Latest News : 2017

C+
Follow  the  links  for  more  on  any  topic.

________________________________________________________________

20th December 2017

Another new date for next year …

Rye International Jazz & Blues Festival

Thursday 3rd May 2018

________________________________________________________________

8th December 2017

20% Discount in Jim Brickman’s on-line shop for this weekend only.

+
Offer includes the new CD/DVD  “A Joyful Christmas”

Enter promotional code  JOYFUL20  at the check-out.

________________________________________________________________

4th December 2017

BELFAST WATERFRONT SHOW POSTPONED …

Russell’s chest infection doesn’t seem to be clearing up as quickly as had been hoped and now Wednesday’s Waterfront Hall concert has been postponed until Thursday 1st February 2018.

25% ‘December Discount’ at Russell’s on-line shop starts this morning.

Don’t forget to enter the code ‘TENOR2017’ at the check-out.

________________________________________________________________

3rd December 2017

Russell’s on-line shop is offering 25% off all items from tomorrow, Monday 4th December for this month only   Full details in the message from MailChimp.

________________________________________________________________

1st December 2017

Dame Vera Lynn 100, the CD celebrating Dame Vera’s 100th birthday is released today.

Russell is not on the CD but performs O Sole Mio and You Make Me Feel So Young on the accompanying DVD as the finale to two hours of top-class entertainment to celebrate Dame Vera’s 100th birthday recorded live at the London Palladium in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen.

________________________________________________________________

29th November 2017

Jersey Opera House breaks the news of Russell having contracted a ‘chest infection’ and cancellation of the dates there on 1st and 2nd December 2017.

The two dates have been rescheduled to Thursday 24th and Friday 25th May 2018.
To change your tickets contact the Box Office on 01524 511 115.

The concert planned for Dublin’s Bord Gais Energy Theatre on 4th December has been deferred until Friday 2nd February 2018.

+

29th November 2017

Russell’s not in the dog-house, we hope, but he has apparently designed a luxury bespoke kennel for a canine charity.  Read more in the Salford Star.

________________________________________________________________

22nd November 2017

Trains … you wait for ages then two come along …

________________________________________________________________

10th November 2017

No pleasure at all in reading this particular piece of news …

There’s a little more, but not much, in this later article from The Stage.

________________________________________________________________

9th November 2017

Russell helped launch the Hamilton Davies Trust’s ‘Celebrity Express’ artwork at Irlam railway station the other day and there’s now more about that and the people featured in the carriages on the Trust’s website …

See more of the artwork and the reasons for it on YouTube …

________________________________________________________________

7th November 2017

Russell was at Irlam railway station in support of the Hamilton Davies Trust who have installed a brilliant piece of artwork on the west-bound platform (to Liverpool).  It features carriages full of notable local people, past and present, including, of course, Russell who was on hand to help promote the installation.

________________________________________________________________

6th November 2017

Just learned that, on Jim Brickman’s “A Joyful Christmas” DVD, Russell joins Jim for two songs, not one …

“It was such a pleasure having Russell join me on the new Christmas release. Russell is featured on two songs on the DVD. “The Gift” and “Hallelujah, I Believe”. We hope you enjoy!”

Even better value, now!

________________________________________________________________

4th November 2017

Back in May / June of this year Russell was busy in the US, appearing with Jim Brickman and recording material with him ready for Christmas.

Recording the @JimBrickman Christmas Special with the amazing @russellthevoice
What talent! https://t.co/v3cyZoqZzb—
Anne Cochran (@Anne_Cochran) June 01, 2017

Jim’s web page has details of a new album called “A Joyful Christmas“ and a DVD package that is available to pre-order now.

Russell is credited with joining Jim on the album for “The Gift” as well as being mentioned in the DVD credits.   (Since originally posting this we’ve learned that Russell also joins Jim for “Hallelujah, I Believe”).

________________________________________________________________

2nd November 2017

Russell was ‘live on air’ with RTE 1’s Sean O’Rourke, opening with Va Pensiero and, after a good lively chat, closing with Danny Boy.

Available on RTE Player 

________________________________________________________________

1st November  2017

[ Facebook Video ]

Russell was ‘live’ in a Facebook video stream at Belfast’s Waterfront Hall in an informal conversation ahead of  his show there on 6th December.  The clip remains available for the moment on their Facebook Page.

