April 29, 2025 • 25 mins
Russell Watson and Helen Jane Long share the story behind their new collaborative album "Shine," blending Watson's powerful tenor with Long's evocative compositions to create music that uplifts and inspires audiences.
• Multi-platinum tenor Russell Watson and billion-stream pianist Helen Jane Long met after Helen had admired Russell's voice for over 20 years
• Helen specifically wrote the entire album for Russell's voice—a first in his 25-year career
• Recording at Abbey Road Studios with world-class musicians created a magical atmosphere for their collaboration
• The project combines Russell's soaring vocals with Helen's signature piano and string arrangements
• Their creative process valued spontaneity and "feel" over rigid adherence to written music
• Both artists emphasize the importance of creating albums as complete journeys rather than collections of singles
• Russell is celebrating his 25th anniversary as a recording artist with a major UK tour
• The pair share a passion for authentic music played by real musicians with real instruments
• Their playful banter and friendship creates a natural chemistry that enhances their musical partnership
• Both believe music is "the single most largest catalyzer for memories" in human experience
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
My career in the entertainment industry has
enabled me to work with adiverse range of talent.
Through my years of experience,I've recognized two essential
aspects.
Industry professionals, whetherfamous stars or
behind-the-scenes staff, havefascinating stories to tell.
Secondly, audiences are eagerto listen to these stories,
(00:36):
which offer a glimpse into theirlives and the evolution of
their life stories.
This podcast aims to sharethese narratives, providing
information on how they evolveinto their chosen career.
We will delve into theirjourney to stardom, discuss
their struggles and successesand hear from people who help
them achieve their goals.
Get ready for intriguingbehind-the-scenes stories and
(00:58):
insights into the fascinatingworld of entertainment.
World of entertainment.
Hi, I'm Tony Mantor.
Welcome to Almost LiveNashville.
Joining me today are two musicalpowerhouses Russell Watson and
Helen Jane Long.
Russell, a multi-platinum,multi-million selling British
tenor, made history with hisdebut album, the Voice, which
(01:22):
topped charts in the US and UKand UK for an unprecedented 52
weeks, followed by his secondalbum holding number one for 36
weeks a record yet to be matched.
Helen, the world's higheststreaming female pianist, has
captivated audiences with ninealbums selling over 3.5 million
(01:43):
copies and amassing more than 1billion streams.
Together, they've crafted Shine, a stunning collaborative album
that fuses Watson's soaringvocals with Long's evocative
compositions, showcasing theirshared passion for music that
uplifts and inspires.
Thank you both for being heretoday.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
It's a pleasure, thank you.
Thank you for having us.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
You both have created this incredible duet.
Can you tell us the storybehind it, how you came to
collaborate on it and whatinspired you to work on this?
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Well, go on, helen, you tell him.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
So in about 2001,.
There was a program on the TV,a series called Star Trek
Enterprise.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
I waited till the end of the credits because the
singer on it was fantastic Tofind out it was Russell Watson.
Fast forward then, about 24years, and I was with my audio
engineer in a recording studiotalking about a song I'd written
and the voice that I stillwould love to record is is that
voice.
And he said, oh, I'm actuallygoing to see Russell this
(02:50):
weekend.
We're working together.
So, um, my audio engineer thenobviously approached Russell and
um mentioned my name andRussell said no, no, he said yes
.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
I think originally I did say no, but I thought we
weren't going to mention that.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
Oh sorry, sorry, I forget silly you silly me once
the concept was discussed.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
How did it evolve from there?
Speaker 3 (03:12):
well, we had initially I'd written a
Christmas song, so we startedoff by Russell um liked the song
I'd written, so we recorded theChristmas song and then it kind
of progressed from there.
Really, we started, we carriedon chatting, hit it off, had a a
very similar sense of humour,and then we just started getting
together and trying differentsongs and it's been the first
time, I'm correct, in all theyears Russell's ever been in the
(03:34):
music industry that somebody'swritten an album specifically
for him.
It wasn't songs that I just hadand then said sing these, we
did them together based on hislife, his voice.
You know I these, we did themtogether based on his, his life,
his voice.
You know I was very particularabout the way his voice sounded,
all the sort of sonic registersand to be sympathetic to that
and then the way obviously I domy strings and piano and and
choir, just making sure thateverybody is a well-supported
(03:57):
musical experience.
I think he liked it, did youlike?
Speaker 2 (04:00):
it Russell?
No, helen, I didn't like it.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
I loved it I really like the banter between the two
of you.
It just creates a laid back,just a great feel about
everything I was.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
I mentioned, uh, to helen before an old story about
the word like and good andthings like that.
And it was an old story that Iheard from a chap called Danny
O'Donovan who used to tourmanage Frank Sinatra, and he was
with Sinatra this particularday and supposedly Sinatra had
(04:45):
invited a couple of people tocome to see the show and
afterwards they came over andfrank said what do you think of
the show?
And this guy looked at me andsaid yeah, it was good, and
frank, as cool as anything,turned around to him and said
good, closed last tuesday,tuesday.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
Oh, that's good.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Yeah, I thought it was a great anecdote from a man
who, after watching his show,you probably wouldn't say it was
good.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
No, or nice, it's alright.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
I thought Tony Bennett was better last week
yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
Oh, that's great.
I love that, love that greatstory.
So when did you both startworking on the project?
Speaker 3 (05:31):
it was after christmas, wasn't it?
