Steve Balsamo
| Steve Balsamo | |
|---|---|
| Born | 19 May 1971 |
| Origin | Wales |
| Genres | Folk rock, pop |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Website | www |
Steve Balsamo is a Welsh singer and songwriter, best known for playing the lead role in the London production of Jesus Christ Superstar during the mid-1990s. He performs as a member of several bands and is also a successful songwriter.
Steve Balsamo was born in Swansea, his father being a chef from Venice and his mother Welsh. At school, he was dismissed from the choir, being told he could not sing. He channelled his creative leanings into art and attended art school to specialise in painting. At the age of 17, he resumed singing and songwriting, forming several bands which toured pubs and clubs performing renditions of classic rock songs.
He had jobs that included a stint as a piano remover and working at Port Talbot steelworks—in between bouts on the dole—taken to support himself while gigging. He secured a place at Bristol University to study Graphic Art, but turned it down to accept a place at a local music college, where he played the role of Jesus in a production of "Superstar". In the meantime, he taught himself to play guitar and continued to write songs.
Around this time, Balsamo attended a workshop in Cardiff run by The Prince's Trust for unemployed musicians. He was asked to open The Prince's Trust Masters of Music Concert at Hyde Park in 1996, in front of a 150,000 crowd.
After a friend mentioned to Steve that Andrew Lloyd Webber was looking for a performer to play the part of Jesus, Balsamo seized the opportunity to showcase his 3½ octave range voice, determined to get the part. Despite his lack of West End experience, he won the role of Jesus from the thousands who auditioned, leading to a memorable headline: "The Son of God is Welsh". On one television performance from the show he not only had Andrew Lloyd Webber weeping, but also managed to sell £160,000 worth of tickets to the show in half an hour. He won a Variety Club award for the role in 1997.
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