Later in the evening, Russell gave a fantastic ‘live’ performance of  ‘You Raise Me Up‘ on ‘Nolan Live’, Stephen Nolan’s highly acclaimed chat-show.  For those within the UK viewing area, it’s available for the next month on BBC iPlayer (Series 9 Episode 4) at the 30 minute mark.

________________________________________________________________

21st October 2017

Russell’s interview with Caroline Whitmore about the forthcoming ‘Heaven On Earth’ Tour was shown this morning on the ITV News

Check out the ‘Heaven On Earth‘ web page for all their Tour dates

________________________________________________________________

16th October 2017

Two Tweets from Simon ‘The Chalkmeister‘ Chalk announce his appointment as Russell’s Musical Director.

________________________________________________________________

15th October 2017

Rose Rushe posts an invitation in the Limerick Post for local choirs to apply to be considered as Russell’s support at the University Concert Hall on Friday 8th December 2017.

________________________________________________________________

9th October 2017

Russell Tweets (and posts to Facebook) that he will be on ITV’s “This Morning” programme tomorrow morning, talking about the ‘Heaven On Earth’ theatrical production in which his voice is heard as the voice of God.

If you miss it, even with the catch-up on ITV1+1 that starts an hour afterwards, you can also catch up on the ITV web site for one week afterwards.

________________________________________________________________

2nd October 2017

It’s Tour dates for Spring 2018  !!

Plenty of dates, although he can’t be everywhere.  We should very much expect an Autumn Tour and we’d very much expect that to include Scottish venues … we hope.

To book tickets, hurry up and visit Russell’s own official website or follow the link(s) to venues from our own ‘Forthcoming Appearances‘ page on this website.

________________________________________________________________

29th September 2017

A cryptic post from Russell on his Facebook page that will have everyone closely watching his media on Monday … better set the alarm and be up early because it doesn’t say what time …

________________________________________________________________

5th September 2017

Just announced this afternoon … two more ‘Star Break’ weekends (or longer if you’d like) next year from  Warner Leisure Hotels.

Sinah Warren Coastal Hotel,  Hampshire  :  18th August 2018

Cricket St. Thomas Hotel,  Somerset  :  29th September 2018

Stay for the weekend, or longer, and see Russell put on his own special show in the dining/cabaret lounge, usually on the Saturday night.

________________________________________________________________

4th September 2017

Back in 2013 Russell starred at a one-off event at the Blue Bell Hotel in North Yorkshire where he was supported by Irish singer  Margaret Keys.  Margaret joins Russell again for his December dates in  Jersey and Ireland

________________________________________________________________

28th August 2017

To celebrate their 25th year on air, Classic FM used the Bank Holiday weekend to play their Top 300 albums.  Music from the motion picture ‘Titanic’ was credited with first place but Russell had no less than six albums in that top 300 with ‘The Voice’ at #2 and ‘Encore’ at #3 in their  Hall Of Fame.   See also BBC News Report.

________________________________________________________________

5th August 2017

Russell and Alex Belfield in conversation again … always interesting.

________________________________________________________________

14th July 2017

Our own particular favourite is also posted …

________________________________________________________________

13th July 2017

Russell is kind enough to share a video from the Munich concert …

________________________________________________________________

5th July 2017

Rehearsals at the Laeiszhalle …

See more pictures on Russell’s own Facebook Page

________________________________________________________________

4th July 2017

Russell is to be a very special guest at a very special concert on Thursday of this week when he joins Chinese classical soprano Liu Yuan Yuan at the Laeiszhalle, Hamburg, Germany, on the eve of this year’s G 20 summit.

+

Russell has long been a supporter of several charities, particularly those concerned with brain tumours, and he now invites support for The Silas Pullen Trust …

________________________________________________________________

13th June 2017

Here’s hoping that Jim Brickman’s Christmas Special with Russell and Anne Cochran might be available outside the United States …

________________________________________________________________

8th June 2017

Russell asks, “Would you like to feature in The Russell Watson Serenade Programme 2017?  Send a picture of you with Russell to:  fan@lavocetouring.com.  If your picture is selected for inclusion, you will receive a free signed copy of the programme.  Closing date for entries is 22nd June.”