Yeah, it was kind of did trackand then kind of started
chatting again in in sort ofdecember and january time and
then sort of started thinkingabout ideas then and just just
kind of getting together reallyand seeing how it works, because
I'd never collaborated withanybody before, I'd always
worked on my own for my musiccareer, so it was a nice change
for me and we just starteddeveloping ideas.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
I've always kind of, you know, I've always been
surrounded by.
You know, particularly fromaround the first album and
forwards, I've always beensurrounded by a team of people.
You know lots of people aroundall the time, studio and on tour
, always surrounded by people.
So you know, it was interestingtrying to get Helen out of her
(06:16):
sort of anti-social shell andtrying to bring the best out of
her, because when we first metshe was really quite shy and
retiring and a little bit nervy,weren't you, helen?
Speaker 3 (06:26):
I was.
I used to meet at Russell'shouse, and the only thing to
make me feel better was to bringmy sourdough bread.
So I'd make bread.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
That's a great little bonus right there.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Yeah, didn't we have bread for lunch, a bit of
sourdough.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
So, with the collaboration that I mean, like
you said, you've done.
You've done a lot of things andyou have a team around you and
you both have a team, so tospeak.
You both have careers that'sdone so well.
So what were the emotions youfelt when you heard that very
first note in the studio on thisproject that you had high hopes
for?
Speaker 2 (06:58):
It's always a great feeling as a singer when you've
been working on a project for aperiod of time and you've been
listening to demos and kind ofgoing through the stuff where
you're trying to initially, Ithink, envisage how is this
going to sound.
You know, and no amount oftalking is going to create what
(07:18):
in essence will be the endproduct of the sound.
So when it actually got to thepoint of being in the studio and
we recorded, you know thefamous, world famous Abbey Road
Studios.
You know the famous,world-famous Abbey Road Studios.
As soon as you walk in throughthe front road of Abbey Road
Studios, you've got the Wall ofFame.
You've got the Beatles lookingat you, you've got the Rolling
Stones, you've got Bowie, you'vegot some of the biggest-named
(07:43):
artists in the world all downthe wall of this amazing place
that just has history oozingfrom the woodwork.
So when you get in there youdon't really need much
inspiration.
But the music lifted me to adifferent level.
Helen had done such a good job.
The choral sections are justphenomenal.
(08:05):
The instrumentation, theorchestration again just lifted
the music for me.
I mean, originally I thoughtthis is great, but when we got
to the point of actuallyrecording.
That was really where you feel,or I certainly felt.
Inspired.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Yeah, I totally get that.
There's nothing like being inthe studio with the players
seamlessly integrating theircontributions, being in the
studio with the playersseamlessly integrating their
contributions, and then, throughthis dynamic collaboration, the
project just opens up and hassuch a great life to it.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
Some of the soloists.
The overdubs that we've got inthere are just tremendous.
Both Helen and I are blessed towork with a group of fantastic
musicians.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
And they're all really nice people.
That's what I was saying toRoss was that I'm quite
passionate in this industry orany job really to be able to
choose and just work with nicepeople.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
You don't have to.
Sometimes you're stuck and youdon't have a choice.
But we do have that choice andfor me, I'm as passionate about
the kindness and the people asthey are as I am with the
creative process.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
The beauty of a project of this caliber is
everyone knows their role, nochips on their shoulder, no egos
.
They can collaborate so easily,bouncing off one another and
crafting sounds that perfectlyresonates with everyone that is
working on this project.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
And that's how you get that studio magic yeah, very
much when you're working withmusicians of the year.
We've been working yeah, no,it's been great, you get in
there you're showing the music,I think one of the main things.
I mean, it's all well and goodreading the dots off the page,
but you've got to be a vibemerchant as well.
You've got to put the feelbehind it.
Feel is something that youcan't teach at music school.
(09:50):
Feel is something that youcan't explain, and you either
have it or you don't.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
I mean, even with the gospel choir, I went in sort of
knowing what I was going to dowith them and they literally
started singing and I went we'renot going to use that paper
then, because just them openingtheir mouths and singing changed
how I wanted to adjust themagainst Russell.
So I just changed it on the dayand I'm kind of known for going
around with either a printer,because I will change what I
(10:18):
want to do on the day, becausedo you hear Russell sing or do
you hear the strings?
Or until you hear the choir,you can't be sure that's what
you're going to end up with.
You know, you have an idea, butI think you have to have some
flexibility and they might dosomething accidentally and you
go that can you do that again?
And then that becomes part ofthe piece oh, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
I was producing a singer here a few years ago.
Everything was going perfect,right to the chart yeah then one
of the strangest things thatever happened to me one of the
musicians was playing along andhe made a mistake, and everyone
followed him in the mistake.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Then they all said, oh, we have to change this.
I said, oh, no, no, no, thathas got such tremendous feel,
yeah, which we built from it andit turned out great.
So you made a great point there.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Yeah, yeah.
And with me, I make mistakesall over the place.
So you know, Helen was justloving it, weren't you?
Speaker 3 (11:14):
I was the inspiration was just flowing, oh say it's
not so, and you want everyone tobe able to have their opinion.
You don't want to go inanywhere and say this is the way
it's going to be sung.
How am I to tell Russell how tosing?
He knows his voice better thananyone, so I might be able to
say, well, let's try this orlet's try that, but he's very
(11:35):
good at pushing his voice too,and you should allow people to
be able to do their thing asmuch as I do my strings and my
arrangements.
That's why it works nicelytogether.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Absolutely.
