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.
She's Not There
Michael Ball Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Suddenly it all to me she's not the same
I don't even know when she began to change
All the months together
Yet so far apart
If only we could get back to the start
I remember things we don't do no more
If only she could tell me
Tell me what is wrong
And maybe once again we could be strong
Chorus:
She used to be the real thing
She always made your heart sing
No more
There she stands but she's not there
She says it's neverending
But I know she's just pretending
She's gone
There she stands but she's not there
Almost every evening we would tell the town
It moved so fast
My feet would hardly touch the ground
All the months together
Now we were apart
Only we could get back to the start!
Chorus
We were sharing so much fun
Love would lead the way
Would make it up as we went on
Just litte for the day
Now I look into her eyes
And there is no mistake
She tries the best
But she can't hide
I hope it's not too late
Chorus
She used to be the real thing
She always made your heart sing..
The lyrics of Michael Ball's song "She's Not There" are about a man who realizes that his partner has become distant and different from the person she used to be. He can't pinpoint when the change occurred and wishes he could go back to the beginning of their relationship. He remembers the fun they used to have and feels like she's pretending that everything is fine. He hopes it's not too late to save their relationship and that she'll tell him what's wrong.
The song's lyrics are open to interpretation, but one possible reading is that the woman is going through a personal crisis and is struggling to be the person she used to be. The man in the song feels helpless and frustrated that he can't help her, but still loves her and wants to make their relationship work. The chorus of the song highlights the contrast between the woman's current state and the person she used to be, with the repetition of the phrase "there she stands but she's not there" emphasizing the sense of loss and distance.
Overall, the song's message is one of hope and longing, as the man tries to reconnect with his partner and find a way to bring back the love and joy they used to share.
Line by Line Meaning
Suddenly it all to me she's no the same
Out of nowhere, I realise that she has changed completely, but I don't know when or why.
I don't even know when she began to change
I have absolutely no idea when she started to change and become someone different.
All the months together
We spent months together in a relationship, building memories and sharing experiences.
Yet so far apart
But now we feel distant and disconnected, despite all we shared before.
If only we could get back to the start
I wish we could go back to the beginning of our relationship and try to make things work again.
I remember things we don't do no more
I recall things we used to do together that we don't do anymore, and it makes me sad.
Maybe it is freedom she is looking for
Perhaps she wants to be free to live her life the way she wants and that's why she's changed.
If only she could tell me
I wish she could open up and tell me what's really going on with her.
Tell me what is wrong
I need her to communicate with me and explain what is causing this rift between us.
And maybe once again we could be strong
If we can work through our issues, perhaps we can be strong as a couple once again.
She used to be the real thing
She used to be genuine and authentic, but she's changed so much now.
She always made your heart sing
She used to bring so much joy and happiness to my life, but not anymore.
No more
Now I feel like I've lost her completely and the happiness she used to bring is gone.
There she stands but she's not there
She is physically present, but emotionally absent and not the person she used to be.
She says it's neverending
She claims that the situation is never-ending and there's no way to fix it.
But I know she's just pretending
I feel that she's not being honest with herself or me and is pretending things are fine when they're not.
She's gone
She has left me emotionally, and I feel as if I've lost her completely.
Almost every evening we would tell the town
We were so in love, and we loved sharing our happiness with everyone around us.
It moved so fast
Our love was fast-paced, exciting and always on the move.
My feet would hardly touch the ground
I felt like I was walking on air and that nothing could bring me down.
Now we were apart
Now, we're separated, and it's so hard for me to deal with.
Only we could get back to the start!
I just wish we could go back to the beginning of our relationship and start over again.
We were sharing so much fun
Our relationship used to be filled with fun and joy, and we would share all those moments together.
Love would lead the way
Our love for each other was what guided us and kept us moving forward.
Would make it up as we went on
We never had any set rules, but we would make up our path as we went along.
Just litte for the day
We didn't focus on the future or long-term goals; we just enjoyed the present moment.
Now I look into her eyes
When I look at her now, I can see that something has changed in her.
And there is no mistake
I know for sure that something is not right, and our relationship has changed.
She tries the best
I can see that she's doing her best to make things work, but it's not enough.
But she can't hide
Despite her best efforts to hide it, I can tell that something is wrong with her and us.
I hope it's not too late
I'm still holding out hope that we can fix things and save our relationship.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Stephen Duberry
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
John Maguire
on Wherever You Are
This song was probably written by Graham Gouldman and Andrew Gold