The artwork for Alfie Boe’s April 10 album Face Yourself
AHEAD of his York Barbican concert on April 28, tenor Alfie Boe addresses his roots in northwest England on new single Face Myself.
Recorded at Le Mob Studio, Branland, London, the title track from his April 10 new album evokes imagery of Liverpool’s shipyards, the illuminations in Blackpool and indie and dance music of his teenage years, with references to legendary Manchester club the Hacienda, as well as paying tribute to The Stone Roses’ bassist, Mani, who passed away last year.
The album will be his first record to feature predominantly original material. “Face Myself is a tribute to the North and to my youth, back in the days when I was into the indie movement and hopped on the train to Manchester every weekend to see bands, when The Stone Roses came on the scene, then Inspiral Carpets and The Charlatans, the Hacienda and the Northern Quarter in Manchester,” says Blackpool-born Boe, now 52.
“It has the line ‘The Roses sing our indie song, we bang the drum, home is the place where time won’t change us’, remembering the way we celebrated that music.”
Boe continues: “At the time that I was writing that song, we heard about the tragic death of Mani from The Stone Roses and Primal Scream. I put in a little tribute, which goes: ‘Dreams are grown in Burnage skies, a golden past that made us cry. The prom is glorified with lights, for good old Mani played it right. Those Cranwell boys, they sang along.’
“Face Myself is a tribute to the North and to my youth, back in the days when I was into the indie movement,” says Alfie Boe. Picture: Ray Burmiston
“I only met Mani once and never really got to know him – I wish I had. The ‘Cranwell boys’ is a reference to Liam and Noel Gallagher, who grew up in Cranwell Drive in Burnage.”
Before Boe found fame as a tenor on the great British stages, he had a scrape with indie fame, in the role of Opera Dude with The Clint Boon Experience – Clint being keyboard player for Manchester indie legends Inspiral Carpets – when supporting York band Shed Seven. Earlier, he had been a teen drummer in a band but had to stay in school instead of going on tour.
Face Myself is one of the key songs Boe wanted to write, with the title ringing in his head before the track took shape. “I thought, what is it about me that I have that I have to face?” he recalls. “For me, it was a number of moments in the past: my childhood, my teenage years, what got me to where I am today, the stories of my personal life.
“Reflecting on those things fed into other songs on the album as well. It’s been a wonderful journey doing that.”
The new single follows the poignant Meanwhile Gardens, lifted from the album produced by MyRiot (Tim Bran and Roy Kerr), whose credits include London Grammar and Primal Scream.
The itinerary for Alfie Boe’s Facing Myself tour
Born Alfred Giovanni Roncalli Boe on September 29 1973 , Boe’s career has spanned stage, recording and television. He has released more than a dozen studio albums, several of them topping the UK charts en route to multi-platinum sales. His collaborations with Michael Ball, including the record-breaking Together, Together Again and Back Together, have been complemented by sold-out arena tours.
The Tony Award winner has conquered the world’s greatest opera stages and arenas and led the cast of Les Misérables in his defining role as Jean Valjean, also starring in the concert tour of Les Misérables in Australia and the Arena Spectacular tour across the UK.
He has appeared at Buckingham Palace for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Royal Albert Hall too and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2019, in recognition of his outstanding services to music and charity.
Boe’s 35-date Facing Myself tour will take in further Yorkshire concerts at Hull City Hall on April 24, Harrogate Royal Hall, April 29 and Sheffield City Hall, May 1. Tickets are on sale at https://gigst.rs/AB26; yorkbarbican.co.uk.
His 2026 tour show will combine his most iconic hits and fan-favourite classics with a showcase of material from Face Myself.