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Regrets? Too few to mention
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| DOING IT HIS WAY: Anthony Adams salutes Sinatra at the Pavilion Theatre on Bank Holiday Monday |
SEVERAL of his erstwhile chums from TV's The One and Only have been moaning that the talent show worked them hard and delivered little, but Bournemouth's own Frank Sinatra tribute singer Anthony Adams has no complaints.
Just a few months ago the 52-year-old from Southbourne was a delivery driver getting up at the crack of dawn to drive frozen food across the New Forest.
Now he's starring in a Rat Pack Show in Benidorm with his name in lights and a grand entrance that sees him rise from beneath the stage amid a dazzling display of smoke, lasers and dancing girls.
"Not very Frank," he admits, "but very Benidorm... and it's fantastic."
While colleagues from The One and Only have complained that producers at the BBC show had them working up to 15 hours a day and paid them less than the Equity minimum, Anthony - who took second place in the show - says: "I have no regrets at all. That programme has changed my life and career. I've done very well out of it."
Other contestants weren't so impressed. Most vociferous was Tom Jones singer Simon Abbott, who told The Stage newspaper that he felt "exploited", that he'd had to work "ludicrous" hours and would be making a claim because his £30 daily allowance was less that the Equity minimum wage.
But Anthony, who will be giving a special homecoming show at Bournemouth Pavilion on Bank Holiday Monday, said: "I am just grateful that I got the chance to be on the show.
"I read my contract and it was clear what was expected, how much I was going to get, how long I was going to be in London. Everything was spelled out.
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| IN CHARACTER: As Ol' Blue Eyes |
"Obviously it was a gamble because they could have made us out to be complete idiots.
"It could easily have been, Look at these weirdos who think they're famous people' but actually they were very supportive.
"As far as I'm concerned it gave me the opportunity to sing in front of millions of viewers every week, a platform to show exactly what I could do."
| 'I read my contract and it was clear what was expected, how much I was going to get, how long I was going to be in London. Everything was spelled out' | | Anthony Adams |
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Although he was beaten to first place by Dusty Springfield singer Katie Setterfield, who won a three- month contract in Las Vegas, Anthony found his appearances brought a number of offers of work.
He now has a series of live shows lined up including Monday's Pavilion performance
The show - Simply Sinatra Live! - will find him singing 25 classic Sinatra numbers with a 16-piece band, four or five numbers with his smaller band and a solo rendition - "just me and a bottle of Jack Daniels" - of One For My Baby and One For The Road.
"Basically I'll be doing all the big numbers, the ones that people always want to hear and, of course, they will be full length, not the two-minute versions I had to do on TV."
He would like to do more big band shows but says the cost can be prohibitive. Landing the Sinatra role in The Rat Pack production at the famous old Benidorm Palace Theatre was something of a landmark in his newfound career.
"That first night as the show opened I was coming up on the riser with my back to the audience with the smoke and lasers going and all the girls dancing.
This big voice announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, Mr Frank Sinatra" and I thought, "Yes, this is it. This is where I want to be."
He says he feels his performances on The One and Only brought a degree of respect from people in the music industry.
"They realise that I'm not just another here today, gone tomorrow' singer. I have the possibility of going further."
He says he certainly doesn't miss working as a delivery driver, though he does miss his customers.
"I never got the chance to thank them for voting for me and all the support they gave me when I was on the programme so I'm hoping they'll come and see me at the Pavilion on Monday and I can say thank you then."
Anthony Adams: Simply Sinatra Live! plays the Bournemouth Pavilion on Monday, May 26.
7:00pm Tuesday 20th May 2008
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CommentPosted by: Social Poet, Bournemouth on 9:21am Wed 21 May 08
It made me laugh that the Tom Jones character criticised the show - he should take a look at himself - he was rubbish, did not sound like Tom Jones and danced like a tortoise!
It made me laugh that the Tom Jones character criticised the show - he should take a look at himself - he was rubbish, did not sound like Tom Jones and danced like a tortoise!
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