One Voice” Tour to arrive in the UK + album near end of year – and “looking to do something a bit different towards the end of the year, perhaps not acoustic but that’s all in talks at the moment.” Kerry Ellis
LONDON WEEKLY NEWS
20 January 2016 by Nicky Sweetland
Kerry Ellis & Brian May at the Pheasantry. Photo by Janet Brooks
West End star Kerry Ellis and rock legend Brian May kicked off their new tour last night at the Pheasantry on Chelsea’s King’s Road. The pair, who have collaborated on a number of projects over recent years including the acclaimed Candlelight concerts, premiered their One Voice show which they will be taking around Europe over the next few months. The duo are also playing tonight at the Leicester Square theatre where they are special guests of the celebrated singer, songwriter Russ Ballard.
I caught up with Kerry this morning and she told me about the two London shows and the forthcoming tour and album. Kerry said “It was nice for us to get back into it really. We’d done a couple of performances late last year but to actually do a full gig was lovely and it was nice to have a pre-tour get together for us. It went great, the crowd was lovely, really responsive.”
Kerry Ellis is best known for her West End stage roles which have included the star playing the green witch in the smash hit musical Wicked and more recently Grizabella in Cats at the London Palladium. With a very unique and really quite beautiful voice, Kerry has legions of devoted fans of both her solo work and of the work on which she has collaborated with Queen virtuoso guitarist Brian May. The singer is well known for her intimate cabaret performances and finds the West London venue is the perfect place to get up close to the fans. “I love it there. I think it holds about 100 people, if that so it’s very close. You get to see somebody in a very informal environment so it’s really special and magical and a real one off. I think it has that sort of sense of occasion that you’re seeing something that is very unusual and I think that’s what people, well I hope, that’s what people get from it anyway.”
Tonight’s show at the Leicester Square theatre features Brian and Kerry as guest of the musician Russ Ballard who has written hundreds of well known hit songs during his esteemed career including the Hot Chocolate chart topper “So you win again” and the rock anthem “God gave rock and roll to you”. Kerry reveals to me one of the numbers tonight’s audience can look forward to. “We’re doing a couple of Russ’ songs so we are literally going to be part of his evening. It’s new stuff for us. We are going to do ’Since you been gone’ because we’ve performed that before so we’re doing a little acoustic version of that and a couple of others. It’s always nice to do somebody else’s ideas and songs because they bring new challenges and you never know what you’re going to pick that you might then adopt and use in your own show.”
Following an extensive tour of venues across Europe including Italy, Poland and Hungry, the One Voice tour will arrive in the UK near the end of the year. The release of the accompanying album is planned for around the same time and Kerry tells me there could be some surprises in store.
“We’re looking to do something a bit different towards the end of the year, perhaps not acoustic but that’s all in talks at the moment.”
With a busy few months ahead touring Europe and recording the new album with Brian as well as fitting in the important job of being mum, I asked Kerry if she had any time to concentrate on doing any solo stuff?
“Yeah, I’m up for it all really, it’s just kind of fitting it in and timings.”
Kerry did reveal plans for an intimate solo gig with her band at the Hippodrome casino in Leicester Square. The gig is planned for the end of April, with Kerry’s friend and accompanist Craig Adams providing musical direction.