Latest news with #RevelHorwood
The Courier
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Courier
Craig Revel Horwood: I'll spill Strictly gossip and sing for crowds in Stirling, Dundee and Dunfermline
Known for his choreography skills, it's perhaps predictable that Craig Revel Horwood jokes he's looking forward to 'a Highland fling' in Scotland later this month. But it's not just his dancing that the Strictly Come Dancing judge is showing off on his latest UK tour – it's also his less heralded talent for singing. Revel Horwood is due to round off a 43-date road trip with four Scottish shows on The Courier's doorstep. It all follows the release of his debut album Revelations – Songs Boys Don't Sing, which reached the Top 20 in the UK charts last October. The very fact that he's made an LP at all has raised more than a few eyebrows, but Craig actually started singing as a boy in his native Australia in the 1970s. He initially made his name in the early 2000s as a West End director and choreographer, before going on to mastermind the opening to Manchester's 2002 Commonwealth Games. Since settling into the judge's seat he still occupies when ballroom-based BBC hit Strictly was launched in 2004, he has gone on to make his mark on stage over the past decade in roles such as alcoholic orphanage caretaker Miss Hannigan in a touring version of Annie and as The Wizard Of Oz's iconic Wicked Witch of the West. But it was the approach of one of life's milestones that spurred him into the recording studio. 'My mum wanted me to make an album, and I thought I'd better do one before I'm 60, which I am now, and I'll take it out on the road,' says Craig. 'It's a compilation of a lot of women's songs that I've played before, so all of the material is very character-driven. It's a delve into my life as a musician really, because that's how I started contemplating even dancing.' The former Melbourne drag queen, who moved to London in 1989, plays both the trumpet and the French horn, but reveals it was an instrument forever associated with primary school that set him on his musical journey. 'It started with the recorder, which is how a lot of people start,' he explains. 'Everyone laughs at that, but we had a proper consort of recorders. It was a seven-piece and I played at Sydney Opera House, and we actually found a tape recording of us playing in 1978 so I play that to the audience during my show. 'If that's not worth 36 quid I don't know what is.' Putting on his serious face for a moment, Revel Horwood declares his upcoming Scottish sojourn will provide an intimate insight into what makes him tick, as well as the ups and downs he's experienced since becoming a household name. 'The show is about my love for the music and how it's affected my life,' he adds. 'It's about relationships, too, because we all go through the same emotions, so I'll be talking about that, and heartbreak, and where it can lead. 'Adele has proved how much emotion heartbreak can evoke, not just for singers, but for the audience too. 'I'm also going to be telling a lot of showbiz stories, a lot of Strictly backstage goss. What is Shirley Ballas really like? I'll be delving into that, and why Bruno (Tonioli) left. 'I will answer any question I'm asked, whether it's on Strictly, my personal life, anything – I don't care.' Craig, who's joined on stage by his piano-playing Celebrity Gogglebox sidekick Ben Goddard, outlines what to expect in between the revelatory chat. 'The tour is full of weird and wonderful things, like great songs obviously, with a little bit of dancing, some Shirley Bassey I've got up my sleeve, a little bit of Ursula from The Little Mermaid and the mad characters I've played over the years,' he says. 'I wanted to put something together that was really personal and for people to feel like they're just coming to have a cocktail party with me at my house – I even have a cooking segment. 'I won't have my judging panels and I won't have my judge's hat on. I'm going to be just me.'
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Craig Revel Horwood claims dancing helped him forget ‘abuse at home'
Craig Revel Horwood has alleged he was abused as a child. The Strictly Come Dancing judge said dancing helped him cope. Revel Horwood, 60, discusses his childhood and why he learnt to dance during his new UK tour Revelations – Songs Boys Don't Sing. Speaking to ITV's Good Morning Britain (GMB), Revel Horwood also responded to comments he made about his fellow Strictly judges during his first show on the tour. He said he was joking when he reportedly said: 'There is no other judge. I created it. They are either dead or have been sacked.' He said of the tour: 'My father was an alcoholic. I do talk about that in the show because that led me towards the dancing.' 'And anyone at home I know that's watching this that has dealt with alcoholism, it's really, really tough, and we were abused as children, and my whole family was, and that was my only escape. 'And when I danced, it's when I really came to life. I forgot all of the abuse at home, and it made me want to do something else with my life. 'And on my father's death, I think that was when I actually realised that, after hating my father for so long, I then thought, actually he was a really good man he just had a terrible, terrible disease and it eventually killed him.' Asked about the comments he made during his first show on April 4, he said: 'What am I going to say? Who's the best judge? Of course, I'm gonna say, me.' He added: 'I was having a little bit of fun'. Revel Horwood appears as a judge on the popular BBC One dancing show alongside Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke. Reflecting on the 20th anniversary of Strictly in 2024, Horwood said: 'I'll tell you why I love it so much, is because every year it's completely different. 'You change the cast and it's a completely different show. You don't know who you're going to get and you don't know where they're going to lay within the realms of dance. 'And that's what makes it interesting and exciting. It's escapism.' Revel Horwood's tour follows on from the release of his debut solo album of the same name. He is due to travel to cities and towns including Bath, Dundee, London, Liverpool and Swansea, ending his show in Dunfermline on June 28.
The Independent
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Craig Revel Horwood claims dancing helped him forget ‘abuse at home'
Craig Revel Horwood has alleged he was abused as a child. The Strictly Come Dancing judge said dancing helped him cope. Revel Horwood, 60, discusses his childhood and why he learnt to dance during his new UK tour Revelations – Songs Boys Don't Sing. He said he was joking when he reportedly said: 'There is no other judge. I created it. They are either dead or have been sacked.' He said of the tour: 'My father was an alcoholic. I do talk about that in the show because that led me towards the dancing.' 'And anyone at home I know that's watching this that has dealt with alcoholism, it's really, really tough, and we were abused as children, and my whole family was, and that was my only escape. 'And when I danced, it's when I really came to life. I forgot all of the abuse at home, and it made me want to do something else with my life. 'And on my father's death, I think that was when I actually realised that, after hating my father for so long, I then thought, actually he was a really good man he just had a terrible, terrible disease and it eventually killed him.' Asked about the comments he made during his first show on April 4, he said: 'What am I going to say? Who's the best judge? Of course, I'm gonna say, me.' He added: 'I was having a little bit of fun'. Revel Horwood appears as a judge on the popular BBC One dancing show alongside Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke. Reflecting on the 20th anniversary of Strictly in 2024, Horwood said: 'I'll tell you why I love it so much, is because every year it's completely different. 'You change the cast and it's a completely different show. You don't know who you're going to get and you don't know where they're going to lay within the realms of dance. 'And that's what makes it interesting and exciting. It's escapism.' Revel Horwood's tour follows on from the release of his debut solo album of the same name. He is due to travel to cities and towns including Bath, Dundee, London, Liverpool and Swansea, ending his show in Dunfermline on June 28.
