Help! My House Is Haunted.

Russell Watson’s house is haunted by a malevolent spirit and the team from Help! My House Is Haunted came in to help..

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C37I6o8t03x/?igsh=NjFhOGMzYTE3ZQ==

RUSSELL WATSON ANNOUNCES SPRING 2024 DATES

Due to popular demand renowned British tenor Russell Watson is set to extend his “magnificent buildings concert series” into 2024.

Russell Watson’s unique voice has captivated audiences around the world, earning him numerous awards and accolades including four Classical Brit awards. The world-renowned tenor will be performing a special show with classic songs old and new, together with a selection of his most loved hits from his illustrious career. He will be accompanied by his arranger and pianist Mike Moran.

After a successful run throughout 2023, the tour promises to give fans a truly special experience, as Watson continues to perform in some of the UK’s most stunning and historic venues.

Starting on 1st March at Liverpool Cathedral, the tour stops off in St Albans, Derby, Edinburgh, Glasgow and finishes up at Blackburn Cathedral on 16th March.

Since being described by the New York Times as a performer “who sings like Pavarotti and entertains the audience like Sinatra” he subsequently released ten studio albums, each one receiving more critical acclaim than the last.

“It has been an honour to perform in some of the UK’s most beautiful cathedrals in 2023” said Russell Watson. “These venues have a special place in the hearts of so many people, and I am honoured to be able to perform in them. I can’t wait to carry on sharing my music with fans old and new in these incredible locations.”

TOUR DATES:

1st March Liverpool Cathedral
2nd March St Albans Cathedral
8th March Derby Cathedral
13th March Edinburgh St Mary’s Cathedral
14th March Glasgow Cathedral
16th March Blackburn Cathedral

Tickets available at http://russellwatson.com/dates or call 01256-416384

RUSSELL WATSON TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW FOR UK CATHEDRAL TOUR

Russell Watson has left fans elated over the past year with his exceptional performances at some of the UK’s most astounding historical buildings.

His “Magnificent Buildings Concert Series” began earlier this year, and has just been confirmed to continue into 2024.

Once again, Russell will be taking to the stage at a number of the country’s most beautiful buildings, including the Liverpool Cathedral, Derby Cathedral, Edinburgh St Mary’s Cathedral and Blackburn Cathedral – to name just a few.

He said on the tour’s expansion: “It has been an honour to perform in some of the UK’s most beautiful cathedrals in 2023.

“These venues have a special place in the hearts of so many people, and I am honoured to be able to perform in them.”

“These venues have a special place in the hearts of so many people, and I am honoured to be able to perform in them” – Russell Watson

Russell added: “I can’t wait to carry on sharing my music with fans old and new in these incredible locations.”

Tickets for the upcoming tour are out right now – so you can secure your spot at the events before anyone else. Here’s what you need to know:

Russell Watson will be hitting some of the country’s most illustrious buildings

SEE TICKETS – Buy Russell Watson tickets here.

TICKETMASTER – Buy Russell Watson tickets here

These links will take you to the general tour page but you can jump directly to your gig of choice by hitting the links below:

Russell Watson UK Tour dates 2024 – FULL LIST

A BIG THANK YOU TO SCALA RADIO

A big thank you to Scala Radio for inviting me along to their Classics at Christmas concert. It was wonderful to be back on stage at the amazing London Palladium 🎶 also, great to see my friends Penny Smith & Alfie Boe again x

I starved and lost 20lbs in just 2 weeks – all I could think about was food

Three years on from his I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! stint, singer Russell Watson has dished the dirt on his experience – revealing that the lack of food in camp hit him hard

It’s been three years since Russell Watson moving his fellow campmates, moved from the Australian jungle to a freezing cold castle in north Wales because of the pandemic.

One of the stand-out moments from that series was classical singer Russell Watson moving his fellow campmates, including Giovanna Fletcher, Beverley Callard and Victoria Derbyshire, to tears with his rendition of Nessun Dorma.

And when we catch up with Russell – who was the fifth celeb to leave the show – he remembers his time in the castle with fond memories and is looking forward to watching this series as a viewer.
Russell Watson on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!
Three years on from his I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! stint, singer Russell Watson says that the lack of food in camp hit him hard.

“I look back on my time in the castle with a great deal of affection, I really did love it,” he says. “There were elements of it that I didn’t enjoy, but even with the trials that I did, I still enjoyed it. I had a great time.”

“My wife and I love the show, so we’ll definitely be watching this year,” the 56-year-old tells OK!.

Russell grew close to his campmates, who also included Vernon Kay and Shane Richie, and he still keeps in touch with all of them to this day.

“We have a WhatsApp group and we were all on it recently, congratulating Vernon for having the most successful radio show in the UK,” he shares. “We were all writing ‘Well done, mate’ and ‘Congratulations’. They’re a great group of people.”

