Michael Ashley Ball (born 27 June 1962) is an English singer, presenter and actor. In 1985, he made his
West End debut as
Marius Pontmercy
Marius Pontmercy () is a fictional character, one of the protagonists of Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel ''Les Misérables''. He is a young student, and the suitor of Cosette. Believing Cosette lost to him, and determined to die, he joins the revoluti ...
in the original production of ''
Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...
''. In 1989, he reached number two in the
UK Singles Chart with "
Love Changes Everything", from the musical ''
Aspects of Love'', where he played Alex Dillingham. He played the role in the West End and on
Broadway. His album ''Coming Home To You'' reached number one in the UK making it his 4th number one album to date. On 24 April 2020, Ball and
Captain Tom Moore entered the
UK Singles Chart at number one with a cover of "
You'll Never Walk Alone
"You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical '' Carousel''. In the second act of the musical, Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the protagonist Julie Jordan, sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" to comfort and e ...
", with combined chart sales of 82,000 making it the fastest-selling single of 2020. In 1992, Ball represented the
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
The United Kingdom has been represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 67 times. Its first participation was at the , in 1957, and it has entered every year since . The British participating broadcaster in the contest is the BBC, British Broadc ...
, finishing second with the song "
One Step Out of Time".
In 1995, he reprised his West End role of Marius in ''
Les Misérables: The Dream Cast in Concert''. His other West End credits include
Raoul de Chagny in ''
The Phantom of the Opera The Phantom of the Opera may refer to:
Novel
* The Phantom of the Opera (novel), ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (novel), 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux
Characters
* Erik (The Phantom of the Opera), Erik (''The Phantom of the Opera''), the title char ...
'' (1987), Giorgio Bachetti in ''
Passion'' (1996), and
Caractacus Pott
Caractacus Pott (Caractacus Potts in the film adaptation) is one of the main characters in Ian Fleming's novel ''Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang'' and its Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, film adaptation. The film version of the story makes several changes to h ...
s in ''
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is a 1968 children's film, children's Musical film, musical fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes and produced by Albert R. Broccoli. It stars Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries, Gert Fröbe, Anna Quayle, ...
'' (2002). In 2004, he played
Jean Valjean
Jean Valjean () is the protagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables''. The story depicts the character's struggle to lead a normal life and redeem himself after serving a 19-year-long prison sentence for stealing bread to feed his ...
in a concert performance of ''
Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...
'' for the Queen at
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...
. He has twice won the
Laurence Olivier Award
The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in West End theatre, professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of We ...
for
Best Actor in a Musical. He won in 2008 for his role as Edna Turnblad in ''
Hairspray
Hairspray may refer to:
* Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind
* Hairspray (1988 film), ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters
** Hairspray (1988 soundtrack), ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundt ...
'',
and then in 2013 for
the title role in the revival of ''
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street''. In 2018, he played Anatoly Sergievsky in the West End revival of
''Chess'', and he returned to ''
Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...
'' in 2019 and 2020 as
Inspector Javert. He reprised his role of Edna Turnblad in the 2021 revival of ''
Hairspray
Hairspray may refer to:
* Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind
* Hairspray (1988 film), ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters
** Hairspray (1988 soundtrack), ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundt ...
'' and in 2023 played the other leading male role of Sir George Dillingham in a revival of ''
Aspects of Love''. In 2024, Ball reprised the role of Javert in ''
Les Misérables: The Arena Spectacular World Tour''.
[Cast for Les Misérables arena tour announced]
/ref>
Ball was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(OBE) in the 2015 Birthday Honours for his services to musical theatre.
Early life
Ball was born in Bromsgrove
Bromsgrove is a town in Worcestershire, England, about north-east of Worcester and south-west of Birmingham city centre. It had a population of 34,755 in at the 2021 census. It gives its name to the wider Bromsgrove District, of which it is ...
, Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...
, to a Welsh mother and an English father. His father Tony, who originally wanted to be an actor, trained as an Austin
Austin refers to:
Common meanings
* Austin, Texas, United States, a city
* Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...
apprentice at the Longbridge plant
The Longbridge plant is an industrial complex in Longbridge, Birmingham, England, currently leased by SAIC Motor, SAIC as a research and development facility for its MG Motor subsidiary. Vehicle assembly ended in 2016. Opened in 1905, by the lat ...
and progressed to become head of global sales at British Leyland
British Leyland was a British automotive engineering and manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate formed in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BLMC), following the merger of Leyland Motors and British Motor Holdings. It wa ...
. He was awarded an MBE for services to industry. Ball's maternal grandfather was a coal miner. Ball has a brother, Kevin, four years his senior and a sister, Katherine, almost a decade his junior. He moved to Dartmoor
Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, South West England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers .
The granite that forms the uplands dates from the Carb ...
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
Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...
