Michael Ball

Michael Ball’s richly expressive lyric-baritone voice and warm, generous manner have made him not just one of Britain’s most cherished performers but a favourite of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, too. Born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire in 1962, he began his long career in musical theatre in regional productions of Godspell and The Pirates of Penzance before playing Marius Pontmercy in the original London production of Les Misérables in 1985. After his soaring rendition of “Love Changes Everything” from the musical Aspects of Love reached No. 2 in 1989, the charts became just as much of a home to him as the stages of the West End. Whether on his own albums or in his hit duets with fellow stage star Alfie Boe through the 2010s, he continually demonstrates his prowess as a performer of opera, musical theatre and romantic pop ballads, with a special gift for conveying every last ounce of emotion in Webber’s best-loved songs.