I’m a bit late with this news but have only heard Jonathan will be appearing on QVC UK tomorrow morning at 9am. Hopefully a Fantoine will manage to record it and if so I will post it here.
Other news involves the a Tenore Launch Party pack. You can download it from the link on Jonathan’s website (on the home page there is a red box on the bottom right and the party pack is the revolving 4th image). The pack includes the lyrics to all the tracks so no matter where you live, be it Europe, Australia or Japan, we can all sing along when we receive our CDs, mp3s or vinyls (although I think the signed vinyls will become works of art rather than being played on a turntable.
Chris Needs has been fantastic in his support of Jonathan and all this week he’s playing tracks from Tenore on his nightly programme. It is accessible from most countries.
A little fun from Jonathan can be seen on YouTube. He posted the video on his Facebook page and on YouTube but, as it’s unlisted, he has asked for consideration to be given to it being shared. I decided, under the circumstances, not to embed it here but to provide a link instead. Do view it. It’s the first time we’ve seen his playing guitar and singing. I’ll let you discover the song for yourself.
The wee Welsh seaside town of Porthcawl was buzzing on Saturday night and I understand, from Chris Needs on his nightly show, Jonathan’s still the talk of the town.
What a evening of splendid entertainment! So much effort had been put into the organisation and production, it was a pleasure to sit back and enjoy a few hours of good ‘old fashoned' entertainment.
Chris Needs’ energy knew no bounds and his parodies rocked the hall with laughter. What a trouper he is!
The concert included a variety of performers but the star of the show was Jonathan. (I apologise not listing the other performers but there was no programme and I was enjoying myself so much I didn’t think to write down all the names).
Jonathan sang 5 songs: la donne e mobile, Granada, panis angelicus, Bring Him Home and his encore was O sole mio.
The walls reverberated with applause and I doubt if any Fantoine who was present has yet managed to wipe their smile of delight off their face. I certainly haven’t.
What a night a delicious treat and a feast for the soul for those who attended. There are so many photographs floating round the internet, but the ones I have posted here are by the wonderful photographer - who came all the way from Denmark with his wife Bente - Bjarne Hemmingsen. Please do look around for others.
Also I have to mention the lovely Allison Gentle who travelled all the way from Australia to hear Jonathan sing. She arrived on the Saturday and left UK on Sunday.
The above photograph was taken with my camera. Bjarne has no competition does he?
I sincerely hope the evening raised lots of money for Chris’s charity. He will give an update on a future radio show no doubt.
Chris Needs, MBE, is a leading anchor in BBC Wales. He hosts a four hour show every weekday evening and has become a staunch fan of Jonathan since one of the Fantoines, Ivy Yeo, introduced him to Jonathan’s voice.
Ivy herself is Welsh and listens to the programme regularly. She has quietly ensured that Jonathan receives as much promotion as possible through Chris and many Fantoines now tune in too. You can hear previous programmes on the link above.
Chris also hosts a his own charity event every year in the Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl and earlier this week Jonathan phoned into his programme to say he’d be delighted to attend. Chris was speechless with excitement! The date of the event is Saturday 16 August.
It’s a small concert hall by today’s standards but that makes it intimate so I’m sure it will be a super evening and I understand there are a few tickets left. If you’d like to attend you can book tickets here.
See you there!
Some of you may be wondering who is Chris Needs? Well, the lovely Debby, who takes the trouble to acknowledge birthdays on Facebook, has made this graphic and there’s an image of Chris in the top left hand corner.
Chris is a Radio Wales presenter who has a late evening weekday show called The Friendly Garden.
A charming Welsh fan, Ivy, determined to ensure Jonathan’s solos were played on radio, is a regular listener to Chris’ show and started requesting any of Jonathan’s solos. Chris kindly obliged and he’s been obliging ever since! Now he has requests and listeners from as far a field as Canada and Australia who make requests and listen in to hear Jonathan’s voice soar from radios and computers.
Chris is so kind to us Fantoines that I thought he deserved a post all to himself to wish him Many Happy Returns of the Day and may his birthday be as special as he is to us.
Many Fantoines regularly email national and local radio stations but seldom get a response but Chris is the exception. All we can do is keep trying to attract the attention of producers and/or presenters. Maybe Chris can put in a word with the powers that be in BBC land in London!
Happy Birthday Chris!