, Mahalia Jackson
Mahalia Jackson ( ; born Mahala Jackson; October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972) was an American gospel music, gospel singer, widely considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. With a career spanning 40 years, Jackson was ...
and Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
. 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. 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
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...
production at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre
The Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RST) (originally called the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre) is a Grade II* listed 1,040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the English playwright and poet William Shakespea ...
of ''King Lear
''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...
'', 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
Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...
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
''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 3 ...
''.
Theatre
In 1984, after he had left drama school, Ball's first part was in ''Godspell
''Godspell'' is a musical in two acts with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by John-Michael Tebelak. The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set t ...
'' at Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...
Arts Centre, after which he worked for a few months in rep in Basingstoke, but his first major break was a star part in the production of ''The Pirates of Penzance
''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 3 ...
'' at Manchester Opera House
The Opera House in Quay Street, Manchester, England, is a 1,920-seater commercial touring Theatre (structure), theatre that plays host to touring Musical theatre, musicals, ballet, concerts and a Christmas pantomime. It is a Grade II listed buil ...
; 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
Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh (born 17 October 1946) is a British theatrical producer and theatre owner notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "t ...
cast him as Marius in the original London cast of ''Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...
'', but he caught glandular fever and he took six or seven weeks off sick to recover from the associated tonsillitis
Tonsillitis is inflammation of the tonsils in the upper part of the throat. It can be acute or chronic. Acute tonsillitis typically has a rapid onset. Symptoms may include sore throat, fever, enlargement of the tonsils, trouble swallowing, and en ...
and post-viral fatigue. When he returned to work he was still suffering from fatigue, and began to get on-stage panic attack
Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear and Comfort, discomfort that may include palpitations, otherwise defined as a Tachycardia, rapid, Arrhythmia, irregular Heart rate, heartbeat, Hyperhidrosis, sweating, chest pain or discomfort, s ...
s — 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''.
Thames Television
Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992.
Thames Television broa ...
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. At about that time, Cameron Mackintosh asked Ball to play Raoul in the second casting of ''The Phantom of the Opera The Phantom of the Opera may refer to:
Novel
* The Phantom of the Opera (novel), ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (novel), 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux
Characters
* Erik (The Phantom of the Opera), Erik (''The Phantom of the Opera''), the title char ...
'' in London, which was necessary after Michael Crawford
Michael Patrick Smith (born 19 January 1942), known professionally as Michael Crawford, is an English actor, comedian and singer.
Crawford is best known for playing the hapless Frank Spencer in the sitcom '' Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'', Cornel ...
(who played the Phantom) and Steve Barton
Steven Neal Barton (June 26, 1954 – July 21, 2001) was an American actor, singer, dancer, teacher, choreographer, and stage director. He worked internationally in the United States, London, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. He is most well k ...
(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.
Ball played Alex in '' Aspects of Love'', both in London and New York, and Giorgio in the London production of Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March22, 1930November26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received Lis ...
's '' Passion''. ''Alone Together'' was his one-man show first performed at the Donmar Warehouse
The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit Off-West End theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977.
Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage, Josie Rourke and Michael Longhurst have all served as artistic direc ...
(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
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 ...
'' at the 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 ...
(released on DVD), ''Sondheim Tonight'' at the Barbican Centre
The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London, England, and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings a ...
(released on CD) and ''Hey, Mr. Producer: The Musical World of Cameron Mackintosh
Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh (born 17 October 1946) is a British theatrical producer and theatre owner notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "t ...
'' (released on CD and DVD). In 2002 he took on the role of Caractacus Pott
Caractacus Pott (Caractacus Potts in the film adaptation) is one of the main characters in Ian Fleming's novel ''Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang'' and its Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, film adaptation. The film version of the story makes several changes to h ...
s in the Sherman Brothers
The Sherman Brothers were an American songwriting duo that specialized in musical films, made up of brothers Robert Sherman (December 19, 1925 – March 6, 2012) and Richard Sherman (June 12, 1928 – May 25, 2024). Together they received ...
musical ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is a 1968 children's film, children's Musical film, musical fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes and produced by Albert R. Broccoli. It stars Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries, Gert Fröbe, Anna Quayle, ...
'', which was largely considered his comeback role.
In 2004, he co-starred with Petula Clark
Sally "Petula" Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child actor, child performer and has had the longest career of any British entertainer, spanning more than 85 y ...
in a production of Lloyd Webber's ''Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway (California), Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisad ...
'' at the Cork Opera House, later broadcast by the 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 ...
. 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 duet
A duet (italian language, Italian: ''duo'') is a musical composition for two Performing arts, performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a har ...
s with Clark. Other performances include singing at the 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 ...
'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
Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...
in 2004. In 2005, with 10 days' notice, he replaced Michael Crawford
Michael Patrick Smith (born 19 January 1942), known professionally as Michael Crawford, is an English actor, comedian and singer.
Crawford is best known for playing the hapless Frank Spencer in the sitcom '' Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'', Cornel ...
as Count Fosco in '' The Woman in White'' after poor health forced Crawford to give up the role.
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.
