Of all the albums Michael Ball has released throughout his extraordinary career, from collections of soaring musical theatre favourites to the classic songs he’s made his own, Glow, his latest album, feels different. It’s more personal. For the first time, every word is his own.
Shaped by his own memories and his perspective on life, there are songs on Glow about long relationships, friendships and the pull of home, and at the heart of it all is a simple idea, ‘When you love someone, they have a glow about them,’ he explains. ‘You see the best of them.’ This positivity runs through the entire record and captures where he is both professionally and personally.
‘I’m probably more proud of this than anything I’ve done,’ he adds. ‘Finally, it’s me.’
And it’s not hard to see where that sense of warmth – and the album’s title – comes from.
‘She’s over there making the tea,’ he says, glancing across the room, ‘and the other two are lying down somewhere waiting to have their tummies tickled.’
He’s talking, of course, about home – his long-term partner, Cathy McGowan, and his two much-loved dogs, Tibetan terriers Danny and Wilbur. He is also a stepfather to Cathy’s daughter, Emma, and now plays an equally important role for her children, Connor and Grace, whom he affectionately describes as his step-grandchildren.
‘I’m very lucky,’ he says. ‘I have a gorgeous family. I have a great life. It takes me away a fair bit, and sometimes all I think about is coming back to them. I love being home and I’m good at switching off. When I come through the door, I close it and that’s it. I leave the rest behind. I have a very normal life.’
Yet there’s nothing ordinary about the career he returns to each time he walks back out the door. From playing the role of Marius in Les Misérables to becoming one of the UK’s most beloved musical theatre performers, Michael has spent decades at the top of his game.
In recent years, his partnership with Alfie Boe has introduced him to a whole new audience, with their duet albums topping the charts and selling out arenas across the country. Add to that an Olivier Award and a long-running BBC Radio 2 show, and it’s clear his appeal shows no signs of fading.
But it’s the quieter moments away from the spotlight that matter most. Home for Michael is in London 90% of the time and, when he can, he likes to escape with Cathy to their holiday house on the coast.
‘We’re very fortunate to have a little place by the seaside in West Sussex, so a perfect day when I’m not working is spent down there – long beach walks with the dogs, maybe reading or watching television. I’m a fan of reality shows like Married at First Sight! And I love cooking. Cathy isn’t great in the kitchen, so I do most of it, unless we go out to eat, which we do every week. We have regular date nights.’
Finding the time off in the coming months may well be tricky, though. At 63, Michael is busier than ever. In the past year alone, he’s been on stage in Australia performing Les Misérables and in the studio writing and recording Glow. Now, he’s in promotion mode, while preparing to head back out on a nationwide tour later this year.
But with such a demanding schedule, Michael admits he feels the pace more as he gets older.
‘Of course. I can’t do what I used to do. I had a bit of a wake-up call last year when I was in Australia doing Les Mis. I’d had some hip problems, but suddenly I was in agony. They gave me a cortisone injection and for two days I was like Nijinsky, dancing around the stage. Then two days later I could hardly walk. An MRI showed the ligament had severed and it was bone on bone.
‘The doctor told me I needed a new hip. But I had a seven-week tour ahead of me. I asked if working on it would make it worse and he said it couldn’t get any worse, so I pushed through. When I got home, I had the hip replaced. It’s phenomenal now.’
Before we end our chat, he shares the secret to his longevity that has helped him keep a career that spans over 40 years.
‘I try to generate positivity, to behave in a way that makes people want to work with me again,’ he says. ‘Getting the first job isn’t the challenge – it’s getting the second and third. I always try to leave people thinking, he’s good value, he does the work, he’s supportive.
‘And if I’m really honest, I’ve never been fashionable – so I’ve never gone out of fashion!’