It's the ability to let someoneimprovise a little bit that can
help the situation out.
Yeah, to let someone improvisea little bit, that can help the
situation out.
Yeah, if they play it note fornote, as it's written, and you
don't allow that creativeprocess to happen every now and
then, you just never know in theprocess what you could lose.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
It's the quickest way to kill something, I think.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
Absolutely so true.
So what's the plans from here?
What's the future hold for theboth of you?
Speaker 2 (12:13):
I think the plans are just to sit back and relax, do
the interviews and do the chatsand the TVs and wait and see
what happens.
The music is.
It just feels like the music'sso strong, the lyrical content's
so strong, that I feel like thecream will rise to the top.
Um, so yeah, we just we sit, wewait.
(12:36):
Helen's done a lot of stuff inwith with regards.
You know, she's worked on a lotof tv commercials, she's done
big movies, she works on thelord of the rings trilogy, um,
she's composed for themercedes-benz1 team.
So she's got this long list oftriumphs.
And you know, at some pointit's one of those things where
(12:59):
you don't know what couldcatalyze out of this, maybe a
film theme tune or somethinglike that, because they're the
type of things that can reallykind of lift the music off the
page.
So you sit, we wait, we hope,and I feel like good things are
going to come from this musicand this record and I think
there'll be people noticing andtaking note absolutely, and
(13:21):
we've got you know we did withthe, the um, the single shine.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
We had an animation.
We've had just a sort of sneakypreview of the new animation
we've done for the next single,unrememberer, and the full
version comes out in May.
But it's been just as funcreating a video, because I
think it used to be such a bigdeal.
Somebody released a song andyou'd wait for that video, that
other story, along with the tune, and I really miss that.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
So it's been really good fun bringing that back to
life, coming up with a concept,coming up with an idea, coming
up with an animation and havingfun with it than having an idea,
thinking about it a little bit,putting the pieces of the
puzzle together and then, onceyou start, you let the creative
(14:07):
process happen so that you canlisten to it, tweak it wherever
it needs to be tweaked, with theoutcome of just a great piece
of work.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
Yeah, that's what we're doing.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Nice.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Yeah, and I think these days it's very seldom.
I think because of the natureof the industry and how it's
changed over the years, I thinkthings just don't seem to come
out of the box as quick.
Things build, they catalyse andthey grow.
(14:37):
And if things do come out ofthe box really quick, generally
it's quite transient, doesn'tlast very long.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
Music's to be enjoyed .
You know it's to be saved.
I think we've changed thedirection for good and bad with
digital providers and havingthings up really quickly that we
should save an album.
You know this album was writtenas an album.
You come into it, the placementof the songs within it are
thought out so it lifts you inand it brings you out.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
It's not just a bang, chuck them all on and and just
having that enjoyment listeningit from the first track to the
last, as a story in itself yeah,that was one great thing about
albums and cds you could recordthe music, sit back and listen
to it, knowing that you createda story within a story and
(15:24):
listen to it, knowing that youcreated a story within a story.
Yeah, with that you could gothrough one, two, three, all the
way up through to 10 or 12whatever the number was on the
cd or album, and the story wasthere to be told within the song
structure yeah unfortunately,now, because of the digital age,
all that seems to be lostthat's.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
It's funny because we were talking about that in an
interview earlier and I said Imiss those days of that sense of
.
It was an event when you were.
I remember as a kid, you knowas a teenager.
I'd jump on the number 10 businto Manchester City Centre.
We'd walk up Market Street, meand my friends we'd queue up in
(16:04):
the HMV there and we'd wait forthe record.
We'd get the record, we'd takeit out, we'd open the sleeve,
we'd get on the bus back home.
We'd be reading the tracklisting.
Then you'd get home, you'd runup the stairs to your house and
pop it on the disc player, putthe needle to the house and pop
it on the the disc player, putthe needle to the plastic and
there it was the album and therewould be no skipping tracks.
(16:26):
There would be no skippingtracks.
And the great thing about thatthat that that way of listening
to music, is that again back inthe day there might have been.
Say, I listened to track oneand two.
I really like those.
Track three not so keen andoccasionally I might just skip
over that to the next one, butthen you'd find over time you go
(16:47):
back to track three.
Oh, actually I quite like that.
There were tracks on there thatwhat you would call growers
tracks that would grow on you,yeah, over that doesn't happen.
Now you listen to a piece ofmusic, there's a track you don't
like, probably never going tolisten to it again, because
you're so used to flicking backcertain tracks and you can.
You know you, you set up yourlittle playlist as well, and
(17:09):
it's quite sad because I don'tgenuinely don't think now we get
the essence of what an albumactually represents as a body of
work yes, I totally agree withyou.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
Plus having the analog part of it that needle on
that vinyl, that needle on thevinyl had such a different feel
to it as well.
I think that's the reason whyvinyl is starting to come be
doing the same with the albumwe've done together.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
It will be on vinyl, but it sounds different.
You sit in a room and it iswith you in that room.
You cannot get away from thefact.
It is such a beautiful sound.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
Yeah, the only way I can describe it is like a warm
cup of cocoa on a cold winter'sday.
It has a warmth to it and adepth to it that definitely the
over compression of of digitaldoes not give you.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
No yeah, I've had those conversations with friends
of mine.
They've got all these new fancyplugins and all they are is
duplicating the original analogfeel that we always had.
So I tell, tell them whyduplicate, just use the original
one.
True.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
Yeah, exactly, can't beat live.