In September 2005, Ball made his New York City Opera
The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through its 2013 bankruptcy, and again since 2016 when it was revived.
The opera company, dubbed "the peopl ...
debut as Reginald Bunthorne in 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 ...
's ''Patience
or forbearance, is the ability to endure difficult or undesired long-term circumstances. Patience involves perseverance or tolerance in the face of delay, provocation, or stress without responding negatively, such as reacting with disrespect ...
''. 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
The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...
's celebratory performance of ''The Rocky Horror Show
''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to various B movies associated with the Science fiction film, science fiction and Horror film, horror genres from the 193 ...
''. He took a leading role in '' Kismet'' in June and July 2007 for the ENO, and appeared on 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 ...
's ''Richard & Judy
''Richard & Judy'' (also known as ''Richard & Judy's New Position'') is a British television chat show presented by the married couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. The show originally aired on Channel 4 from 26 November 2001 to 22 Augus ...
'' 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
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 ...
. Ball performed a wide range of musical theatre numbers, including several 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 show was broadcast live on BBC Four
BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002 , as well as on BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...
.
From October 2007 – July 2009, Ball made his West End return starring as Edna Turnblad in the hit musical ''Hairspray
Hairspray may refer to:
* Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind
* Hairspray (1988 film), ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters
** Hairspray (1988 soundtrack), ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundt ...
'' at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London. In March 2008, he was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical
The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre Award ...
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
The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...
in the West End, alongside Imelda Staunton
Dame Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton (born 9 January 1956) is an English actress and singer. After training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Staunton began her career in repertory theatre in 1976 and appeared in various theatre pr ...
as Mrs. Lovett. The show premiered at the Chichester Festival Theatre
Chichester Festival Theatre is a theatre and Grade II* listed building situated in Oaklands Park in the city of Chichester, West Sussex, England. Designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, it was opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Mart ...
for six weeks starting 24 September 2011 before transferring to London in March 2012. 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.
In 2018, he starred as Anatoly Sergievsky in the West End revival of Sir Tim Rice’s ''Chess
Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...
'' at the London Coliseum
The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, City of Westminster, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the Lond ...
. His co-stars included Tim Howar, Cassidy Janson, and Alexandra Burke
Alexandra Imelda Cecelia Ewen Burke (born 25 August 1988) is an English singer, songwriter and actress. She won the fifth series of the talent television show ''The X Factor'' in 2008. Following the show, she was signed to Syco Music and releas ...
.
It was announced in February 2019 that Ball will star as Inspector Javert opposite Alfie Boe (Jean Valjean
Jean Valjean () is the protagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables''. The story depicts the character's struggle to lead a normal life and redeem himself after serving a 19-year-long prison sentence for stealing bread to feed his ...
) 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
Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh (born 17 October 1946) is a British theatrical producer and theatre owner notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "t ...
's new staging of the show at the renamed Sondheim theatre. The staged concert was broadcast live to cinemas in the UK on 2 December 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.
The live stream also became available as a DVD and CD in early 2020. The concert was broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on the 5 January 2020.
In 2021, Ball reprised his role as Edna Turnblad in a revival of ''Hairspray
Hairspray may refer to:
* Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind
* Hairspray (1988 film), ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters
** Hairspray (1988 soundtrack), ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundt ...
'' at the London Coliseum
The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, City of Westminster, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the Lond ...
, which opened in June of that year. In 2023, he played George Dillingham in a revival of '' Aspects of Love'' at the Lyric Theatre. In 2024, he reprised the role of Javert in '' Les Misérables: The Arena Spectacular World Tour''.[
]
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
A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent t ...
with his recording
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, re ...
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
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
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).
Ball represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest 1992 held in Malmö
Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...
, Sweden, singing the song " One Step Out of Time", which finished second. The single reached number 20 in the UK, while an eponym
An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...
ous album released in the same year reached number 1. 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
Julian Lloyd Webber (born 14 April 1951) is a British solo cellist, conductor and broadcaster, a former principal of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the founder of the In Harmony music education programme.
Early years and education
Julia ...
'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
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 ...
, '' This Morning'', and the BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
programme ''The Heaven and Earth Show
''The Heaven and Earth Show'' is a BBC television programme that aired on Sunday mornings from 10am to 11am on BBC One. The show ran for nine years between 1998 and 2007, looking at spiritual and moral issues. Over the years it had numerous prese ...
'', hosted by Gloria Hunniford
Mary Winifred Gloria Hunniford, OBE (born 10 April 1940) is a television and radio presenter, broadcaster and singer from Northern Ireland. She is known for presenting programmes on the BBC and ITV, such as '' Rip Off Britain'', and her regula ...
.
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
Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; May 12, 1928 – February 8, 2023) was an American composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist who is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential figures of 20th-century popular music. Start ...
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
The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly and still commonly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Pa ...
