By popular demand, star of stage and screen, Jason Donovan is returning to his roots for a solo tour of his debut, 5 x Platinum, 1989 album Ten Good Reasons and his 1991 album, Greatest Hits.
Ten Good Reasons became the biggest selling album of 1989, and remains a massive fan favourite, with two solo chart topping singles, Too Many Broken Hearts and Sealed with a Kiss. Another track, Especially for You, featured a duet with Kylie Minogue and that also reached number one.
The tour marks a huge step for the 80s heartthrob as this is the first time he has toured as a solo artist for six years and the first time he has ever toured the Ten Good Reasons album.
Pop star, actor and a musical lead for several decades now, eighties icon Jason Donovan shot to superstardom as the blue-eyed, blonde-haired heartthrob in the Aussie soap Neighbours. In the late 1980s, the UK was in the throes of a serious case of Neighbours fever. The show was watched by 20 million viewers and Jason became one of the world’s teenage sweethearts, alongside fellow Neighbour’s star Kylie Minogue.
Neighbours celebrated 30 years in production this year and Jason appeared alongside Kylie in a special edition Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite, as cast members past and present looked back on the years of Ramsay Street. Jason also became an honorary member of EastEnders when the soap’s cast paid tribute to the antipodean show’s 30th anniversary.
As soap’s golden boy, the offers rolled in. Described by the Guinness Book Of Hit Singles as “the top teen idol of the late 1980s”, Jason was signed to the Stock Aitken Waterman production team and Pete Waterman’s label PWL in the wake of the huge success of Kylie Minogue. Jason’s pop career took off when his debut single Nothing Can Divide Us hit No.5 in the UK in 1988. His follow-up 1988 duet with Kylie, Especially For You, topped the UK charts and was the first of four No. 1 singles for Donovan.
Jason and Kylie’s classic duet, Especially For You, was only the 154th single ever to join the exclusive million sellers’ club and, as it was Jason’s first number one, it’s only fitting that it should be his first million-seller too!
In 1989, PWL boss Pete Waterman took Jason on his Hitman Roadshow and says “Jasonmania” became a real phenomenon. Waterman says the singer was PWL’s biggest star and the fans reaction was like nothing he’d seen before or since.
Talking about re-living Ten Good Reasons and playing his Greatest Hits to an audience Jason commented; “You know, I’ve never played some of these songs live ever before! Music has a wonderful opportunity to put you in a time and place, an emotional connection that no other creative medium can. Ten Good Reasons was a defining moment for me and my fans. It was the perfect marriage between music and personality and I was only 21 at the time… Wow!
The opportunity to work with Stock Aitken and Waterman, who were the hottest producers at the time was a dream come true for me. I was a big fan of Rick Astley’s album and absolutely loved Never Gonna Give You Up and couldn’t believe my luck when working with SAW became a reality. The melodies, the production, the whole package was like a first class ride.
Hearing the completed versions of Too Many Broken Hearts and Especially For You in particular, were moments in my professional life that I will never forget, the door was wide open and I was at the centre of this incredible moment in time. You just knew that something magical was happening. It was very exciting. Only now, when I realise that these are distant memories, do I appreciate how lucky I was. The great thing about this tour is, I can re-live those feelings and share them with the fans who were there with me. They will have their own stories of firsts and growing up too.”
Jason went on to say; “Too Many Broken Hearts changed my life. To this very day, every time I play that song live, the entire audience goes nuts! It’s classic SAW but sincerely written with me in mind. I think it’s my signature tune. I’m sure for many people it signifies that emotional connection with a particular time in their lives and I know it does for me!”
Jason followed up Too Many Broken Hearts with another chart-topper, Sealed With A Kiss. When his cover of Brian Hyland’s hit entered the UK charts at number one, Donovan became the first Australian male to ever hold both UK single and UK album chart number one positions simultaneously. Between 1988 and 1992, Donovan achieved 16 Top 40 hit singles in the UK and he released two albums.
The tour will see Jason play Ten Good Reasons in it’s entirety alongside some greatest hits. Jason said; “One of my favourite albums of all time was Peter Gabriel’s So. When I saw ads recently for a So album tour, I thought what a great idea! The opportunity to play an album from top to bottom in its true authenticity while giving the fans exactly what they want. I plan to include some tracks in the second half from periods other than 1989, but the audience will know all the songs. All in all a great night I hope!”
A star of stage, screen and musical theatre across the globe, Jason Donovan has appeared in hit musicals from The Rocky Horror Show to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Sweeney Todd, Festen, Joseph, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Jeff Wayne’s The War of the Worlds, The Sound of Music and Annie Get Your Gun.
Jason also presents a radio show on Heart every Sunday, consistently releases albums and has played the celebrity game in I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! and Strictly Come Dancing. Jason’s schedule is non-stop and he is currently touring the UK in the highly acclaimed play The King’s Speech.
Performance and passion is at the heart of everything Jason does and he concluded; “Whether it’s theatre or touring I’ve always placed a high importance on giving my fans a great live show! I’m looking forward to bringing all the pieces together and creating a show that gives personality, some great memories and most importantly, giving the audience exactly what they want to hear. Although so much time has passed since I recorded Ten Good Reasons, it has the ability to transport us all back to the halcyon days on the 80s and 90s. It’s so touching to have an album which has a place in so many peoples’ hearts and one which remains a huge fan favourite.”
Jason Donovan will be appearing at The Brighton Centre on Wednesday 23rd March 2016 as part of his Ten Good Reasons and Greatest Hits 2016 tour. Tickets are now on general sale and are priced from £28.50. To book, call the box office on 0844 847 1515 or you can book online at www.brightoncentre.co.uk.