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Daily Mail interview: 4 Jan 2007

 
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Molly



Joined: Jan 14, 2006
Posts: 560
PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 10:14 am    Post subject: Daily Mail interview: 4 Jan 2007 Reply with quote
Thanks to Willowy over on G4online for this article in the Daily Mail today!



Quote:
When G4 made their television debut on The X Factor four years ago, Simon Cowell told Jon, Ben, Matt and Mike: "You boys have a star voice."

He meant Jon. Today, following a debut album that went double platinum and four sell-out tours, G4 is kaput, no more - after imploding in a series of ugly discordant spats.

Ben Thapa ("I am not a team player. I don't want to be Ben from G4 any more") has returned to college to study opera.

Matt Stiff ("I want to make my own decisions without having to check with three other people first") hopes to become a college lecturer.

Mike Christie ("We'd had enough of each other") is a property developer, while the star voice has repackaged himself as Jonathan Ansell ("It's got a bit more gravitas than Jon") and is launching a solo career, which is why we meet in a West London hotel.

"I love this industry, I love performing, I love the excitement and opportunities it gives. I'm flattered I can still be a part of it," he says with the sort of glass-half-full positivity that on occasion drove his former band-mates up the wall.

Truth is, though, Jonathan really means it. He loves to sing.

"When I was singing I was the happiest child ever," he says.

"I was in the county boys' choir and used to feel so fulfilled in that environment.

"Unfortunately, though, singing wasn't the coolest thing in school so I used to be picked on."

Classmates called him "woossie" and "gay boy" - they'd stamp on his school bag and steal his belongings.

"I've been mistaken for being gay for quite a lot of my life even by people who didn't know me," he says.

"I'd be having a pizza in a takeout joint and someone would shout: 'Oh, gay boy.' It's bizarre that there was a continual assumption that I was gay.

"It even got to the point when my mum was completely sure I must be.

"She got drunk at a birthday party and said: 'If ever you want to tell us something, you know you can.'

"I was like: 'What!' That was partway through G4. We were in a restaurant. I put her straight and said: 'No.'

"It's not something that offended me. I know a huge number of people who are. It's just one of the things that's baffled me.

"I guess I've always had a pretty boy image and I've never been reckless or rebellious.

"But I'm as heterosexual as they come. I've had three fantastic girlfriends and now I live with someone."

Jonathon, 26, is very, very pretty, with long blond eyelashes and the sort of chiselled good looks that most twenty-somethings would give their right arm for.

He's worked out regularly since he was 15, so is also very fit. He's nice, too; the type of young man you'd want your daughter to bring home - well mannered and well spoken with nice white teeth.

A year-and-a-half ago, Jonathan, who is wearing fashionable frayed jeans, met Debbie King, 29, a cable TV presenter, in a London nightclub.

The relationship flourished and soon they moved in with each other.

"We're incredibly happy and both very serious about each other. I do think we'll marry eventually," he says.

"Debbie was in France during X Factor so she missed the hype. By the time we met, everything had started to calm down.

"She loved the real me, not the me people see and hear about through the media.

"I think the perception of me is of a quite straight-laced, classical singer who has been incredibly well brought-up with a private education and who is well-off financially.

"The truth is my childhood was not stable the whole time. We'd be scratching around to get the money to afford singing lessons - to afford this, to afford that."

Jonathan was the middle of three children born to two teachers.

The family, who lived in Bognor Regis, Sussex, were strict Methodists so singing became the fabric of his life from an early age.

He attended Sunday school and played the violin and trumpet in the church's music group.

He says the faith provided a "good moral upbringing". It also led to bullying at school.

"I was always striving for people to give me attention at school," he says.

"But I never got it because the things I excelled at weren't cool.

"I also had really bad acne and ended up going to hospital for a revolutionary treatment that dried my whole face.

"There was a period of about six months where my face was so dry I looked like I had makeup on because I had to apply such strong moisturisers. I never told the other kids why I was doing it.

"I ended up taking up fishing - another 'uncool' sport, I guess - and sitting on the beach for hours not having to think about a thing. It was my main release."

Jonathan, though, is a driven, determined individual. Instead of allowing himself to be defeated by the taunts, he set to work building himself up.

"I started eating healthily, going to the gym, cycling. I used to sit in my room and do hundreds of crunches, then go for a long bike ride," he says.

"I used to swim at a competitive level and played rugby for the school.

"I decided I wanted to get bigger muscles and a six-pack to feel better about myself.

"But I think I felt my position at school became stronger when I got my first girlfriend."

Jonathan was a late starter. He first kissed a girl at 16 and had his first proper relationship with a girl called Hannah at 18.

"I never had the courage to pursue anything before then," he says.

"I think that was quite a lot to do with my Methodist upbringing. I didn't want to get caught up in lust.

"I was also incredibly selfconscious. I didn't want to set myself up for rejection.

"When I was 17, we did a show at school called Joseph. I was one of the brothers and had to take my top off.

"Suddenly, because of all the work I'd put in at the gym, I started getting attention from girls.

"Then two girls came up to me and said they fancied my body but didn't like me. That completely crushed me back down.

"When I went home that night I remember being sick because I felt so physically disgusted about myself."

Music continued as a refuge.

After achieving his Grade 8 as a treble at 13, he received his Grade 8 as a tenor at 17.

He was awarded his certificate at the Leavers' Assembly and chose to sing Andrea Bocelli's Time To Say Goodbye.

He says it was essentially his two fingers to the school: "They'd never heard me sing, and when they did, the phrase 'jaw-dropping' is literally the only thing to describe it.

"The ringleaders of the bullying and teachers who'd not been the most supportive couldn't believe what they were hearing."