. Promotional activities took place throughout October and November 2007 for these releases including appearances on ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' and ''Loose Women
''Loose Women'' (known as ''Live Talk'' from 2000 to 2001) is a British talk show that broadcasts on ITV weekdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The show focuses on a panel of four female presenters who interview celebrities, talk about aspects of ...
''.
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
''From Here to Eternity'' is a 1953 American romantic Drama (film and television)#War drama, war drama film directed by Fred Zinnemann and written by Daniel Taradash, based on the 1951 From Here to Eternity (novel), novel of the same name by J ...
.
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 Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
and, although Ball has had many hits, this is his first solo number one selling album in 26 years.
He has recorded three albums with Alfie Boe. Two reached number 1; ''Ball & Boe: Together'' in 2016 and ''Ball & Boe: Together Again'' in 2017. Their third album, ''Ball & Boe: Back Together in 2019'' reached number 2 in the UK Albums Chart.
In April 2020, Ball recorded a duet with 99 year old World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
veteran Captain Tom Moore, in aid of the NHS during the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. Their cover of "You'll Never Walk Alone
"You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical '' Carousel''. In the second act of the musical, Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the protagonist Julie Jordan, sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" to comfort and e ...
" reached number one in the UK Singles Chart on 24 April, not only giving Ball his first chart-topping single at the age of 57, but also making Moore the oldest ever person in history to score a number one hit.
Television
As an actor, Ball briefly appeared as Malcolm Nuttall in ''Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...
'' 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
BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Wales.
It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, ...
''Ball in the Hall''. These three episodes were combined to make a special which was then broadcast on BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
. Ball has presented '' The National Lottery Draws'' and ''Children in Need
''BBC Children in Need'' is the BBC's UK Charitable organization, charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the country. Established in 1980, the organisation has raised over £1 billion by 2023 through its ...
''. 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. 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
Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...
'' for ITV Breakfast
ITV Breakfast Broadcasting Limited (previously known as ''GMTV, GMTV Limited'') is the national ITV (TV network), ITV breakfast television licensee, broadcasting in the United Kingdom. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc in November ...
.
On 10 April 2013, Ball guest hosted ''The One Show
''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weekdays at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Roman Kemp, Ronan Keating ...
'' 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
''The Paul O'Grady Show'' was a British comedy chat show presented by comedian Paul O'Grady, first shown on 11 October 2004. The programme was a teatime chat show consisting of a mixture of celebrity guests, comic stunts, musical performances ...
'' after Paul O'Grady
Paul James O'Grady (14 June 1955 – 28 March 2023) was an English comedian, broadcaster, drag queen, actor, and writer. He achieved notability in the London gay scene during the 1980s with his drag persona Lily Savage, through which he gained ...
was taken ill. On 24 November 2013, he guest starred as a fictionalized version of himself in the British sitcom '' Toast of London''. On 29 December 2013, Ball was a contestant on a celebrity Christmas edition of ''Catchphrase
A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...
''.
On 3 January 2014, BBC Four
BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002 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
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 ...
in London. Ball sang two songs on this show; the first was the song Born Free
''Born Free'' is a 1966 British drama film starring the real-life couple Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as Joy and George Adamson, another real-life couple, who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood and released h ...
, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the Film industry, motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who h ...
and was a hit for the British male singer Matt Monro
Matt Monro (born Terence Edward Parsons; 1 December 1930 – 7 February 1985) was an English singer. Known as "The Man with the Golden Voice", he performed internationally during his 30-year career and sold a reported 23 million records. AllMus ...
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
''Born Free'' is a 1966 British drama film starring the real-life couple Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as Joy and George Adamson, another real-life couple, who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood and released h ...
. 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 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 ...
. 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
The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British concert orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five BBC orchestras which is not a full-scale sym ...
provided the orchestral backing for Ball on both songs for this performance.
On 26 December 2014, Ball starred in Victoria Wood
Victoria Wood (19 May 1953 – 20 April 2016) was an English comedian, actress, musician, screenwriter, and director. Wood wrote and starred in dozens of sketches, plays, musicals, films and sitcoms over several decades, and her live comedy act ...
's musical ''That Day We Sang
''That Day We Sang'' is a British musical written and composed by Victoria Wood. It is based on a true story of the reunion of a famous recording of "Nymphs and Shepherds" in 1929 by The Manchester Children's Choir.
2011 Manchester International ...
'', reuniting him with his ''Sweeney Todd'' co-star Imelda Staunton.
Michael has fronted three ITV shows with Alfie Boe. They were broadcast in 2016, 2017 and 2019.
2016 - ''Ball and Boe: One Night Only''
2017 - ''Ball and Boe: Back Together''
2019 - ''Ball and Boe: A Very Merry Christmas''
Radio
Ball hosted ''Ball over Broadway'' and ''The Greenroom'' on BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...
and several specials on subjects such as Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...
, Cameron Mackintosh
Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh (born 17 October 1946) is a British theatrical producer and theatre owner notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "t ...
