: ''For a general description of performances for the monarch, see Royal Command Performance''.

show name	Royal Variety Performance
show name 2	Royal Command Performance
genre	Variety show
country	United Kingdom
language	English
num episodes	81
channel	ITV
first aired	1912, 1919, 1921-1923, 1925-1928, 1930-1938, 1945-1955, 1957-present
website	http://www.eabf.org.uk/royal-variety-performance/ }}

The Royal Variety Performance is a gala evening held annually in the United Kingdom, which is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family, usually the reigning monarch. In more recent years Queen Elizabeth II and The Prince of Wales have alternately attended the performance. The evening's performances showcase a variety of family entertainment, including comedy, singing, dance, magic and other speciality acts, with many of the performers and hosts being popular celebrities—a variety show. The event is organised on behalf of the Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund of which Elizabeth II is patron. All proceeds are donated to the fund.

The performance is televised to the public and is considered by many to be a tradition of the Christmas season, being held late in November, or early in December. ITV is now the sole broadcaster, having shared that responsibility with the BBC from 1986 to 2010.

The performance is a New Year's tradition in Norway, where it is broadcast at 00:00 on 1 January. Several other European countries also broadcast the show.

Background[link]

The first performance, on 1 July 1912 was called the Royal Command Performance, and this name has persisted informally for the event. This was held in the Palace Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London, in the presence of King George V and Queen Mary. After correspondence with Sir Edward Moss the King said he would command a Royal Variety show in his Coronation Year 1911, provided the profits went to the Variety Artistes' Benevolent Fund, as the EABF was then known. It was planned to be in the Empire Theatre, Edinburgh, part of the vast Moss Empire group, but the building went on fire a month before the show. After the death of Sir Edward Moss, Alfred Butt was chosen and staged it in 1912. . This was a lavish occasion, and his London Palace theatre was lavishly decorated, complete with some 3 million rose petals.

Top performers included Vesta Tilley, George Robey, David Devant, Anna Pavlova, Harry Lauder and Cecilia Loftus. The organisers did not invite Marie Lloyd, because of a professional dispute. Her act was considered too risque and her three public, unsuccessful marriages deemed her unfit to perform in front of royalty. She held a rival performance in a nearby theatre, which she advertised was "by command of the British public". The name of the event was changed to prevent possible royal embarrassment. The Royal Variety became an annual event at the suggestion of King George V from 1921.

From 1960 to 1975, ITV broadcast a recorded version of the show, switching to live broadcasts in 1976. From 1986 until 2010, production and broadcast of the show alternated each year between the BBC and ITV, with the BBC usually staging the show in a West End theatre, and ITV in regional theatres outside London. From 2011, ITV have exclusive rights to televise the show. The show has been frequently staged in the London Palladium theatre, and in the 1950s and 1960s a television show based on the same idea, called ''Sunday Night at the London Palladium'' and hosted by many entertainers, including Bruce Forsyth, ran for over 20 years.

Almost every conceivable sort of act has at one time or another been presented to the monarch at the Royal Command Performance, including The Beatles in 1963, The Supremes in 1968 and The Blue Man Group in 2005. At the Beatles' show on 4 November 1963, John Lennon delivered a line to the well-heeled audience which has passed into legend: "For our last number I'd like to ask your help: Will the people in the cheaper seats clap your hands? And the rest of you, if you'll just rattle your jewellery ..."

The money raised by the Royal Variety Performance provides most of the funding for Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund and its home, Brinsworth House, a home for retired members of the entertainment profession and their dependants.

Performances[link]

After the first Royal Variety Performance on 1 July 1912 presented by Sir Alfred Butt, it was seven years before the next show, on 28 July 1919 held at the Coliseum Theatre presented this time by Sir Oswald Stoll. The orchestra was conducted by Edward Elgar. In 1921 it moved to The Hippodrome, and was held in November. It was the first time that the Royal Variety Performance became an annual event. In 1923 it moved to the Coliseum Theatre. Then after a gap in 1924, moved to the Alhambra Theatre in February 1925, where it remained in 1926, held on 27 May. It was the first Royal Variety Performance to broadcast, with the BBC providing live radio coverage.

In 1927 there was another move, this time to the Victoria Palace Theatre, with J. A. Webb the compère. Then 1928 show, on 13 December, was held at the Coliseum Theatre. The next show, on 22 May 1930, moved to the London Palladium with George Black and Val Parnell compèring. It was a start of seven successive years at the venue.

In 1935 the Royal Variety Performance was held in the Silver Jubilee year of King George V and Queen Mary. This was the last time King George V attended – he died three months later in January 1936.

There have been two Royal Scottish Variety Performances, both attended by Queen Elizabeth, and presented by Howard & Wyndham Ltd in Glasgow`s Alhambra Theatre, which Sir Alfred Butt had opened, in 1958 and 1963. .

''Britain's Got Talent''[link]

Since 2007, one act of the Royal Variety show has been selected by the British public through the ITV1 television talent show ''Britain's Got Talent''.

A public telephone vote decides the most popular act in each semi-final, which then progresses to the final, along with a second act chosen by the judges. The grand final is then broadcast live and all the acts perform again for the public vote.

Winners[link]

2007: Paul Potts – pop opera tenor

2008: George Sampson – street dancer

2009: Diversity – street dance group

2010: Spelbound - gymnastics squad

2011: Jai McDowall - singer

Venues[link]

There have been a total of 17 theatres that have staged the 81 ''Royal Variety Performances'', and the ''1912 Royal Command Performance''. Out of the total of 82 shows, 75 have been in London theatres and seven in other cities and towns.

''Where no town or city is noted in the theatre column in the following table, the venue is situated in London.''

{|class="sortable wikitable" border="1" |- !Theatre !No. !Years !Notes |- | Palladium | 36 | 1930–1937, 1946–1948, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1957, 1962, 1964–1978, 1980, 1987–1990, 2008, 2010 | |- | Coliseum Theatre | 10 | 1919, 1923, 1928, 1938, 1945, 1949, 1953, 1958, 2004, 2006 | |- | Dominion Theatre | 7 | 1992–1996, 2000–2001 | |- | Theatre Royal, Drury Lane | 7 | 1979, 1981–1983, 1985–1986, 1991 | |- | Victoria Palace Theatre | 6 | 1927, 1951, 1955, 1960, 1984, 1997 | |- | Alhambra Theatre | 2 | 1925–1926 | |- | Hippodrome | 2 | 1921–1922 | |- | Opera House Theatre, Blackpool | 2 | 1955, 2009 | |- | Prince of Wales Theatre | 2 | 1961, 1963 | |- | Apollo Theatre | 1 | 2002 | |- | Birmingham Hippodrome | 1 | 1999 | |- | Edinburgh Festival Theatre | 1 | 2003 | |- | Liverpool Empire Theatre | 1 | 2007 | |- | Lyceum Theatre | 1 | 1998 | |- | Palace Theatre | 1 | 1912 | |- | Palace Theatre, Manchester | 1 | 1959 | |- | Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff | 1 | 2005 | |- | The Lowry, Salford Quays, Greater Manchester | 1 | 2011 | |}

Royal Family[link]

A total of 13 members of the Royal Family have attended the 81 ''Royal Variety Performances'', and the ''1912 Royal Command Performance''.