Jonathan does have a truly brilliant voice, or, as Simon Cowell put it, "a star voice".

After school he received a scholarship to attend the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he began singing with his G4 bandmates.

They began gigging and busking, earning as much as £350 a time, when Jonathan saw an advert for The X Factor.

"I called up but thought I was wasting 50p on the call," he says.

Three months later they were asked to audition at Wembley.

"It went from there," he says. "The thrill of performing in front of millions of people gave me a huge buzz.

"I ended up getting huge attention which was, initially, fantastic. I became one of the most famous people in Britain for a period.

"But the attention was fickle as well. It got to the stage that friends wouldn't want you to go to their parties because you'd draw attention away from the fact that someone was 25 that day. I found it hard. Suddenly friends didn't want me around."

Jonathan began hanging out in the VIP areas at clubs where he could enjoy himself without interruption.

He was regularly photographed falling into cabs at 2am.

"That wasn't a major change," he confesses. "I'd done that at university.

"The only big difference was that I was falling into a cab and not a night bus."

G4 went from success to success, but having to live in each other's pockets gave rise to boiling frustrations.

There were rows over commitment, appearance, vision. Jonathan and Matt, in particular, were at each other's throats.

"We had opposite personalities," says Jonathan. "His focus on perfection wasn't quite as strong as myself and some of the other guys.

"Perhaps it did come across as a bit anal but it was frustrating if you're about to walk on stage and someone's tie's crooked. Matt would get annoyed if I pointed it out to him.

"The conversations started to get more about what we wanted to do outside the group and individual pursuits began to get in the way."

G4's final performance was in June at a gig near Southampton.

The applause began the moment they walked on stage and didn't stop until the concert ended.

"I was sad, but aware that things were coming together for me," Jonathan says.

"I'd got new management (the respected agent Jonathan Shalit) and was just formalising my deal with Universal."

Indeed, it's a testament to Jonathan's brilliance as a singer that he was offered an album deal by the three major labels, EMI, Sony and Universal.

His album, which will be released in February, is a compilation of movie-themed tracks, and is expected to go platinum.

Jonathan, in his relentless glass-half-full fashion, describes it as a "fresh, energetic, exciting classical album".

He looks genuinely excited when he says this.

After spending several hours with this brilliant young singer, who remains a very nice young man despite all that life has thrown at him, it's impossible not to share his enthusiasm.

Jonathan Ansell's album Jonathan Ansell: Tenor At The Movies is out on February 18 on UCJ.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=505997&in_page_id=1773



Love Molly xx Smile
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cathyk2002



Joined: Sep 18, 2007
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 10:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks Molly, you beat me to it, was just about to post this over here Very Happy Very Happy as I can't get acccess to Internet until teabreak Crying or Very sad

Such a good interview and very informative about Jonathan as a person, which most of us fans know about anyway as he is such a gentleman in the true meaning of the word, as are all of the lads who formed G4, as anyone who knows them will testify Very Happy Very Happy
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Molly



Joined: Jan 14, 2006
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 11:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Hi Cathy. Thanks for texting me this morning! I have never shot out of bed so fast! Very Happy

It is a lovely interview - and Jon is as always open and honest about everything.

He is such a sweetheart. Makes me want to give him the biggest hug when you read that and realise what the bullying was like for him.


Love Molly xx Smile
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cathyk2002



Joined: Sep 18, 2007
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 12:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
He's certainly getting the last laugh on the bullies now though Molly and well deserved it is too ! Very Happy Very Happy

Well done Jonathan, so proud of you sweetie Very Happy
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JessicaL



Joined: Sep 19, 2007
Posts: 617
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 3:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Lovely article -looking forward to getting my copy of The Mail later on Smile.

Sad to read how Jon was bullied Sad as you say Cathy -Jon is having the last laugh now though Very Happy.
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Marian



Joined: Sep 19, 2007
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 8:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Cathy, you must have been holding one hot phone this morning!! Laughing Laughing Thanks for the alert to this. Love the article and of course the piccy!!

I am so glad he is now getting the chance to make a name for himself. He is one determined young man with a real talent and passion for music and singing.

All power to his vocal chords!! Very Happy
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modaisy



Joined: Oct 04, 2007
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 11:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Loved the article in daily mail, promotion starting at last.

He came over very well, he always does, due to his honesty, optimism and enthusiasm. He is going to wow them all with his singing on this album and I'm sure he is going to have a lot more fans in the future.

And I never for a moment thought he was gay. He's just incredibily handsome and it must have been jealousy on the part of those that thought he was. God love him.

Through all his troubles, he's kept himself focussed on his goal of singing, and it's all coming together for him. I am so over the moon for him.

Love Modaisy
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smilie-eyes



Joined: Sep 20, 2007
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 5:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Mr 'Nothing is Impossible' was his nickname in an edition of Classic FM magazine - and its who he is, he will try anything.

He has come through everything without an iota of bitterness and it made his love of singing stronger than when he started. He took the good from the bad and we are fortunate to be the receivers of his talent. He always kept his goal in view and he won.

moxxx
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Marian



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PostPosted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 6:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Love you post Mo, so true Very Happy
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Molly



Joined: Jan 14, 2006
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 1:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I agree with Marian - lovely post Mo. Well said. Smile

Your comment is up on the Daily mail site - dont know what happened to mine - I've resubmitted it - in hope!


Love Molly xx Smile
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smilie-eyes



Joined: Sep 20, 2007
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 4:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
After reading the forum and seeing mine was up went to take a look and yours was above mine molly. Wish they would put others up there as the more there are the better it looks. Perhaps others should try again, think I did mine last night - well as its now thursday Morning I mean Tuesday night!! I lose myself sometimes! Laughing

moxxx
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