, and Cy Coleman
Cy Coleman (born Seymour Kaufman; June 14, 1929 – November 18, 2004) was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist.
Life and career
Coleman was born Seymour Kaufman in New York City, to Ashkenazi, Eastern European Jewish parents, an ...
.
His first regular show on BBC Radio 2 was ''Michael Ball's Sunday Brunch'' in 2008, replacing 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 ...
whose show '' Parkinson's Sunday Supplement'' had ended the previous year. The show aired on Sunday mornings between 11 am and 1 pm until September 2011, latterly sharing its time slot with '' Weekend Wogan'' presented by Terry Wogan
Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in Britain for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in 2009, his BBC Radio 2 weekday brea ...
.
After a short break, in 2013 Ball returned to Radio 2 with a new show, ''Sunday Night With Michael Ball'', 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''. Claudia Winkleman
Claudia Anne Irena Winkleman (born 15 January 1972) is an English broadcaster and writer. She has been nominated three times for the British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance for co-presenting the BBC One dancing compet ...
took over the vacant Sunday evening slot later that month.
He was also a regular stand-in presenter for Ken Bruce
Kenneth Robertson Bruce (born 2 February 1951) is a Scottish radio and television presenter. He hosted a weekday mid-morning show on BBC Radio 2 between 1986 and 1990, then again from 1992 to 2023. Since April 2023, he has presented the same s ...
until 2016 on the station.
On 2 April 2024, it was announced that Ball would be moving from his 11am–1pm Sunday lunchtime slot in June to take over ''Sunday Love Songs'' between 9am and 11am, following the death of long time host Steve Wright in February. He was replaced by Paddy McGuinness
Patrick Joseph McGuinness (born 14 August 1973) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television presenter. He rose to fame with the help of fellow comedian Peter Kay, who invited him to appear on the television comedy series '' That Peter ...
. He started his new show, ''Love Songs with Michael Ball'', on 2 June 2024.
Recent career
Ball embarked on an extensive British tour during March and April 2007. There were 23 dates on the tour covering England, Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
and Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
. The tour started with two nights in Belfast
Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
, before a number of shows in the north of England and the Midlands. Ball then headed to Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
and Aberdeen
Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
before returning for shows in London, Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
and Northampton
Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...
. Ball took a trip to his old home in Plymouth
Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
before embarking on the final leg of his tour. It saw Ball perform in Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...
and Northampton before ending his tour in 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 ...
. He made his debut with the English National Opera
English National Opera (ENO) is a British opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in E ...
in the lead role of Hajj/Poet in a new production of Robert Wright and George Forrest George Forrest may refer to:
*G. Topham Forrest (George Topham Forrest, 1872–1945), principal architect for the London County Council
*George Forrest (author) (1915–1999), American author and musician
*George Forrest (botanist) (1873–1932), S ...
's '' Kismet'' after this tour.
In August 2007, he made his BBC Proms
The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...
debut with ''An Evening with Michael Ball'' at the 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 ...
, 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
The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal ...
at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool on 3 December 2007 singing "You Can't Stop the Beat
In Modern English, the word "''you''" is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers.
History
''You'' comes from ...
" with the rest of the cast from ''Hairspray
Hairspray may refer to:
* Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind
* Hairspray (1988 film), ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters
** Hairspray (1988 soundtrack), ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundt ...
'', 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
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
show ''Desert Island Discs
''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942.
Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight audio recordin ...
'', 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. 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
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 ...
's Sunday Supplement'' on BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...
every Sunday from 11 am to 1 pm 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
The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre Award ...
, his first Olivier Award.
Ball's solo album ''Past and Present'' was released on 9 March 2009 by Universal Music
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...
. The album includes a compilation of previously released material celebrating Ball's 25th 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
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 ...
on 19 September 2009 was filmed for DVD release. Ball performed in a "one-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.
''The Shooting Star Children's Hospice'' and ''CHASE Hospice Care for Children'' joined to become ''Shooting Star CHASE'' in 2011 and Ball is a patron for this charity.
On 14 February 2010, Ball stepped in as a guest judge for Robin Cousins
Robin John Cousins MBE (born 17 August 1957) is a British former competitive figure skater who was BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1980. He was the 1980 Olympic champion, the 1980 European champion, a three-time World medalist (1978– ...
on ITV1
ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the ITV (TV network), Channel 3 ...
's ''Dancing on Ice
''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series broadcast from 2006 to 2014 and then from 2018 to 2025. It was presented by Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern. Other previous hosts include Phillip Schofield and Christine Lampard. The series ...
'' while Cousins was in Vancouver
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
for the Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...
. 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''.
The 25th Anniversary Concert of ''Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...
'' was held at The O2 Arena
The O2 Arena, commonly known as The O2, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of The O2 entertainment district on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London, England. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the third-highest seat ...
. It featured Alfie Boe as Jean Valjean
Jean Valjean () is the protagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables''. The story depicts the character's struggle to lead a normal life and redeem himself after serving a 19-year-long prison sentence for stealing bread to feed his ...