{|class="sortable wikitable" border="1" |- !Name !No. !Years !Notes |- | Queen Elizabeth II | 34 | 1949, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955 (Blackpool), 1955 (London), 1957, 1958, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009 |Attended in 1949 as Princess Elizabeth |- | Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother | 26 | 1937, 1938, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1966, 1968, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1991, | Attended as Queen Elizabeth between 1937 and 1951 and as The Queen Mother from 1959 onward |- | The Duke of Edinburgh | 25 | 1953, 1954, 1955 (Blackpool), 1955 (London), 1957, 1958, 1960, 1962, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1997, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009 | |- | King George V | 15 | 1912, 1919, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935 | |- | Queen Mary | 15 | 1912, 1919, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935 | |- | Charles, Prince of Wales | 12 | 1968, 1977 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010 | |- | King George VI | 8 | 1937, 1938, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950 | |- | Princess Margaret | 4 | 1949, 1951, 1968, 1990, | |- | Duchess of Cornwall | 3 | 2006, 2008, 2010 | |- | Anne, Princess Royal | 2 | 1968, 2011 | Originally Her Majesty The Queen was due to attend the 2011 show, but plans have since been altered. |- | Diana, Princess of Wales | 1 | 1992 | |- | Earl of Snowdon | 1 | 1968 | |- | Queen of Norway | 1 | 1922 | |- |}

See also[link]

Royal Command Performance

Further reading[link]

References [link]

External links [link]

Official website

Download Audio fragment 1964 show

History of the Royal Variety Performances

Category:Music festivals in the United Kingdom Category:Recurring events established in 1912

pl:Royal Variety Performance pt:Royal Variety Performance

A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts (hence the name), especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère (master of ceremonies) or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling and ventriloquism. The variety format made its way from Victorian era stage to radio to television. Variety shows were a staple of anglophone television from its early days into the 1970s, and lasted into the 1980s. In several parts of the world, variety TV remains popular and widespread.

History[link]

The format is basically that of music hall in the United Kingdom (UK) or vaudeville in the United States (US). Variety in the UK evolved in theatres and music halls, and later in Working Men's Clubs. Most of the early top performers on British television and radio did an apprenticeship either in stage variety, or during World War II in Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA). In the UK, the ultimate accolade for a variety artist for decades was to be asked to do the annual Royal Command Performance at the London Palladium theatre, in front of the monarch.

In the United States, former vaudeville performers such as the Marx Brothers, George Burns and Gracie Allen, W. C. Fields, and Jack Benny moved to sound movies, then radio, and then television shows, including variety shows. In the 1960s, even a popular rock band such as The Beatles undertook this ritual of appearing on variety shows on TV. In the US, shows featuring Perry Como, Milton Berle, Jackie Gleason, Bob Hope and Dean Martin also helped to make the Golden Age of Television successful.

From 1948 to 1971, ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' was one of CBS's most popular television series. Using his no-nonsense approach, Ed Sullivan allowed many acts from several different mediums to get their "fifteen minutes of fame." Sullivan was also partially responsible for bringing Elvis Presley and The Beatles to U.S. prominence.

Sid Caesar pioneered the television variety show format with Your Show of Shows (1950–54) and Caesar's Hour (1954–57).

ABC-TV aired ''The Hollywood Palace'', an hour-long show broadcast weekly (generally on Saturday night) from January 4, 1964 to February 7, 1970, where the Rolling Stones first appeared on American TV.

In the UK, ''The Good Old Days'' – which ran from 1953 to 1983 – featured modern artists performing dressed in late Victorian/Early Edwardian costume, either doing their own act or performing as a music hall artist of that period. The audience was also encouraged to dress in period costume in a similar fashion.

On television, variety reached its peak during the period of the 1960s and 1970s. With a turn of the television dial, viewers around the globe could variously have seen shows and occasional specials featuring Dinah Shore, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Andy Williams, Julie Andrews, The Carpenters, Olivia Newton-John, John Denver, John Davidson, Mac Davis, Bobby Goldsboro, Lynda Carter, Johnny Cash, Sonny and Cher, Bob Monkhouse, Carol Burnett, Rod Hull and Emu, Flip Wilson, Lawrence Welk, Glen Campbell, Donny & Marie Osmond, Barbara Mandrell, Judy Garland, The Captain & Tennille, The Jacksons, The Keane Brothers, Bobby Darin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Mary Tyler Moore, Dean Martin, Tony Orlando and Dawn, The Smothers Brothers, Danny Kaye, Des O'Connor, Buck and Roy, Roy Hudd, Billy Dainty, Max Wall or ''The Muppet Show''. Even "The Brady Bunch" had a variety show. Variety shows were once as common on television as Westerns, courtroom dramas, suspense thrillers, sitcoms, or (in more modern times) reality shows.

During the 1960s and 1970s, there were also numerous one-time variety specials featuring stars such as Shirley MacLaine, Frank Sinatra, Diana Ross and Mitzi Gaynor, none of whom ever had a regular television series.

Contemporary U.S. variety shows[link]

Variety shows began to fade from popularity in the early 1970s, when research began to show that variety shows appealed to an older audience that was less appealing to advertisers; over the course of the so-called "rural purge", several of the early era variety shows were canceled, though newer ones (fewer in number nonetheless) continued to be created and aired for several years after. By the late 1970s, variety shows had mostly ended production, and by the early 1980s, the few new variety shows being produced were of remarkably poor quality (see, for instance, the infamous ''Pink Lady and Jeff''), hastening the format's demise. Since ''Pink Lady'', only a few traditional variety shows have been attempted on television programs: ''Dolly'' (starring Dolly Parton), which ran for 23 episodes on the ABC television network during the 1987–'88 season; a revival of ''The Carol Burnett Show'', which aired on CBS for nine episodes in 1991; and the first incarnation of ''The Wayne Brady Show'', which aired on ABC in August 2001.

By the 21st century, the variety show format had fallen out of fashion, due largely to changing tastes and the fracturing of media audiences (caused by the proliferation of cable and satellite television) that makes a multiple-genre variety show impractical. Even reruns of variety shows have generally not been particularly widespread; TV Land briefly aired some variety shows (namely ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' and ''The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour'') upon its launch in 1996, but within a few years, those reruns stopped. Similarly, CMT held rights to ''Hee Haw'' but almost never aired any episodes (current rights holder RFD-TV has been more prominent in their airings of the show). A notable exception is ''The Lawrence Welk Show'', which has aired continuously in reruns on the Public Broadcasting System since 1986. The Spanish language variety show ''Sabado Gigante'', which began in 1962 and moved from Chile to the United States in 1986, continues to air and produce new episodes; it currently airs on Univision.

