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Last Updated: Jun 29th, 2010 - 12:37:52 |
‘ANTHEMS’
Kerry Ellis releases brilliant debut album
produced by Brian May
“A voice in a million . . . Kerry is the most exciting singer to emerge from England in a very long time” – Brian May
That’s the verdict of Queen founding member Brian May, CBE, on the sensational singing of Kerry Ellis.
Already hailed as one of the most thrilling vocal talents on today’s West End stage, Kerry’s voice is soon to reach far beyond the theatre with her eagerly awaited debut album ‘Anthems’, masterminded by Brian May.
It was May who ‘talent-spotted’ Kerry when she understudied for Martine McCutcheon in My Fair Lady. He quickly snapped her up to star in the Queen musical We Will Rock You, almost nine years ago, and it was in between rehearsals and performances that the two of them found the time to begin work on some new ideas. May says,
”From the moment I first heard Kerry sing, I was entranced, and felt the conviction that I would one day make her album. The conviction never left me. The hard thing was to find the right medium to harness that amazing voice – the material and arrangements had to be worthy, and a musical style evolved to capture her unique magic.”
The collaboration continued all through the following years in which Brian did two world tours with Queen, and Kerry starred in Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, and finally Wicked. The combination of these two great musical talents now results in one of the most original and exciting collaborations in recent years.
Infused with the distinctive sound of May’s legendary guitar-playing, plus some of Rock’s heaviest drummers, and full orchestra, arranged by May and Steve Sidwell, ‘Anthems’ is a large-scale epic so individual that it “might define a new area in music - a kind of Anthemic-Orchestral-Rock-Musical-Theatre-Fusion” (May).
Broadway too has already come under Kerry’s spell. When starring as Elphaba in Wicked she won the Broadway.com Audience Award for ‘Favorite Breakthrough Performance’. This year Kerry’s commanding musical authority has led to her being selected as a mentor, inspiring the would-be Dorothys on BBC1’s Over The Rainbow.
Kerry and Brian stole the show when they performed together at the Royal Variety Show in 2008, and now at last their long-standing musical partnership is to be immortalised on disc. There is also another chance to see them perform live together, this time in Hyde Park, on 11th September at Proms in the Park, which is also broadcast on BBC Radio 2.
Currently Kerry is bringing the house down as Nancy in the award-winning production of Oliver! at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. But there is no doubt that Kerry Ellis’ voice “transcends the genre, fusing drama, warmth and passion” (May)
‘Anthems’ is out on 13th September on Decca Records
© Copyright 2005 by QueenWorld.com
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