Wynne Evans The Talented...

Wynne Evans, a familiar voice on our stages, stadiums and airwaves.

A very familiar face on our TV screens. And recently voted the

second most annoying man in Britain. When you say the name, it already

brings a smile to one's face. Most probably one of the best tennis of

our generation. He never complains. He is always an impeccable

performer. And on top of that, he is so nice. For the people in the

20 pound seats, I want to let you know it is raining in the 80 quid

seats as well. He is warm and his eyes are warm when he enters the

stage. Then he'd get them. I love it. He has a very natural comedic

sense of what to do with the text. One thing I want out of this is a

promise that he will do some musicals because he is bloody good

Be Go Compare! Man is today regarded as the most recognised 10

are in Britain. His story begins in a small market town in at West

Wales. I was born in Carmarthen. My dad was a builder, my mum was a

hairdresser. My dad was -- my parents were keen amateur dramatic

people. Whenever we went to see a show, we had to bide two sets of

tickets, two in the front for my brother and dad and two in the back

for me and my mum. I was so scared that they were going to call the

children up on stage and I did not want to be that child, even if you

were rewarded with a lollipop. If ever a building changed my life, it

is this building. This of the Further Education Centre in

Carmarthen. My father used to be a woodwork teacher in that room over

there. They were short of youth leader so my father persuaded my

mother to come along. Such happy memories here. Much smaller now

than it was at the time. Or I am obviously much bigger. My mum had

not been there long before she decided these children need

something more and the only thing she knew to get them involved in

was amateur dramatics. And so she started a company called for

Carmarthen Youth Opera which was initially drawn from children who

were disadvantaged in Carmarthen, who really did not fit in anywhere,

having trouble in school, that kind of thing. There was a crowd there,

could not do a thing with her. You stand with your hand on the counter

and the next thing you know, somebody would put a cigarette out

on your hand. She persuaded the youth club to let them put on a

production of Snow White. She dragged my older brother in to play

the pantomime dame and some Labour's children were in it as

well. There was a real next match of children but it was a tremendous

success. The secret of the success is everyone is doing it for the

same purpose, to help young people. My mother now or spending more and

more time at the youth club get involved, along with my father.

There was nowhere for me to go so they had to take us with them. We

might be watching rehearsals and the next thing we were members of

the Youth Opera as well. Never looked back. But come are the new

foppery needed a better home. So Elizabeth Evans decided to squat in

the then derelict theatre -- come are the new Youth Opera needed a

better home. She rang people up and said I know you have sold it to be

a shopping centre but is it OK if we put on one farewell performance

to say thank you very much. We literally moved in there and we

never left. We patched the seats, we repaired the ceiling. At one

stage we had 50 buckets in the loft to hold the water because of the

roof leaks. To keep the theatre doors open, the Evans family were

required to find many ways to raise vital funds to pay the rent.

brother and I formed a little band and we entertained the children

while their parents were of shopping or whatever. It could not

happen now because of health and safety. I cannot believe people

trusted us to look after their children!

Russ Abbott, one of the most underrated performers of our time.

Every Saturday morning we used to start a show with a song, Junior

Show time. I have to say, of learning experiences, I have to say

it is one of the best learning experience of my life. When

children are bored, they say they are bored. They did not say it is

wonderful, they say, shut up, get off, that kind of thing. It was the

start of the process of listening to audience and understanding how

to entertain an audience. I think it is something which has stood me

in very good stead to this day really. It is thanks to them and a

lot of people do not realise that if it had not been for them coming

in and doing a junior show time, to take �50 at the door every Saturday,

I cannot forget the way he behaved on stage then. I think he said one

Christmas, Christmas is cancelled, Father Christmas died last night.