You know that's another thing.
We'll be bringing this to live,literally live as well, and you
can't beat that.
I think, whatever you dorecording wise, to see an artist
on stage like Russell, with hisvoice, doing his thing, is a
wonder to behold, russell Watson.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
I shall pay you later , Helen.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (18:46):
My pleasure.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
That was my next question.
Are you planning on getting outthere to do some live
performances around the world?
Speaker 2 (18:54):
Well, I'm definitely touring this year.
The end of this year marks 25years as a recording artist and
I am coaxing Helen into joiningme on stage for a few of my
performances.
So you know, it's one of those.
Wait and see.
I think Hopefully she's goingto join me at some of the bigger
(19:16):
venues I'm going to be doing?
Yeah, that'd be great.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
Very nice.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
I think that would be great because you both have a
tremendous amount of fans and,of course, they love to see you
do your own thing.
So if you were to do some shows, I think the energy would be
very high for them to come outand see you do your new material
.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
I think it's going to be good.
It's going to be a good year.
This year, a lot of excitingthings starting to catalyze and,
yeah, onwards and upwards.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
Well, that's really good.
I think what you're doing isvery refreshing.
It's sparking fresh ideas andenthusiasm, and I think people
will be thrilled with the newmaterial that you're bringing to
the table we hope so, andthat's the thing is, it's new
it's fresh and it's it's real.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
It's real.
Speaker 3 (20:11):
It's not computerized music, it's real music, played
by real people with realinstruments yeah, I mean even on
we had um paul jones onharmonica from anthony man.
He came in and did theharmonicas on there.
So it's been a really lovelycollaboration of people and just
they said, just watching otherpeople add their their
musicality to it, it's just beenfantastic it's always great
(20:34):
seeing people bring your ideasto life with their creativity
yeah it's really something to beproud of absolutely, I'm very
proud of this
Speaker 1 (20:43):
amen yeah with all the things that are happening
for you, I believe that this isa special year for you.
It's like 25th anniversary, isthat correct?
Speaker 2 (20:57):
it's my 25th anniversary tour this year with
aeg and we're going to bebasically visiting all the major
cities in in the uk.
Um, it's a big, big tourcelebrating that quarter century
as a recording artist, from thefirst release of the very first
record, the Voice, which heldthe number one spot for 52 weeks
(21:18):
in the UK.
So it's a celebration of that,it's a celebration of my music
over the years, and it's goingto be combined with the new
stuff with the brilliant HelenJane Long as well.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
So that's what we're all about this year yeah, that's
really good to celebrate 25years and I bet that's going to
be fun.
Now, helen, are you going outon tour this year as well?
Speaker 3 (21:38):
yeah, I mean I do, I've got um, I always do a
concert in London everyChristmas, that's on 6th of
December.
I'll be in London doing thatone and then I also tour in
America, so it's just trying to.
This year's been quite a bigwriting year for me, so I was
trying to balance when I wasgoing to be doing my American
tour.
But I think I'm going to dothat next year and then remain
more in the UK this year andthen I can join Russell and do
(21:58):
some performances with him andcarry on writing and then do a
much bigger American tour nextyear.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
Okay, that sounds really great.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
You need to come to Nashville as well.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Yeah, I'd love to.
I've never done a show there,so, yes, please, I'll be there.
Can I?
You can if you're a good boy.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
It's a pleasure, thank you.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
I truly love that you guys get along so well.
That is really a great plus.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Non-stop mayhem.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
It is crazy love it.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
You know so many artists on these programs.
Come on, they seem polished andvery serious.
It's really nice to have arefreshing and experienced,
lively, witty banter and have areally laid-back conversation.
I really appreciate that fromyou life's too short yeah, it is
.
Speaker 3 (22:48):
It is.
You know, we do have a lot offun and we do send each other
silly messages and have a giggle, and I think that's the way you
know.
Like Ross said, it should befun.
If it's not, you shouldn't bedoing it yeah, I agree 100%.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
I've worked here in Nashville producing artists for
over 30 years now.
We have a laid back atmosphere.
No worrying, just have some fundoing it and try and create
something that's really positiveand good for everybody involved
.
If you're not having fun on it,then you should be doing
something else.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
Well, I think the thing is people that come to see
you are escaping.
That's what music is.
It's all sorts of feelings forpeople, so you want them to be
able to see you, watch you andfeel that they've got into a
different place, to beentertained, to be relaxed, to
be invigorated.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
Yeah, and music.
It's such a powerful tool, Imean at any point in time, it
can take you any place you wantto go.
Both of you have either sang orplayed on monster movies or TV
shows, and when they hear thatsong it can take them back to
the movie, the TV show, anexperience they were feeling in
life.
So it's a very powerful tool.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
Yeah, music, in my opinion, is the single most
largest catalyzer for memorieswith regards to human beings,
and it doesn't matter where youare.
You could be driving along onthe M6 motorway and listening to
a tune on the radio and all ofa sudden something comes on that
(24:16):
means something deeply to youand immediately those memories.
It could be a memory of someonethat you've loved deeply, that
you've lost in your life, amemory of a poignant moment, an
amazing anniversary.
It could be anything.
But music catalyzes memories, Ithink, like nothing else.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Yeah, and let's hope that what you two are doing
together are going to createmore memories and feelings for
lots of people.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
Amen yes.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
All right.
Well, this has been greatconversation, great fun.
