Do you hear the people (well, just me actually) sing?

As a younger man, I was (if I do say so myself) a pretty good singer with a solid baritone/tenor voice and a reasonably good ear for music.

The question I had though was ‘how badly had my ten year sabbatical affected my singing voice?’ This was something I needed/wanted to find out.

It isn’t that I haven’t sung since hanging up my acting shoes. I have continued to belt out showtunes in the shower (as most people do, right?) and in the car – which my kids love by the way (there aren’t many four year olds that can sing Naughty from Matilda!). I am also quite partial to a rousing ‘Hark The Herald Angels Sing’ at Christmas.

However, as with so many things, I haven’t done it formally for quite a while.

So, when the recommendation of ‘West End Warm Up’ (http://www.westendwarmup.com) came up on Facebook it seemed the ideal environment to put my voice to the test. After all, it was a 20 minute ‘gym’ session for singers – so worst case scenario I would be trapped in a room, totally out of my depth, for just over 19 minutes!

This was not, however, the case. Instead, it was a fantastic session with vocal coach Lisa Olsworth-Peter and, while my higher range may be a little rusty, my singing voice and breath control still seemed to be in good shape.

I have to say that it has been incredibly heartening as my journey continues, to find that many of the skills I had ten years ago haven’t departed me altogether. And, with some hard work and commitment on my part they can once again be honed.

Spurred by this positive vibe, I made contact with an old college friend, co-star in Twelfth Night (all those years ago) and experienced MD Tom Attwood.

We met yesterday on the South Bank and, over Tarte Tatin and a rather odd green ‘health’ drink (which tasted of un-identifiable fruits with a potent ginger kick), as well as catching up on life, he also gave me some very useful pointers on the industry today as well as the types of songs I need to have in my arsenal.

Armed with this information, I have already started working on the first new song and am once again heading off to West End Warm Up tomorrow for another session to hopefully continue to improve my voice.

I don’t know whether my wife Suzi is aware of what is coming – as my parents/old flat mate can remember only too well no doubt. Incessant repetition of the same songs to a piano accompaniment as I first of all try to learn the new material properly – it’s always a lot easier with the soundtrack as there is someone to remind you of the next word/phrase – and then actually start to act through song again.

I’m sure she’ll get used to it or – worst case scenario – I’ll get sent to the playroom!