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.
Loving You
Michael Ball Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's who I am
Loving you is not a choice
Not much reason to rejoice
But it gives me purpose
Gives me voice
To say to the world
This is why I live
This is why I live
Loving you is why I do the things I do
Loving you is not in my control
But loving you I have a goal
For what's left of my life
I will live
And I will die
For you
It gives me purpose
Gives me voice
To say to the world
This is why I live
Yes, this is why I live
Loving you is why I do the things I do
Loving you is not in my control
But loving you
I have a goal
For what's left of my life
I will live
And I will die
For you
I will live
And I will die
For you
In Michael Ball's song "Loving You," the lyrics describe the deep and undeniable love that the singer has for another person. The opening line, "Loving you is not a choice, it's who I am," suggests that this love is innate and impossible to resist. The chorus further emphasizes this point, with the repetition of "Loving you is not a choice." The singer acknowledges that there might not always be reason to rejoice in this love, but it gives their life purpose and a voice to express this intense emotion.
The second verse continues to reinforce the idea that the singer's love for this person is not something they can control, but rather a driving force in their life. The line "For what's left of my life, I will live and I will die for you" shows the extent to which this person is the center of their existence. The chorus repeats again, with the singer affirming that they will continue to live, and even die, for the person they love.
Overall, "Loving You" is a powerful declaration of love that goes beyond the realm of choice or reason. It conveys the idea that sometimes love is so all-consuming that it becomes a defining feature of who we are and what we do, and that it can give us purpose and even our voice to the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Loving you is not a choice
I don't have a say in loving you, it's just a part of who I am
It's who I am
Loving you is an integral part of my identity
Loving you is not a choice
I can't choose to stop loving you, it's not something I have control over
Not much reason to rejoice
Loving you may not always be easy or joyful, but it's still worth it to me
But it gives me purpose
Loving you gives my life meaning and direction
Gives me voice
Loving you empowers me to express myself and my feelings to the world
To say to the world
Through loving you, I have something to share with and give to others
This is why I live
Your love is the reason I continue to exist and strive in this world
You are what I live
Your love is the driving force behind everything I do and every choice I make
This is why I live
I choose to keep living because of the love I have for you
Loving you is why I do the things I do
All of my actions are motivated by my love for you
Loving you is not in my control
I don't have a choice in whether or not I love you, it's just a part of who I am
But loving you I have a goal
Through loving you, I have something to strive for and work towards
For what's left of my life
I will continue to love you for as long as I live
I will live
My love for you gives me the strength to keep living
And I will die
Even in death, my love for you will still be present
For you
Everything I do, I do for you and because of my love for you
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JERRY HERMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@michaelgrandinetti1014
OMG! I cannot get enough of this song.
@IanRob2011
Love the song. Love the singer and his fantastic voice. Thanks for posting
@ofircarmelocrisologo8010
I love this song. So much emotions and grace. It talks about an unrequited love- the most painful kind of love.
@AGMundy
I saw Passion in the West End with Michael Ball several times. This song is one of the key moments. It was deeply moving and one felt convinced by and understood Fosca (the character who sings it) by this song. Passion was the most extraordinary musical theatre experience of my life. I was moved to involuntary tears from the opening bars. The piece is a profound exploration of what it means to love.
@ksk881
Passion is, by far, my favorite in musical theatre. I wasn’t able to see Michael perform the role of Giorgio, but I have the soundtrack. The DVD with Jere Shea and Donna Murphy is amazing! I wish Michael could have had a run at playing Giorgio opposite Donna Murphy’s Fosca. That would have been musical heaven.
@AGMundy
@Karen I thought the casting in both productions was excellent. I preferred the London staging for its use of light and dark. Passion retains its extraordinary power. I wrote to Stephen Sondheim about this and his other work, to which he kindly responded in his typical self-deprecating way - saying my compliments had done his ego no end of good. I'm pleased to read someone else feels as moved as I do.
@kathleencourtenay3805
Loving you so beautiful Michael ❤
@lucyrae65
Where have all these recordings been hiding since 1993? So lovely to see Michael's voice develop more and more over the years as he matures into the wonderful entertainer he is today (2017) Thank you, whoever vevo is!!!!
@jeanmichel6029
Thank you! THANK YOU for uploading this video. Been waiting and waiting. For years since buying Michael's album I've been hoping and waiting for a video of him singing this beautiful, wildly passionate song. Thank you!
@naomigtangonan9583
Great singer, beautiful song!