Jonathan Mark Ansell (born 10 March 1982) is an English singer, best known as the high

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

of the vocal group G4.

Early life

Influenced by his mother's tapes of

Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...

and the Three Tenors, Ansell joined the West Sussex Boys' Choir conducted by Arthur Robson, at the age of eight. He toured extensively with the choir to Florida, Germany, and France, performed in the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...

and sang many times in

Arundel Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Our Lady and St Philip Howard is located in Arundel, West Sussex, England. Dedicated in 1873 as the Catholic parish church of Arundel, it became a cathedral at the foundation of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton in 1965 ...

. Ansell stayed with the choir until his voice broke at the age of 16 when he lost the ability to sing treble but after puberty found he had developed a high

voice instead. After a performance of ''Love Changes Everything'' at a choral society concert in Littlehampton, Ansell's local MP

Howard Flight Howard Emerson Flight, Baron Flight (born 16 June 1948) is a Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician in the United Kingdom and a member of the House of Lords, ''ePolitix'', 19 November 2010 who was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom) ...

, who was in the audience, arranged for him to have a preliminary audition at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...

in London. After working with music teacher Martin Elliott, he won a place at the Guildhall two years later. While at the Guildhall School, Ansell's singing teacher was Adrian Thompson, who has a similar voice to Ansell and he described their lessons as working together. At that time, Ansell's academic studies fell below the standard. Diagnosed as

dyslexic Dyslexia (), previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, writ ...

, an agreement was reached where he stayed as a pupil.

G4

While at the Guildhall School, Ansell formed the pop-opera boyband G4 with three other students Mike Christie, Tom Lowe, and Ben Thapa. Lowe later resigned as bass, replaced by

Matthew Stiff Matthew William Tansley Stiff (born 13 December 1979), formerly credited as Matt Stiff, is an English people, English opera singer and former radio presenter, best known as the former Bass (voice type), bass singer with classical boyband G4 (band ...

. Their name, G4, stands for Guildhall 4. G4 were discovered after finishing second on ITV talent show ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

'' in 2004. G4's self-titled debut album produced by

Trevor Horn Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English record producer and musician. His influence on pop and electronic music in the 1980s was such that he has been called "the man who invented the eighties". Horn took up the bass guitar at an ...

and

Brian Rawling Brian Rawling is a British record producer and songwriter. He is the managing director of publisher and production company Metrophonic. Rawling has produced singles and albums for artists such as Cher, with whom he won a Grammy in 1999 for his w ...

, reached Number One for

Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in Mar ...

weekend 2005. In total they released 3 albums, sold in excess of 1.5 million albums in the UK, completed 5 sell-out UK tours, sold in excess of 40,000 ''Live at the Royal Albert Hall'' DVDs (one of the concerts on their first tour) and also released a best-selling autobiography ''Our Way''. Ansell turned down the role of Prince Tamino in

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh ( ; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. List of award ...

's film of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

's ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...

'' to stay with the band and continue recording. On 5 April 2007, G4 announced on

GMTV GMTV (an initialism for Good Morning Television), now legally known as ''ITV Breakfast, ITV Breakfast Broadcasting Limited'', was the name of the national ITV (TV network), ITV breakfast television contractor/licensee, broadcasting in the Uni ...

that they were calling it a day at the end of July 2007. On 17 November 2014, G4 reformed for 'one night only' giving a concert at The Barbican Centre in London to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of their

X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

appearance in 2004. Whilst on stage Jonathan announced that due to the response of their 'one night only' concert they would be doing a UK tour in 2015.

Solo career

Ansell signed with new management Jonathan Shalit in 2007 and secured a £1 million, 5-album deal with Universal Classics and Jazz (UCJ), part of

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

. His first solo album with UCJ, ''Tenor at the Movies'', was released on 18 February 2008. For five Sunday afternoons from 17 February 2008, Ansell presented ''The Great Movie Composers'' on ClassicFM coinciding with the release of his solo album. Ansell participated in a celebrity edition of

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

show ''

Come Dine with Me ''Come Dine with Me'' is a British reality series that has aired on Channel 4 since 10 January 2005 and is narrated by Dave Lamb. Format The original format features five amateur chefs who live in the same town or area, who each host a three-c ...

