Will Martin

[Stephany]

Richard - thank you so much for those wonderful pictures. I had never seen them before! It looks as though they had so much fun touring together. Will has recently recorded a new track with the Fron Male Voice Choir for their 3rd album.

Dave - many thanks for the latest chart news. I'm slightly disappointed that he didn't reach the top 20 but number 1 in the classical charts is already an amazing achievement in itself. Not sure it will remain at the top spot with Blake's new album though!

Will informed me that there will be a New Zealand Special Edition of "A New World'. Tracks featured are likely to be his collaborations with The Fron, The Dragoon Guards, plus one or two solo tracks.

Stephany

[martindn]

Sept 29, 2008 0:07:32 GMT @larryhauck said:

Hey Martin,
You skipped the best ever. Luciano Pavarotti.

Larry

Hi Larry,

Yes I agree with you about Pavarotti. But he wasn't on the album in his own right, although he was one of The Three Tenors of course.

Martin

[Richard]

Calling Stephany again!

I missed this at the time, but it's not too late. Will Martin was interviewed by Mark Forrest on the Classic FM Magazine podcast dated 19th September 2008, and you can still listen here:-

www.classicfm.co.uk/Sectional.asp?id=11921

Direct link: www.classicfm.co.uk/getpodcast.aspx?sid=11921&lid=6440&id=895591&source=1&url=http://mediaweb.musicradio.com/MP3/39534818974D4CF9988318DB4E59DA51.mp3

If you download the podcast, you can easily skip the first sixteen minutes which are taken up by an interview with violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter. Personally I could never tell talk from mutter!

I resisted the temptation to say she's always on the fiddle! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Love,
Richard

[comet]

Oct 4, 2008 13:45:48 GMT Richard said:

If you download the podcast, you can easily skip the first sixteen minutes which are taken up by an interview with violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter. Personally I could never tell talk from mutter!

I resisted the temptation to say she's always on the fiddle! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Love,
Richard

Thanks for the laugh Richard,

Will is really good thanks to all the fine people who have brought him to our attention.
His version of Going Home on the CD that came free with The Mail on Sunday is wonderful...........

[Ross]

I saw Will on the news tonight (cannot remember if it was TV One or TV 3). He was at a premier in the West end of a low budget New Zealand movie called Sisterhood. It was made for about 200000 dollars and was about a NZ woman in London trying to prove another girl is her sister and a man is their father. It seemed funny.

It was on TV One. Here is the link:-
tvnz.co.nz/view/video_popup_windows_skin/2193672

[Richard]

Hello folks!

Here's an interesting article from the Evening Standard.

Touring classical star who sings free for his supper

Nick Curtis
10.10.08


Food music: Will Martin sings for his lunch to three flatmates

It is the ultimate in dinner party entertainment. Opera singer Will Martin, whose debut album hit number one in the classical charts, will come to your house and literally sing for his supper.

The 24-year-old tenor from Wellington, New Zealand, moved to the UK and signed a five-album record deal with Universal for £1.12million just a year ago.

"I spend so much time alone in hotel rooms while doing promotion around the country, so this seemed an ideal way to meet my audience in a very social, informal way," he said.

The day he offered to sing free for his supper on www.gumtree.com he received 500 requests for his services. "The first time I did it was for an executive driver and his wife in Southampton," he said.

"They had two friends and the wife's parents over for the evening, and served me a very nice roast dinner. I sang some songs from the album, but over the meal I'd got an idea of their tastes, so I did some Sinatra and Elton John too."

Martin, who is slim, blue-eyed and boyishly handsome, says he is not concerned about meeting fans who want more than his vocal talents but contrary to early reports, he is not looking for a bed for the night as well as a meal.

"My management and record company assure me they are vetting the applicants," he said. "Then again, I am single at the moment. Of course, there's the danger that if my voice is off, I'll only get toast, or one potato."

The Standard asked Martin to sing for his lunch for actors Robin Sebastian, 42, and Lucy Sullivan, 38, and their housemate, writer and editor Karin Mochan, 39, at their flat in South Kensington.

After bell-clear renditions of the Nat King Cole hit Nature Boy and the Maori lullaby Hine E Hine (he is one-16th Maori on his mother's side), all agreed he had earned his cold roast chicken.

