Former mobile phone salesman Paul Potts was no doubt pinching himself on Sunday as his career as a singer reached a new high note. The talented 36-year-old winner of Britain's Got Talent joined award-winning mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins on stage in a special concert in the grounds of Margam Country Park, an impressive Tudor-Gothic style Victorian mansion in South Wales.
"I'm thrilled he could join us," said Welsh songbird Katherine. "This is going to be his first ever live performance. I love him and he is the star of stage and screen and also the Carphone Warehouse!"
Katherine knows only too well the rise from obscurity to fame that Paul is experiencing, having been a children's music teacher before being signed to Universal at the age of 23 with the largest record deal in UK classical recording history.
Paul, who has been dubbed 'Pavapotty' after his idol Pavarotti, sang Cavatina and earned a standing ovation from the 5,000-strong crowd as he finished with Puccini's opera classic Nessun Dorma. The outdoor venue was just a few miles from Bristol-born Paul's home in Port Talbot, which he hadn't been back to since winning the TV talent competition several weeks ago. He was clearly looking forward to singing in front of a home-crowd, telling reporters: "It will give me the opportunity to thank the local people who have supported me."
Despite a lucrative record deal, Paul - who will perform for the Queen at the Royal Variety Show in December - says he and his wife Julie Ann have no intention of moving for now. "It won't change the way I am," he insists. "I'm still me. At the end of the day I'm just doing a different job. I was a salesman and now I'm a singer."
He's not even resigned from his job at Carphone Warehouse. "I'm on a sabbatical, although I think it's unlikely I will go back at this stage. But you can't control what happens," he explains.
Paul's due to travel to Australia next month to promote his album One Chance, which goes on sale July 16, and has announced a 20-date UK tour starting on January 21, 2008.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