'' on 10 April 2008 with

MC Harvey Michael Harvey Jr. (born 1 May 1979), better known as MC Harvey or simply Harvey, is a British rapper. He first came to fame in the early 2000s as a member of rap group So Solid Crew before then pursuing a solo career in 2008. In 2012, he was ...

, Tamara Beckwith and

Lynsey de Paul Lynsey de Paul (born Lyndsey Monckton Rubin; 11 June 1948 – 1 October 2014) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. After initially writing hits for others, she had her own chart hits in the UK and Europe in the 1970s, starting ...

. Ansell came in joint first place with MC Harvey, scoring 21 points. On 8 May 2008, Ansell's participation in

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

programme ''

Ready Steady Cook ''Ready Steady Cook'' is a BBC daytime TV cooking game show. It debuted on 24 October 1994 and the last original edition was broadcast on 2 February 2010. The programme was hosted by Fern Britton from 1994 until 2000 when celebrity chef Ainsley ...

'' against

Hayley Westenra Hayley Dee Westenra (born 10 April 1987) is a New Zealand classical crossover singer. Her first internationally released album, '' Pure'', reached number one on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million copies worldwide ...

was broadcast. In the evening of 8 May 2008, Ansell performed ''Un Giorno Per Noi'' with Westenra at the Classical Brits,

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

. During June 2008, Ansell and England and

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

striker

Kelly Smith Kelly Jayne Smith (born 29 October 1978) is an English former football forward who spent three spells with FA WSL club Arsenal. After moving to the United States, Smith broke records with Seton Hall University then played professionally with ...

won the British Lung Foundation's male and female 'Lungs of the Year 2008' award in recognition of the fantastic use they have made of their lungs over the past year. In a Q&A session with the BBC's ''

Last Choir Standing ''Last Choir Standing'' is a 2008 talent show-themed television series produced by the BBC in the United Kingdom. Broadcast on BBC One in July and August 2008, the series saw amateur choirs competing each week to be the 'last choir standing'. The ...

'' website, Ansell gave his views on the benefits of being part of a choir: "People see choirs on stage and predominantly it looks quite square... but off stage that's where all the fun happens – in rehearsals, messing about, lunch breaks, interacting with new people. That, for me, is what choirs are all about – having that fun both on and off stage." Jonathan made a guest appearance on ''Last Choir Standing'' (Results Show) on 3 August 2008 performing "Barcelona". On Sunday, 17 August 2008, Ansell participated in the tribute concert ''Lyrics by Don Black'' which was held at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...

featuring performances of Black's songs by a selection of guest artists. He performed the duet '' Amigos Para Siempre'' with Westenra, music by

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...

. The evening, hosted by

Michael Parkinson Sir Michael Parkinson (28 March 1935 – 16 August 2023) was an English television presenter, broadcaster, journalist and author. He presented his television talk show '' Parkinson'' from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007, as well as other ta ...

, was recorded by BBC Radio 2 Friday Night is Music Night and broadcast on Friday, 22 August 2008. One of the tracks on his second album ''Forever'' is " Hearts of England", the

2008 Rugby League World Cup The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth World Cup for men’s rugby league national teams. It was held between 26 October and 22 November and was won by New Zealand, who defeated Australia 34–20 in the final in one of the greatest ...

song composed by Patrick Hawes and his brother Andrew. He performed it live at the Rugby League Carnegie

Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...

Final at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

, London on Saturday, 30 August 2008. For the second weekend running Ansell performed a track from his album ''Forever'' live at Wembley, this time to sing the football anthem '' Nessun Dorma'' at

Soccer Aid Soccer Aid is an English annual charity event that has raised over £106 million in aid of UNICEF UK, through ticket sales and donations from the public. The televised event is an exhibition-style football match between two teams, England and ...

on Sunday, 7 September while the teams were presented to Sir

Geoff Hurst Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst (born 8 December 1941) is an English former professional Association football, footballer. A Striker (association football), striker, he became the first player to score a Hat-trick#Association football, hat-trick in a ...

