Alfie Boe

The Nation’s Tenor was cold. Ice-cold. In fact, he was freezing his Boe-llocks off.

 

Spring 2022, and Alfie Boe was a guest on BBC1’s Freeze the Fear with Wim Hof. Immersing himself in sub-zero temperatures under the guidance of the Dutch extreme athlete and motivational speaker, the much-loved singer, actor, opera star and musical theatre favourite found himself stripping off – and stripping back. The classically trained Lancastrian talked candidly to Hof, and the millions watching at home, about life’s ups and downs and embracing the positive mental reset that he’d subsequently embarked upon.

 

Eighteen months on, Boe is in the winning style we’ve come to know and love in a stage and recording career stretching back two decades. 

 

In his new memoir, Face the Music, he does exactly that: embrace the highs and the lows, Les Mis and La Bohème, the Balls and Boes and OBEs, of the singer’s professional and personal lives. 

 

And in his new album, he’s stepping up and stepping forward. After five projects – three of them back-to-back, and all of them smashes – with friend and peer Michael Ball, here, again, is Boe: solo star with his new collection of orchestral covers of rock classics , The Symphonic Songbook – Open Arms. Like a big hug! An appropriate title track. The Symphonic Songbook is a story, perhaps the start of a series who knows, but starting with his deep rooted musical loves. Journey’s power ballad is a warm welcome. Alfie’s velvety smooth voice is big and emotive, accompanied by a beautiful string arrangement. 

He is Alfie Boe, and he’s presenting his deepest musical loves, and his joyful ability to apply his mighty vocal range to a whole new musical world, with Open Arms. He is Alfie Boe, and here he goes again, on his own. And he’s never sounded better.

Alfie Boes ‘s new studio album Open Arms is out October 27th