Localista caught up with Ten Tenors singer Jared Newall to chat about music legends and Perth weather ahead of the group's upcoming show at the Regal Theatre.
The Ten Tenors are mid-rehearsal and polishing their version of Amy Winehouse's hit song 'Valerie' for their upcoming tour when Jared Newall nips out to speak to Localista. But it’s already been a long day for the Perth-born singer, ‘I’ve just come back from a holiday. I flew out of Sydney at 5am this morning and I was in the studio in Melbourne by 10 for rehearsal.’
The Ten Tenors have a solid week of rehearsals to go before they kick off their next Australian tour. Now in their 20th year, the group are bringing their ‘Wish You Were Here’ show to some of the top venues across the country. Dedicated to showcasing iconic songs from artists who are no longer with us, the album and tour are sure to be crowd pleasers after the loss of so many music legends last year.
‘We were rehearsing for one of our tours in early 2016,’ said Jared, ‘and we had this arrangement of David Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ which we were singing. At that point, someone got a notification on their phone that David Bowie had passed away. This incredible hush came over the room. It felt really eerie to be singing that incredible song and get such awful news.'
As the year went on, news came of the deaths of Leonard Cohen and George Michael, among others. ‘We felt like we wanted to do something to pay tribute to all these incredible artists,’ said Jared. ‘We already have a history of doing songs by them, so we just felt it was meant to be.’
Jared grew up in Forrestfield in Perth and began singing in church and in school shows. He went on to perform in shows in the city before joining the Ten Tenors in 2011. Six years on and he’s still loving every minute, ‘I’m really lucky; I never tire of it,' he said. 'We always strive for taking the music as seriously as we can while being fun and irreverent. We certainly don’t like taking ourselves too seriously. It’s pretty easy when you have such great music to work with and everyone in the group gets their chance to shine.’
Despite enjoying life on tour, Jared is keen to get back home to Perth for a three-night run at the Regal Theatre. ‘The Regal will be our last stop on the tour and I’m always excited to get back to Perth whenever I get the chance. It’s such a fun place, and it’ll be great to have some good weather because it’s freezing in Melbourne today!’
Weather permitting, Jared said he’ll be hitting up his top spot in Perth, City Beach, if he gets time. ‘It’s just my absolute favourite place, and if you come to the show you’ll see how long it’s been since I’ve been to the beach because I am very pale right now.’
So what’s the one thing that he’d tell audiences to look forward to at the Perth show? ‘People need to be prepared to have a boogie, and to sing along. We really encourage audience participation. But all I’ll say is just hang out for the last number, it’s going to be a real treat.’
The Ten Tenors bring their Wish You Were Here tour to the Regal Theatre, Subiaco on August 17, 18 and 19.
Find out more about the Wish You Were Here show