It has been a true pleasurehaving the both of you on.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
Thanks, tony, much appreciated.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
No, thank you for having us.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
Thanks so much for your time, Tony.
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
It's been my pleasure .
Thanks again.
Thanks for joining us today.
We hope you enjoyed the show.
This has been a Tony Mantorproduction.
(25:21):
For more information, contactmedia at platomusiccom.
My career in the entertainment industry has
enabled me to work with adiverse range of talent.
Through my years of experience,I've recognized two essential
aspects.
Industry professionals, whetherfamous stars or
behind-the-scenes staff, havefascinating stories to tell.
Secondly, audiences are eagerto listen to these stories,
(00:36):
which offer a glimpse into theirlives and the evolution of
their life stories.
This podcast aims to sharethese narratives, providing
information on how they evolveinto their chosen career.
We will delve into theirjourney to stardom, discuss
their struggles and successesand hear from people who help
them achieve their goals.
Get ready for intriguingbehind-the-scenes stories and
(00:58):
insights into the fascinatingworld of entertainment.
World of entertainment.
Hi, I'm Tony Mantor.
Welcome to Almost LiveNashville.
Joining me today are two musicalpowerhouses Russell Watson and
Helen Jane Long.
Russell, a multi-platinum,multi-million selling British
tenor, made history with hisdebut album, the Voice, which
(01:22):
topped charts in the US and UKand UK for an unprecedented 52
weeks, followed by his secondalbum holding number one for 36
weeks a record yet to be matched.
Helen, the world's higheststreaming female pianist, has
captivated audiences with ninealbums selling over 3.5 million
(01:43):
copies and amassing more than 1billion streams.
Together, they've crafted Shine, a stunning collaborative album
that fuses Watson's soaringvocals with Long's evocative
compositions, showcasing theirshared passion for music that
uplifts and inspires.
Thank you both for being heretoday.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
It's a pleasure, thank you.
Thank you for having us.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
You both have created this incredible duet.
Can you tell us the storybehind it, how you came to
collaborate on it and whatinspired you to work on this?
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Well, go on, helen, you tell him.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
So in about 2001,.
There was a program on the TV,a series called Star Trek
Enterprise.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
I waited till the end of the credits because the
singer on it was fantastic Tofind out it was Russell Watson.
Fast forward then, about 24years, and I was with my audio
engineer in a recording studiotalking about a song I'd written
and the voice that I stillwould love to record is is that
voice.
And he said, oh, I'm actuallygoing to see Russell this
(02:50):
weekend.
We're working together.
So, um, my audio engineer thenobviously approached Russell and
um mentioned my name andRussell said no, no, he said yes
.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
I think originally I did say no, but I thought we
weren't going to mention that.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
Oh sorry, sorry, I forget silly you silly me once
the concept was discussed.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
How did it evolve from there?
Speaker 3 (03:12):
well, we had initially I'd written a
Christmas song, so we startedoff by Russell um liked the song
I'd written, so we recorded theChristmas song and then it kind
of progressed from there.
Really, we started, we carriedon chatting, hit it off, had a a
very similar sense of humour,and then we just started getting
together and trying differentsongs and it's been the first
time, I'm correct, in all theyears Russell's ever been in the
(03:34):
music industry that somebody'swritten an album specifically
for him.
It wasn't songs that I just hadand then said sing these, we
did them together based on hislife, his voice.
You know I these, we did themtogether based on his, his life,
his voice.
You know I was very particularabout the way his voice sounded,
all the sort of sonic registersand to be sympathetic to that
and then the way obviously I domy strings and piano and and
choir, just making sure thateverybody is a well-supported
(03:57):
musical experience.
I think he liked it, did youlike?
Speaker 2 (04:00):
it Russell?
No, helen, I didn't like it.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
I loved it I really like the banter between the two
of you.
It just creates a laid back,just a great feel about
everything I was.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
I mentioned, uh, to helen before an old story about
the word like and good andthings like that.
And it was an old story that Iheard from a chap called Danny
O'Donovan who used to tourmanage Frank Sinatra, and he was
with Sinatra this particularday and supposedly Sinatra had
(04:45):
invited a couple of people tocome to see the show and
afterwards they came over andfrank said what do you think of
the show?
And this guy looked at me andsaid yeah, it was good, and
frank, as cool as anything,turned around to him and said
good, closed last tuesday,tuesday.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
Oh, that's good.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Yeah, I thought it was a great anecdote from a man
who, after watching his show,you probably wouldn't say it was
good.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
No, or nice, it's alright.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
I thought Tony Bennett was better last week
yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
Oh, that's great.
I love that, love that greatstory.
So when did you both startworking on the project?
Speaker 3 (05:31):
it was after christmas, wasn't it?
Yeah, it was kind of did trackand then kind of started
chatting again in in sort ofdecember and january time and
then sort of started thinkingabout ideas then and just just
kind of getting together reallyand seeing how it works, because
I'd never collaborated withanybody before, I'd always
worked on my own for my musiccareer, so it was a nice change
for me and we just starteddeveloping ideas.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
I've always kind of, you know, I've always been
surrounded by.
You know, particularly fromaround the first album and
forwards, I've always beensurrounded by a team of people.
You know lots of people aroundall the time, studio and on tour
, always surrounded by people.
So you know, it was interestingtrying to get Helen out of her
(06:16):
sort of anti-social shell andtrying to bring the best out of
her, because when we first metshe was really quite shy and
retiring and a little bit nervy,weren't you, helen?
Speaker 3 (06:26):
I was.