However, though the format had faded in popularity in prime time, it thrived in late night. The variety shows of this daypart eventually evolved into ''late-night talk show''s, which combined variety entertainment with talk show elements (mainly celebrity interviews). (The Emmy Awards consider the two genres to be closely enough related that they issue the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series to either type of show.) Though only one network (NBC, with its ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' and later ''Late Night with David Letterman'') had a successful late-night talk show until 1992, the field greatly expanded beginning with Carson's retirement and the controversial selection of Jay Leno as ''Tonight'''s new host. Within ten years, all three of the "Big Three" networks, along with several cable outlets, had late night variety talk shows airing nightly. (NBC, in a cost-cutting move, attempted to bring Leno's show to prime time as ''The Jay Leno Show'' in 2009, but affiliates threatened to drop the program after local news ratings suffered, forcing him back to late night within four months of the prime time debut.) Sketch comedy series such as ''Saturday Night Live'', ''Almost Live!'', ''MADtv'' and ''SCTV'' also contain variety show elements, particularly musical performances and comedy sketches (though only the first of these remains on air as of 2010). The most obvious difference between shows such as ''Saturday Night Live'' and traditional variety shows is the lack of a single lead host (or hosts) and a large ensemble cast. ''SNL'' has used different guest hosts ever since its inception.

The variety show format also continues in the form of the telethon, which features several hours of variety entertainment. The Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon is one of the best known national telethons, and local telethons also still exist (one of the few times local stations produce non-news entertainment programming themselves). These, too, are losing popularity; over the course of 2011 and 2012 the Lewis telethon was cut from over 21 hours to three as a response to declining returns while Lewis himself was controversially removed from the telethon, and only a handful of long-established local telethons remain on air.

In 2004, ABC's ''The Nick and Jessica Variety Hour'' attempted to revive the prime-time variety hour as a special for today's generation. It was followed by ''Nick & Jessica's Family Christmas'' in early December of that year, though no further specials would be produced after that due to the couple's divorce. NBC's ''Rosie Live'' did not fare so well: the series' pilot episode aired the day before Thanksgiving 2008 and, after being panned by critics, would not be picked up. In December 2009, singer Carrie Underwood made her first attempt at a Christmas variety special on FOX. Fox's ''Osbournes Reloaded'', a variety show featuring the family of rocker Ozzy Osbourne, and was canceled after only one episode had aired in 2009, after over two dozen affiliates refused to air the first episode of the show; the series had been slated for a six-episode run.

''America's Got Talent'', which has aired on NBC television in the United States since 2006, combines variety entertainment with reality television in an elimination contest, and has had success with the format, regularly ranking among the most watched summer series in the United States. The success of the show has spawned an international franchise. Other shows that have had varying degrees of success combining the two formats was ''Star Search'', which had a run in the 1980s in syndication and a run on CBS in the early 2000s during the reality television boom, and ''The Gong Show'', which reached its peak in the 1970s but has had occasional revivals since then.

Other countries[link]

Australia: The prime time variety show format was popular in the early decades of Australian television, spawning such series as ''In Melbourne Tonight'', ''The Graham Kennedy Show'', ''The Don Lane Show'', and ''Hey Hey It's Saturday'', which ran for 27 years. Recent prime time variety shows include the short lived ''Micallef Tonight'' and ''The Sideshow''.

Chile: The Spanish-language variety show known as ''Sábados Gigantes'' (forerunner of the U.S. ''Sábado Gigante'') began in 1962 with Don Francisco and lasted into the 1990s. His daughter, Vivianne Kreutzberger, currently hosts the program under the title ''Gigantes con Vivi'', while Don Francisco has hosted the U.S. version since 1986.

Hong Kong:The first Chinese variety show to become a major success was Hong Kong's ''Enjoy Yourself Tonight'', which first aired in 1967 and ran for 27 years. In Hong Kong, variety shows are often combined with elements of a cooking show or a talent competition but end in various results.

Mexico:''Siempre en Domingo'' premiered in 1969 with Raúl Velasco hosting. It became Mexico's longest-running variety series, remaining on Televisa until 1998. Other long-running variety shows, most of which have been Televisa productions, have included ''La Carabina de Ambrosio'', ''Anabel'', ''Al Fin de Semana'', ''Silvia y Enrique'', ''La Parodia'', ''Muevete'' and ''Desmadruga2''. Most, if not all, of Televisa's variety shows have aired in other countries, including the Univision networks in the United States.

Taiwan: Another of today's variety shows in Asia is Taiwan's ''Variety Big Brother''. East Asian variety programs are known for its constant use of sound effects, on-screen visuals and comedic bantering. Many of the shows are presented in a live-like presentation in a fast-paced setting, with scenes repeating or fast forwarded.

The most popular variety program in Taiwan is the long-running "Super Sunday", known for its fast-paced style and catchphrases. The second half of the program is more emotional with guests finally or attempting to reunite with another (either a celebrity or a friend) by re-enacting the moment (in a satirical manner) and then let co-star and singer ''Ah-Liang'' search for the specific person through various locations. It was succeeded by "Happy Sunday", a similar program hosted by the co-stars.

Another popular variety show in Taiwan is KangXi Lai Le, a talk show with variety show elements. The hosts and guests were associated with variety shows. Famous for its bantering, which were written before tapings.

South Korea: In South Korea the hugely popular ''Muhan Dojeon'' (''Infinite Challenge''), broadcast by MBC since 2005, is a new model of this, called "Real Variety Show". It combines comedy and variety scenes including unscripted stunts. Although many variety shows have existed in Korea long before the broadcast of Muhan Dojeon, this program has given a rise to a new page in the history of Korean variety shows by introducing unscripted stunts. As a result, other broadcasting channels such as SBS and KBS have followed its path and introduced programs such as ''Il Bak Ee Il'' (''2 Days 1 Night'') and ''Running Man'' (TV series). These types of Korean variety shows are grabbing foreign interest of countries such as Japan, China, Thailand, and even the United States bringing on a new type of the Korean wave globally.

Philippines: Variety shows are a huge part of daily life in the Philippines, with all of the major networks running their own variety shows usually during lunchtime and can be on the air for between one and a half hours to three hours. The most notable Philippine variety show is ''Eat Bulaga'', which premiered in 1979 and has aired on RPN 9, ABS-CBN, and GMA Network in the succeeding years.

Venezuela: In Venezuela, the best known variety show is ''Súper Sábado Sensacional''. Originally established in 1968 (as ''Sábado Espectacular'') on Radio Caracas Television, the show moved to Venevision in 1970 and was renamed ''Sábado Sensacional''. In 1990, "Súper" was added to the title, and is how the show is currently known today.