, Norm Lewis
Norm Lewis (born June 2, 1963) is an American actor and baritone singer. He has appeared on Broadway and in London's West End, film, television, recordings and regional theatre. He is also noted for his wide vocal range. Lewis was the second ...
as Javert
Javert (), no first name given in the source novel, is a fictional character and a main antagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables.'' He was presumably born in 1780 and died on June 7, 1832. First a prison guard, and then a police i ...
, Lea Salonga
Maria Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga, ( ; born February 22, 1971) is a Filipino singer and actress. Known primarily for her work in theatre, she has starred in musicals on Broadway and in the West End. Her accolades include a Tony Award and a L ...
as Fantine
Fantine (French pronunciation: ) is a fictional character in Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables''. She is a young ''Grisette (person), grisette'' in Paris who is impregnated by a rich student. After he abandons her, she is forced to look ...
, Ramin Karimloo
Ramin Karimloo (; ; born ) is a Canadian actor, singer, and songwriter known for his work on the West End theatre, West End and Broadway theatre, Broadway theatre.
He has played the leading roles in both of the West End's longest running musica ...
as Enjolras
Enjolras () is a fictional character who acts as the charismatic leader of the Friends of the ABC in the 1862 novel ''Les Misérables'' by Victor Hugo. In both the novel and the musical that it inspired, Enjolras is a revolutionary who fights f ...
, Hadley Fraser
Hadley Fraser (born Robert Hugh Fraser, April 21, 1980) is an English actor and singer. He made his West End debut as Marius Pontmercy in ''Les Misérables''. He also originated the role of Tiernan for his Broadway debut in '' The Pirate Qu ...
as Grantaire, Katie Hall as Cosette
Cosette () is a fictional character in the 1862 novel ''Les Misérables'' by Victor Hugo and in the many adaptations of the story for stage, film, and television. Her birth name, Euphrasie, is only mentioned briefly. As the orphaned child of an ...
, Matt Lucas
Matthew Richard Lucas (born 5 March 1974) is an English actor, comedian, writer and television host. He is best known for his work with David Walliams on the BBC sketch comedy series ''Little Britain (TV series), Little Britain'' (2003–2006) ...
as Thénardier, Jenny Galloway as Madame Thénardier, Samantha Barks
Samantha Jane Barks (born 2 October 1990) is a British actress and singer who rose to fame after placing third in the BBC talent show-themed television series '' I'd Do Anything'' in 2008. She has released three studio albums: ''Looking in Y ...
as Éponine, Nick Jonas
Nicholas Jerry Jonas (born September 16, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. Jonas began acting on Broadway at the age of seven, and released his debut single in 2002; this caught the attention of Columbia Records, where Jonas ...
as Marius Pontmercy
Marius Pontmercy () is a fictional character, one of the protagonists of Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel ''Les Misérables''. He is a young student, and the suitor of Cosette. Believing Cosette lost to him, and determined to die, he joins the revoluti ...
, 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
Colm Wilkinson (born 5 June 1944), also known as C. T. Wilkinson, is an Irish singer and actor who is best known for originating the lead role of Jean Valjean in ''Les Misérables'' (in the West End and Broadway) and for creating the title rol ...
anchored the encore, with four Jean Valjeans singing " Bring Him Home": Wilkinson from the original London cast, John Owen-Jones
John Owen-Jones (born 5 May 1971) is a Welsh musical theatre actor and singer, best known for his portrayals of Jean Valjean in Alain Boublil & Claude-Michel Schönberg's ''Les Misérables'' and The Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber's ''The Ph ...
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
Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh (born 17 October 1946) is a British theatrical producer and theatre owner notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "t ...
, Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg
Claude-Michel Schönberg (born 6 July 1944, in Vannes) is a French record producer, actor, singer, songwriter, and musical theatre composer, best known for his collaborations with lyricist Alain Boublil. Major works include '' La Révolution Fr ...
, 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
The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in West End theatre, professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of We ...
with Imelda Staunton on 13 March 2011 at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and listed building, Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) an ...
, 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
The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university has campuses and affiliated colleges across South West England. With students, it is the ...
.
In 2017, Ball backs children's fairy tales app GivingTales in aid of UNICEF together with Roger Moore
Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the actor to portray Ian Fleming's fictional secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in the Eon Productions/MGM Studios film series, playing the ...
, Stephen Fry
Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...
, Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama and ...
, Joan Collins
Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Awards, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime Emm ...
, Joanna Lumley
Dame Joanna Lamond Lumley (born 1 May 1946) is an Indian-born British actress, presenter, author, television producer, activist and former model. She has won two BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulo ...
, Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, 14 March 1933) is a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over Michael Caine filmography, a career that spanned eight decades an ...
