‘I wanted to be a drummer in a band’ says Lancashire musical star Alfie Boe

As the star of musical shows such as Les Miserables, Finding Neverland and Baz Luhrmann’s 2002 revival of La Boheme, Alfie Boe is one of Britain’s most popular tenors, also well known for his friendship and musical partnership with fellow musical theatre star Michael Ball.

The 52-year-old singer is known for his powerful operatic style, teaming up with Ball for albums of standards and festive favourites, and showcasing a number of covers on his solo albums. But unknown to most of his fans, Boe’s early musical ambitions did not involve singing.

During his teenage years, Boe tried his hand as the drummer of an indie band, regularly travelling to Manchester to watch his favourite bands of the 1980s and 1990s such as Happy Mondays, The Smiths and The Stone Roses.

“I think going down the path of being a drummer was one dream of mine,” Boe says. “I really wanted to become a percussionist, to be a drummer in a band, that would have been great, but it was the singing that sort of took over, and obviously that was the direction that I went. So instead of sitting at the back of the band, I became the frontman.”

Boe, who was born in Fleetwood, was speaking as he prepares for the release of his album, Face Myself, his first to be predominantly made up of his original songs, and which sees him reflect on his love of indie music, paying tribute to one of the heroes of his youth, Stone Roses bass player Gary “Mani” Mounfield, despite having never met him.

He adds: “The song Face Myself is a bit of an homage to my time growing up in the north-west of England. Spending time in Manchester on the indie scene, going and seeing bands, hanging out in the bars and the cafes, and the night clubs, and just listening to the cracking music that was being born at about that time. The Stone Roses, Inspiral Carpets, Charlatans, Happy Mondays, The Smiths, all that sort of stuff, it was an incredible time for music really…”

“(Mani) was part of my growing up, I was a massive Stone Roses fan, growing up in the north-west of England, you were either Charlatans, Inspiral Carpets, or a Stone Roses fan. I was definitely in the Stone Roses camp, that was the army for me, and so, listening to that music, understanding the band members, getting to know everything about them, growing up with them creating music for your youth was quite phenomenal really.

“So when I heard that he passed away, it was a real shock, really, it was heart-breaking, because that was a guy who put down such rocking, solid bass lines that inspired us all to pick up an instrument, or sing along in the pubs, or get out into the street and experience life and be the the youth of the 90s that we wanted to be.

“Mani was a real pioneer, and with his work in The Stone Roses and in Primal Scream as well, he really set the precedence on that music for me, and not just him, but John Squire as well, and Ian Brown, they’re all fantastic creators of music. And Mani, what a sweet fella.”

Mani died aged 63 in November last year. The star said that when he found out about Mani’s death, he rewrote the song Face Myself to include the line “the prom is glorified with lights, for good old Mani played it right”.

Boe goes on to reminisce about his fond memories of seeing many of the scene’s most legendary groups, but also pays tribute to some of the smaller acts of the time, crediting them with inspiring him just as much.

He even appeared under the pseudonym Opera Dude in The Clint Boon Experience, the side project of the Inspiral Carpets keyboard player and songwriter.

“I was first year at music college, Clint Boon got in touch with me and asked if I’d be interested in coming up to stop at his house and work on some tracks that he was writing for this project called The Clint Boon Experience,” he explains of the unlikely partnership. “It was where he wanted to incorporate classical music, or classical style singing, into his more indie music, and he was doing something that I was interested in doing, collaborating classical music with contemporary music.

“So we both had the same mindset, and it just felt natural to come together and work together on it, and it worked, it worked pretty well, we got a bit of a following. “We went on tour supporting Shed Seven, and became good mates with those guys, and it was a real fun time, so when I started to write the song Face Myself, all those memories came back as well, which was pretty cool.”

Boe says he still regularly listens to his indie favourites, on his new record he covers Trying To Find A World That’s Been And Gone Pt 1 by Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, saying he wanted to “pay tribute” to Gallagher as a songwriter, having seen Oasis twice on their 2025 reunion tour.

“It was a song that just resonated for me, it just really hit home, I like the lyrics, I like the melody, and I think the fact that it’s not a typical Oasis-esque sort of song to do, I wanted to try and put my own little spin on it. The album is not such a rocky album, I mean, I’ve got White Lily Fields, which probably gets about as rocky as it gets really, Face Myself, gets a bit rockier, but to be honest, there’s lots of songs on there that are quite easy to listen to, and the Noel Gallagher one is as well.

“I just wanted to put a little tribute on the album of what a great singer-songwriter Noel Gallagher is, it’s not just the rocky Oasis songs that he writes, he wrote beautiful ballads and heartfelt sentimental songs, so that was my sort of tribute.”

Boe was inspired to write his own songs following advice from Who guitarist Pete Townshend a number of years ago, and says he wants to continue down a similar creative path to his recent release.

“I really love the creativity of writing my own music, and the freedom to do it, I love it, I really do, and now that I’ve sort of broken that mould, I’m going to try and write a bit more,” he explains. I’m going to continue the writing process, I’m doing a lot right now, writing a lot of lyrics, writing a lot of melodies.”

• Boe’s new album Face Myself will be released on April 10, while the singer is set to embark on a UK tour in support of the record, beginning on April 10 at Dundee’s Caird Hall and concluding at Cardiff New Theatre on May 31, and including a date at London’s Royal Albert Hall, with tickets on sale now.