Many television specials continue to resemble the variety show format to this day.

See also[link]

Variety, the Children's Charity, widely known as the Variety Club, a charity operated by variety performers

Japanese variety show

References[link]

Category:Theatrical genres Category:Television genres

eo:Varieteo fr:Émission de variétés ko:버라이어티 쇼 is:Skemmtiþáttur it:Varietà (spettacolo) ms:Rancangan aneka ragam ja:バラエティ番組 tr:Varyete zh:綜藝節目

name	Michael McIntyre
birth name	Michael Hazen James McIntyre
birth date	February 21, 1976
birth place	Merton, London, England
medium	Stand-up, Television
nationality	British
active	1999–present
genre
influences	Woody Allen, Billy Connolly, Lee Evans, Peter Kay, Kenny Everett, Daniel Kitson, Rhod Gilbert,Jimmy Carr, Tommy Tiernan, Ray Cameron.
notable work	''Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow''''Live at the Apollo''
website	http://www.michaelmcintyre.co.uk/
spouse	}}

Michael Hazen James McIntyre (born 21 February 1976) is a British stand-up comedian. As well as his stand-up, he has performed on programmes such as ''Live at the Apollo'' and has his own programme, ''Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow''.

McIntyre has released two stand-up DVDs; ''Live and Laughing'' in 2008 featured material from his first nationwide tour, while ''Michael McIntyre: Hello Wembley'' was released in November 2009 following a set at Wembley Arena. The former was the fastest selling debut stand-up DVD ever, and ''Hello Wembley'' is the fastest selling stand-up DVD in UK chart history, selling over a million copies. In 2009 McIntyre performed live to half a million people and won Best Live Stand-up at the British Comedy Awards.

In 2010, McIntyre released his autobiography, ''Life and Laughing: My Story'', and also became the youngest-ever host of the Royal Variety Performance. He started as a judge on the fifth series of ''Britain's Got Talent'' in April 2011. He is to embark on his second nationwide tour in 2012.

Early life[link]

McIntyre was born in Merton, southwest London, and raised in Hampstead. McIntyre's parents were both in show business: his Canadian father, Ray Cameron (19 April 1938 – 27 December 1993), né Thomas Cameron McIntyre, was a writer on ''The Kenny Everett Television Show'', and his Hungarian mother, Kati, was a dancer. McIntyre has some Eastern European Jewish heritage on his mother's side. His parents divorced when he was seven; both his parents remarried and went on to have other children with their new spouses. Ray Cameron relocated to Los Angeles, where he died of a heart attack in 1993, aged 55.

Education[link]

McIntyre went to Arnold House Prep School and then attended Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood for three years before transferring to local state school Woodhouse College for financial reasons. McIntyre later attended Edinburgh University for one year before dropping out to pursue a career in script writing. He has said that he cannot remember whether it was biology or chemistry that he studied while there.

Career[link]

Television and stage[link]

McIntyre has appeared three times on BBC One's ''Live at the Apollo'' and also on the ''Royal Variety Performance'', in 2006, 2008 and 2010. While performing on stage in Wolverhampton in 2008, as he was running back onto stage for his encore, McIntyre tripped, fell over and dislocated his shoulder. Many of the audience believed this to be part of his act and started to laugh; only after his manager came on stage to assist did they realise it was real.

McIntyre's routine on ''We Are Most Amused'', staged at the New Wimbledon Theatre on 12 November 2008 in aid of The Prince's Trust was televised. This comedy gala celebrated the 60th birthday of Prince Charles, and was performed in the presence of the Prince of Wales and his wife the Duchess of Cornwall.

Among McIntyre's many comedy panel show appearances are ''Chris Moyles' Quiz Night'', ''Mock the Week'', ''8 out of 10 Cats'', ''Have I Got News for You'', ''The Big Fat Quiz of the Year'', ''Would I Lie To You?'', and ''The Apprentice: You're Fired!''. On 13 February 2009, he was a guest on ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross''. On 21 February 2009, McIntyre appeared live as a guest judge alongside head judge Anton du Beke and fellow guest Emma Bunton in the first round of ''Let's Dance for Comic Relief''. He appeared on the show again in the final on 14 March.

In 2009, McIntyre performed for an estimated total of 500,000 people on his first tour of the United Kingdom that included a record-breaking six nights at Wembley Arena and four at The O2 Arena. His second DVD, ''Hello Wembley'', was another hit. 58 dates have been announced for his second tour in the autumn of 2012, at arenas in ten UK cities as well as Dublin.

From 6 June 2009, McIntyre began hosting ''Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow'', aired on Saturday nights on BBC One. On 5 July 2009, McIntyre appeared on the BBC show ''Top Gear'' as the "star in a reasonably priced car", driving around the Top Gear test track in one minute and 48.7 seconds. During his lap of the track he almost rolled the car while going around the final corner.

In December 2009, McIntyre cancelled a stand-up show at short notice after discovering that he would be performing to debt collectors. He had revealed only weeks earlier how he had struggled with substantial debt only a few years before breaking through in to the mainstream. McIntyre stated that he would have gone against his principles by performing the show.

On 31 March 2010, McIntyre took part in ''Channel 4's Comedy Gala'', a benefit show held in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital, filmed live at London's O2 Arena. Also in 2010 he appeared on the year's edition of ''The Big Fat Quiz of the Year'', partnered with Alan Carr. The other participants were Richard Ayoade, Noel Fielding, Jonathan Ross and Ruth Jones.

On 14 December 2010, it was announced that McIntyre would join the ''Britain's Got Talent'' judges' panel in 2011, alongside David Hasselhoff and Amanda Holden.

On 18 March 2011 McIntyre was among the hosts of the BBC's ''Red Nose Day''.

In Sept 2011 McIntyre quit his role as judge on ''Britain's Got Talent'' to focus on his 2012 Stand-up tour

On Christmas Day 2011 McIntyre hosted a Christmas Special of his show, ‘’Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow’’, that featured Jack Dee, Sean Lock, Rhod Gilbert, David Mitchell, James Corden, Miranda Hart, Rob Brydon and had music from Pixie Lott and Kylie Minogue. The show was watched by 8.1 million viewers.

Radio[link]

McIntyre's radio appearances have included:

''Does the Team Think?'' (BBC Radio 2)

''Heresy'', ''4 Stands Up'', ''Happy Mondays'', ''The Unbelievable Truth'' (all on BBC Radio 4)

''The Jon Richardson Show'' (BBC 6 Music)

''The Jonathan Ross Show'' (BBC Radio 2)

''The Chris Moyles Show'' (BBC Radio 1)

''Desert Island Discs'' 2011-07-22 (BBC radio 4)

Personal life[link]

McIntyre lives in Hampstead, London with his aromatherapist wife Kitty, a daughter of actor Simon Ward. The couple married in 2003 and have two sons, Oscar and Lucas.

