Michael Ball--The Biography by Willie Robertson

Author:Willie Robertson [Willie Robertson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781784183660
Publisher: John Blake Publishing
Published: 2015-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 13

What The World Needs Now

The success of the album A Love Story and Michael’s achievements on the musical stage with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang meant that he could march with confidence into 2004, a year that was to provide him with the challenges of Australia, America, Ireland and one-off concerts in London and at Windsor Castle.

In March, Michael was off on his travels for his first proper tour Down Under; five sold-out concerts that would include performing at the prestigious Sydney Opera House. And he knew that after the tour he would be off to Byron Bay – the beachside town in New South Wales that is the easternmost point of mainland Australia – to put his feet up for a well-earned break.

Michael had given a one-off concert in Sydney in 2001 and said: ‘I’ve been trying to get back ever since but other work has prevented me from doing so. Now I’ve got the time and I can’t wait.’

What was nice for Michael was that his growing fan entourage seemed to be following him everywhere and 12,000 miles was no exception for at least 70 of his faithful following. He told an Australian press conference: ‘I’m lucky to have fans who come to all the shows and follow me out. There are certain fans who come to everything I do. And fans here will look after them, take them out so they are not afraid or isolated. They are really nice people. All of them are women. Well, the diehards are women. They will drag their old man along sometimes because it’s difficult for women to travel. But none of them is weird. None of them follows me home. Nobody is trying to jump me in hotels or anything. It’s just a really healthy outlet.

‘And it is always nice to know you have got people on the inside because I truly don’t know what to expect from the Australian audience. I’m going to try things out, to see what a typical Australian audience likes. It’s nerve-racking. But that’s why I’m doing it, I like the challenge. I have been touring for the past 12 years in the UK, so I know what I’m doing there but Australia is an unknown factor.’

As it turned out, Michael did not have to fly halfway round the world to find loyalty from admirers. The tour was to begin in the New South Wales seaside city of Wollongong at the WIN Entertainment Centre, then move to Sydney before arriving in Brisbane’s QPAC’s Concert Hall. But one fan, Margaret de Boer, who established the Australian and New Zealand Michael Ball Fan Club and held meetings with other enthusiasts dubbed ‘Ballfests’, could not wait in her hometown of Brisbane to see him perform so made the 1,000-mile round trip to take in the other venues as well.

Margaret, who first saw Michael perform in 1992 on television when her mother phoned to ask if she was watching him, said: ‘We’d never heard of him then but we just loved his voice.

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