+

Tickets for “Heaven On Earth” at the First Direct Arena, Leeds have gone on sale today …

________________________________________________________________

7th June 2017

Ahead of his appearance at Tonbridge Castle on 9th July Russell talks to Eileen Leahy of So Magazines and reveals some forward planning that includes trips to New Zealand and Dubai as well as a duet with none other than Olivia Newton John …

________________________________________________________________

6th June 2017

Holding steady this week at #24 in the All Access chart, Russell’s ‘Now And Forever’ has had more airplays than last week but hasn’t moved position.

________________________________________________________________

5th June 2017

New dates announced for Jersey and Ireland …

________________________________________________________________

3rd June 2017

Jim Brickman posts a fun video that was probably filmed on Tuesday (30th May) …

________________________________________________________________

1st June 2017

Something to look forward to …

________________________________________________________________

28th May 2017

Russell sang a particularly moving “You Raise Me Up” at the National Memorial Day Concert in Washington DC on Sunday evening.

Russell is pictured at the dress rehearsal

He’s been meeting folks …  Bishop Cosplay  …  Ronan Tynan 

+

More great pictures from Getty Images 

NB : The Getty Images page is frequently updated so keep checking for new pictures

________________________________________________________________

24th May 2017

Russell talks at length on Talk Radio Europe about his career and health, and mentions briefly plans for the rest of this year that include Ireland, London around Christmas-time and a UK Tour in 2018.   Listen from 30 minutes in.

________________________________________________________________

16th May 2017   (1.45 pm)

More new dates for September are appearing now (even as we type) on Russell’s official website.

+

16th May 2017

Tickets are now on sale for Russell’s appearance at the  Lancaster Grand Theatre  on Thursday 21st September.  It’s a fairly small venue so, to try to ensure a measure of fairness, seats on one side of the theatre are only available  online  while those on the other side are only available by telephone  –  01524 845230.

________________________________________________________________

10th May 2017

A “big thing” was made on Twitter and Facebook of Russell performing at Lincoln Drill Hall on Sunday 17th September 2017.  Both items were deleted after a few hours but Russell’s proposed appearance is still shown on one of their website’s ‘events‘ pages, so it’s possible that their announcement was just a little premature, pending formal contracts. One to watch if you’re from that neck of the woods.

________________________________________________________________

9th May 2017

A new, quite exclusive date is posted via Twitter for Russell to entertain diners at the Opera Grill restaurant in Chester on Thursday 18th May.  It appeared to have been fully booked prior to being posted or very, very quickly thereafter.

________________________________________________________________

6th May 2017

The concert at Glasgow is cancelled shortly before it was due to start because of a fire in the building.  No reports of any injuries.  Russell and Team Watson evacuated safely.

________________________________________________________________

2nd May 2017

Russell’s latest single, the gorgeous ‘Now And Forever’, has gone into the US Charts (based on radio airplays) this week and flown straight up to #32.

________________________________________________________________

28th April 2017

ITV’s regional news, Granada Reports, featured a report this evening about the new musical production of  ‘Heaven On Earth’, in which Russell can be heard as the voice of God (but not seen) and he talks at some length to Entertainment Correspondent, Caroline Whitmore

________________________________________________________________

27th April 2017

Russell is honoured to have been invited, once again, to perform at the United States’ National Memorial Day, to be held this year on Sunday 28th May from 8.00 pm on the West Lawn of the US Capitol.

________________________________________________________________

26th April 2017

Good to see …

Well done, Russell.

________________________________________________________________

25th April 2017

________________________________________________________________

24th April 2017

Russell made an appearance today at London’s Rosewood Hotel in support of Good Morning Britain‘s Health Star Awards that we hope might be televised tomorrow, or over the next day or so, on that ITV early morning programme.

Read more about it (with another picture of Russell) here.

+

Teddy Jamieson’s article for “The Herald” can now be viewed, free of charge, online either on that newspaper’s own site, here, or via the ‘PressReader’ website, here.

________________________________________________________________

22nd April 2017

Russell is on the cover of the ‘Magazine’ supplement to Scotland’s “The Herald” newspaper today and featured over pages 6 – 11, telling Teddy Jamieson of his early life and career, and how the two brain tumours he suffered have led to positive changes.