He is a supporter of Tottenham Hotspur.

Awards[link]

National Television Awards 2012 - Best Entertainment Show for Michael Mcintyre's Comedy Roadshow (Winner)

British Comedy Award 2010 – Best Male TV Comic (Winner)

BAFTA Awards 2010 - Entertainment Performance (Nominated)

RTS Awards 2010 - Best Entertainment Presenter (Nominated)

Chortle Awards 2010 - Best Tour (Winner)

National TV Awards 2010 - Best Entertainment Presenter (Nominated)

British Comedy Awards 2009 - Best Comedy Entertainment Personality (Nominated)

GQ Award 2009 - Best Comedian (Winner)

British Comedy Awards 2008 – Best Live Stand-up (Nominated)

Edinburgh Festival Perrier Award: Best Newcomer (nominated) - (2003)

Chortle Awards: Best Headliner (nominated) - (2007)

Chortle Awards: Best Headliner (winner) - (2008)

British Comedy Award: Best Stand-Up (winner) - (2009)

Stand-up DVDs[link]

!Title	!Released	!Notes
''Live & Laughing''	17 November 2008	Live at London's HMV Hammersmith Apollo
''Live 2009: Hello Wembley!''	16 November 2009	Live at London's Wembley Arena
''Live 2012''	12 November 2012

References[link]

External links[link]

Official website

Official Fansite

Chortle page

Tour dates

Fan Club

Category:1976 births Category:Living people Category:English people of Hungarian descent Category:Edinburgh Comedy Festival Category:English people of Jewish descent Category:English people of Scottish descent Category:English people of Canadian descent Category:English stand-up comedians Category:People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood Category:People from Merton (district)

da:Michael McIntyre nl:Michael McIntyre no:Michael McIntyre

name	Tim Minchin
birth name	Timothy David Minchin
birth date	October 07, 1975
birth place	Northampton, United Kingdom
nationality	Australian, British
active	2002–present
genre	Comedy music
spouse	Sarah Minchin 2001–present (2 children)
website
britishcomedyawards	}}

Timothy David "Tim" Minchin (born 7 October 1975 in Northampton, UK) is an Australian-British comedian, actor, and musician.

Tim Minchin is best known for his musical comedy, which has featured in six CDs, three DVDs and a number of live comedy shows which he has performed internationally. He has also appeared on television in Australia, Britain and the United States. After growing up in Perth, Western Australia, he attended the University of Western Australia and WAAPA before moving to Melbourne in 2002. His breakout show, "Dark Side", launched him into the public eye, achieving critical success at the 2005 Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Minchin has a background in theatre and has appeared in various stage productions, in addition to some small acting roles on Australian TV. A documentary film about Minchin, ''Rock N Roll Nerd'' (directed by Rhian Skirving), was released theatrically in 2008 and broadcast by ABC1 in 2009.

Personal life[link]

Minchin was born in Northampton, UK, to Australian parents and raised in Perth, Western Australia. He was educated at Christ Church Grammar School and started learning piano at the age of eight, but gave it up after three years because he did not enjoy the discipline. He redeveloped an interest in the instrument after he started writing music with his brother Dan Minchin, a guitarist, but still describes himself as a "hack pianist... a 'more you practice, the better you get' kind of guy". Minchin graduated from the University of Western Australia in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Theatre, and in 1998 completed an Advanced Diploma in Contemporary Music at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.

He currently lives in London with his wife, Sarah. They have two children: a daughter, Violet, and a son, Caspar. Minchin often refers to his relationships in his songs and stand-up routines.

Musical comedy[link]

Minchin describes his act as a "funny cabaret show" and sees himself primarily as a musician and songwriter as opposed to a comedian; his songs, he says, "just happen to be funny." His reasoning for combining the disciplines of music and comedy was revealed in one interview when he said "I'm a good musician for a comedian and I'm a good comedian for a musician but if I had to do any of them in isolation I dunno."

He draws on his background in theatre for his distinctive onstage appearance and persona. In his performances, he typically goes barefoot with wild hair and heavy eye makeup, which is juxtaposed with a crisp suit and tails, and a grand piano. According to Minchin, he likes going barefoot in his shows because it makes him feel more comfortable. He considers the eye makeup important because while he is playing the piano he is not able to use his arms and relies on his face for expressions and gestures; the eyeliner makes his features more distinguishable for the audience. Much of his look and persona, he says, are about "treading that line between mocking yourself and wanting to be an iconic figure. Mocking the ridiculousness and completely unrealistic dream of being an iconic figure." The eccentric appearance removes Minchin from reality somewhat, allowing him to make outrageous statements onstage "without annoying (most) people."

The shows consist largely of Minchin's comedic songs and poetry, with subjects ranging from social satire to inflatable dolls, sex fetishes, and his own failed rock star ambitions. In between songs, he performs short stand-up routines. Several of his songs deal with religion, a subject with which Minchin—an atheist and a fan of Richard Dawkins—says he is "a bit obsessed." He argues that as one of the most powerful and influential forces in the world, religion should never be off-limits to satirists. He says that his favourite song to perform is "Peace Anthem for Palestine", which reflects his feelings about religious conflict. In October 2010 he was made a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association. His comedy also deals with taboos more broadly. A prime example of this is the song "Prejudice" which parodies the power awarded to something as simple as a word.

Early career (1998–2007)[link]

After completing an Advanced Diploma in Contemporary Music in 1998, Minchin started out composing music for documentaries and theatre. In 2000 he wrote and starred in the musical ''Pop'' at the Blue Room Theatre in Perth. He released a CD titled ''Sit'' with his band Timmy the Dog in 2001, but achieved little success. In 2002, after only one professional acting job, he moved from Perth to Melbourne to pursue work. Minchin struggled initially; he could not get an agent for a year and had been unable to find any acting work. While several record companies gave him positive feedback, they were not sure how his music—a mixture of satirical songs and more serious pop songs—could be marketed. He decided to compile all of his humorous songs into a single live show to "get the comedy stuff off [his] chest" before going back to more serious music.

Minchin says he entered into comedy "naively", having never even attended a live comedy gig before performing one himself. His break-out show, ''Darkside'' (co-produced by Laughing Stock Productions), achieved critical success at the 2005 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, where it won the inaugural Festival Directors' Award and attracted the notice of Karen Koren, the manager of the well-known Gilded Balloon venues. Koren backed the show's run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where Minchin received the Perrier Comedy Award for Best Newcomer. His 2006 show, ''So Rock'', was nominated for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival's top prize, the Barry Award, and in 2007 he was given the award for Best Alternative Comedian at the HBO US Comedy Arts Festival.

