Jonathan Ansell
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jonathan Ansell | |
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 English tenor Jonathan Ansell at Broadlands in Hampshire, England, in 2007.
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jonathan Mark Ansell |
| Born | 10 March 1982 |
| Origin | Bognor Regis, Sussex, England, UK |
| Genre(s) | Classical Easy listening Operatic pop Vocal |
| Occupation(s) | Singer Tenor |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Label(s) | UCJ |
| Website | www.jonathanansell.com |
Jonathan Mark Ansell (born 10 March 1982) is an English singer, formerly the high tenor of the vocal group G4.
Jonathan Ansell was born in Bognor Regis in 1982. At the age of eight, he joined The West Sussex Boys' Choir, conducted by Arthur Robson, and stayed until his voice broke when he lost the ability to sing treble at the age of 15. He toured with the choir to Florida, Germany, and France, and sang in the Royal Festival Hall. After puberty Ansell found out he had developed a high tenor voice instead.
He attended the Anglican Bishop Luffa School in Chichester. "Achieved his Grade 8 as a treble at 13, he received his Grade 8 as a tenor at 17. He published a solo album in 2001 with his savings.
After a show-stopping performance of Love Changes Everything at a choral society concert in Littlehampton, his local MP, who was in the audience, arranged for him to have a preliminary audition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He won a place two years later, and felt he had come home.[1]
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[edit] G4
Whilst he was at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama he formed the pop-opera boyband G4 with Mike Christie, Tom Lowe, and Ben Thapa, three other Guildhall students. Later, due to artistic differences, Tom Lowe resigned as bass, and Matthew Stiff took his place. Their name, G4, comes from the fact that they were all students at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and stands for Guildhall 4.
G4 were discovered after finishing second on ITV talent show The X Factor in 2004. G4's self-titled debut album reached Number One for Mother's Day weekend 2005 and sold over 245,000 copies in the first week. In total they released 3 albums, sold in excess of 1.5 million albums in the UK, completed 5 sell-out UK tours, sold in excess of 40,000 Live at the Royal Albert Hall DVDs (one of the concerts on their first tour) and also released a best selling autobiography.
Jonathan Ansell turned down the role of Prince Tamino in Kenneth Branagh's film of Mozart's The Magic Flute to stay with the band and continue recording.
On 5 April 2007, G4 announced on GMTV that they were calling it a day at the end of July 2007.
[edit] Solo Career
Jonathan signed with new management Jonathan Shalit in 2007 and secured a £1 million, 5 album deal with Universal Classics and Jazz (UCJ) which is part of the Universal Music Group. Indeed, it's a testament to Jonathan's brilliance as a singer that he was offered an album deal by the three major labels, EMI, Sony and Universal."[2] His first solo album with UCJ, Tenor at the Movies, was released on 18 February 2008.
For 5 Sunday afternoons from 17th February 2008 Jonathan Ansell presented "The Great Movie Composers" on ClassicFM coinciding with the release of his solo album.
On 24th February 2008 Jonathan's album "Tenor at the Movies" went straight to number 1 in the Classical Chart and stayed there for 3 weeks and reached Number 9 in mainstream charts making him the youngest tenor ever to top the Classical Charts.
On 10th April 2008 Jonathan participated in a celebrity edition of Channel 4 show Come Dine With Me along with fellow celebrities MC Harvey, Tamara Beckwith and Lynsey de Paul. Jonathan came in joint first place with MC Harvey, both of whom scored 21 points.
On 8th May Jonathan's participation in BBC programme Ready Steady Cook against Hayley Westenra was broadcast.
In the evening of 8th May 2008 Jonathan performed Un Giorno Per Noi with Hayley Westenra at the Classical Brits, Royal Albert Hall.
[edit] Personal life
After meeting her in a London club, Jonathan is dating former Quizmania host Debbie King.[3]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- Tenor at the Movies (UCJ) #9 UK, #1 UK Classical
Released 18 February 2008
Jonathan is due to release a second album in October this year
[edit] Tours
[edit] A Night At The Opera
30-Oct Wales Millenium Centre 08700 402 000
31-Oct Brighton The Centre 0844 847 1515
02-Nov Sheffield City Hall 0114 278 9789
03-Oct Gateshead Sage 0191 443 4661
05-Nov Aberdeen Music Hall 01224 641122
06-Nov Glasgow Royal Concert Hall 0141 353 8000
07-Nov Nottingham Royal Concert Hall 0115 989 5555
09-Nov Bournemouth BIC 0870 111 3000
10-Nov Southend Cliffs Pavilion 01702 351 135
11-Nov Liverpool Philharmonic Hall 0151 709 3789
12-Nov Basingstoke The Anvil 01256 844 244
13-Nov Manchester Bridgewater Hall 0161 907 9000
16-Nov Bradford St George's Hall 01274 432 000
18-Nov Birmingham Symphony Hall 0121 780 3333
20-Nov Bristol Colston Hall 0117 922 3523
21-Nov Plymouth Plymouth Pavilions 0845 146 1460
22-Nov Portsmouth The Guildhall 023 9282 4355
23-Nov London Palladium 0844 412 4657
[edit] References
- ^ Jonathan Ansell Official Site. Official Website (15 January 2008). Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
- ^ 'I was such a pretty boy even my mother thought I was gay' says G4's Jonathan Ansell. Daily Mail (4 January 2008). Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
- ^ Mutiny on the high Cs as G4 reveal why they split. Daily Mail (6 April 2007). Retrieved on 2008-01-07.
Multimedia and interviews
Friday night is music night Image:Friday night is music night My Own True Love.ogg
[edit] External links
- Official Jonathan Ansell Website
- Official Jonathan Ansell MySpace
- Jonathan-Ansell Website dedicated to Jonathan Ansell
- Jonathan Ansell at ClassicalX Jonathan Ansell section at ClassicalX
- G4-Online Fansite
- G4 Central Fansite & History
- Jon's Central Fansite & History
- G4 Official website
