So the Strictly tour has begun! We’ve done Manchester and Liverpool and have just arrived in Birmingham!
Arlene has joined the team once again, the banter between the judges is pretty full on and the competitive jibes backstage have already begun! It’s such a great atmosphere this year. Everyone is very pleasant, friendly and with this being the third Strictly tour it’s like we’ve never been away!
The best thing about the Strictly tour (apart from the huge audiences) is the catering!
The wonderful Dave Arch takes us through our paces during the rehearsals and then leaves us in the capable hands of Alan Rodgers who MD’s the show till the end of Feb. You may have seen Dave on ‘From Popstar To Opera Star’, which is keeping him quite busy while we’re away!
In each town I’m intending on doing the local radio stations so if I’m in your town keep an ear out as I’m releasing ‘I’m Yours’ from the album for Valentines Day! Ahh, so for all you love birds out there this might be a nice little extra for your date!
The songs this year are all quite varied, a bit of something for everyone! I go from Disney to Dusty in two hours! The wonderful Andrea Grant has been getting a name check for her wonderful rendition of Golden Eye. The band sound wonderful in the live room, the acoustics are great and really help create an atmosphere!
My favourite moment is the opening Jive! We do a Prince number and the pro’s come out and look fab in dramatic, sexy, red outfits and it really starts the show off with a bang!! Another beautiful moment is Ian and Natalie’s pro dance! Stunning, so keep an eye out for that if you come to the show! Austin and Lilia have a pretty amazing routine in the second half and so far Austin and Mark (Ramps) have been going head to head for the Glitterball in most shows! We’ll see if that lasts as Zoe and Ali have also been scoring quite high with the judges!
Right, off to sound check now! Hope to see you at some point over the run……