Live recordings of his 2005 and 2006 shows, ''Darkside'' and ''So Rock'', have been released as CDs. In 2007, he released a DVD entitled ''So Live'', featuring a live recording in the Sydney Opera House Studio with material from both of his previous shows. As this DVD was only released in Australia, he released a DVD in 2008 entitled ''So F**king Rock Live'' in the UK, containing largely the same material as ''So Live.''

''Ready for This?'' (2008–2010)[link]

In August 2008 Minchin debuted his third solo show, ''Ready for This?'', at the Edinburgh Fringe and subsequently took it on tour across the UK. During the Edinburgh run, he contributed to ''The Guardian'' newspaper's podcasts, despite his new show containing a song about a ''Guardian'' critic who once gave his show a negative review.

A recording of this show, recorded live at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London was released as an album for download via iTunes on 20 July 2009. An Australian recording was released on DVD, solely in Australia on 9 September 2009 and a UK release in the second half of 2010.

In December 2009, the track "White Wine in the Sun" was released as a downloadable single online. Fans on Minchin's official forum launched a campaign to get this festive track into the UK Christmas charts by purchasing it from various online download retailers. A Facebook group was also launched to support the campaign as well as a drive on Twitter in which celebrities were contacted about the campaign and a succession of e-mails to radio DJs in a bid to get them to play the song. It was later announced that 50% of the December profits from the song would be donated to The National Autistic Society. The bid was ultimately unsuccessful.

It was announced at the end of 2009 that one of Minchin's beat poems, ''Storm'', was to be made into a short animated movie to be released in 2010. A blog was launched to accompany the film-making process and a short trailer was released on 8 January 2010. The full movie was launched on YouTube on 7 April 2011.

He performed ''Ready for This?'' for what he envisages as the final time on 27 February 2010 in Sydney. He did however perform a set at The Big Libel Gig on 14 March 2010 in protest at Britain's libel laws, along with other performers including Dara Ó Briain, Marcus Brigstocke, Shappi Khorsandi, Robin Ince and Ed Byrne. As well as this, he performed at Camp Bestival as part of the Jestival Sessions in July 2010.

Minchin was the subject of the winning entry in the 2010 Archibald Prize, Australia's most important portraiture competition. The winning entry was painted by Sam Leach.

''Tim Minchin and the Heritage Orchestra'' (2010–2011)[link]

Minchin embarked on a new arena tour starting with Birmingham on Wednesday 8 December 2010. A departure from the structure of his previous live shows, his act has been scaled up to be performed with the Heritage Orchestra. It contains a mixture of material: there are new songs on the subject of prayer and of rationality — themes which often appear in his previous work. Minchin has stated that the aim of incorporating the orchestra into his act is to create a comedy show that would not be ruined by being performed in arenas, as stated in the special features of the DVD and Blu-ray. The show is touring the UK and Australia. It was filmed at the Royal Albert Hall in London for a Blu-ray and DVD that was released in November 2011.

Television and radio[link]

Tim Minchin has made appearances on Australian TV shows, including the ABC's ''Spicks and Specks'', and ''The Sideshow'',. He has also made appearances on Network Ten's panel shows ''Good News Week'' (February 2010) and ''Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation'' (March 2010).

Minchin has also appeared on various British radio and television shows, including the BBC's ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' (four times, once as guest host), BBC Radio 4's ''Mark Watson Makes the World Substantially Better'' and two specials on BBC Radio 2. He often performs on his TV appearances, such as his spots on ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' in October 2009 and July 2010. He performed a specially-written song entitled "Five Poofs and Two Pianos", a parody of the show's house band, 4 Poofs and a Piano. Minchin also appeared as a special guest on the 2009 edition of ''The Big Fat Quiz of the Year'' performing a song written for the show ("It's Like 1984") in reference to a question regarding Google Street View. On Saturday 13 August 2011 Minchin hosted Prom 40: the first BBC Comedy Promenade Concert at the Royal Albert Hall.

A heavily cut-down version of the show released on DVD as ''So F**king Rock Live'' has aired several times on British TV channel E4, first on 23 July 2009. It aired at the turn of 2011, forming E4's New Year's coverage.

On 8 May 2010, Minchin's musical sitcom pilot ''Strings'' was broadcast on BBC Radio 2. Minchin plays the protagonist Jonny, who leaves Australia to live in the UK. Well received as it was by Radio 2, he decided against creating a full series.

In January 2011, Minchin made his American television debut on TBS's ''Conan'', where he performed "Inflatable You". On 12 May 2011, he performed "If I Didn't Have You" on the ''Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'', and on 7 June 2011 Minchin made his second appearance on ''Conan'', singing "Prejudice". Minchin made his third appearance on ''Conan'' on 9 April 2012, singing his "3-Minute Song".

In December 2011 Minchin performed a specially written song called "Woody Allen Jesus" on ''The Jonathan Ross Show''. However, despite the show's producers and ITV's lawyers approving the composition for broadcast it was removed at the last minute. Responding on his blog, Minchin stated: "[...] Someone got nervous and sent the tape to ITV's director of television, Peter Fincham. And Peter Fincham demanded that I be cut from the show. He did this because he's scared of the ranty, shit-stirring, right-wing press, and of the small minority of Brits who believe they have a right to go through life protected from anything that challenges them in any way."

Acting and theatre[link]

Minchin's background is in theatre and he has appeared in various stage productions. His most recent dramatic theatrical performance was in the title role for the 2006 Perth Theatre Company production of ''Amadeus'', a fictional play about the downfall of Mozart at the hands of the reigning court composer. His other stage acting roles have included the title role in the 2004 Perth Theatre Company / Hoopla production of ''Hamlet'', and The Writer in the original PTC production of Reg Cribb’s ''The Return''. He has also acted for The Australian Shakespeare Company (''Twelfth Night''), the Black Swan Theatre Company (''Cosi'', ''One Destiny'') and in various other plays, short films and TVC’s. Roles from his days in musical theatre include Don Quixote in ''Man of La Mancha'' and Pontius Pilate (and understudying Judas twice) in ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. He has also appeared playing small parts on the ABC telemovie ''Loot'' and on the show ''Comedy Inc.''.

Minchin also plays the role of Tom, in the contemporary family drama ''Two Fists, One Heart'', released 19 March 2009. He also wrote the song ''Drowned'' for the film's soundtrack.

He co-wrote an Olivier Award winning musical version of Roald Dahl's novel ''Matilda'' – entitled ''Matilda, A Musical'' – with Dennis Kelly and the Royal Shakespeare Company, which is produced by the RSC. It showed at The Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon running from 9 November 2010 to 30 January 2011 and began its West End run at the Cambridge Theatre on 25 October 2011 to great critical acclaim.

