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Anthony Way (born 14 December 1982) is an English chorister and classical singer, who rose to fame after appearing as a chorister in a
BBC TV BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 19 ...
series. He has since had success as a recording artist, with gold and platinum discs to his credit.


Biography

Way was born in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, England, and was a
chorister A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...
by the age of eight. He is the sixth child out of eight siblings. His mother (Eileen Way) was a housewife. His father (Garry Way) worked as an officer at
Wormwood Scrubs Prison HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs (nicknamed "The Scrubs") is a Category B men's local prison, located opposite Hammersmith Hospital and W12 Conferences on Du Cane Road in the White City in West London, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's ...
. In 1990, the prison chaplain, the Rev. Ray Guymer, suggested to Way's father that young Anthony should go for a voice trial at St Paul's Cathedral. Way passed the audition and was given a place at the Cathedral Choir School at the age of nine. At the age of twelve, he received attention for his portrayal of Henry Ashworth in the lavish 1995
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
mini-series based on the
Joanna Trollope Joanna Trollope (; born 9 December 1943) is an English writer. She has also written under the pseudonym of Caroline Harvey. Her novel ''Parson Harding's Daughter'' won in 1980 the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Ass ...
novel ''The Choir'' as a gifted young chorister whose voice saved a cathedral and its choir. The series comprised five one-hour episodes, and has aired on America's PBS Network. Way was the prominent voice on ''The Choir'' soundtrack, and was backed by the Gloucester Cathedral Choir and the
Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra The Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra ( pl, Orkiestra Filharmonii Narodowej w Warszawie) is a Polish orchestra based in Warsaw. Founded in 1901, it is one of Poland's oldest musical institutions. History The orchestra was conceived on ...
. Released by PolyGram label
Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...
, the recording went
platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...
, selling 350,000 copies worldwide and spent 15 weeks at the top of the
UK Classical Chart The UK Classical Charts are three record charts based on classical music in the United Kingdom: the Classical Artist Albums Chart, the Classical Compilation Albums Chart and the Specialist Classical Albums Chart. The charts are commercial monitori ...
. It was notably the fastest-selling classical release since
the Three Tenors The Three Tenors were an operatic singing trio, active during the 1990s and early 2000s, and termed as a supergroup (a title normally reserved for rock and pop groups) consisting of Italian Luciano Pavarotti and Spaniards Plácido Domingo and ...
five years previously. Meanwhile, in the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
the album secured a No 3 spot, squeezing out
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
. (The DVD of the series was eventually released in March 2006, shortly after "The Choirboys" debut album became the fastest selling classical debut album). In 1995, his record label released "The Choirboy," an amalgamation of classic and contemporary songs which was excluded from the UK Classical Chart. A court battle then ensued between Way's record label and the Classic Chart compilers that resulted in media controversy and saw Way splashed across the national press, propelling the album to gold status and taking total album sales to half a million. The chart compilers soon thereafter started a new classical crossover chart (in January 1996). From this album also came the hit singles "
Panis Angelicus (Latin for "Bread of Angels" or "Angelic Bread") is the penultimate stanza of the hymn "" written by Saint Thomas Aquinas for the feast of Corpus Christi as part of a complete liturgy of the feast, including prayers for the Mass and the Liturgy of ...
" and "
The Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...
" which both went gold or platinum within a short time of their release. In mid 1995, Way and the choir played an important part in the "
VE Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...
50" celebrations: Firstly, St Paul's Cathedral hosted the National Service of Thanksgiving that was broadcast live on British television; the day after in London's Hyde Park, the youngster performed "Panis Angelicus" in front of an estimated crowd of 150,000 people including
the Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...
and the rest of the Royal Family. The event was broadcast live to millions of people on television worldwide and introduced the boy to a whole new audience. By the summer of 1996, Way had risen to Deputy Head Chorister at St Paul's. The choir was given the honour of serenading Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother on her 96th Birthday. Way recorded ''The Choirboy's Christmas'' with the
English Chamber Orchestra The English Chamber Orchestra (ECO) is a British chamber orchestra based in London. The full orchestra regularly plays concerts at Cadogan Hall, and their ensemble performs at Wigmore Hall. The orchestra regularly tours in the UK and internationall ...
, released in November 1997. This album was recorded in London's
Temple Church The Temple Church is a Royal peculiar church in the City of London located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built by the Knights Templar as their English headquarters. It was consecrated on 10 February 1185 by Patriarch Heraclius of J ...
, where chorister
Ernest Lough Ernest Arthur Lough (; 17 November 1911 – 22 February 2000) was an English singer who sang the famous solo "O for the Wings of a Dove", from Felix Mendelssohn's " Hear My Prayer", for the Gramophone Company (later HMV and then EMI) in 1927 ...
had recorded his version of "O For the Wings of a Dove" more than sixty years earlier. It was reported that Decca spent an initial advertising budget of £300,000 in the run up to Christmas to promote his new album. By the following Easter, the album had sold over 60,000 copies. The choir also recorded two other albums at this time, ''How Can I Keep From Singing?'' and ''Passiontide at St. Paul's'', both of which featured a number of soloists, including Way on one track. In May of that year, maturity took its toll on his signature treble voice forever. His final few concerts saw him perform in
King's College Chapel, Cambridge King's College Chapel is the chapel of King's College in the University of Cambridge. It is considered one of the finest examples of late Perpendicular Gothic English architecture and features the world's largest fan vault. The Chapel was bu ...
, and at the home of the English Sinfonia in Stevenage, where he performed tracks live from the album for the last time, alongside his old friend and "Choirgirl of the Year 1995", Tabitha Watling. To mark his retirement as a treble soloist, Decca released ''The Best of Anthony Way'' in 1998. He starred as Tom Long in 1999's film version of ''
Tom's Midnight Garden ''Tom's Midnight Garden'' is a children's fantasy novel by Philippa Pearce. It was first published in 1958 by Oxford University Press with illustrations by Susan Einzig. It has been reissued in print many times and also adapted for radio, tele ...
'', alongside
Greta Scacchi Greta Scacchi, OMRI (; born 18 February 1960) is an Italian-Australian actress. She holds dual Italian and Australian citizenship. She is best known for her roles in the films '' White Mischief'' (1987), '' Presumed Innocent'' (1990), '' The Pl ...
,
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,
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and Nigel Le Vaillant, filmed in the summer of 1997 in England and the
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. The film won critical acclaim on its release at the Giffoni Film Festival in Italy. Anthony Way biography. Accessed 12 January 2008


