Alfie Boe has swapped arias for indie attitude as he digs deep into his northern roots on new single Face Myself — and fans might be surprised at just how far Britain’s favourite tenor once strayed from the classical path.
The Blackpool-born singer, 52, opens up about the music that shaped him long before the West End lights came calling, recalling teenage weekends spent tearing around Manchester’s indie scene, worshipping at the altar of The Stone Roses, Inspiral Carpets and The Charlatans.
The track, drenched in imagery of Liverpool’s shipyards, Blackpool’s illuminations and the Hacienda’s hedonistic heyday, also carries a poignant tribute to Stone Roses and Primal Scream bassist Mani, who died last year.
Boe admits the news hit him mid‑writing session, prompting the line: “Dreams are grown in Burnage skies… for good old Mani played it right,” alongside a nod to “the Cranwell boys” — Oasis rockers Liam and Noel Gallagher.
Boe says the song is a full-circle moment, honouring the era when he’d jump on a train to Manchester every weekend to chase the indie movement.
He sings: “The Roses sing our indie song, we bang the drum.”
It’s not the first time he has brushed up against the indie world either.
Before fame found him on the musical theatre stage, Boe briefly performed as Opera Dude with The Clint Boon Experience — fronted by Inspiral Carpets’ keyboardist — even supporting Shed Seven. He’d also been a teenage drummer with dreams of touring, but school commitments kept him from taking the leap.
Face Myself is the second single from his upcoming album of the same name, out April 10, and marks his first record built mostly on original material.
Produced by acclaimed duo MyRiot, the album follows the reflective first single Meanwhile Gardens and sees Boe confronting the moments that shaped him — childhood, teenage years and the personal stories he’s never fully explored in song.
Boe will take the project on the road with his Facing Myself UK tour across April and May, and has announced HMV signings at Westfield White City on April 11 and Manchester on April 12.