Atheism and skepticism[link]

In an interview with IIG member John Rael, Minchin explains that what upsets him most about paranormal beliefs is "special pleading" by people who say vague things such as "there is no harm in it". Minchin states that there is very little harm in something like Reiki, but asks "where do you draw the line?" when it comes to needing real evidence if a therapy works or not. He states that he is an atheist as well as a skeptic, and cannot understand how someone can call themself a skeptic and still be religious. "If you apply doubt to anything...the whole religion thing is obviously a fantasy."

In his beat poem, ''Storm'', which centres on Minchin having an argument with a "hippie" who believes in various New Age alternatives in lieu of pharmaceutical medicine, he states: "Science adjusts its views based on what's observed. Faith is the denial of observation, so that belief can be preserved."

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

''Sit'' (with band Timmy the Dog) (2001)

''Darkside'' (2005)

''So Rock'' (2006)

''Ready For This?'' (2009)

''Live at the O2'' (2010)

''Tim Minchin and The Heritage Orchestra'' (2011)

Singles[link]

"Drowned" (2008)

"White Wine in the Sun" (2009)

"The Pope Song" (2010) - As a free download from his website

"The Fence" (2011)

Compilations[link]

''Laugh-a-poolooza'' (featured artist) (2005)

DVD[link]

''So Live'' (2007) Australian DVD

''So F**king Rock Live'' (also known as ''So Fucking Rock Live'') (11 October 2008)

''So F**king Rock Live (Special Edition)'' (also known as ''So Fucking Rock Live (Special Edition'')) (5 October 2009)

''Ready For This?'' (29 November 2010)

''Tim Minchin and the Heritage Orchestra'' (14 November 2011)

Filmography[link]

Actor[link]

2008 – ''Two Fists, One Heart'' – Tom 2010 – ''The Lost Thing'' – The Boy (Voice)

Awards[link]

; 2005 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Directors' Choice Award for ''Dark Side'' 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe Perrier Comedy Award, Best Newcomer 2005 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, The Groggy Squirrel Critics' Award 2007 U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, Best Alternative Act 2009 Helpmann Award for Best Comedy Performer 2009 Green Room Awards, Cabaret: Best Original Songs 2009 Green Room Awards, Cabaret: Best Artiste 2010 Chortle Awards, Best Music or Variety Act 2012 Olivier Awards: Best New Musical for Matilda The Musical

References[link]

External links[link]

Rock N Roll Nerd – The Tim Minchin Documentary website

YouTube Interview on Australian Sceptics vodcast, The TANK Vodcast, 2007

Tim Minchin's song 'If I Didn't Have You' (Secret Policeman's Ball)

Storm Movie Production Blog

Category:1975 births Category:Living people Category:Atheism activists Category:Australian atheists Category:Australian comedy musicians Category:Australian male comedians Category:Australian male singers Category:Australian pianists Category:Australian sceptics Category:Australian socialists Category:Australian stand-up comedians Category:British atheists Category:British comedy musicians Category:British male comedians Category:British male singers Category:British pianists Category:British sceptics Category:British socialists Category:British stand-up comedians Category:University of Western Australia alumni Category:People educated at Christ Church Grammar School Category:People from Northampton

ar:تيم مينشن bg:Тим Минчин da:Tim Minchin de:Tim Minchin fr:Tim Minchin nl:Tim Minchin no:Tim Minchin pl:Tim Minchin pt:Tim Minchin ru:Минчин, Тим fi:Tim Minchin sv:Tim Minchin

Name	Paul Potts
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Paul Robert Potts
Born	October 13, 1970, Kingswood, South Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom
Genre	Classical, pop opera
Occupation	Tenor musician(Formerly employed by Carphone Warehouse)
Years active	2007–present
Label	Syco, Columbia (2007–2010)
Website	paulpottsofficial.com }}

Paul Robert Potts (born 13 October 1970) is an English tenor. In 2007, he won the first series of ITV's ''Britain's Got Talent'' with his performance of "Nessun dorma", an aria from Puccini's opera ''Turandot''. As a singer of operatic music, Potts recorded the album ''One Chance'', which topped sales charts in nine countries. Prior to winning ''Britain's Got Talent'', Potts was a manager at The Carphone Warehouse. He had served as Bristol city councillor from 1996 until 2003, and also had performed in amateur opera from 1999 to 2003.

Early life[link]

Potts was born in Kingswood, South Gloucestershire, England and raised in Fishponds, Bristol, by his father Roland, a bus driver, and mother, Yvonne (''née'' Higgins), a supermarket cashier. He has two brothers and one sister. Potts attended St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School, where he developed his love of singing. He also sang with the choir at Chester Park Junior School and with the choirs at several Bristol churches, including Christ Church. Potts said in interviews that he had been bullied in school, and that experience may have made him lack self-confidence. He has also said that his voice had always been a source of solace in the past when he was bullied.

He earned an Honours degree in 1993 from University College Plymouth St Mark & St John, majoring in Humanities. In 1996, Potts was elected the youngest member of Bristol City Council; a Liberal Democrat, he served until 2003. Potts was a manager at mobile phone store Carphone Warehouse in Bridgend and lived in Port Talbot. After winning ''Britain's Got Talent'', Potts took a six-month sabbatical from his job and resigned on 5 March 2008.

Singing career[link]

Potts first sang opera in the minor roles of ''The Prince of Persia'' and the Herald in Puccini's ''Turandot'' for the Bath Opera, an amateur company, in 1999. He then performed leading roles on four occasions: Don Basilio in Mozart's ''Marriage of Figaro'' in 2000; Don Carlos in Verdi's ''Don Carlos'' in 2001; Don Ottavio in Mozart's ''Don Giovanni'' in 2003; and Radames in Verdi's ''Aida'' in 2003. He also performed the role of the Chevalier des Grieux in Puccini's ''Manon Lescaut'' for the Southgate Opera Company in London, an amateur company, in May 2003. Additionally, he sang with a small ensemble from the Royal Philharmonic in front of an audience of 15,000 and toured northern Italy as a soloist as part of his music classes there.

In several interviews, Potts revealed that he performed ''Aida'' despite doctors' wishes to remove an adrenal tumour they had discovered during his illness from a burst appendix, and shortly after the tumour surgery performed ''Manon Lescaut''. Potts broke his collarbone and suffered whiplash in a bicycle accident in 2003. The mishap and financial difficulties that followed led him to enter ''Britain's Got Talent'' despite not having sung in years.

He also participated in the soundtrack of epic Korean drama ''Queen Seondeok (TV series)'', singing two major characters', ''Deokman'' and ''Yushin'''s love theme "Passo Dopo Passo" in Italian, meaning "Step by Step". He has also performed a duet with world famous soprano, Hayley Westenra, ''Sei Con Me'', featured in his album ''Passione''.

