Award winning John Owen-Jones (Les Miz/Phantom) will release a Christmas album on 19 November 2021, with some traditional Christmas tracks, some personal favourites and two brand new Christmas songs. One co-written with Steve Balsamo (Jesus Christ Superstar/The Storys) and a previously unheard song from the vaults of the legendary Les Reed (It’s Not Unusual/Delilah) and Bill Martin (Puppet On A String/Congratulations). The album also includes a duet with West End and Broadway star Kerry Ellis (Wicked/Cats) and will surely be the must have Christmas cd for fans of John’s unique voice!
John says ” I have wanted to record an album of Christmas songs for a very long time and finally found the opportunity to do it this year. I have put together an album full of classic Christmas songs that I love to listen to (and sing!) during the festive season, alongside a couple of not-so-well-known festive tunes that I adore. I also had the opportunity to co-write some new songs for this album which is something I am really excited about. I can’t wait for people to hear this album and I hope that they love the songs, both old and new, as much as I do – and that after listening, they have a very merry Christmas!”
John Owen-Jones celebrated his 50th birthday this year and to mark the occasion he performed two sold out special concerts at Cadogan Hall that also live-streamed internationally. Fans all over the world watched online the West End’s youngest ever ‘Jean Valjean’ and longest-running ‘Phantom’ perform some of his favourite tunes, with a live band. This summer John performed around the UK in a series of outdoor concerts with Only Men Aloud and Katherine Jenkins.
Upcoming performances include:
Tuesday 23 November Special guest to Kerry Ellis in concert, Hippodrome, London
Sunday 13 December Special guest Lucie Jones in concert, St David’s Hall, Cardiff
Monday 14 December Special guest Lucie Jones in concert, Her Majesty’s Theatre, London
Sunday 19 December West End Does Christmas, Cadogan Hall
Monday 20 December West End Musical Celebration, Vaudeville Theatre, London
Monday 27 December The Greatest Show Tunes concert tour, Symphony Hall, Birmingham
Tuesday 28 December The Greatest Show Tunes concert tour, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
Wednesday 29 December The Greatest Show Tunes concert tour, Barbican Concert Hall, London
Thursday 30 December The Greatest Show Tunes concert tour, Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow
John is currently developing his own theatre-based podcast with fellow Broadway and West End star Alistair Brammer called ‘The Last Show on Earth’ that asks the important question: What show would you see if you had one night left on Earth?
At just 26, John became the youngest actor ever to play the role of ‘Jean Valjean’ in the West End and was the first British actor to play the role both in the West End and on Broadway. John Owen-Jones has also played the role of ‘The Phantom’ in ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ nearly 2000 times – more than any other actor in the history of the West End production. John has so far released five al-bums, ‘John Owen-Jones’ (2009), ‘Unmasked’ (2012), ‘Rise’ (2015), ‘Bring Him Home’ (2016) and ‘Spotlight’ (2019).
The Christmas Album – Tracklisting:
The Most Wonderful Time of The Year
Happy Holiday/The Holiday Season
That Holiday Feeling (Featuring Kerry Ellis)
Holly Jolly Christmas
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
Let It Snow/Winter Wonderland
Lullaby For Christmas Eve
A Child’s Christmas in Wales
On Christmas Eve
Please Come Home for Christmas Day
Now More Than Ever
Bonus Tracks
River
May Each Day
O Holy Night
