Syndicated Interview
Making a much-anticipated return to his home county, Alfie Boe will be hoping family, friends and fans are ready to pack their poshest picnics to join him back on the Fylde Coast for an exclusive Last Night Of The Proms concert at Lytham Hall this August.
The Blackpool-born international singing sensation, who grew up in Fleetwood, returns to Lytham to headline the one-night Proms special presented by Lytham Festival, on Sunday, August 28.
The Lytham Hall performance will be Alfie’s first show on the Fylde since the huge Homecoming gig at Fleetwood Town FC’s Highbury Stadium in 2018 – and his first Lytham show in a decade, since he took to the stage at the original Lytham Proms in 2012.
“I do hope to see some familiar faces for this one… If there’s nothing good on the telly, then my family might come out to support,” Alfie joked of his large family who still live in Fleetwood, ahead of his much-anticipated return to the Fylde.
“It’s always a joy to get back to the North West, to my roots and to that crowd – especially in Lancashire – it’s home from home when I play there.
“Everybody seems to appreciate you making the effort to come home and play back in Lancashire, and just being there is wonderful.
“Fleetwood is where I was born and brought up, and I don’t think you can ever class the place where you grew up as anything other than ‘home’.
“But actually, for me, ‘home’ is a number of things. It’s not necessarily a region or a town, not necessarily a house; it’s the people you’re with and that can be anywhere around the world, whether you’re with friends, children, a partner, whatever.
“I spend a lot of time on the road, I’m living out of bags right now, but when I get to be with my children – that’s ‘going home’ for me at this time.
” Joined by fellow Les Misérables star, John Owen-Jones, for the exclusive picnic party at Lytham Hall, Alfie’s promising a ‘huge celebratory concert – full of music to get people on their feet’, while raising money for the ongoing restoration of the Grade I-listed property.
The Lytham show follows a summer tour with Michael Ball, who Alfie has been recording and performing with since 2016 – and he’s looking forward to being back on stage in beautiful outdoors venues.
“We all need fun and entertainment in our lives after going through the pandemic,” the former TVR apprentice said. “It’s time we started to enjoy life again – and this summer is the perfect time to bring people together through music.
“It’s a wonderful media. To be able to put on a record, to play music, to see music played, we need that. It’s good for people’s mental health, it’s therapeutic.”
And the former Cardinal Allen Catholic High School pupil-turned-stage-star, who chanced upon his musical career when a customer heard him singing while working at the TVR garage in Bispham, has had his own share of therapeutic events this year.
Alfie was one of eight celebrities who took part in the remarkable TV show Freeze The Fear With Wim Hof, filmed in the Italian Alps in January.
Each week, they faced a series of mental and physical challenges, and reaped the rewards of cold- water therapy and Wim ‘The Iceman’ Hof’s extraordinary breathing techniques.
Alfie credits the experience of Freeze The Fear with helping him find a new direction in life.
“I didn’t really know what to expect!” Alfie admits. “I was asked if I’d be interested and volunteered after reading up a bit about Wim Hof and his methods and watching videos of what he does.
“I thought it was something I could really benefit from and needed in my life at that moment. So I took the plunge – literally. And it’s the best thing I’ve ever done, I really mean that.
“It was pretty intense in terms of the cold therapy, and a really emotional time. “I fixed a lot in myself, I healed a lot, but also found a strength somewhere inside, and a direction in life of where I wanted to go and what I want to try to be moving forward. It was a learning process.”
Among the challenges, the stars undertook cold water submersions and their final task saw Alfie and six of the group take a leap of faith from a 500-foot-high bridge.
“On a practical level, I still take cold showers and I do a bit of fresh-water swimming now,” said Alfie about the experience and how it has changed him.
“But more than that, I want to do some fundraising events – putting my body to the extremes in cold weather – for mental health charities.
“The power of the challenges and the cold, it brought something out of me in terms of sharing my
experiences.
“My story, and my being able to open up to talk about things, if that helps someone watching, it’s done the job.
“The responses on social media after that episode in particular, have been overwhelming and I would like to thank everybody for their comments.
“I know now, I want to be an advocate for mental health. That’s something really important to me.
” Another project currently close to Alfie’s heart was the release in May of his recording of ‘God Save The Queen’, with Sarah Brightman, the NHS Voices Of Care Choir and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
“The Platinum Jubilee celebrations this summer were so well timed after getting through this difficult time, and I think it’s going to run throughout the summer – which will be great for the Proms at Lytham.
“It’s a great opportunity to celebrate Her Majesty herself. For one, she’s an amazing woman, and for
two, she’s an incredible monarch, leader and figurehead of the country.
“The Queen understands the nation and its people, and she loves the nation and its people – and that love resonates with people.
“Sarah and I were approached to record the national anthem in celebration of the jubilee, with the NHS Choir – so it’s a perfect celebration and supporting one of Her Majesty’s favourite charities the British Red Cross. The single was an opportunity to thank The Queen, to thank the NHS, to thank the British Red Cross, and pull together as a nation.
” With a lengthy musical career behind him, Alfie has plenty of experience with meeting Her Majesty The Queen – and he made history as part of the Diamond Jubilee Concert in 2012, when he became the first non-Royal Family member to stand on the legendary Buckingham Palace balcony, to perform ‘Somewhere’ from West Side Story.
“The Queen is a wonderful woman. I was very nervous the first time I met her – like I think everyone
is… You just don’t want to embarrass yourself,” the Les Misérables star admits.
“But The Queen also knows when people feel nervous and intimidated by her presence. She puts people at ease and makes people feel relaxed and in a good place when speaking to her so they have a great conversation. She has always been like that in my experience.
“The more times I’ve met her, the more it has been like meeting an old friend – I’ve cracked a joke or two with her over the years.”
And Alfie is sure to be greeted like an ‘old friend’ at Lytham Hall, where he’s sure to get a right royal ‘Welcome home to Lancashire’ on Sunday, August 28.
Tickets are on sale now from HERE
FOLLOW ALFIE BOE
My life is a soundtrack, i track my life through music, photography is my passion, my escape, my expression. Without both i have pieces missing, thankfully i’m blessed and get to combine both.
Born in Manchester, lived in Australia for 22 years where i was heavily involved in the Australian Music Industry, firstly in bands (Singer) and then managing bands (all original), I moved back to the UK, Wales specifically 10 years ago and married my childhood sweetheart and life is good.