. Before his G4 days, Ansell worked in Jersey with a

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen com ...

operatic society and during September 2008 returned to his roots, taking on the role of Nanki-Poo in the Carl Rosa Opera Company's production of ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

'' at both the Richmond Theatre and Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham. Ansell performed with Westenra at ''Music on Fire''! at the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

in September 2008, organised by the Army Benevolent Fund to raise funds for veterans. The third series of ''

The Alan Titchmarsh Show ''The Alan Titchmarsh Show'' is a British daytime chat show presented by Alan Titchmarsh. It was first broadcast on ITV on 3 September 2007 until 14 November 2014 and aired on weekday afternoons. The show's main focus is the "Best of British" th ...

'' featured the start of a competition to find a

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

to sing with Ansell in the ''A Night at the Opera'' tour. 8 ladies were selected to sing in front of a judging panel of David Grant,

Ruthie Henshall Valentine Ruth Henshall (born 7 March 1967), known professionally as Ruthie Henshall, is an English actress, singer and dancer, known for her work in musical theatre. She began her professional stage career in 1986, before making her West End d ...

and Jonathan Shalit. The 4 successful ladies Rosie Bell, Rosie Havel, Olivia Safe and Esther Dee faced a public vote on 15 September 2008 and Olivia Safe and Rosie Bell won through. They sang '' Libiamo ne' lieti calici'' with Ansell, from Verdi's '' La Traviata'' on 29 September 2008. Olivia Safe won the public vote to appear in the tour of ''A Night at the Opera''. ''A Night at the Opera'' had its first performance at the

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

Millennium Centre on 30 October 2008 and toured 18 venues in the UK ending at the

on 23 November 2008. The show co-starred

Silvia Colloca Silvia Colloca (born 23 July 1977) is an Italian-Australian actress, opera singer, cookbook author, and television cookery show personality. She has published six cookbooks. Life and career Colloca was born in Milan to Loredana and Mario Colloc ...

, Telman Guzhevsky, Anna-Clare Monk, Toby Stafford Allen and Olivia Safe. On Saturday, 8 November 2008, Ansell performed "Today Won't Come Again" with Westenra at the Festival of Remembrance at the

and later sang ''Here's to the Heroes'' when the returning forces came into the auditorium. During February 2009, Ansell toured with Westenra in ''The Valentines Tour''. At the England versus Scotland Six Nations Rugby Match at Twickenham on 21 March 2009, Ansell sang "God Save the Queen" at Twickenham. During Easter Week, 7 April 2009, Jonathan appeared in Dictionary Corner on Channel 4's ''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

''. Ansell was nominated for the Classical Brits 2009 "Album of the Year" with ''Tenor at the Movies''. On Monday 30 November 2009, Ansell launched the '' This Mornings Christmas Choir. In 2010, Ansell made his musical theatre début as The Man in the

Bill Kenwright William Kenwright (4 September 1945 – 23 October 2023) was an English theatre and film producer. He was also the chairman of Everton Football Club for nearly two decades, from 2004 until his death in 2023. Early life Kenwright was born in ...

touring production of

and

Jim Steinman James Richard Steinman (November 1, 1947 – April 19, 2021) was an American composer, lyricist and record producer. He also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer. His work included songs in the adult contemporary, rock, dance, pop, mus ...