Since New Zealand offers little employment for a classical singer, Martin took every musical job he could get in his teens, singing in bars, at corporate functions, and with a covers band in Dubai for three months. He has also sung the national anthem three times for the New Zealand rugby team, for whom he is a kind of mascot. "They've never lost when I've sung for them," he explained.

Yet his sights were always set on the UK. "If people say they like my voice here, I know they know what they're talking about."

On its week of release, Martin's album, A New World, sold 10,000 copies. You can access his gumtree advert via his website.

He has also sung the national anthem three times for the New Zealand rugby team, for whom he is a kind of mascot. "They've never lost when I've sung for them," he explained.

That proves he's the male Hayley Westenra! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Richard

[Stephany]

Thank you so much Ross and Richard. It looks like Will is having loads of fun doing the supper promotion.

He told me he would go to the All Blacks matches in November in the UK and would sing if Hayley decides not to! She's expected to do it, though. There will be two big Kiwi supporters at Twickenham so I honestly don't think England has many chances. Best of luck to them!

[Richard]

Hello again Stephany and everybody!

Following on from the superb interview with Hayley that I posted this morning, Alex Belfield has also interviewed Will Martin at Celebrity Radio HERE (17 minutes).

Will Martin - NEW 2008



Will Martin is a brand new artist just signed to Universal. A remarkable singer and entertainer from New Zealand who's going to be a huge star!

Richard

[southernfan]

I am just discovering Will Martin's voice...remarkable in my opinion. Does anyone know how old he is? He looks very young in photos.
Thankyou.

[roger]

Hi southernfan. We haven't heard from you in a while so welcome back!

In the Evening Standard article posted here, it says he is 24. Yes, he does look younger not only in the photograph but in real life too. A few of us saw him when he appeared with Hayley in London and he is equally impressive live as he is on his CD.

Roger

[southernfan]

Thanks for the welcome back Roger. Yeah, lots going on. I have checked in a few times just to see what is happening but not lately. It is harder for those of us ( or for me anyway)who have no hope of seeing Hayley sing live to be as involved as all of you who see her so often!

[Stephany]

Hi everyone

Will Martin is doing is first solo concert in London on Tuesday 13th January at the New Player's Theatre. It's called "By Request" and it's an opportunity for Will’s most avid supporters to design his set list. You can have your say and email [e-mail] with the subject line “BY REQUEST” with the songs you'd love to hear him sing.

Tickets are on sale next week.
I have been looking forward to this for weeks but it turns out I can't come as it's my second day at my new job and I can't take the day off so soon.

Stephany

[postscript]

This is very interesting Stephany. I'm sorry you will not be able to make it. It is a new theatre to me and it will be interesting to see Will holding his own show.
Peter S.

[Richard]

Hello Stephany and everybody!

The New Players Theatre has its own website: www.newplayerstheatre.com

It's located in the arches underneath Charing Cross Station, so Will Martin might like to sing this old Bud Flanagan song from the 1930s.

Underneath the Arches

Underneath the arches
I dream my dreams away
Underneath the arches
On cobblestones I lay
Every night you'll find me
Tired out and worn
Happy when the daylight
Comes creeping
Heralding the dawn

Sleeping when its raining
And sleeping when it's fine
I hear the trains
Rattling by above
Pavement is my pillow
No matter where I stray
Underneath the arches
I dream my dreams away

Yeah, underneath the arches
On cobblestones I lay
Every night you'll find me
Tired out and worn
Happy when the daylight
Comes creeping
Heralding the dawn

Sleeping when it's raining
And sleeping when it's fine
I hear the trains
Rattling by above
The pavement is my pillow
No matter where I stray
Underneath the arches
I dream my dreams away

Lyrics from www.lyricstime.com/john-farnham-underneath-the-arches-lyrics.html

On second thoughts, I hope Will spends the night in a hotel!

Richard

[grant]

Dec 16, 2008 7:30:03 GMT Stephany said:

I have been looking forward to this for weeks but it turns out I can't come as it's my second day at my new job and I can't take the day off so soon.

Hi Stephany

That's such a shame and a real disappointment for you but I can understand you not being able to take a day off work so soon after starting. I'm sure Wil will also be sorry to hear that his Number One fan is not going to be there to support him.

Lots of Love
Grant