The poor kids were in tears and him laughing! We were in the theatre

six days a week. A couple of nights a week we had to stay home and do

our homework but most of the time we would be in their learning the

ropes and learning what the theatre was about. That gave me a love of

music and different styles of music. Even when I was at the piano, I

would not pay -- play Bach or share pan, it was more about playing the

pop songs Of the Day. I think being in the church choir gave me another

style of music which was not # This Is My Prayer, my humble plea,

will the Lord be ever with me? This was my seat here, this is

where I used to sit. My best mate Peter used to sit next to me. We

used to mess around. Especially in Midnight Mass, that was the one we

were most naughty in! # I pray each day to him and he'll

hear the words I say... His hands will guide my a throne and I'll

Never Walk alone while I walk with My last performance in this church

was a ceremony for carols in around 1984. We had to walk down here

singing Once In Royal David's City. I had the sono and my voice started

to break, bizarrely, talk about bad timing. That was my last

performance for the church choir. The walk of shame it became.

the experience did not deter the teenage Wynne from continuing with

his interest in music. I had a new teacher, a lady called Ann

Griffiths and she lit my interest in classical music. I had an

unconditional place to go to the Royal College of Music. She said,

remember, you want to be going through the front door with your

head held high, knowing you have done as well as you have in school.

So sometimes, I'm not sure whether she was even allowed to do it, she

would lock me in the store cupboard to make me do my homework. She has

retired now so she cannot get sacked. That is how I would have to

do my homework because I was rubbish at focusing.

It became time to leave the familiarity of Carmarthen to steady

at London's Royal College of Music. My gut said, this is not the right

place for you. The people were totally different to anything I had

experienced before. I was surrounded by people who were ex

Oxbridge. I felt very inadequate. The chip was firmly on my shoulder,

it was nothing to do with those people who were very nice people. I

decided I wanted to move with the Guild Hall to be with other people

I could relate to a bit better. I never looked back really. I had six

totally happy years at the Guildhall. I felt totally equipped

to be there. Maybe more equipped than my colleagues because they had

come through different ranks or had not had that opportunity to watch

as much theatre as we had watched. We had literally watch thousands

and thousands of hours. In the next six years, I tried to develop the

voice. I had a number of teachers and I was sponsored by Welsh

National Opera. But still never really mastering my voice. It was

always, that will be a good voice one-day but you're not quite there

at the moment, but we can see the After seven years of study, it was

time to audition for leading roles, which included a visit to Scottish

Opera, for part in the Magic Flute and the role of an Italian tenor.

When I went up for the audition, I was tired and I had never learnt

the part for the Spanish -- Italian tenor. I said I have got a problem,

the Magic Flute is fine, I know I can sing back but I have got a cold

so I cannot sing the Cavalier theme today. It was too high for me, I

just could not do it. They said, fine, you can have the jobs. I

thought, oh no, what am are going to do now, because I'm going to

have to sing these roles in six or seven months time. I did not really

do anything about it, I thought, it will be OK, seven months away, I

will learn to sing it by then. I remember sitting in my dressing

room on the first night of the Magic Flute thinking, I am singing

the main part in one of the UK's major opera houses and I have not

got a clue what I am doing. I did not know what I was going to do. I

was practically in tears. I felt, hero was, singing a big role and it

was totally beyond me. To tackle the role of the Italian tenor,

Wynne realised he needed help which he sought from the world renowned

Welsh tenor Dennis O'Neill. He said, you have got a great voice but you

do not know what you're doing. You need a new teacher to help you. He

gave me the score back and I said, thank you very much and I left.

After I left, I thought, I am not accepting that. There is nobody to

teach me. This man has to help me. After I handed him for a week on

the phone and by e-mail, he said, OK, I will help you.

He transformed my voice and helped me to get this technique which put

It was the best time of my life. But it was also the most depressing

because what you have got to remember is I had spent seven years

training by this point. I was already working as a principal in

major opera houses which -- but I did not have a clue what I was

doing. I don't know what that says about the people in casting.

But the opera theatre was not the only stage for the confident young

tenor. Wynne received an unusual request, to respond to the hacker

before the Wales-All Blacks match. I rocked up to the Millennium

Stadium in my suit and they said, that will not do, you will have to

wear a rugby shirt. The dulcet tones of Wynne Evans from the Welsh

National Opera. This body is not made for lycra. I poured myself

into it. The next day, the newspaper said, they gave us the

hacker, we gave them a fat bloke Despite the fame that followed the

experience, and a number of successful roles at the Welsh

National Opera, not all was upbeat in the Evans household. My father

was ill with cancer in his spine. We had a new baby in the house. It

was really hard on a personal level as well as on a professional level.