During his experience, the singer lost nearly 2st in weight and said the hunger and cold weather were particularly difficult to navigate.
Russell on stage
Russell found fame back in 1999 (Image: Essex Chronicle)

“Most mornings, I would wake up and use my fingers to make a little face in the ice on the windows so I could see out – it was that cold.

“By far, the most difficult aspect of the show is the starvation. I lost 20lb in just over two weeks – that’s a lot of weight. All you can think about when you’re hungry is food. It can make you feel quite grumpy and quite tired.

“I’m 6ft plus and a big lad, so I take a bit of fuelling up – 600 calories is lunch for me, not a day. That’s what I’d have in my sandwich. The food there is vile, that part really wasn’t nice.”

But, despite the lack of food, Russell says he would consider going on the show again if the opportunity arose. “I’d love to return. I’ve not been asked, but that would be something I would love to do,” he admits.

Since finding fame in 1999 following a series of appearances at high-profile sporting events, Russell has gone on to achieve worldwide stardom, performing for Pope John Paul II at the Vatican, President George Bush at the White House, and for the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at Buckingham Palace. He is also an ambassador for the Prince’s Trust, which was set up by King Charles in 1976.

But at the height of his success in 2006, the singer was diagnosed with a brain tumour and a second tumour was found a year later. He says the driving force behind his recovery was to get out of hospital for his daughter’s birthday.
Russell and wife Louise Harris
Russell shared that he and his wife ‘love’ the ITV show (Image: FilmMagic)

He explains, “The whole concept was, ‘If you can make it to the end of that corridor, and walk up the first flight of steps, then you’re ready to go home.’ So that was my ambition at that moment in time, to get
out in time for my daughter’s birthday, which I did.”

Russell – who shares daughters Rebecca and Hannah with his first wife Helen – moved with wife Louise to
a 15-acre farm in Cheshire, complete with horses and alpacas. “It’s heaven on earth, I love it here. I absolutely love this place. It’s one of those locations where you have to see it to appreciate its real beauty.

“We’ve got expansive woodland down the side of the property, which is also ours, and then you have this tapestry of the green hills as far as the eye can see. This amazing and ever-changing skyline is right here.”

The star – whose debut album The Voice held the No1 spot on the UK charts for a record 52 weeks – has also sung alongside Sir Paul McCartney, Meat Loaf and even Luciano Pavarotti. But he admits that away from the glitz and glamour, he appreciates the slow pace that life in the countryside offers.

“Many years ago when I was living in Wilmslow, which is the footballers part of the world, I used to get home from a show, take my shoes off, put my feet up and watch a bit of Netflix or Top Gear , or maybe even switch my PlayStation on and shoot a few zombies. Now, I get home, I put my boots on and I go outside and start doing whatever job needs doing. I’m now a fully fledged fence fixer, what with all the animals that we have,” he says.

Russell is an ambassador for the Prince’s Trust, which was set up by King Charles in 1976

Asked whether his life on stage and life on the farm make him feel like two different people, Russell responds, “I feel like 10 different people. There’s the dad – I’m a father to two girls and even though they are grown up they’re still very reliant on me; the bank of dad, dad’s taxis, agony uncle dad. Then there’s the professional dog walker, professional fence fixer, professional gardener… Honestly, I can do it all!”

Most importantly, he loves being a family man. “If I have the opportunity to stay at home rather than stay in a hotel then I will definitely be at home,” he says.

Work-wise, Russell is currently on a UK tour and doesn’t have any plans to slow down soon. “I’ve done a lot of tours since 2007. I never stop touring. I have breaks in between, but it never stops. But I love it.”

So with his busy work schedule, will we see him on another reality TV show any time soon? “Not the skating one. I am dangerous, so there’s no way I’d do the skating one. I’ve been asked a few times to do Strictly , and a few people have said to me I should do it, but I can’t dance.

“I know a lot of people go on it that can’t dance, but look what happens to them – look at Les Dennis. But I’d do something like a baking or cooking show, I’m quite a dab hand in the kitchen.”

Russell Watson: Singing at Sir Bobby Charlton’s funeral an ’emotional moment’

The singer said that the footballer was ‘a gentleman through and through’.

Russell Watson has said it was an emotional moment when he sang at the funeral of “gentleman” Sir Bobby Charlton.

The Salford-born classical singer, who is in the middle of his Magnificent Buildings Tour, said he could see a tear in the eye of Sir Bobby’s widow Lady Norma as he performed How Great Thou Art at the service held for the late footballer, who died in October aged 86.

Sir Bobby will be remembered as arguably the greatest English footballer of all time, a World Cup winner in 1966 with his country and a winner of three league titles, an FA Cup and a European Cup with Manchester United in 1968.