''Britain's Got Talent''[link]

Potts auditioned for Simon Cowell's new talent show ''Britain's Got Talent'' at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff on 17 March 2007. The audition was televised on ITV1 in the UK on 9 June 2007. Potts sang the full rendition of Giacomo Puccini's "Nessun dorma", which was condensed for broadcast, and he received a standing ovation from the audience of 2,000 people.

In the semi-final on 14 June 2007, Potts performed the main verses of Andrea Bocelli's "''Time To Say Goodbye''". He progressed to the final after receiving the highest public vote in that show. He performed "''Nessun dorma''" again for his finale on 17 June 2007, as well as an encore after he won the competition. Potts defeated the bookmakers co-favourite Connie Talbot, and received the highest percentage of two million votes cast to win £100,000, and performed at the ''Royal Variety Performance'' on 3 December 2007, in front of Queen Elizabeth II. His version of "Nessun Dorma" on ''Britain's Got Talent'' has over 93 million combined views on YouTube.

Doubts over amateur status[link]

''The Sun'' newspaper received complaints following allegations that Potts had been "coached by Pavarotti". There was anger that he was portrayed on ''Britain's Got Talent'' as a simple mobile-phone salesman, whereas he had in fact appeared in six amateur opera productions and in a concert for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and had plans for a summer tour with that orchestra. Potts responded that he had not claimed to be completely untutored, only that he had never performed any concert for pay and was therefore an amateur. He also said that the Pavarotti masterclass he attended in Italy was paid for from his own savings and was a single masterclass, not regular coaching.

Post-BGT career[link]

In the United States, he was profiled on a National Public Radio programme called ''Day to Day'', and appeared live on NBC's programme ''Today''.

In July 2007, Potts performed his rendition of "''Nessun dorma''" at a Katherine Jenkins concert at Margam Park. On 16 July 2007, his debut album ''One Chance'' was released in the UK, and claimed the #1 spot in the UK Album Chart the following week. In December 2007, Prime Minister Gordon Brown presented Potts with a platinum disc for having sold 2,000,000 copies of his album.

On 13 December 2007, he performed in Leipzig in the live television broadcast of the 13th annual José Carreras Gala, accompanied by the Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg under the direction of Scott Lawton. In January he began his concert series of 97 concerts in 85 cities across 23 countries; this ended on 12 November. This included three outdoor classical music concerts with the Finnish violinist Linda Brava and the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra at Sofiero Palace, Sundbyholms Castle and Slottskogsvallen from 24 to 26 July. In the semi-finals of the 2009 series of Britain's Got Talent, Potts appeared in a comeback performance.

International celebrity[link]

Potts was invited to appear on an episode of the ''Oprah Winfrey Show'' about YouTube, a site where clips of his performances had been viewed over 92 million times as of April 2012; , his first appearance on Britain's Got Talent was the fourth most viewed YouTube video in the UK. On 24 November 2007, Potts was interviewed on the National Public Radio programme ''Weekend Edition''. On 15 August 2008, he performed before the German football season opener match between Bayern Munich and Hamburger SV in front of 69,000 visitors as well as on 2 September 2008 during the farewell game for Oliver Kahn.

In July 2008, Deutsche Telekom began using a TV and cinema advertisement centred on his ''Britain's Got Talent'' performance. In August 2008, he did a now famous duet with Daniel Powter on the Wolfbaggin' Tour. In October 2008, Paul Potts sang in Japanese TV advertisements for Ryukakusan Direct throat medicine manufactured by Ryukakusan. Potts received two nominations at the Echo Awards 2009 in Germany: Best International Male Artist and Album of the Year. He won the 2009 Echo Award for Best International Male Artist on 21 February 2009. On 22 April 2009, Potts was the guest co-host on the Australian television programme ''The Morning Show'' with Kylie Gillies. Expanding his talent to the online world, Paul Potts recently performed an exclusive in studio performance for AOL Sessions. He collaborated with Swedish singer ''Carola Häggkvist'' on her Christmas album ''Christmas in Bethlehem'', singing "O Holy Night". Potts has appeared twice on the popular Korean Talent TV show "Star King", first in 2008 and once again in 2010.

Potts was in Toronto on 10 November 2010 performing a "flash opera" at the Union Subway Station to a moderately-sized crowd and finished to loud applause.

Potts has recently appeared in the Korean television program called "Qualifying Man".

Financial[link]

As of May 2009 he had assets of £5 million. 

Personal life[link]

Potts has been married since May 2003 to Julie-Ann (née Cooper) whom he met in an Internet chat room. They met in person for the first time at Swansea railway station in February 2001. She had the upper hand at this "first meeting" as she had a photograph of Potts, but he had no idea what she looked like. Since becoming famous Potts has moved house, but continues to live in Port Talbot.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions															! rowspan="2"	Sales
		! style="width:35px;"	! style="width:35px;"	! style="width:35px;"	! style="width:35px;"	! style="width:35px;"	CANClass	! style="width:35px;"	! style="width:35px;"	! style="width:35px;"	! style="width:35px;"	! style="width:35px;"	! style="width:35px;"	! style="width:35px;"	! style="width:35px;"	! style="width:35px;"
2007	style="text-align:left;"			* Released: 16 July 2007	Syco, Columbia Records>Columbia	1	1	1	1	1	—	1	1	1	1	2	3	4	9	23		* UK: 2× platinum	* SWE: 3× platinum	* GER: 5× platinum	* NZ: 3× platinum	* AUS: 2× platinum		* GER: 1,000,000+	* UK: 680,000+	* AUS: 140,000+	* SWE: 120,000+
2009	style="text-align:left;"			* Released: 1 June 2009	* Label: Syco, Columbia	5	—	—	5	4	—	6	6	1	3	9	5	9	20	33				* SWE: Gold	* NZ: Gold	Taiwan>TAI: Platinum		* SWE: 20,000	* US: 16,000+	* NZ: 7,500+
2010				* Released: 15 October 2010 (Germany)	* Label: Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH	—	—	—	9	65	1	—	—	—	40	—	—	—	—	—

Singles[link]

Year	Single	Peak chart positions						Album
		! style="width:35px;"	! style="width:35px;"	! style="width:35px;"	! style="width:35px;"	! style="width:35px;"	! style="width:35px;"
2007		100	12	2	2	13	52

The song "Nessun Dorma" got the 19th best-selling single of 2008 in Germany and was certified as Gold for selling more than 150,000 copies.

References[link]

External links[link]

Paul Potts at Sony BMG

Paul Potts biography from BBC Wales

Paul Potts interview on The Hour

Paul Potts Official site.

Paul Potts on Avex Taiwan

Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of University College Plymouth St Mark & St John Category:Avex Trax artists Category:Britain's Got Talent contestants Category:English male singers Category:English tenors Category:Got Talent winners Category:Musicians from Bristol Category:Opera crossover singers Category:People from Kingswood, South Gloucestershire Category:Sony BMG artists

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