I used to meet at Russell'shouse, and the only thing to
make me feel better was to bringmy sourdough bread.
So I'd make bread.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
That's a great little bonus right there.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Yeah, didn't we have bread for lunch, a bit of
sourdough.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
So, with the collaboration that I mean, like
you said, you've done.
You've done a lot of things andyou have a team around you and
you both have a team, so tospeak.
You both have careers that'sdone so well.
So what were the emotions youfelt when you heard that very
first note in the studio on thisproject that you had high hopes
for?
Speaker 2 (06:58):
It's always a great feeling as a singer when you've
been working on a project for aperiod of time and you've been
listening to demos and kind ofgoing through the stuff where
you're trying to initially, Ithink, envisage how is this
going to sound.
You know, and no amount oftalking is going to create what
(07:18):
in essence will be the endproduct of the sound.
So when it actually got to thepoint of being in the studio and
we recorded, you know thefamous, world famous Abbey Road
Studios.
You know the famous,world-famous Abbey Road Studios.
As soon as you walk in throughthe front road of Abbey Road
Studios, you've got the Wall ofFame.
You've got the Beatles lookingat you, you've got the Rolling
Stones, you've got Bowie, you'vegot some of the biggest-named
(07:43):
artists in the world all downthe wall of this amazing place
that just has history oozingfrom the woodwork.
So when you get in there youdon't really need much
inspiration.
But the music lifted me to adifferent level.
Helen had done such a good job.
The choral sections are justphenomenal.
(08:05):
The instrumentation, theorchestration again just lifted
the music for me.
I mean, originally I thoughtthis is great, but when we got
to the point of actuallyrecording.
That was really where you feel,or I certainly felt.
Inspired.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Yeah, I totally get that.
There's nothing like being inthe studio with the players
seamlessly integrating theircontributions, being in the
studio with the playersseamlessly integrating their
contributions, and then, throughthis dynamic collaboration, the
project just opens up and hassuch a great life to it.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
Some of the soloists.
The overdubs that we've got inthere are just tremendous.
Both Helen and I are blessed towork with a group of fantastic
musicians.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
And they're all really nice people.
That's what I was saying toRoss was that I'm quite
passionate in this industry orany job really to be able to
choose and just work with nicepeople.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
You don't have to.
Sometimes you're stuck and youdon't have a choice.
But we do have that choice andfor me, I'm as passionate about
the kindness and the people asthey are as I am with the
creative process.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
The beauty of a project of this caliber is
everyone knows their role, nochips on their shoulder, no egos
.
They can collaborate so easily,bouncing off one another and
crafting sounds that perfectlyresonates with everyone that is
working on this project.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
And that's how you get that studio magic yeah, very
much when you're working withmusicians of the year.
We've been working yeah, no,it's been great, you get in
there you're showing the music,I think one of the main things.
I mean, it's all well and goodreading the dots off the page,
but you've got to be a vibemerchant as well.
You've got to put the feelbehind it.
Feel is something that youcan't teach at music school.
(09:50):
Feel is something that youcan't explain, and you either
have it or you don't.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
I mean, even with the gospel choir, I went in sort of
knowing what I was going to dowith them and they literally
started singing and I went we'renot going to use that paper
then, because just them openingtheir mouths and singing changed
how I wanted to adjust themagainst Russell.
So I just changed it on the dayand I'm kind of known for going
around with either a printer,because I will change what I
(10:18):
want to do on the day, becausedo you hear Russell sing or do
you hear the strings?
Or until you hear the choir,you can't be sure that's what
you're going to end up with.
You know, you have an idea, butI think you have to have some
flexibility and they might dosomething accidentally and you
go that can you do that again?
And then that becomes part ofthe piece oh, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
I was producing a singer here a few years ago.
Everything was going perfect,right to the chart yeah then one
of the strangest things thatever happened to me one of the
musicians was playing along andhe made a mistake, and everyone
followed him in the mistake.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Then they all said, oh, we have to change this.
I said, oh, no, no, no, thathas got such tremendous feel,
yeah, which we built from it andit turned out great.
So you made a great point there.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Yeah, yeah.
And with me, I make mistakesall over the place.
So you know, Helen was justloving it, weren't you?
Speaker 3 (11:14):
I was the inspiration was just flowing, oh say it's
not so, and you want everyone tobe able to have their opinion.
You don't want to go inanywhere and say this is the way
it's going to be sung.
How am I to tell Russell how tosing?
He knows his voice better thananyone, so I might be able to
say, well, let's try this orlet's try that, but he's very
(11:35):
good at pushing his voice too,and you should allow people to
be able to do their thing asmuch as I do my strings and my
arrangements.
That's why it works nicelytogether.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Absolutely.
It's the ability to let someoneimprovise a little bit that can
help the situation out.
Yeah, to let someone improvisea little bit, that can help the
situation out.
Yeah, if they play it note fornote, as it's written, and you
don't allow that creativeprocess to happen every now and
then, you just never know in theprocess what you could lose.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
It's the quickest way to kill something, I think.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
Absolutely so true.
So what's the plans from here?
What's the future hold for theboth of you?
Speaker 2 (12:13):
I think the plans are just to sit back and relax, do
the interviews and do the chatsand the TVs and wait and see
what happens.
The music is.
It just feels like the music'sso strong, the lyrical content's
so strong, that I feel like thecream will rise to the top.
Um, so yeah, we just we sit, wewait.
(12:36):
Helen's done a lot of stuff inwith with regards.
