Michael Ball goes "Back to Bacharach"

~ The Times on Sunday - 21/10/2007 ~

Michael Ball, who is currently playing Edna Turnblad in the London production of Hairspray , has just released his latest solo recording.

Entitled "Back to Bacharach," the new recording hit U.K. stores Oct. 22. The single CD features such Bacharach tunes as "The Look of Love," "Make It Easy on Yourself," "Alife," "Arthur's Theme," "One Less Bell to Answer," "Close to You," "Anyone Who Had a Heart," "This House Is Empty Now," "This Guy's in Love with You," "You'll Never Get to Heaven," "Reach Out for Me" and "What the World Needs Now."

In a statement Ball said, "I've recorded a few Bacharach songs over the years and performed some in concert and always felt they suited me. I love the stories, and the lyrics (many by Hal David) have always struck a chord with me, especially on the more serious numbers. Bacharach has such a brilliant ear for melody and his music has a completely timeless feel to it; I thought it would be great to do a whole album of his music and to record with a full orchestra and big band which is something I hadn't done before. I thought it was also time I made a sort of 'late night' album with sophisticated arrangements – and he's definitely the king of all that!"

Michael Ball, who was most recently on Broadway in The Woman in White , made his Broadway debut as Alex in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Aspects of Love , a role he created on the London stage. His other London stage credits include The Woman in White, The Pirates of Penzance, Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, Passion and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang . Ball's numerous, best-selling solo recordings include "Centre Stage," "Christmas," "Live at the Royal Albert Hall," "The Movies," "The Musicals," "First Love," "Always" and "Michael Ball." He was also seen in the New York City Opera production of Patience .