Michael Ball (born Michael Ashley Ball, on 27 June 1962 in Bromsgrove, England) is a British actor and singer, best known for musical theatre roles such as Marius in Les Misérables, Alex in Aspects of Love, and Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Although born in England, Michael Ball is half Welsh, and says jokingly that he considers himself "Wenglish" and proud to be British [1]. He studied Drama at the Guildford School of Acting and graduated in 1984. His first major break was a star part in the production of The Pirates of Penzance at the Opera House, Manchester. Next came a brief stint in Rep. Cameron Mackintosh saw him and cast him as Marius in Les Misérables. Next came Raoul in the second casting of Phantom of the Opera, and Alex in Aspects of Love, both in London and on Broadway, and Giorgio in Stephen Sondheim's London production of Passion. Alone Together was Michael's one man show first performed at The Donmar Warehouse (which was reprised in 2004 for the Singular Sensations season at the Haymarket). In 2002 Michael took on the role of Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang which was largely considered his comeback role. In 2005, at 10 days' notice, he replaced Michael Crawford, who had to leave the show due to ill health, as Count Fosco in The Woman in White, and gave a popular and critically-acclaimed performance.
Other performances include singing at the BBC's St David's Day concert, at the Les Misérables Tenth Anniversary Concert in 1995, and the fiftieth birthday party of Andrew Lloyd Webber in 1998. He is a dramatic baritone known for his range, expression and power.
Michael is an accomplished concert artist and tours frequently around the UK. He has also performed concerts in Australia and America. Since reaching the top of the British charts with "Love Changes Everything" (from Aspects of Love) Michael had small successes with follow up singles but in the main he has concentrated on releasing albums, all of which achieved Gold status within weeks, and in the case of The Movies album in 1998, Platinium in 7 weeks{was released Oct 26th confirmed Platinium status in interview on 12 Dec}. Michael represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest 1992, singing the song "One Step Out of Time", which finished second.
Michael has also turned his hand to presenting both on TV and radio and has presented The National lottery, Children in Need and This Morning, and had his own series on TV and radio (Ball over Broadway on BBC Radio 2) (which is in its fourth season), The Greenroom, and several specials for BBC Radio 2 on subjects such as Nat King Cole, Cameron Mackintosh, and Cy Coleman.
In September 2005, Michael made his NYC Opera debut as Reginald Bunthorne in Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience with the New York City Opera.
In October 2005 Michael released his latest album "Music". The album went into the UK charts at number 11, and spent 10 weeks in the top 75. The album finished the year the 99th best selling album of 2005.
In November, 2005, Michael returned to Broadway as Count Fosco in The Woman in White, which transferred from London's West End. However, he was forced to leave the show due to a reported viral infection caused by the fat suit required for the role, which reportedly raised Ball's body temperature by several degrees during the show. The suit is also thought to have been the cause of Michael Crawford's premature departure from the show in London. The show closed early, in part due to the health problems of Ball and leading lady Maria Friedman.
Michael spent the first quarter of 2006 on complete vocal rest, following the illness that caused him the leave Woman In White on Broadway. By the middle of July, Michael had taken part in the Royals Court's celebratory performance of The Rocky Horror Show, recorded a new album (called "One Voice", due for release on 30 October 2006) and made a guest appearance on Julian Lloyd Webber's album "Unexpected song". Then came the summer concerts at Aberdeen, Bath, Southport, Oakley Hall and Cardiff. In August, Michael sat in for Michael Parkinson on his Radio 2 show. He was interviewed for Radio 3's "Stage and Screen" programme, and recorded a tribute to Anthony Newley at Hackney Empire, also for Radio 2. Michael then took part in 'Proms in the Park' in Singleton Park, Swansea. He sang two tracks from his forthcoming album, 'One Voice'; the title song and 'Hero'. Michael also sung show stoppers, 'This is the Moment', 'Anthem' and 'Love Changes Everything'. In November, Michael will be releasing a new DVD containing all the best songs from his 'Live in Concert' DVDs. They will be split into five sections: Musicals, Love Songs, Personal Favourites, Party Time and Unplugged. The DVD will also include a brand new "Unplugged" session which Michael has recorded with just 4 other musicians in the studio especially for this DVD. It will be released on November 20 2006. Six days later he will join Petula Clark in concert at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London. (In 2004, he co-starred with her in a production of Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard at the Cork Opera House in the Republic of Ireland, which was later broadcast by the BBC. Michael has lots of promotional activities coming up at the end of the year with the release of his new album 'One Voice'.