Fans flocked to United’s Old Trafford stadium to pay their respects as the funeral cortege drove past on Monday.

After singing at Manchester Cathedral, Watson, 56, told the PA news agency: “It was an emotional day. It was an emotional moment.”

He added: “I don’t think in my wildest dreams I would have ever imagined at any stage in my life as a child that I would be singing or being invited to sing at the funeral of the legend that was Bobby Charlton. A great honour for me.”

Watson recalled meeting Sir Bobby: “I just remember spending the entire evening bending his ear about, I’m sure, questions that he’s been asked 1,000 times before.

“It was interesting because he told them with such glee and almost like it was the first time he’d ever told the stories, which was what I found so incredible.

“It was only when I heard his grandson speak about him today at the funeral that I realised that he loved repeating the stories and he was just a gentleman through and through, I think.

“I mean, we talk about his prowess as a footballer, but I think the one thing that really stands out for me with regards to Sir Bobby Charlton was the fact that he was a very charitable man, but also a consummate professional.

“He was also a very, very humble and a very, very giving human being.

“He was just a great bloke basically.”

Watson said Sir Bobby was probably “the greatest footballing legend” that Manchester United has ever created.

“I mean he had success as a youth player; he had success as a club footballer, and then, the ultimate accolade of being one of the World Cup winners in 1966.

“So what a legacy to leave behind. I think a footballer that will never be forgotten,” Watson added.

Russell Watson finds artistic inspiration in Lucerne – just like Wagner

It was a stupid thing to do. And I knew it. I had performed five concerts in four days and I was exhausted.

I’d normally switch off by spending time on our farm or perhaps watch Congleton Town FC. But, if you need to decompress, there is another option: Lucerne in central Switzerland, set on the lake of the same name.

Walking out onto the balcony of my fourth-floor suite at the Art Deco Hotel Montana above the city, I could take in all the landmarks in one sweep: the towers of Museggmauer, the old city wall; the Hofkirche with its twin spires and thunderous organ; the 14th-century Chapel Bridge across the River Reuss; the Water Tower; the lake itself and its Edwardian-era paddle steamers; Mount Pilatus which soars one mile above Lucerne; and the peaks of central Switzerland all the way to The Rigi – the ‘Queen of Mountains’ – in the south. Wow!

Immense and complex, Lake Lucerne consists of interlocking fjords hemmed by mountains. The combination of mountain and lake is a point of local pride. As one Lucerner put it to me: “Zürich has a lake but no mountains; Bern has no lake, just the River Aare. We call Lucerne the pocket-sized Switzerland.”

Russell admires Porsche carsPhotography by Laila Bosco

A country on the move

It was time to explore.

Sooner or later, but always bang on time, any visitor will encounter the Swiss public transport system, which is a wonder of the modern world. A Swiss travel pass will get you from any part of the country to another, by bus, train, cable car or boat. However precipitous the journey, you will arrive on time, even if it involves travelling across some of the most spectacular mountain landscapes in the world.

Swiss public transport symbolises individual freedom. Hence the importance of the Swiss Museum of Transport on the outskirts of Lucerne. This great glass building contains sections dedicated to cars, trains, tractors, boats, aeroplanes and even alloy wheels and signposts. The message is clear: this is a country on the move.

Horsing around: Russell and Louise at the Swiss Museum of transport Credit: Laila Bosco

The Boss, aka Louise, aka Mrs Watson, who stables a dozen dressage horses, was puzzled to find nothing equestrian in the museum. “How can you have a transport museum without horses?” She has a point. This museum celebrates humanity’s mechanical ingenuity. It points to a wonderful contradiction in the Swiss: they revere nature but refuse to let it get in their way.

Tasting 140 years of tradition

One of my favourite parts of the Museum of Transport was the Swiss Chocolate Adventure Experience, a small Lindt chocolate factory where I learnt how to ice-decorate a giant chocolate bar. It was like being back at school. One bite of Lindt was like entering the Tardis and travelling back to when Rodolphe Lindt accidentally left his chocolate machine running over the weekend and stumbled on the way to mass-produce chocolate bars. It tasted like 140 years of tradition and craftsmanship distilled into one chunk. I saw visions of alpine pastures in brilliant sunshine.

Tasty treat: Russell enjoys a morsel at the Swiss Chocolate Adventure Experience Credit: Laila Bosco

Aside from chocolate, the food in Lucerne is excellent. I recommend local dishes such as Luzerner Fritschipastete, a pie made from brioche puff pastry filled with veal, veal sausage, mushrooms and sultanas marinated in cognac; and Älpermagronen – Swiss macaroni cheese – served with caramelised onion and apple sauce, washed down with white wine made from the chasselas grape. All of it was absolutely wonderful – but all entirely inappropriate for an opera singer. These things are strictly verboten when I am preparing for a concert, so it was a pleasure to be able to indulge like this.