, Charlotte Rampling
Tessa Charlotte Rampling (born 5 February 1946) is an English actress. An icon of the Swinging London, Swinging Sixties, she began her career as a model. She was cast in the role of Meredith in the 1966 film ''Georgy Girl'', which starred Lynn ...
and Paul McKenna
Paul McKenna (born 8 November 1963) is a British hypnotist, behavioural scientist, television and radio broadcaster and author of self-help books.
McKenna has hosted self-improvement television shows and presents seminars in hypnosis, ne ...
.
On 29 March 2019, the album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart. ''Coming Home to You'' was Michael Ball's fourth UK number one album, his first solo number one album in the UK since his self-titled debut album in 1992. Talking to the Official Charts Company, he said, "It's the most exciting news! Thank you so much for supporting the album, to the fans who've connected with it and bought it. The hard work has been worth it and this is just the icing on the cake. Amazing!".
"You'll Never Walk Alone"
In April 2020, to mark 99-year old Captain Tom Moore completing the first phase of his fundraising walk during the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, Ball sang "You'll Never Walk Alone
"You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical '' Carousel''. In the second act of the musical, Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the protagonist Julie Jordan, sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" to comfort and e ...
" for him live on ''BBC Breakfast
''BBC Breakfast'' is a British television breakfast news programme, produced by BBC News and broadcast on BBC One every morning from 6:00am. It is also broadcast on the UK feed of BBC News channel on weekends. The simulcast is presented live, ...
''. Within 24 hours, the performance was recorded, and made into a digital single featuring the NHS Voices of Care Choir, and Moore's spoken words. Released by Decca Records, with all proceeds going to NHS Charities Together, the recording went straight to number one in the United Kingdom's " The Official Big Top 40" chart. It sold almost 36,000 copies in its first 48 hours, and was "biggest trending song" as measured by the Official Charts Company
The Official UK Charts Company Limited (formerly Music Industry Chart Services Limited), trading as the Official Charts Company (OCC) or the Official Charts (formerly the Chart Information Network), is a British inter-professional organisation ...
. On 24 April, it became No. 1 in the weekly "Official" UK Singles Chart, making Moore the oldest person to achieve that position and meaning that he will be at No. 1 on his 100th birthday.
Personal life
Ball lives with his partner, the former presenter of ''Ready Steady Go!
''Ready Steady Go!'' (or ''RSG!'') was a British rock/pop music television programme broadcast every Friday evening from 9 August 1963 until 23 December 1966. It was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion TV. Allan wanted a light ente ...
'', Cathy McGowan in Barnes, London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. They met around 1989 when she was an entertainment reporter for a 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 ...
London magazine show and interviewed him during rehearsals for '' Aspects of Love''. They have lived together since 1992. On 23 December 2000, she saved his life by dragging him out of a house fire. McGowan was previously married to actor Hywel Bennett
Hywel Thomas Bennett (8 April 1944 – 24 July 2017) was a Welsh film and television actor. He had a lead role in '' The Family Way'' (1966) and played the titular "thinking man's layabout" James Shelley in the television sitcom '' Shelley'' ( ...
, the marriage producing a daughter, Emma. Ball is godfather to Emma's son.
Ball returned to the Guildford School of Acting in April 2022 to deliver a speech to the graduating postgraduates of that year. Whilst there, the University of Surrey
The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its Royal Charter, royal charter in 1966, along with a Plate glass university, number of other institutions following recommendations ...
awarded Ball with an honorary doctorate
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...
.
Ball's step granddaughter Grace Crompton represents England at rugby sevens
Rugby sevens (commonly known simply as sevens, and originally seven-a-side rugby) is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. R ...
and was chosen for the 2022 Commonwealth Games
The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...
.
Stage credits
Discography
Solo albums
* '' Michael Ball'' (1992)
* ''Always'' (1993)
* ''One Careful Owner'' (1994)
* ''First Love'' (1995)
* ''The Musicals'' (1996)
* ''The Movies'' (1998)
* ''The Very Best of Michael Ball – In Concert at the Royal Albert Hall'' (1999)
* ''Christmas'' (1999 & 2000)
* ''This Time... It's Personal'' (2000)
* ''Centre Stage'' (2001)
* ''A Love Story'' (2003)
* ''Love Changes Everything – The Essential Michael Ball'' (2004)
* ''Music'' (2005)
* ''One Voice'' (2006)
* ''Back to Bacharach'' (2007)
* ''Past and Present: The Very Best of Michael Ball'' (2009)
* '' Heroes'' (2011)
* ''Both Sides Now'' (2013)
* ''If Everyone Was Listening'' (2014)
* ''Together
''ToGetHer'' (, aka Superstar Express) is a 2009 Taiwanese drama starring Jiro Wang of Fahrenheit, Rainie Yang and George Hu. It was produced by Comic International Productions ( 可米國際影視事業股份有限公司) and directed by Linzi ...