And, it just knock med for six. It knocked me for six much I didn't

want to go on stage any more. As my father became better in hospital,

my mother died. She had been such a huge influence on my life, it

knocked me sideways. I decided I couldn't go on stage any more. Iep

I started to cancel performances. It was the hardest six months of my

professional life. I really needed the money. I needed to be out there

singing. People were losing confidence in me turning up to work.

I had lost my mother. So, in the end, my GP rang me at home. He said,

I went to see you last night, you cancelled again. Is this part of

the probably, are you scared to go on stage? I said, yes I am, I'm

petrified to go on stage. Who can I talk to? He said said he had met a

woman in Malta who is a hypnotherapist. He said that I

should go and see her. I said to him, I'm not into that stuff. I'm

not into the alternative stuff. I don't want to do it. He told me to

give it a go. She said obvious things to me. 99% of the people who

go to see you want you to be brilliant. When you turn up for an

odd dition, those on the panel want to give you the job as it will

solve their problem as to who is going to do the job. I decided I

didn't want to sing the romantic roles any more, because of the

pressure they bring with them. It's a lifestyle, not a life. You need

enough rest, so that the voice is constantly fresh. When have you two

small children that is not always possible. I decided that the love

of my life was making people laugh. I decided why don't I become a

comic opera singer. It was like a no brainer for people. I started

working all the time. It was Wynne was back again on the opera

boards playing more character roles than romantic roles. One day he

received an unusual request that would change his life for ever.

got a phone call, they asked me if I do a lot of comic opera. They

said they had an advert that they needed a comic tenor to do the

voice. They asked me if I would be interested in doing. It I said "of

course". They gave me the music. It was a song I knew, is it was a song

called Over There # Over there, over there

# Go compare # When in doubt

# Check them out... # Listening to Wynne were two legends

from the advertising industry. had a number of tenors coming in

one day. Wynne popped in. Read through the script. Immediately

understood it. That is rare. People take a long time and criticise what

you have written. He got the witty rhythms. It was early in the

morning in a small basement studio in East London. He then sang it in

full voice in this tiny little room. We were forced back against the

wall. The sheer power of this extraordinary tenor voice.

Essentially, Wynne built the character. He left and we still had

four or five people to see. director, Graham Rose, turned round

to us, it was 9.30 am and he said, "I think we can all go to lunch."

They said, "Would you like to be in the advert as well as provide the

voice?" I looked at the story boards and I looked at the script

oond aI thought, on a purely professional level, forget about

the money for a minute. I know everybody watching this will be

thinking, we know why you did that advert! On a professional level I

thought, this is a 30 second comic opera where I can do what I always

do. I remember when the campaign came out and I was so excited about

it. It was brilliant. You are on telly all the time. What is not to

love about that. More to the point, you can hide behind the moustache.

We made the the advert and this woman who was an extra and said, "I

have been looking at your adverts on YouTube, I think they are

terrible." I was like - did you say that to me on a film set? I don't

think. So I said - thank you very much. That is what I say to people

now - yeah, thanks, great. It doesn't matter. She said, "My

sister lives in Oxford. If she ever sees you she is going to hit new

the face." I was like, "OK, I think you made your point there." We were

wobbling our heads. With that, we are face-to-face, we are singing,

she head butts me in the face. I'm like "cut, cut, cut" said, "What

are you doing?" She said, "I thought it would be funny" I was

like "funny for who." I remember going on to the internet and seeing

these sites that were like "we hate the Go Compare man." It wasy

hardcore. Full on, very personal. Stuff that I couldn't even repeat

because it was too rude or too nasty. It does take you into a very

funny place. It takes you into a place where you start to think,

"What I have I done?" Anything which is sufficiently powerful will

polarise people to a certain extent. What has happened is there has been

a very strong group who can't bear it. It's largely because they don't

like opera. There is a huge fan base. I think that is just

something you have to live with. You cannot, as aibbree Hamelin con

said, "Please all of the people all of the time." Annoy something

another word for effective. What does your dad do for a living? He

is Gio Compario off the telly. That is not a normal answer. My son said,

"I know you are Gio Compario, which is great, now and again could you

be be GokWan?" I was like "are you sure." One day the moustache went

missing, we hadn't made loads because we didn't know how many

adverts we were going going to make. I had one at home for some reason.

