Post by carol on Jun 15, 2013 8:26:05 GMT
Hello everyone. I know that South Hill Park has been and gone whilst I was on holiday, but here is a lovely interview with Gareth just before he performed there.
love Carol xxxx
As a child, Gareth Gates struggled to speak.
Held back by a stutter, he found it hard to talk to people and instead turned to music as a way of getting his point across.
Finding confidence through his singing Gareth strived for a career in music, eventually landing a place at the prestigious Royal Northern College of Music before deciding to audition for Pop Idol in 2002.
Hearts around the country melted when the young, fresh-faced singer belted out a word-perfect rendition of Westlife’s Flying Without Wings, despite struggling to even say his name at the start of the audition.
And although he only came runner-up in the show, the 29-year-old has gone on to have a hugely successful career, having sold 3.5 million records, released three albums and had four UK number one singles, so far.
He won record of the year in 2002 and had the second best selling single of the 00s with Unchained Melody, beaten only by his Pop Idol rival, Will Young.
He then went on to star in West End shows including Les Misérables and Legally Blonde – something he never thought possible when he was growing up.
“Theatre’s been great for me as it’s something I never thought I could do with my speech,” he says, taking his time over his words as he talks to me.
Although he loved treading the boards Gareth says he started to miss the music side of his career and last year he decided to start writing and recording again.
He’s now back on tour with new solo material and hopes performing in the Wilde Theatre will draw together the music and theatrical sides of his career.
“It’s going to be interesting coming to Bracknell and performing in a theatre,” he says.
“I’m not used to singing my own songs in that kind of setting.
“It’s very different when you’re in a [theatre] show you’re performing someone else’s work. I can’t compare it to the feeling I get when I’m singing my own songs.
“I hope my professional life will be a mixture f the two as performing on a West End stage is something I’d always wanted to do and it’s something I’ll definitely continue,
but for now I’ve really missed being an artist.”
Since moving back to music Gareth has been working hard, penning his own tracks and putting together a band.
“It’s in the very early stages,” he says.
“This acoustic tour will showcase what we’ve got and will determine how people feel about it.
“I’ve got a band together from just doing gigs here, there and everywhere, but we don’t even have a name yet.
“I just know that when I’m with them and we’re doing live music it’s when I’m at my happiest.”
Since appearing on Pop Idol Gareth has managed to overcome his speech problems, but he says there has been no ‘quick fix’.
“I’ve thought I’ve cracked it in the past but then I stop my exercises and it comes back,” he says.
“It depends how hard I work at it but it’s most apparent when I’m tired or nervous. It’s just a case of practising really hard to stop it from happening.”
Gareth now teaches speech technique on the McGuire programme, which helped him find his voice, and he says it changed his life.
“Imagine not being able to say a few words and then all of a sudden you can talk, it’s amazing,” he says.
“And having responsibilty for helping someone else do the same thing just changes you.”
Gareth Gates will be playing a selection of new material, old songs and popular tracks at South Hill Park on Thursday, June 6.
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love Carol xxxx
As a child, Gareth Gates struggled to speak.
Held back by a stutter, he found it hard to talk to people and instead turned to music as a way of getting his point across.
Finding confidence through his singing Gareth strived for a career in music, eventually landing a place at the prestigious Royal Northern College of Music before deciding to audition for Pop Idol in 2002.
Hearts around the country melted when the young, fresh-faced singer belted out a word-perfect rendition of Westlife’s Flying Without Wings, despite struggling to even say his name at the start of the audition.
And although he only came runner-up in the show, the 29-year-old has gone on to have a hugely successful career, having sold 3.5 million records, released three albums and had four UK number one singles, so far.
He won record of the year in 2002 and had the second best selling single of the 00s with Unchained Melody, beaten only by his Pop Idol rival, Will Young.
He then went on to star in West End shows including Les Misérables and Legally Blonde – something he never thought possible when he was growing up.
“Theatre’s been great for me as it’s something I never thought I could do with my speech,” he says, taking his time over his words as he talks to me.
Although he loved treading the boards Gareth says he started to miss the music side of his career and last year he decided to start writing and recording again.
He’s now back on tour with new solo material and hopes performing in the Wilde Theatre will draw together the music and theatrical sides of his career.
“It’s going to be interesting coming to Bracknell and performing in a theatre,” he says.
“I’m not used to singing my own songs in that kind of setting.
“It’s very different when you’re in a [theatre] show you’re performing someone else’s work. I can’t compare it to the feeling I get when I’m singing my own songs.
“I hope my professional life will be a mixture f the two as performing on a West End stage is something I’d always wanted to do and it’s something I’ll definitely continue,
but for now I’ve really missed being an artist.”
Since moving back to music Gareth has been working hard, penning his own tracks and putting together a band.
“It’s in the very early stages,” he says.
“This acoustic tour will showcase what we’ve got and will determine how people feel about it.
“I’ve got a band together from just doing gigs here, there and everywhere, but we don’t even have a name yet.
“I just know that when I’m with them and we’re doing live music it’s when I’m at my happiest.”
Since appearing on Pop Idol Gareth has managed to overcome his speech problems, but he says there has been no ‘quick fix’.
“I’ve thought I’ve cracked it in the past but then I stop my exercises and it comes back,” he says.
“It depends how hard I work at it but it’s most apparent when I’m tired or nervous. It’s just a case of practising really hard to stop it from happening.”
Gareth now teaches speech technique on the McGuire programme, which helped him find his voice, and he says it changed his life.
“Imagine not being able to say a few words and then all of a sudden you can talk, it’s amazing,” he says.
“And having responsibilty for helping someone else do the same thing just changes you.”
Gareth Gates will be playing a selection of new material, old songs and popular tracks at South Hill Park on Thursday, June 6.
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