Discography


Solo albums

*''The Choirboy'' (Permanent Records PERMCD 41, CD) 1995 – ''With the St. Paul's Cathedral Choir and The Bach Choir K platinum album' *''The Choirboy's Christmas'' (Decca 455 050-2, CD) 1996 – ''Featuring St. Paul's Cathedral Choir, London'' *''Wings of a Dove'' (Decca 455 645, CD) 1997 – ''With the Choir of
Uppingham School Uppingham School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils 13-18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oakham School. The headma ...
(mixed choir)'' *''The Best of Anthony Way'' (Decca 4605722, CD) 1998 – ''with the St. Paul's Cathedral Choir, London ''


Singles

*"Panis Angelicus" ( 448 164-2, 3-track CD Single) 1995 *"The Lord's Prayer" (Permanent Records CDS PERM 26, 4-track CD Single) 1995 *"Panis Angelicus" (Permanent Records CDSPERM 26, 3-track CD Single) 1996


Recordings as featured artist

*The Choir, (Warner 925 668, CD) 1995 ''The Soundtrack to the Television Mini-Series'' *How Can I Keep From Singing? (EMI 569 620, CD) 1996 *World of Boy Soprano (PolyGram K.K. (London) POCL 4373, CD) 1996 ''Japanese Compilation CD of music on the Decca Label from 1951–1996.'' *Passiontide at St. Paul's (Hyperion CDA 66916, CD) 1997 ''St. Paul's Cathedral Choir '' *Ultimate Carol Collection (Decca 4588632, CD) November 1997 – ''King's College Choir, Cambridge ''


Films and videos

*''The Choir'' (Film/TV) 1995, (DVD March 2006
IMDB
*''
Tom's Midnight Garden ''Tom's Midnight Garden'' is a children's fantasy novel by Philippa Pearce. It was first published in 1958 by Oxford University Press with illustrations by Susan Einzig. It has been reissued in print many times and also adapted for radio, tele ...
'' (MGM/Vine 21393, DVD) 199
IMDB


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Way, Anthony 1982 births Boy sopranos English drummers British male drummers English male film actors English child singers Living people Singers from London People educated at St. Paul's Cathedral School 21st-century English singers 21st-century drummers 21st-century British male singers