It went missing. I was running around the house "where is the

moustache, it's really expensive, has anyone seen it?" My daughter

said "yeah, it's in school. I took it in for Show & Tell." I said

"what did you take it in?" She said "in an old crisp pact. It's in my

desk. Everyone has been trying it on." Gio Compario notoriety

attracted interest from the major record companies and Wynne went to

Prague to record a CD. I didn't know about Wynne Evans, but I knew

about the Gocompare ads. I said, no I'm not interested. Someone sent me

a recording. The voice was so unique and special. His musical

line was fantastic. I don't know what Warners wanted. Whether they

wanted Gio Compario is is -- who is known in every house in the country.

Wynne Evans isn't. Wynne Evans works in opera houses. Gio Compario

is on everyone's TV thousands of # If you will be my love... #

Despite topping the clag classical charts on it is release, the

process of releasing a CD was not all plain sailing. Was it an

enjoying experience promoting the record? Probably not. Making the

record, I would do it all day. Someone said to me, anyone can make

a record, but it takes a genius to # One kiss is all I need to seal my

fate # And hand in hand, we'll find

love's promised land # There will be no-one but you for

# Eternaly, if you will be my love!! #

Wynne's stage performances were attracting growing interest in the

op ree attic world including the opera House in Covent Garden.

turned up there on the first day. There was a Welsh girl behind the

desk. She said "hello" I said "I am a new guest artist." She said

"opera or ballet, sir?" I said "what do you think?" His first role

was in an opera on the line of Anna Nicole-Smith. We like someone who

gets on with each other and crack jokes and professional. We get his

terrific tenor voice, he stands at the front of the stage. We get one

of his trademark high notes, you know.

# There are many good things about... #

People are saying, is it controversial? It's not

controversial. It's the same thing going on in opera for 200 years. It

has sex, drugs and death. It's the perfect plot really. Wynne soon

realised that his comic skill on the opera stage had its use on the

concert platform too. I thought I would introduce you to some

instruments, perhaps. We have the leader, Karl, getting rained on. I

know he is a drip, this is ridiculous. We have Viola. Show us

it there. The only difference between viola and an onion is you

don't cry when you shop up viola. There is one more, the flute. On a

windy day like today, if you hold it out, it will play itself. If you

can't play any of these instruments if you are a bit "dull" then they

give you two sticks and make you percussionist at the back there. Of

course, if you can't do that, they take one stick away and bring you

right down the front! Wynne Evans was becoming a familiar name on the

billboards at the Royal Albert Hall, starring alongside Shirley Bassey

and in a concert to be broadcast in China to celebrate the Chinese New

Year. The anticipated TV AUDIENCE:Ience was over 500 million.

Hey, how are you? The concert was hosted by legend Robert Wells.

Robert last year said, I want to come to London with a big star from

China who had sang at the Beijing Olympics. We would like you to be

in the show with us. I said, "That would be fantastic". I went. I got

to sing with Glenn Hughes. That was another great experience. You are

working with people who were in When you go on stage, you are there

to entertain. That is the absolute No 1. That is why I like to work

with Wynne. He is warm and his eyes are warm when he enters the stage.

He gets them. I love that. In Sweden we have a famous tenor. No-

one can compare with him. Wynne has the warmth sense that he had. I saw

his ads, love. It that is crazy. He could do such thing and not only

think what other people should think about it. I guess he's crying

Mr Evans! The Royal Albert Hall was also the venue for another very

special celebration and another unusual request. Andrew Lloyd

Webber rang me one day and he said, I would like to meet you. I was so

nervous. I drove down there and my stomach was in bits. I got to the

front gate and buzzed and drove down the drive which was miles long.