's '' Whistle Down The Wind''. Opening at the

Liverpool Empire The Liverpool Empire Theatre is a theatre on the corner of Lime Street in Liverpool, England. The playhouse, which opened in 1925, is the second one to be built on the site. It has the largest two-tier auditorium in the United Kingdom and can ...

on 20 January, Ansell performed eight shows a week during the eight-month UK tour. Ansell played Boemer and two other characters in the 2010 National Tour of '' Lark Rise to Candleford'' starting at the Theatre Royal Windsor in September 2010. In April and May 2011, Ansell played the role of the Prince/Beast in a national tour of ''

Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

''.. In June 2011, he toured the UK with the show ''Jonathan Ansell and Friends''. Ansell unsuccessfully auditioned for the lead role in the

production of ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, Gospels' accounts of Passion of Jesus, the Passion, the work interprets ...

'' in 2012, as part of ITV's ''

Superstar A superstar is someone who has great popular appeal and is widely known, prominent, or successful in their field. Celebrities referred to as "superstars" may include individuals who work as actors, musicians, athletes, and other media-based profe ...

'' TV talent contest. In January 2012, Ansell launched a new album project, a mix of pop/rock covers and classics. The Album ''Two Hearts'' was released on 14 October 2013.

Les Musicals

Ansell teamed up with ''

Rhydian Roberts Rhydian James Roberts (born 14 February 1983), also known mononymously as Rhydian, is a Welsh baritone singer, television presenter and musical theatre actor. He rose to fame in series 4 of ''The X Factor'' (2007). Rhydian Roberts retired fr ...

'' on a 32 date tour of his show ''Les Musicals'' in May, June and October. Due to the success of the tour it was announced that the duo would be touring another show of 'Les Musicals' in 2019 as well as releasing an album together via

PledgeMusic PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects, such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist pa ...

. He joined up with Jai McDowall to complete another tour, and is touring as of 2022.

Philanthropy and Charity

Ansell has long been a supporter of

Breast Cancer Care Breast Cancer Care is the only specialist UK-wide charity in the UK providing care, support and information to anyone affected by breast cancer. The charity's headquarters are in London, with additional offices in Sheffield, Cardiff, and Glasgow. ...

because his father's twin sister, Brenda, died from the condition. He participated in the London Triathlon in 2007, performed at their London Fashion Show and Carols by Candlelight Service as well as donating his winnings from Who Wants to be Millionaire and Come Dine with Me. In April 2009, Ansell was appointed as an Ambassador for the charity Breast Cancer Care. In October 2008, Ansell and Westenra sold poppies at Waterloo station to support

the Royal British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British Charitable organization, charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants. ...

. On 12 November, Ansell duet "Today Won't Come Again" with Westenra in the Annual Festival of Remembrance. Ansell was the benchmark flyer for the Worthing International Birdman challenge where contestants attempt mechanically unaided flight off the end of

Worthing Pier Worthing Pier is a public pleasure pier in Worthing, West Sussex, England. Designed by Sir Robert Rawlinson, it was opened on 12 April 1862 and remains open to the public. The pier originally was a simple promenade deck long and wide. In 1888 ...

. He managed , sporting a Mr Incredible-style pink hairdo.

Personal life

Ansell proposed to former '' Quizmania'' host Debbie King on stage at the end of his final show of ''A Night at the Opera'' at the

on 23 November 2008. The couple married on Sunday 30 August 2009 on the 40th floor of

30 St Mary Axe 30 St Mary Axe, previously known as the Swiss Re Building, is a commercial skyscraper in London's primary financial district, the City of London. Its nickname, The Gherkin, is due to its resemblance to the vegetable. It was completed in Decem ...

. On 14 May 2010, the couple announced they were expecting their first child. King gave birth at 2 pm on 24 November 2010 to a daughter. On 16 September 2014, Jonathan announced on his official Facebook page 'Its a Boy!!!. Confirming the birth of their second child, a son, Dexter Sol Ansell, at 3 pm.

Discography

Albums

* ''Tenor at the Movies'' * ''Forever'' * ''Intimate Sunday'' * ''Two Hearts''

References

External links

Official Jonathan Ansell Website

Jonathan Ansell Music on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ansell, Jonathan 1982 births Living people Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama G4 (group) members English tenors People from Bognor Regis Opera crossover singers People educated at Bishop Luffa School The X Factor (British TV series) contestants