________________________________________________________________

17th April 2017

It looks to have been a short trip Stateside, this time, as Russell appears to have been home for Easter.  Happy Easter to all …

________________________________________________________________

14th April 2017

Russell recently returned to New York, as did Gregory Darling, suggesting more work in preparation for his appearances next month.  Last night he Tweeted …

________________________________________________________________

9th April 2017

Russell announces another  new UK appearance, this time at Tombridge Castle, Kent on Sunday 9th July 2017 as a guest star for Great British Proms.

Tickets

________________________________________________________________

7th April 2017

Russell announces a new UK appearance at Bolesworth Castle, Cheshire on Saturday 2nd September 2017 as a guest star for Great British Proms.

Tickets  

________________________________________________________________

30th March 2017

Russell was pleased to support the Dame Vera Lynn 100 celebratory concert at the London Palladium a couple of weeks ago, in the presence of HM The Queen, to honour Dame Vera just ahead of her 100th birthday. All the proceeds from that event are going to Dame Vera’s own children’s charity for youngsters with cerebral palsy.   There are some programmes and posters left over from the night and these are now being sold by the show’s producers, again with all proceeds going to the charity.

Either can be bought directly from the producers by sending them a Message via the event’s Facebook Page.

Alternatively, it’s possible to buy copies of the programme via ebay.

________________________________________________________________

24th March 2017

Just for information, for those of you who subscribe to MUTV, Manchester United FC’s own TV channel via Sky or Virgin Media, Russell is shown as featuring on their “Celebrity Reds” programme on Thursday 20th April.

________________________________________________________________

23rd March 2017

Nonstop Promotions’ behind-the-scenes feature, filmed at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, is posted on the “This Morning” website.  It’s only available within the UK and you’ll need to have the latest update to Adobe Flash Player.

________________________________________________________________

17th March 2017

Russell’s own tribute to Dame Vera Lynn, just ahead of her 100th birthday on Monday, is a video on his YouTube Channel. Love it …

________________________________________________________________

10th March 2017

Russell doesn’t linger too long in the chill of the Windy City and heads for New York but it’s no warmer there  …

________________________________________________________________

9th March 2017

Supported once again by Gregory Darling, Russell presents a showcase in the Sprite Lounge of Chicago radio station 93.9 MY FM.  Thanks to Robin Rock for the brief video clip and to the station for the pictures via Twitter …

________________________________________________________________

7th March 2017

It looks like Russell is making new friends in the United States …

Atlanta, Georgia, is the home of Cumulus Media … owner of the largest radio station network in the United States!

And then he’s off, swapping the rain of Atlanta for the ‘windy city’ of Chicago …

________________________________________________________________

3rd March 2017

Back in January, Russell was a guest of Spencer Leigh on BBC Radio Merseyside’s “On The Beat” programme, on the day that The King of Rock ‘n Roll, Elvis Presley, would have been 82 years old and discussed whether or not Elvis ever sang out of tune.  The short answer appeared to be no, but sometimes the instruments were!   Spencer is a prolific author of titles on the music of decades past and his latest book, ‘Elvis Presley : Caught In A Trap’ is due for release in August to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Elvis’ passing.   Russell has written the foreword to the book which promises to be a revealing insight into Elvis’ career.

Available from  Amazon.com  as well as  Amazon.co.uk.

________________________________________________________________

2nd March 2017

Fan photos wanted!   Russell invites fans to email him photos of themselves with him for possible use in the next UK Tour’s Souvenir Programme.

If the picture is used, there’ll be a free, signed copy of the programme for the fan!   Send him your photo by email to  fan@lavocetouring.com

Closing date is Friday 10th March 2017.

________________________________________________________________

25th February 2017

Russell and Louise are pictured in the “Escape Lounge” at Manchester Airport’s international terminal and, later, Louise and Hayley post photos to Twitter of Camogli, on the Italian Riviera, slightly east of Genoa, where they are allegedly engaged in ‘business meetings’ …

________________________________________________________________

23rd February  2017

Being Thursday provides an opportunity for Russell to post a “Throwback Thursday” Interview, from March last year in the Sunday Post, of his “10 Most Memorable Moments”

________________________________________________________________

22nd February 2017

Russell wishes the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity a happy 10th birthday via a Twitter video.  Their fund-raising campaign is a Tenner For Our Tenth.