You know, she's worked on a lotof tv commercials, she's done
big movies, she works on thelord of the rings trilogy, um,
she's composed for themercedes-benz1 team.
So she's got this long list oftriumphs.
And you know, at some pointit's one of those things where
(12:59):
you don't know what couldcatalyze out of this, maybe a
film theme tune or somethinglike that, because they're the
type of things that can reallykind of lift the music off the
page.
So you sit, we wait, we hope,and I feel like good things are
going to come from this musicand this record and I think
there'll be people noticing andtaking note absolutely, and
(13:21):
we've got you know we did withthe, the um, the single shine.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
We had an animation.
We've had just a sort of sneakypreview of the new animation
we've done for the next single,unrememberer, and the full
version comes out in May.
But it's been just as funcreating a video, because I
think it used to be such a bigdeal.
Somebody released a song andyou'd wait for that video, that
other story, along with the tune, and I really miss that.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
So it's been really good fun bringing that back to
life, coming up with a concept,coming up with an idea, coming
up with an animation and havingfun with it than having an idea,
thinking about it a little bit,putting the pieces of the
puzzle together and then, onceyou start, you let the creative
(14:07):
process happen so that you canlisten to it, tweak it wherever
it needs to be tweaked, with theoutcome of just a great piece
of work.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
Yeah, that's what we're doing.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Nice.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Yeah, and I think these days it's very seldom.
I think because of the natureof the industry and how it's
changed over the years, I thinkthings just don't seem to come
out of the box as quick.
Things build, they catalyse andthey grow.
(14:37):
And if things do come out ofthe box really quick, generally
it's quite transient, doesn'tlast very long.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
Music's to be enjoyed .
You know it's to be saved.
I think we've changed thedirection for good and bad with
digital providers and havingthings up really quickly that we
should save an album.
You know this album was writtenas an album.
You come into it, the placementof the songs within it are
thought out so it lifts you inand it brings you out.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
It's not just a bang, chuck them all on and and just
having that enjoyment listeningit from the first track to the
last, as a story in itself yeah,that was one great thing about
albums and cds you could recordthe music, sit back and listen
to it, knowing that you createda story within a story and
(15:24):
listen to it, knowing that youcreated a story within a story.
Yeah, with that you could gothrough one, two, three, all the
way up through to 10 or 12whatever the number was on the
cd or album, and the story wasthere to be told within the song
structure yeah unfortunately,now, because of the digital age,
all that seems to be lostthat's.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
It's funny because we were talking about that in an
interview earlier and I said Imiss those days of that sense of
.
It was an event when you were.
I remember as a kid, you knowas a teenager.
I'd jump on the number 10 businto Manchester City Centre.
We'd walk up Market Street, meand my friends we'd queue up in
(16:04):
the HMV there and we'd wait forthe record.
We'd get the record, we'd takeit out, we'd open the sleeve,
we'd get on the bus back home.
We'd be reading the tracklisting.
Then you'd get home, you'd runup the stairs to your house and
pop it on the disc player, putthe needle to the house and pop
it on the the disc player, putthe needle to the plastic and
there it was the album and therewould be no skipping tracks.
(16:26):
There would be no skippingtracks.
And the great thing about thatthat that that way of listening
to music, is that again back inthe day there might have been.
Say, I listened to track oneand two.
I really like those.
Track three not so keen andoccasionally I might just skip
over that to the next one, butthen you'd find over time you go
(16:47):
back to track three.
Oh, actually I quite like that.
There were tracks on there thatwhat you would call growers
tracks that would grow on you,yeah, over that doesn't happen.
Now you listen to a piece ofmusic, there's a track you don't
like, probably never going tolisten to it again, because
you're so used to flicking backcertain tracks and you can.
You know you, you set up yourlittle playlist as well, and
(17:09):
it's quite sad because I don'tgenuinely don't think now we get
the essence of what an albumactually represents as a body of
work yes, I totally agree withyou.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
Plus having the analog part of it that needle on
that vinyl, that needle on thevinyl had such a different feel
to it as well.
I think that's the reason whyvinyl is starting to come be
doing the same with the albumwe've done together.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
It will be on vinyl, but it sounds different.
You sit in a room and it iswith you in that room.
You cannot get away from thefact.
It is such a beautiful sound.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
Yeah, the only way I can describe it is like a warm
cup of cocoa on a cold winter'sday.
It has a warmth to it and adepth to it that definitely the
over compression of of digitaldoes not give you.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
No yeah, I've had those conversations with friends
of mine.
They've got all these new fancyplugins and all they are is
duplicating the original analogfeel that we always had.
So I tell, tell them whyduplicate, just use the original
one.
True.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
Yeah, exactly, can't beat live.
You know that's another thing.
We'll be bringing this to live,literally live as well, and you
can't beat that.
I think, whatever you dorecording wise, to see an artist
on stage like Russell, with hisvoice, doing his thing, is a
wonder to behold, russell Watson.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
I shall pay you later , Helen.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (18:46):
My pleasure.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
That was my next question.
Are you planning on getting outthere to do some live
performances around the world?
Speaker 2 (18:54):
Well, I'm definitely touring this year.
The end of this year marks 25years as a recording artist and
I am coaxing Helen into joiningme on stage for a few of my
performances.
So you know, it's one of those.
Wait and see.
I think Hopefully she's goingto join me at some of the bigger
(19:16):
venues I'm going to be doing?
