Welsh tenor Paul Potts joins NZ 50 Golden Years of Musicals tour

Welsh tenor Paul Potts is joining NZ tour 50 Golden Years of Musicals. To his right can be seen the Art Deco lamp he bought in Napier.

Napier might be the Art Deco capital of the world but it’s not the only place you can live in a deco house.

Just ask Paul Potts. The Welsh tenor loves Art Deco and managed to find the house of his dreams in Wales complete with flat roof.

He loves visiting Napier and is looking forward to returning ahead of his tour with Stewart and Tricia Macpherson celebrating 50 Golden Years of Musicals.

“At the moment though my thoughts are with all those affected by the cyclones, please do stay safe,” Potts said.

He will join an outstanding New Zealand cast for the tour, which plays at the Napier Municipal Theatre on April 13.

Potts, who shot to fame after winning Britain’s Got Talent with his performance of Nessun Dorma, says last time he was in Napier he bought an Art Deco lamp and had it shipped home.

“I thought it would save me money by having it shipped. It didn’t.”

He says it’s taken a lot of work to get his home back to its original state.

" My wife and I are really happy with it now. It’s stood the test of time.”

He says he joined the tour “partly by chance”.

“I saw on social media that Stewart and Tricia were celebrating 50 years, which after the last few years of trials and tribulations is quite something. So I sent them a congratulations email. They mentioned the show in Auckland and everything fell into place from there.

“I really love visiting New Zealand. You have a beautiful country and your wine is also beautiful. You have good chardonnay. I like drinking good wine although I do tend to go for the reds.”

Potts says he enjoys touring, seeing different places, exploring and meeting people. “I also love touring with a cast. Usually, it’s just me so it will be a lot of fun.

“I love the challenge of doing new stuff. I’m looking forward to being part of the show.”

When he has finished the tour he plans to travel around the South Island in a camper van.

“I love to take photos and New Zealand is very photogenic. Fiordland is enchanting. I’m a creature of habit and although I have been to the Milford Sounds several times I’m going back. It’s such a beautiful place and looks different in different light. "

50 golden Years of Musicals celebrates the unprecedented musical journey of New Zealand’s longest-serving producers with Potts representing the hundreds of international artists with whom they have toured in their stellar careers.

The event, which will visit 10 cities next month, will feature the greatest songs from the greatest musicals including Blood Brothers, The Rocky Horror Show, Evita, Starlight Express, Flashdance, Million Dollar Quartet, American Idiot, Pirates of Penzance, Chicago, Jekyll & Hyde and Phantom of the Opera.

Songs, such as Time Warp from Rocky Horror, Don’t Cry For Me Argentina from Evita, the classic Memory from Cats, All That Jazz from Chicago and the high-energy What A Feeling, will have audiences singing and re-living many memories.

- Tickets on sale from Ticketmaster and Ticketek.