It elongated that agony of anticipation. When I arrived there

was someone waiting at the door. I went into this room thinking, this

would be a holding room that Andrew Lloyd Webber would walk in and say

no or yes and that would be the end of it. I walked into this room and

there is Andrew Lloyd Webber cooking bacon sandwiches saying,

would you like a bacon sandwich and a coffee? If a mother was alive she

would have said, that is Andrew Lloyd Webber! When it came to leave,

he said, where has your driver gun? I said, that is my car over there.

He said, you driver has gone for a walk, has he? I said, no, I am

driving myself. He looked at me is if I had said I

hit little children. He said, oh dear. I do not know where Fry was a

great disappointment to him that day or not. I got the job. I turned

up for the first rehearsal of the Phantom Of The Opera and this man

said, Wynne. I said, Oh, my word, that is Cameron Mackintosh. He said,

I'm so delighted you have come to What Wynne does on that marvellous

series of TV adverts is fantastic. He has a terrific voice but he also

has a very natural comedic sense of what to do with the text. You would

never know that he has not done this show but he completely got

Vicky thing about Phantom Of The Opera is, if you sit in Las Vegas,

Broadway, London or Tokyo, it is always the same -- the key thing

about Phantom Of The Opera. There was a line, those who tangle

with Don one, and I wanted to change it to, those who have not

been tangling. As soon as I did it, Liz Robinson

he had done the vol all over the world started laughing. She said,

that is funny. I thought I had to fight to keep it in. One day I came

unstuck in rehearsal because I kept messing up this one line by

accident. I used to do this in opera all the time, I ate is to say

it, I have been talking to Pacini it all the time. I said, I have

been talking to Andrew and he said it was all right. And I heard a

voice behind me saying, no I did not. Oh no!

It was a brilliant experience. That opportunity would never have come

to me if it had not been for that day that I went to that basement in

east London to audition for that part. You never know what will

happen from one day to the next. I am of a mixed opinion about things

like X Factor and reality TV shows. At his instant success. Most people

think my success was instant but I did seven years of training and I

was an opera for many years. I think that is what stood me in good

stead. Everybody in life gets a little bit of luck at some point.

It is where you have put the work in to run with that lack.

Back at his old school in Carmarthen, Wynne was always keen

to pass on his experience to the next generation of performers.

note that you are failing on, I took it up a tone then to trip you.

So you can do it but it is up here now that you are failing at.

When my mother died in 2004, because she had had such an impact

on people's lives and helping people, my brother Hugh, Mark and

myself, decided we would set up a trust in her name. The trust helps

young Welsh people who want to go into the art between the ages of 16

and 26. So far, we have sponsored instrumentalists, actors, ballet

dancers, opera singers, musical theatre singers, stage managers

which is important to us because my dad was a stage manager.

In this time of great austerity, the arts are the first thing to be

cut. If we are not careful, we will lose a generation of performers

because we are underfunding the art's now.

One of the saddest things which has happened in the last year's is I

lost my dad. But has a profound effect on me, really, because my

dad was the silent, driving force behind my mother and father's

partnership. Without my father, my mother would not have achieved half

the things she has achieved. I feel that about my wife. She is quiet

but she holds everything together. I say I am going singing here and

there and she keeps our unit together. I wish he had been with

us longer to seek, not what we are achieving professionally, but our

children. My dad came to the Albert Hall to see Phantom Of The Opera

and he brought my daughter with him. That was a lovely thing. Cameron

said how lovely it was that I could be in the show. That was a real,

special moment for me with my dad. I did not know at the time that a

month later he would die. It has been a terrible loss for us.

Professionally, that makes you think about life as well. DY12 work

every day of the year-do I want to work every day of the year to have

success? Success is something more rounded, surely success is being

happy in your family, you have to sustain a living but without being

morbid, we could be gone tomorrow and we have not had that time doing

the really important things that I feel we really need to, which is

spending time with your family, getting a good balance between your