Yeah, that'd be great.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
Very nice.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
I think that would be great because you both have a
tremendous amount of fans and,of course, they love to see you
do your own thing.
So if you were to do some shows, I think the energy would be
very high for them to come outand see you do your new material
.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
I think it's going to be good.
It's going to be a good year.
This year, a lot of excitingthings starting to catalyze and,
yeah, onwards and upwards.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
Well, that's really good.
I think what you're doing isvery refreshing.
It's sparking fresh ideas andenthusiasm, and I think people
will be thrilled with the newmaterial that you're bringing to
the table we hope so, andthat's the thing is, it's new
it's fresh and it's it's real.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
It's real.
Speaker 3 (20:11):
It's not computerized music, it's real music, played
by real people with realinstruments yeah, I mean even on
we had um paul jones onharmonica from anthony man.
He came in and did theharmonicas on there.
So it's been a really lovelycollaboration of people and just
they said, just watching otherpeople add their their
musicality to it, it's just beenfantastic it's always great
(20:34):
seeing people bring your ideasto life with their creativity
yeah it's really something to beproud of absolutely, I'm very
proud of this
Speaker 1 (20:43):
amen yeah with all the things that are happening
for you, I believe that this isa special year for you.
It's like 25th anniversary, isthat correct?
Speaker 2 (20:57):
it's my 25th anniversary tour this year with
aeg and we're going to bebasically visiting all the major
cities in in the uk.
Um, it's a big, big tourcelebrating that quarter century
as a recording artist, from thefirst release of the very first
record, the Voice, which heldthe number one spot for 52 weeks
(21:18):
in the UK.
So it's a celebration of that,it's a celebration of my music
over the years, and it's goingto be combined with the new
stuff with the brilliant HelenJane Long as well.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
So that's what we're all about this year yeah, that's
really good to celebrate 25years and I bet that's going to
be fun.
Now, helen, are you going outon tour this year as well?
Speaker 3 (21:38):
yeah, I mean I do, I've got um, I always do a
concert in London everyChristmas, that's on 6th of
December.
I'll be in London doing thatone and then I also tour in
America, so it's just trying to.
This year's been quite a bigwriting year for me, so I was
trying to balance when I wasgoing to be doing my American
tour.
But I think I'm going to dothat next year and then remain
more in the UK this year andthen I can join Russell and do
(21:58):
some performances with him andcarry on writing and then do a
much bigger American tour nextyear.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
Okay, that sounds really great.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
You need to come to Nashville as well.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Yeah, I'd love to.
I've never done a show there,so, yes, please, I'll be there.
Can I?
You can if you're a good boy.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
It's a pleasure, thank you.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
I truly love that you guys get along so well.
That is really a great plus.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Non-stop mayhem.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
It is crazy love it.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
You know so many artists on these programs.
Come on, they seem polished andvery serious.
It's really nice to have arefreshing and experienced,
lively, witty banter and have areally laid-back conversation.
I really appreciate that fromyou life's too short yeah, it is
.
Speaker 3 (22:48):
It is.
You know, we do have a lot offun and we do send each other
silly messages and have a giggle, and I think that's the way you
know.
Like Ross said, it should befun.
If it's not, you shouldn't bedoing it yeah, I agree 100%.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
I've worked here in Nashville producing artists for
over 30 years now.
We have a laid back atmosphere.
No worrying, just have some fundoing it and try and create
something that's really positiveand good for everybody involved
.
If you're not having fun on it,then you should be doing
something else.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
Well, I think the thing is people that come to see
you are escaping.
That's what music is.
It's all sorts of feelings forpeople, so you want them to be
able to see you, watch you andfeel that they've got into a
different place, to beentertained, to be relaxed, to
be invigorated.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
Yeah, and music.
It's such a powerful tool, Imean at any point in time, it
can take you any place you wantto go.
Both of you have either sang orplayed on monster movies or TV
shows, and when they hear thatsong it can take them back to
the movie, the TV show, anexperience they were feeling in
life.
So it's a very powerful tool.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
Yeah, music, in my opinion, is the single most
largest catalyzer for memorieswith regards to human beings,
and it doesn't matter where youare.
You could be driving along onthe M6 motorway and listening to
a tune on the radio and all ofa sudden something comes on that
(24:16):
means something deeply to youand immediately those memories.
It could be a memory of someonethat you've loved deeply, that
you've lost in your life, amemory of a poignant moment, an
amazing anniversary.
It could be anything.
But music catalyzes memories, Ithink, like nothing else.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Yeah, and let's hope that what you two are doing
together are going to createmore memories and feelings for
lots of people.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
Amen yes.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
All right.
Well, this has been greatconversation, great fun.
It has been a true pleasurehaving the both of you on.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
Thanks, tony, much appreciated.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
No, thank you for having us.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
Thanks so much for your time, Tony.
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
It's been my pleasure .
Thanks again.
Thanks for joining us today.
We hope you enjoyed the show.
This has been a Tony Mantorproduction.
(25:21):
For more information, contactmedia at platomusiccom.
Popular Podcasts
Cold Case Files: Miami
Joyce Sapp, 76; Bryan Herrera, 16; and Laurance Webb, 32—three Miami residents whose lives were stolen in brutal, unsolved homicides. Cold Case Files: Miami follows award‑winning radio host and City of Miami Police reserve officer Enrique Santos as he partners with the department’s Cold Case Homicide Unit, determined family members, and the advocates who spend their lives fighting for justice for the victims who can no longer fight for themselves.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.