‘The nation’s tenor’ Alfie Boe returns to Dorset to play the BIC on Wednesday, Patrick Gough reports

He might be affectionately known as the “the nation’s tenor”, but Alfie Boe suffered a few jitters when he last performed in Bournemouth.

“I arrived in the afternoon to soundcheck, not realising just how big the BIC is. As I walked out on stage and looked out to the empty auditorium, I thought ‘oh my goodness, I can’t believe that I am playing to this many people.’ “So now, I can’t wait to get back there!” he said.

Wednesday evening will see Alfie make a triumphant return to the BIC with his Storyteller tour and a show packed with songs from his albums and shows.

“Bournemouth can expect a great evening, with music taken from my albums Alfie, Bring Him Home, and Storyteller, as well as some other surprises.

“My new band is amazing, and around the nucleus of the rhythm section we have added two amazing backing singers, The Atlantic Horns brass section, and some very talented, young, and beautiful string players,” added Alfie, 39.

Bring Him Home, the Les Miserables showstopper, was the first song Alfie ever performed on stage at the age of 14.

He went on to work as an apprentice car mechanic at a sports car factory, where he would often sing to entertain his colleagues, and one day he was overheard by a customer who was so impressed that he suggested Alfie should take his singing further.

So began a career that has led him to the stage in the lead role of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables as well as into the recording studio and concert hall.

Last year, Decca released his latest album, Storyteller, a collection of his favourite songs from different musical genres with tracks such as Angie, Shine A Light and Everybody’s Talking.

“I always wanted to try to bring classical music and indeed opera to a much wider audience, and I hope that what I am doing now is bringing down the barriers between musical genres. “There are only two types of music, good and bad, and I only want to sing the good stuff.

“You know, as a singer, all we ever do is tell stories, and I wanted it to be an album of some of the greatest stories I could ever tell.”

After teaming up with Little Britain’s Matt Lucas on his first album and Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant, Alfie is keen to bring these musical worlds together.

“There are so many artists that I respect and would love to record with.

“I did ask Kylie if she wanted to sing with me at the Royal Albert Hall, but sadly she was not available. I would love an opportunity to sing with her one day.”

He should be so lucky, lucky, lucky.