Russell Watson: From factory shop floor worker to performing for the Emperor of Japan

Full Disclosure with James O'Brien

Global

Society & Culture

4.6 • 3.5K Ratings

🗓️ 18 July 2024

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

"I had this inner feeling that something would happen to take me away from my mundane life".

The first twenty years of Russell Watson's life were very ordinary. He grew up in Salford, left school at 16 with almost no qualifications and joined the government's Youth Training Scheme. By the age of 20, he was working on the shop floor of a factory, making nuts and bolts.

He started singing in local pubs and working men's clubs after winning a local talent competition organised by Manchester Piccadilly Radio. It was tough, and Russell considered giving up - until one night in Wigan changed everything.

Russell has gone on to become one of the UK's most popular classical artists, selling over 7 million records and performing for notable figures including Pope John Paul II, members of the Royal Family and the Emperor of Japan. Tickets for his Magnificent Buildings concert tour are available at russellwatson.com

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey Sainsbury's. Any way you can save me a few quid on my weekly shop?
0:03.6	Well, Jane, try your nectar prices. Every week in your nectar app, you can unlock up to 10
0:08.8	personalized discounts on things you love at Sainsbury's. A, Jainsbury's, if you will.
0:14.3	Sounds like my kind of place. Get personalized discounts with your nectar prices. That's good
0:19.1	food for all of us. Jamespris.
0:21.3	I mean Sainsbury.
0:22.8	18 plus nectar app required.
0:24.4	Unlock up to 10 your nectar prices weekly,
0:26.4	available in supermarkets online and in locals with smart shop.
0:29.2	TNCs apply.
0:32.3	This is a Global Player Original podcast.
0:44.8	Music Global Player Original Podcast Hello and welcome to full disclosure. A podcast project conceived entirely to let me spend more time with interesting people than I would ever get on the radio.
0:51.8	Russell Watson, welcome.
0:53.2	Thank you.
0:53.9	I mean, it's hard to know where to start. We usually start at the very beginning. A very good place to start. It generally is, isn't it? Yeah, as a singer, you'll appreciate this. Yeah, very much. Don't rain me. But it did strike me that we'll get quite far into your childhood before we get any indication whatsoever of where you've ended up
1:11.2	or what you ended up doing which is quite rare isn't it not to have any inkling or inclination
1:15.6	yeah i had no inclination really if anything i've answered the idea of being you know
1:20.1	goalkeeper for manchester united big enough hands were you any good i was all right terry christian was sitting there a couple of months ago and he was pretty adamant that he was going to play for United at one point as well.
1:32.3	It's a bit of a recurring theme.
1:33.8	I was quite a big lad.
1:34.7	I was quite nimble back then.
1:36.7	Big hands, a decent shot stopper.
	...

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