Artistic inspiration

And my taste buds weren’t the only senses to be indulged. Lucerne is truly alive with sound. Earlier in the day, as I got off my train from Zürich, I was confronted by the KKL concert and convention hall, where the Lucerne Life Festival was in full swing, featuring local Swiss music, mainly newcomers.

Local Swiss music? You mean alpine horns and yodelling? “Yes,” said our guide Linda. “We have alpine horns, but we leave yodelling to the Zug National Yodelling Festival. We have indy, hip hop and rap here.”

A number of historical figures, especially artists, have come to Lucerne for ‘inspiration’. They include JMW Turner, Mark Twain and Sergei Rachmaninoff. More likely they came here to escape creditors and critics while craving the freedom of being ignored. It is typical of the Lucerners’ conservative and relaxed outlook that they take little interest in celebrity. There are no statues dedicated to famous Lucerners. As one local shrugged and told me: “Some artists have been inspired to produce their greatest works here, but we Lucerners just live here.”

Perhaps the greatest artist who lived here – and who stretched the German concept of Gesamtkunstwerk (‘total work of art’) to breaking point – was Richard Wagner. For various reasons (debts, politics and marital problems) the composer and writer led a Flying Dutchman’s existence. Between 1866 and 1872, he rented an 1800 house in the village of Tribschen on Lake Lucerne, which today is a Wagner museum and concert venue, and has an exhibition of his works, his actual piano and favourite armchair.

Cultural highlight: Russell looks around the Wagner museum Credit: Laila Bosco

The house is set on a hillside overlooking a small park with an orchard. Intending to stay here one year, Wagner ended up staying six. I can’t think how he got any work done. Besides five children, frequent visitors – including Friedrich Nietzsche, who had his own room here – and his own unfolding domestic saga, Wagner kept a Newfoundland dog, a sheep, two peacocks and various farm animals. It reminds me of our farm in Cheshire, where, besides the Boss’s horses, we keep chickens, cats, dogs, a herd of alpacas and Fuzzy the ostrich.

And yet, here Wagner completed Die Meistersinger and Siegfried and worked on Götterdammerung. He also wrote:

“Wherever I cast my gaze, I am surrounded by a magical world here; I know of no other home on earth more beautiful, indeed, none more comfortable than this.”

A happy place

After two days, the Boss and I agreed: Lucerne is lovely for a holiday. After three days, we were thinking: second home? There is so much to do and see. The climate is good; the place is spotless. The food and service are excellent. Everything is laid-back but you sense that things are moving like clockwork in the background.

Lucerne feels like it is brimming with history and pride. Lucerners fly the flag. They make a collective effort to keep the place looking just so. It has a family-friendly feel, it seems to be great for children. It is also a romantic setting for couples. It is definitely a happy place.

History in stone Russell is moved to sing in front of the statue of a dying lion that commemorates 760 Swiss Guards Credit: Laila Bosco

In its historic centre is a statue of a dying lion carved into a cliff face. It commemorates 760 Swiss Guards massacred while defending the Tuileries Palace in France in 1792. Mark Twain, who visited Lucerne twice, in 1878 and 1897, described it as the

“most mourning and moving piece of stone in the world”.

The statue overlooks a small lake. The acoustics of this glade are…well…How could I resist?

My spontaneous rendition of the climax of O Sole Mio probably sounded to the bewildered crocodile of Japanese tourists as if the graven lion itself had roared magically into life. For me, it proved my vocal chords were roaring back to life, too.

Discover Switzerland

For more information about Lucerne-Lake Lucerne Region visit luzern.com

For more information about the Swiss Museum of Transport visit verkehrshaus.ch

Russell and Louise Watson stayed at Art Deco Hotel Montana

Switzerland is easily reachable via train from London or by Swiss International Air Lines. And once you land, the famously efficient public transport will take you to the regions you want to visit by train, bus or boat using the Swiss Travel Pass, available from the Switzerland Travel Centre.

Discover Switzerland for yourself at myswitzerland.com

Join Russell on a Luxury River Cruise in Venice

Russell is thrilled to once again be joining a luxury river cruise that showcases the best of Venice and Northern Italy.

Russell will join the cruise for three exceptional days to host some unforgettable events including a private concert in the heart of Venice with approximately 120 attendees, plus enjoy a private Q&A session with the man himself, hearing first-hand accounts of his incredible journey to stardom.

On top of getting to hear all about Russell’s career, you will sail within the Venetian Lagoon and explore the beautiful islands that surround Venice – all whilst traveling in all-inclusive luxury.

This sailing is taking place between 20th and 27th October 2024.

Book your space on the cruise by telephoning 0808 168 9110

You can learn more information by clicking the link below