________________________________________________________________

21st February 2017

Russell announces four concerts to be staged in June in Canada and the United States :

Sunday 4th June  :  Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Toronto
Wednesday 7th June  :  Town Hall, New York
Saturday 10th June  :  Oriental Theatre, Chicago
Wednesday 14th June  :  The Theatre at ACE Hotel, Los Angeles

More information on Russell’s website and our Forthcoming Appearances page.

________________________________________________________________

18th February 2017

Raymond Gubbay’s presentation of Russell with a full orchestra – the Manchester Concert Orchestra – at Bridgewater Hall is a great success.

Simon Chalk conducted and there was support from Altrincham Choral Society along with guitarist John Bailey, percussionist Lauren Kosty and guest singer Laura Wright, with Musical Director Ed Rugman giving his full attention to the piano and organ.   A super evening altogether.
________________________________________________________________

15th February 2017

Russell Tweets, “Here in DC for tonight’s ‘Celebration of the U.S. Capitol Concerts’ founded by Mr Jerry Colbert. RIP my friend x” …

Jerry Colbert was founder and executive producer of PBS’ National Memorial Day Concert and A Capitol Fourth, the award-winning programmes broadcast live from the West Lawn of the U.S Capitol.  Mr Colbert passed away early in January.  Russell had been a special guest artist at both events in the past.

________________________________________________________________

14th February 2017

Russell was a guest of ITV’s Loose Women on their St. Valentine’s Day show and, after playing postman to  deliver the ladies’ Valentine cards, he later serenaded them with a fabulous a cappella  ‘Torna A Surriento.’

The Sun newspaper has posted a clip of that brilliant impromptu performance in an article, here.

Watch the full programme on the ITV Hub (UK only for the next 7 days) as Russell delivers the ladies’ cards and returns after the first advertisement break for a chat about his health, his latest album and an ever-so-brief mention of flying off to Washington this afternoon for “a memorial.“

________________________________________________________________

13th February 2017

Russell is due to appear on ITV’s “Loose Women” tomorrow, Tuesday 14th February, in the Valentine’s Day edition that airs from 12.30pm

________________________________________________________________

19th January 2017

Russell put in an appearance on subscription-only MUTV (Manchester United Football Club’s own TV channel) with David May and Helen Evans, hosts of Thursday Focus …

The first order of business was to catch up on what Russell had been doing since his last appearance on Thursday Focus some two years ago followed by analysing and commenting on United’s most recent match (against the other famous ‘red’ team, old rivals Liverpool). He took a turn at the darts game they call the “Red Arrows Challenge”, the objective being to hit as many of the red parts of the board as possible in one minute … not at all easy when the hosts are still firing questions!

The 19 in the picture is a countdown clock, not his score, but even with a score of 2 Russell still managed to join the leader-board in joint 2nd place.

________________________________________________________________

16th January 2017

Russell is a leading contributor to a forthcoming documentary DVD about the life and legacy of Mario Lanza …

Due for release in late March, this Region 0 (region free) DVD is available to pre-order now from Amazon or Classic Films Direct.

+

16th January 2017

While the subject matter dates back to July 2015 and the video was posted some months ago, this documentary on the production of the “Caracalla For UNICEF” concert has only just been ‘discovered’ by our antipodean Russellers.  If you recall, the concert in Rome was promoted ostensibly as a fund-raiser for UNICEF’s work with children in Nepal where there had been a devastating earthquake.

Narrated by Carly Paoli who hosted the concert, there are clips of each of the international stars throughout the video with several of Russell (and a brief one of Ed) both on and off stage.  A very well put together mini-documentary but a DVD of the concert would be better.

_________________________________________________________________

13th January 2017

Russell will debut at Potters Resort, Norfolk, on Sunday 21st May and the January edition of their ‘Life On Resort’ newspaper features Russell throughout …

 

________________________________________________________________

9th January 2017

But there has to be time for rest and relaxation, so it’s off to the hills and glens and lochs …

________________________________________________________________

4th January 2017

A sneak peek at the US Radio Airplays Chart shows that while Russell’s Do You Hear What I Hear has dropped out of the chart after Christmas, Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough has dramatically bounced back into the Top 40, up from #88 to #39 in just this past week.  What a great start to the year!

Meanwhile, Russell keeps the household awake …

________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

+++