Blue

Antony Costa, Duncan James, Lee Ryan and Simon Webbe more widely known as Blue have sold 15 million records worldwide. In the UK they’ve had 3 number 1 albums 10 top 10 singles (including 3 number 1’s), won Brit and MTV Asia Awards and sung with Elton John and Stevie Wonder.  They formed in London in the year 2000 and had their first hit All Rise in 2001, a track which still sounds amazing today over 20 years later.  Their first appearance came on the Big Breakfast, where as an unknown band they were the ‘family of the week’ appearing on the show from Monday to Friday and then performed on live TV for the first time that Saturday on CDUK.  By the time the track entered the top 10 fans were flocking to see them and Blue fever started!

Their debut album also called ‘All Rise’ spawned 4 top 10 singles, including the number 1’s ‘Too Close’ and ‘if you come back’ and the excellent ‘Flyby’.  The album hit number 1, sold over a million copies and in under a year the band played their first fully live gig with a band at the MTV 5 night stand series of gigs in April 2002, the band having just won their first Brit Award for British Breakthrough act.

The boys followed up their successful debut with two more huge albums, One Love (Number 1 - 2002) featuring the number 1 lead track also called One Love and follow up singles U Make Me Wanna and Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word with Elton John.  The album was certified 4 x platinum in the UK.

The third album Guilty (2003) was the third consecutive album to debut at Number 1 and featured another star duet from Stevie Wonder and Angie Stone on the track Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours which reached number 11.   Further tracks from the album Breathe Easy, Bubblin and the title track Guilty (co-written by Gary Barlow) all hit the top 10.

In November 2004 the band released the Best of Blue, which would signal the start of a hiatus for the band.  The Greatest Hits compilation also contained newly recorded tracks, Curtain Falls, Get Down On It and Only Words I Know and peaked at number 2 in the UK and was certified double platinum.   Although Blue never split up, the decided to take an extended break, to pursue solo interests in music and acting.

In 2011 Eurovision called – and Blue answered. Their song I Can was incredibly popular with the viewers voting, when the final tally was released, it was placed in 5^th position.  The band came 11^th in the show with 100 points, however due to the jury & public vote tally.  From the position of the UK however, not a bad result – and the European public voting showing how popular they were still 10 years on from their first release.  A documentary also accompanied the show called ‘Your Country Needs Blue’.

2013 Gave us the Big Reunion – a documentary series and live tour that captured the hearts of pop fans all over the country.  Blue joined the likes of 5ive, Atomic Kitten, 911, Liberty X, Bewitched and the Honeyz selling out venues across the country.

Albums Roulette and Colours followed in 2013 and 2015 and a tour in 2015.  Bringing us up to the present day the album Heart and Soul was released in 2022 along with an Arena tour to promote that album.

Throughout the years, the boys have had many solo projects of their own, with Antony appearing in I’m a Celebrity and in many successful stage shows, such as Dreamboats and Petticoats, Agatha Christie’s the Cat and the Canary, Blood Brothers, Boogie Nights and a Judgement in Stone.  More recently Antony has begun his role as Nikos in the smash hit show Mama Mia The Party at the O2 in London and playing to sell out crowds.

Duncan James has appeared in Dancing On Ice, where his weekly skates earned him a place in the final in 2007.  He has also appeared in many hit theatre shows such as Chicago, Legally Blonde, The Rocky Horror Show and Priscilla Queen of the Desert.  He also had a number 2 hit single with ‘I believe my Heart’ from the Andrew Lloyd Weber soundtrack to the west end show The Woman In White.   In 2016 Duncan joined the cast of Hollyoaks playing the role of Ryan Knight for 2 years.  Over the years alongside the theatre and other acting roles Duncan has also presented for Disney Channel UK, Party in the Park and GMTV – and now regularly on Good Morning Britain.

Following on from the success of Blue, Lee Ryan released his self-titled solo album which have him 3 hit single, the most successful of which Army of Lovers hit number 3 in the UK chart and spent 4 weeks at number 1 in Italy.  ‘Turn your car around’ was a number 1 on the European top 20.  An album track Real Love appeared in the film Ice Age: The Meltdown.   He has appeared in Strictly Come Dancing and Eastenders when his guest role was so well received it was extended into a more regular role.  He received an Inside Soap Award nomination for the role.

Simon Webbe has appeared on I’m a Celebrity, the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special and in Sister Act the musical at the London Palladium.  Simon has released 3 solo studio albums and had a top 5 hit with the singles Lay Your Hands and No Worries which both reached number 4 in the UK, from the double platinum album Sanctuary.  Simons follow up album Grace was also certified double platinum in the UK.

In September 2023 Blue announced that they would be embarking on their ‘Greatest Hits’ theatre tour in the spring of 2024, playing their biggest hits and telling stories from the past 20 plus years. They said:

‘As this is a theatre tour, we wanted it to have a different kind of feel – welcoming, more intimate with the chance to sing our biggest hits and share stories with our fans who have been with us for so many years now. We can’t wait to put this show together and get it out there!’

The tour was a huge success, included three sell out nights at the London Palladium and reignited a love for the band, who decided to head into the studio to record new music.  The first single My City was released in May 2024 and a limited run of physical singles sold out in a matter of days.