BORN on 29th September 1973, as the ninth child to his Catholic parents Pat and his later father Alfred. Alfie Boe’s earliest memories are of sitting around the table for Sunday lunch all listening to his father’s favourite operatic arias.

Growing up in the seaside town of Fleetwood near Blackpool he tells me he misses living by the sea. “Due to my professional commitments I spend my time either in London or in the States. I recently spent time in LA and the beaches there reminded me of my home, albeit much warmer!” He wasn’t into singing particularly as a teenage boy; it was more drumming which held his interest.

“I was sitting on my bed with a pair of drum sticks bashing out rhythms on my pillows when my father called me downstairs. There laid out in the living room was the most amazing drum kit which he’d bought for me, it was incredible.” He still travels with his drum kit even today. Although he enjoys playing he never intended to take drumming as a career path. “At my school you were offered the armed forces or engineering by the careers officer.” When Alfie was just 11 years old he took on a Saturday job at the local garage. At 14 his sister was attending the local amateur operatic company and Alfie’s mother persuaded him to go along too. “I think she thought the hours I spent alone behind a drum kit weren’t very healthy for a teenager. I wasn’t terribly keen and then when I went along there was this girl I wanted to ask out so I kept going, sadly I never got anywhere with her.” At that point he’d never seen a live musical but he went ahead and auditioned and got a part in their forthcoming show, singing tunes from Les Miserables. By the age of 16 Alfie was in the chorus of amateur productions of Carmen and II Trovatore in Preston and locals were encouraging him to turn professional. “I would have loved to then but I really had no idea how.” Instead at 17 he began an apprenticeship at the local TVR car factory, spray painting cars as they came off the production line, singing along to the radio to relieve the boredom. He was also performing in working men’s clubs singing pop, ballads and tunes from the West End shows in the evenings and weekends. “It was good grounding for me; you learn to deal with hecklers and to understand how to hold an audience.”

By a stroke of luck a customer, who worked in the music industry, walked into the garage one day and heard Alfie’s impressive tenor. Sadly Alfie has never yet managed to track down who the person was to thank them. The customer told him of auditions being held for the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company in London. So Alfie bought a copy of The Stage magazine for more details and found himself on the train to London. “I was nervous, but I always go into anything with plenty of selfbelief, after all, if you don’t believe in yourself why should others believe in you.”

To read the full interview with Alfie Boe, pick up a copy of the February 2012 issue of Suffolk Norfolk Life Magazine, or subscribe online and get it delivered to your door.