1st - GEORGE DONALDSON (Celtic Thunder), 43
19th - VITTORIO GRIGOLO, 33
19th - PHIL COULTER (Celtic Thunder), 68





Please let us know if any singer has been inadvertently omitted. Thank you!

It’s not often that the UK is blessed with a Classical Crossover boy band, but that is exactly what we find with BLAKE. The boys Barney, Jules, Ollie and Stephen make up the quartet of four very talented young men, who have recently experienced great success in Denmark as well as having gained many faithful fans down under in Australia following a very successful tour in 2008.

Who would have thought that such a talented group would come together through the social networking site Facebook, but that is exactly what happened. There has, of course, been a change in membership of the group, after Dom Tighe decided to return to theater and his place has been nicely filled by Humphrey Berney (AKA Barney).

I’ve personally had the pleasure of seeing the group perform live twice, firstly 9th December 2008 at the Royal Albert Hall when they were guest artist with Katherine Jenkins and again 8th April 2009 at The Fairfield Hall, Croydon when they appeared with the lovely Natasha Marsh.

When engaging with their fans the boys are very relaxed, approachable, warm and friendly and have responded well to impromptu invitations to sing after shows too.

The boys are going from strength to strength, they have proved themselves worthy of their Classical Brit Award which they received in 2008 and they haven’t looked back since.

They have released 3 albums to date which have proved very popular and the choice of songs have been a beautiful and diverse collection, which will bring many hours of listening pleasure for their adoring fans.

Please take the time to visit their website and get to know each one of them as individuals. I feel sure that you, like me, will enjoy what you see and hear and will want to encourage them as they spread their wings and bring us joy and pleasure with their wonderful blend of classical music. --Jerusha

Bio from BlakeOfficial.com:

When four young male singers formed an informal group on social networking site Facebook in September 2007, little did they know how soon their lives were to change. It took a matter of days for Blake to be formed and to be signed to a major record label. Virtually overnight these four good-looking guys had taken their first steps on an incredible journey.

Bridging the gap between pop and opera they took the music industry by storm, releasing their debut album ‘Blake’ in November 2007 which went straight to Number One in the UK Classical Album Chart and hit the top 20 of the UK Pop Album Chart. The British public welcomed such a fresh, new sound in music and wholeheartedly embraced the alternative versions of timeless classics such as the Beach Boys’ ‘God only knows’ and many others, all recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The support and appreciation of the public was soon apparent, within three weeks the album had attained Gold status in the UK and in May 2008 they found themselves at the Royal Albert Hall receiving the Album of the Year Award at the Classical BRITS.

Following a media scrum of activity and excitement, their version of ‘Swing Low’ was chosen to be the Official Anthem of England Rugby for the Rugby World Cup. They have since performed at many sporting events Worldwide including the Melbourne Cup in Australia and in London at The Hurlingham Club Polo as well as the historic new roof opening at Wimbledon in May 2009.

And So it Goes, the second and much anticipated album was released in September 2008 and instantly reached Number 12 in the UK album charts and Number 1 in the Australian Classical chart. This album has captured the hearts of a devoted and fast growing fan base across the globe. Featuring alternative versions from a wide variety of highly acclaimed modern artists such as Snow Patrol and Katie Melua and combining a mix of classical favorites, the album showcases the passion and virtuosity of four highly trained singers who quickly realised that together, they had something uniquely special to offer music lovers.

Not only has the band achieved triumphant promotional tours of Australia and Japan working with worldwide brands such as Toyota and Cartier, at home, they have wowed audiences across the UK on their headline tour with Natasha Marsh and performed with Katherine Jenkins on her legendary tour of the UK. Blake now have their own celebrity following and can count Keira Knightley, Will Smith, and Kevin Spacey amongst their fans. Shirley Bassey even made a special request for Blake to perform at her 70th birthday party!

As well as devoting themselves to their music, the band also spends time supporting several charities close to their hearts; Help For Heroes, The War Widows Association, and MIND.

2009 continues to be an exciting year for Blake who are about to embark on the release of their third album scheduled for September 2009. The album Together will be released through Blake Records, the first ever ‘United Artists’ concept in the classical musical world, made up with some of the industry’s leading players.

Video: "Blake Television Appearance"