'' with Alfie Boe (2016)
* '' Together Again'' with Alfie Boe (2017)
* ''Coming Home to You
''President Snakes'' is the fourth album from the nerd-folk duo The Doubleclicks, released on August 11, 2015. The album was funded via Kickstarter with a goal of $30,000. The goal was achieved within the first few days of the campaign's launch. ...
'' (2019)
* '' Back Together'' with Alfie Boe (2019)
* '' Together at Christmas'' with Alfie Boe (2020)
* ''We Are More Than One'' (2021)
* '' Together in Vegas'' with Alfie Boe (2022)
* ''Together at Home
''One World: Together at Home'' (also known as ''Together at Home'') was a 2020 benefit concert organized by Global Citizen (organization), Global Citizen of New York City and curated by singer Lady Gaga in support of the World Health Organizat ...
'' with Alfie Boe (2024)
Cast recordings
* ''Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...
– Original London Cast'' (1985) as Marius Pontmercy
Marius Pontmercy () is a fictional character, one of the protagonists of Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel ''Les Misérables''. He is a young student, and the suitor of Cosette. Believing Cosette lost to him, and determined to die, he joins the revoluti ...
* ''Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...
– Complete Symphonic Recording'' (1988) as Marius Pontmercy
Marius Pontmercy () is a fictional character, one of the protagonists of Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel ''Les Misérables''. He is a young student, and the suitor of Cosette. Believing Cosette lost to him, and determined to die, he joins the revoluti ...
* ''Rage of the Heart – Concept Album'' (1989) as Peter Abelard
Peter Abelard (12 February 1079 – 21 April 1142) was a medieval French scholastic philosopher, leading logician, theologian, teacher, musician, composer, and poet. This source has a detailed description of his philosophical work.
In philos ...
* '' Aspects of Love – Original London Cast'' (1989) as Alex Dillingham
* ''West Side Story
''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents.
Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...
– Studio Cast'' (1993) as Tony
* '' Les Misérables – 10th Anniversary – The Dream Cast in Concert'' (1995) as Marius Pontmercy
Marius Pontmercy () is a fictional character, one of the protagonists of Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel ''Les Misérables''. He is a young student, and the suitor of Cosette. Believing Cosette lost to him, and determined to die, he joins the revoluti ...
* '' Passion – Original London Cast in Concert'' (1997) as Georgio
* ''Sondheim Tonight'' (1998) – Concert Cast
* ''Hey, Mr. Producer: The Musical World of Cameron Mackintosh'' (1998) – Concert Cast, Raoul in ''The Phantom of the Opera The Phantom of the Opera may refer to:
Novel
* The Phantom of the Opera (novel), ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (novel), 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux
Characters
* Erik (The Phantom of the Opera), Erik (''The Phantom of the Opera''), the title char ...
'', Marius in ''Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...
''
* ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is a 1968 children's film, children's Musical film, musical fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes and produced by Albert R. Broccoli. It stars Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries, Gert Fröbe, Anna Quayle, ...
– Original London Cast'' (2002) as Caractacus Potts
* '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – London Revival Cast'' (2012) as Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial '' The String of Pearls'' (1846–1847). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London legend. A barber from Fleet St ...
* ''Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...
– The Staged Concert'' (2019) as Javert
Javert (), no first name given in the source novel, is a fictional character and a main antagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables.'' He was presumably born in 1780 and died on June 7, 1832. First a prison guard, and then a police i ...
Filmography
;Television
;Guest appearances
*''Never Mind the Buzzcocks
''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first host ...
'' (2009, 2010, 2014)
*'' Coming Home'' (2010)
*'' Toast of London'' (2013)
*'' Sunday Brunch'' (2013, 2014, 2015)
*'' Catchphrase: Christmas Special'' (2013)
*''Room 101
The Ministry of Truth, the Ministry of Peace, the Ministry of Love, and the Ministry of Plenty are the four ministries of the government of Oceania in the 1949 dystopian novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'', by George Orwell.
The use of contradictor ...
'' (2014)
*''Diamonds are Forever: A Tribute to Don Black'' (2014)
*'' Mel & Sue'' (2015)
*'' Backchat'' (2015)
*'' Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled'' (2015)
*'' Michael McIntyre's Big Show'' (2016)
*'' Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'' (2018)
*'' Inside No.9'' (2024)
Bibliography
Ball's debut novel ''The Empire'' set in the 1920s about a fictional theatre in the north of England was released on 13 October 2022.
On 12 October 2023, he released a memoir titled ''Different Aspects'' reflecting on his appearances in the original production and the 2023 revival of '' Aspects of Love''.
References
External links
*
*
*
''Love Songs with Michael Ball''
(BBC Radio 2)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ball, Michael
Alumni of the Guildford School of Acting
BBC Radio 2 presenters
English operatic baritones
English male musical theatre actors
English male stage actors
English people of Welsh descent
English television presenters
Laurence Olivier Award winners
Living people
Musicians from Worcestershire
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
People educated at Plymouth College
People from Bromsgrove
British ballad musicians
1962 births
Eurovision Song Contest entrants