It has been announced that Ball will be taking the lead role in Kismet in June/July 2007 for the ENOdetails can be found on the English National Opera website.There will also be a tour but exact dates are not known yet{Michael confirmed this during his Stage and screen interview}.
He is currently sitting in for Johnnie Walker on his Sunday afternoon BBC Radio 2 show.
Immortality
Michael Ball Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I must choose to live
For all that I can give
The spark that makes the power grow
And I will stand
For my dream if I can
A symbol of my faith in who I am
And I must follow on
The road that lies ahead
I won't let my heart control my head
I am so lonely
And we don't say goodbye
We don't say goodbye
And I know what I've got to be
Immortality
I make my journey through eternity
I keep the memory of you and me inside
Fulfill your destiny
It's there within the child
My storm will never end, my fate is on the wind
The King of Hearts, the joker's wild
And we don't say goodbye
We don't say goodbye
I'll make them all remember me
Cause I have found a dream
That must come true
Every ounce of me must see it through
But I am so lonely
I'm sorry I don't have a role
For love to play
Hand over my heart, I'll find the way
I will make them give to me
Immortality
There is a vision and a fire in me
I'll keep the memory of you and me inside
And we don't say goodbye
We don't say goodbye
With all my love for you
What else we may do
We don't say goodbye
The lyrics to Michael Ball's song "Immortality" speak to the human experience of introspection and finding one's purpose. The opening line, "So this is who I am and this is all I know," emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and accepting oneself for who they are. It serves as a reminder that people must choose to live and give all that they can to make the most of their lives. The next line, "The spark that makes the power grow," suggests that there is a source of inspiration or motivation that drives us forward.
The chorus highlights the idea of immortality, not necessarily in a literal sense but rather in terms of creating a lasting impact. The lyrics "Fulfill your destiny, it's there within the child" encourage listeners to follow their dreams and goals, no matter what obstacles they may face. The idea of immortality comes into play again in the line "my storm will never end, my fate is on the wind," which suggests that one's legacy will live on even after they are gone.
The final verse speaks to the idea of loneliness and the struggles that may arise when pursuing one's dreams. The line "I'm sorry I don't have a role for love to play" suggests that the pursuit of greatness may at times come at the expense of personal relationships, but the determination to see one's goals through should not waver. The final line "We don't say goodbye" is a reminder that even though we may lose people we love or face setbacks in our journey, we should never truly say goodbye to our dreams and aspirations.
Line by Line Meaning
So this is who I am and this is all I know
I am self-aware and acknowledge my limitations
And I must choose to live
I have to make the decision to keep on living
For all that I can give
I want to give everything I have
The spark that makes the power grow
I am inspired to create change and influence others
And I will stand
I will stand up for what I believe in
For my dream if I can
I will pursue my dreams if I am able to
A symbol of my faith in who I am
My actions will show my confidence in myself
But I am so lonely
Despite my strength, I still struggle with loneliness
And I must follow on
I have to keep moving forward
The road that lies ahead
I don't know what the future holds
I won't let my heart control my head
I won't make impulsive decisions based on emotion alone
And we don't say goodbye
Even though things may change, our love will remain
I know what I've got to be
I have a purpose to fulfill
Immortality
My legacy will live on after I'm gone
I make my journey through eternity
I am on a path that will define my existence forever
I keep the memory of you and me inside
You will always be with me, even when you're gone
Fulfill your destiny
Make the most of your time and be true to yourself
It's there within the child
Don't forget the childlike wonder and innocence within you
My storm will never end, my fate is on the wind
My struggles will persist, but I have faith in the unknown
The King of Hearts, the joker's wild
I am a complex and unpredictable person
I'll make them all remember me
I want to leave a lasting impact on those around me
Cause I have found a dream
I have discovered my purpose and passion
That must come true
I won't rest until my dream is fulfilled
Every ounce of me must see it through
I will put my all into achieving my dream
I'm sorry I don't have a role
I apologize for not fitting into expectations
For love to play
I don't have a romantic love interest to fulfill societal norms
Hand over my heart, I'll find the way
I will follow my heart, no matter where it takes me
I will make them give to me
I will demand respect and recognition for my accomplishments
There is a vision and a fire in me
My passion burns bright and guides me towards my goals
With all my love for you
I hold you dear to my heart
What else we may do
No matter what, we will always be connected
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Robin Hugh Gibb, Maurice Ernest Gibb, Barry Alan Gibb
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
John Maguire
on Wherever You Are
This song was probably written by Graham Gouldman and Andrew Gold