INTERVIEW
Joe McElderry
Live in Concert
Palace Theatre, Westcliff on Sea
6th April 2018
Joe McElderry
Live in Concert
Palace Theatre, Westcliff on Sea
6th April 2018
Since ending the tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolored Dream Coat in his home town of Newcastle on New Year’s Eve, Joe McElderry has been on a, what he calls ‘selective’ break. Not that he’s been idle. For instance, on the day I speak to him he has been busy planning the setlist for his forthcoming tour, which kicks off at the Palace Theatre in Westcliff on the 6th April.
Joe confesses, “It’s been nice to just come home, chill out and rest up and also rest my voice as well but I’m at the point now where I’m ready to get back into it. I can’t sit still for too long. I have that problem where I get bored very easily. So I’m ready to work again.”
He popped up unexpectedly last weekend on ITV’s Saturday Night Takeaway alongside Ant and Dec, Phillip Schofield, Alexandra Burke and James Corden in a Magic of the Musicals ‘End of the Show Show’ with an amazing Joseph finale, which, Joe tells me, had to be kept top secret.
“We managed to keep it under wraps until the night,” Joe explains. “Nobody knew that me and Alexandra were going to be performing. It’s so much fun that show. It’s a great family friendly show and it was just a great thing to be a part of. I really enjoyed it.”
It was also a big thrill for Joe to meet Andrew Lloyd Webber, who, I was surprised to learn, he had only briefly met once before.
“Obviously he’s an absolute legend in the musical theatre world; he’s just a legend across the board so it was fab to able to perform for him and meet him properly. Obviously I’ve been doing Joseph for a while and he’s the main man, you know?”
Joe continues, “He’s a very nice man and it’s just an honour to perform his music. It’s been fabulous to be part of one of his hugely successful shows.”
Lloyd Webber obviously thinks a lot of McElderry as he has asked Joe to be part of his seventieth birthday celebration concert, A Musical Celebration, which is planned for this June at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea and Joe modestly tells me, “When you get asked to be part of these kind of things, it’s just a huge honour you know? I always think, ‘Are you sure you want me to perform? It’s going to be amazing!”
Joe confesses, “It’s been nice to just come home, chill out and rest up and also rest my voice as well but I’m at the point now where I’m ready to get back into it. I can’t sit still for too long. I have that problem where I get bored very easily. So I’m ready to work again.”
He popped up unexpectedly last weekend on ITV’s Saturday Night Takeaway alongside Ant and Dec, Phillip Schofield, Alexandra Burke and James Corden in a Magic of the Musicals ‘End of the Show Show’ with an amazing Joseph finale, which, Joe tells me, had to be kept top secret.
“We managed to keep it under wraps until the night,” Joe explains. “Nobody knew that me and Alexandra were going to be performing. It’s so much fun that show. It’s a great family friendly show and it was just a great thing to be a part of. I really enjoyed it.”
It was also a big thrill for Joe to meet Andrew Lloyd Webber, who, I was surprised to learn, he had only briefly met once before.
“Obviously he’s an absolute legend in the musical theatre world; he’s just a legend across the board so it was fab to able to perform for him and meet him properly. Obviously I’ve been doing Joseph for a while and he’s the main man, you know?”
Joe continues, “He’s a very nice man and it’s just an honour to perform his music. It’s been fabulous to be part of one of his hugely successful shows.”
Lloyd Webber obviously thinks a lot of McElderry as he has asked Joe to be part of his seventieth birthday celebration concert, A Musical Celebration, which is planned for this June at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea and Joe modestly tells me, “When you get asked to be part of these kind of things, it’s just a huge honour you know? I always think, ‘Are you sure you want me to perform? It’s going to be amazing!”
Joe as Joseph!
I wonder if Joe has any ambitions to play any other musical theatre roles, to which he responds,
“I’ve been very lucky over the years and it’s the things that have taken me by surprise and have been more unexpected that have been more enjoyable. I think I tried so hard in the early stages to try and plan what I wanted to do and be like, this is what I want to do next."
“I’ve been very lucky over the years and it’s the things that have taken me by surprise and have been more unexpected that have been more enjoyable. I think I tried so hard in the early stages to try and plan what I wanted to do and be like, this is what I want to do next."
