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Russell Watson on ‘surreal’ first gig – from bizarre payment to man ‘pleasuring himself’

The "People's Tenor" Russell Watson cut his teeth at working men's clubs. His first gig was gatecrashed by a man "pleasuring himself".

Salford-born singer Russell Watson’s debut album The Voice held the number one spot in the UK charts for a whopping 52 weeks. He got his big break in 1999, singing the national anthem at the Rugby League Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium. He explored the crossover potential of the classical and pop genres more deeply than anyone before him, covering Ultravox’s Vienna and Giacomo Puccini’s famous aria Nessun Dorma on the same album.

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