Gareth Gates: Bradford singer on Frankie Valli, Celebrity SAS, overcoming his stammer and UK City of Culture

It makes sense that he would build an entire show around the veteran’s hits with Gareth Gates Sings Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, which is coming to Halifax Victoria Theatre on March 1. But the Bradfordian – who has performed starring roles in major West End productions – is also on the road, concurrently, with another show, Gareth Gates Sings Love Songs From The Movies, which stopping off at Wakefield, York, Bradford and Sheffield over the next two months.

Gates – whose first single, a cover of Unchained Melody, came out in 2002 (yes, he still has the white suit from the video, though he’s gained considerable muscle since then) – also plays guitar during the movies show. Performing with instruments is not what most people associate with Gates, but he learned to play, and comprehensively so, during childhood.

He says: "I couldn't really talk very much because of my stammer and at the age of eight, I learned I could sing. Finally, I could express myself, and then that spilled over into instruments. I could finally get out of me what was in me. I could convey my emotions through playing instruments. And at the age of nine, I started to play the guitar, classical guitar. I did my grade eight on that at 14. I started to play the piano at 11. I did my grade eight on that at 15. I learned to play the drums. So music has just always been my life, and it was born out of struggle, of not being able to express myself. That's why it's a sort of deeper layer for me. It really is my life. And so playing instruments wasn't something I did in my early career. I was just known for singing. But as the years have gone on, I've definitely included them into my set. So I play a lot more guitar, play a lot more piano on stage, and I'll be doing so in the show.”

Achieving grade eight, the highest tier of that system, is no casual accomplishment, especially for someone in their early teens.

"I had to do four hours every day before I was allowed to play football,” says Gates. “But I'm extremely thankful for that – it was a perfect training, perfect grounding for me, you know? That's why I feel I have such a good work ethic. I'm constantly striving for more, to become better.”

That striving also took him on to the 2023 season of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, the reality show where participants are pushed to their physical and mental limits by military veterans. It was a tough watch, as Gates revealed the bullying he suffered at school when he was targeted over his stammer. And more than two decades on from being runner-up to Will Young on Pop Idol, Gates won.

“You're taken out of your comfort zone. You're stretched more than ever, physically, mentally, psychologically, spiritually, and it was very tough. It was the worst thing I've done but also the best thing I've done. And I think without the struggle that I went through as a child, I wouldn't have lasted as long and I won the whole thing. Some of those DSs (Directing Staff) were like pussycats in my mind, compared to the bullies at school. And in a very weird way, I was quite thankful that I went through what I went through as a child, purely to get through that experience.”

The subject of his speech is ever-present in reporting about Gates but it is something he brings up himself here, and indeed tries to whenever he talks to the press. Setting out on his fifth decade, he has a healthy sense of perspective about that and his career in general.

"I've been very fortunate to have done what I've done. Even in my first three or four years of my career. I got into this industry at 17, I was really a boy, but by the age of 21 or 22 I'd seen so much and witnesssed so much, experienced so much – more than a lot of people do during their lifetime.

"At the age of 40 now, it’s funny, your perspectives do change. I'm as driven and as focused as ever. I want to achieve more. I think it's because I'm a dad and I want to leave a nice empire to my daughter. But I also want to leave a legacy as well and have made a mark on the world.

“I try to always mention my speech in interviews because I think one of my greatest achievements was heightening the awareness of stammering. If a person reading this interview hears how I've tried to battle with my speech and tried to overcome my stammer and to gain a good level of control, if it inspires them to do the same, and it can help to change their lives, then great. So that's one aspect of my career that I'm really proud of.”

There is pride in Bradford, too, as it embarked this month on its year as UK City of Culture. Gates splits his time between various parts of the country now – his daughter, Missy, is at school in Wiltshire – and has been back home in Yorkshire promoting his shows. He visited a few of his old haunts including Bradford Cathedral, where he was a chorister and head boy from the age of 11, and where he sang for the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1997 during the Maundy service.

"I constantly travel the world, am constantly touring, and I don't think there's a place more culturally diverse. It's packed with different ethnicities, cultures, religions, faiths, and it's great to see the city come together and all celebrate as one.”

Gareth Gates Sings Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons is at Halifax Victoria Theatre on March 1. Gareth Gates Sings Love Songs From The Movies will be at: Wakefield Theatre Royal on February 10; York Barbican on February 16; Bradford’s St George’ Hall on March 14; and Sheffield City Hall on March 28. Tickets: garethgatessings.com