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“Now-a-days the music industry doesn’t really work like that. It’s a lot more fast paced, it’s always changing now, as it is with musical theatre. The industry’s become very different over the past couple of years and so for me now, it’s just about enjoying whatever comes along.”
He explains, “For example, when I first took on Joseph, I didn’t know if I was going to enjoy it. I didn’t know if musical theatre was going to be something I really wanted to go into. I just heard the music and obviously I knew the show and I was like, yeah, let’s give it a go! It became a fun project that I could do for six months and then it became something so much bigger than I expected. It became such a huge part of my career; so I think when things like that happen, you appreciate it a bit more when it’s unexpected so I don’t know. We’ll see what’s around the corner. That’s kind of my motto, you never know what’s coming next.” Well actually Joe, we do know what’s coming next…you’re coming to Southend! Joe laughs, “We are! This must be the fourth or fifth time I’ve been to Southend with my show, so I’m looking forward to it. It’s always a great audience there and I love the Palace Theatre. I’ve played the Cliffs Pavilion (with Joseph) and the Palace and they are both beautiful venues, so I’m looking forward to coming back.” |
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I ask Joe what audiences can expect when he comes to the Palace Theatre to which he replies, “I just wanted to go back out on the road this year and have a bit of fun.”
“It’s just me and the band singing the stuff that everybody knows. There’ll be some unexpected songs in there, a few surprises, but mostly just lots of fun. My shows are all about taking audiences through some of the songs I’ve performed on my album and also some of the songs everyone can just sing a long to, or sit back and listen. I try to make it a very comfortable, casual night for everyone and I like to create the personal vibe that you could kind of feel like you’re sitting in your own living room watching the show. It’s very laid back, its personal, it’s up close. Then we have some of the uptempo stuff. It’s a real mixture of everything."
And what about the ‘Juke Box Joe’ section of the show, where the audience get to request a song? It's good news for Joe's fans.
“Well, we didn’t do it last year on the tour because it was kind of hard to fit it in - but it is going to be back.”
Joe admits that 'Juke Box Joe' can be a bit stressful for him and the band but he knows the audiences love it so they’ll busk any songs that get requested.
Joe certainly seems raring to go. Looking fitter and healthier than ever right now, I ask if he’s been working out lots.
“I find that when I’m off and I’m not doing performances I have all of this spare adrenalin. I’ve got all of that spare energy and so I’ve been channeling it into a bit of fitness stuff - I’ve been doing a bit of boxing. When I say boxing, I mean just pad work not actual fighting."
That's a relief!
"I’ve been running and I went skiing, which is great for fitness as well. When you have time to chill out you eat better and eat properly and not eat all the rubbish that you eat on tour. It’s all about taking the time to take care of yourself.”
“It’s just me and the band singing the stuff that everybody knows. There’ll be some unexpected songs in there, a few surprises, but mostly just lots of fun. My shows are all about taking audiences through some of the songs I’ve performed on my album and also some of the songs everyone can just sing a long to, or sit back and listen. I try to make it a very comfortable, casual night for everyone and I like to create the personal vibe that you could kind of feel like you’re sitting in your own living room watching the show. It’s very laid back, its personal, it’s up close. Then we have some of the uptempo stuff. It’s a real mixture of everything."
And what about the ‘Juke Box Joe’ section of the show, where the audience get to request a song? It's good news for Joe's fans.
“Well, we didn’t do it last year on the tour because it was kind of hard to fit it in - but it is going to be back.”
Joe admits that 'Juke Box Joe' can be a bit stressful for him and the band but he knows the audiences love it so they’ll busk any songs that get requested.
Joe certainly seems raring to go. Looking fitter and healthier than ever right now, I ask if he’s been working out lots.
“I find that when I’m off and I’m not doing performances I have all of this spare adrenalin. I’ve got all of that spare energy and so I’ve been channeling it into a bit of fitness stuff - I’ve been doing a bit of boxing. When I say boxing, I mean just pad work not actual fighting."
That's a relief!
"I’ve been running and I went skiing, which is great for fitness as well. When you have time to chill out you eat better and eat properly and not eat all the rubbish that you eat on tour. It’s all about taking the time to take care of yourself.”
We can’t wait to see super-fit and adorable Joe at the Palace Theatre, Southend, in April. Grab your tickets at www.southendtheatres.org.uk or call the box office on 01702 351135
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Check out our interview with Joe in his dressing room at the Cliffs Pavilion when he was playing Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat!
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