardier, Samantha Barks as Éponine, Nick Jonas as Marius Pontmercy, the role Ball delivered in the original London production. Casts of the current London, international tour and original 1985 London productions took part, comprising an ensemble of 300 performers and musicians. Ball and Colm Wilkinson anchored the encore, with four Jean Valjeans singing "Bring Him Home": Wilkinson from the original London cast, John Owen-Jones from the 25th Anniversary touring production, Simon Bowman from the current London cast and Alfie Boe, who sang the role in the concert. The original 1985 cast then led the ensemble in a performance of "One Day More". After speeches from Cameron Mackintosh, Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, the performance concluded with pupils from school productions of Les Misérables entering the arena. The evening concert telecast live to cinemas across the UK, Ireland and globally. A Blu-ray and DVD version of the 2010 broadcast was released in November 2010 in the UK and in North America in February 2011.

Ball co-hosted the Olivier Awards with Imelda Staunton on 13 March 2011 at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London. His album Heroes was released on 14 March 2011. It entered the UK charts at number 10.

In 2013, Ball was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of the Arts from University of Plymouth[14]

In 2017, Ball backs children's fairy tales app GivingTales in aid of UNICEF together with Roger Moore, Stephen Fry, Ewan McGregor, Joan Collins, Joanna Lumley, Michael Caine, Charlotte Rampling and Paul McKenna. [15]

It was announced in February 2019 that Ball will star as Inspector Javert opposite Alfie Boe (Jean Valjean) in a staged concert production of Les Misérables. The production will open on 10 August 2019, at the Gielgud Theatre and serve as a placeholder while the original West End production of Les Mis at the Queen's Theater is replaced with Cameron Mackintosh's new staging of the show at the renamed Sondheim theatre. The staged concert was broadcast live to cinemas in the UK on December 2, 2019, and then encore showings in the UK and the USA. This staged concert has become the highest live stream concert at cinemas in UK history. (https://eventcinemaassociation.org/news/les-miserables-the-staged-concert-becomes-the-biggest-one-night-live-stream-event-of-all-time/ The live stream will be also be available as a DVD and cd early 2020. The concert is being broadcast on radio 2 on the 5th January 2020.

Ball will also be reprising his role as Edna Turnblad in a limited run production of Hairspray at the London Coliseum from April 2020 until August 2020.[16]

Personal life

Ball lives with the former presenter of Ready Steady Go!, Cathy McGowan. They met around 1989 when she was an entertainment reporter for a BBC London magazine show and interviewed him during rehearsals for Aspects of Love. They have lived together since 1992. In 2000, she saved his life by dragging him out of a house fire