Jason Donovan: music is "the closest human beings come to touching magic"

SussexWorld

Jason Donovan celebrates 35 years of live performance on a very special tour for 2025. Show dates for 2025 will include February 22 at Portsmouth Guildhall, February 28 at Guildford G Live and March 4 at Worthing Assembly Hall.

Transcript

00:00Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspaper.

00:04What a fantastic privilege and pleasure to speak to Jason Donovan, no less.

00:08Now, next year is going to be massive, isn't it?

00:10You are doing a tour celebrating 35 years of live performance.

00:14Yes.

00:15And you had it 35 years ago.

00:17It was all so new to you, wasn't it, taking to the stage?

00:20It was, yeah.

00:22Yeah, I'm excited, Phil.

00:23You know, I'm doing fine.

00:26I find 1990 was a game changer for me because it was really the first opportunity I had

00:31to perform live.

00:34Up until that point, I'd been a recording artist and, you know, a television actor.

00:39But to launch myself with this, you know, incredible tour, world tour, on the back of

00:46these hit songs was a dream come true.

00:50And fast forward to 2025 and there's a lot to talk about.

00:55There's a lot to sing about.

00:58And we were looking for a title for a show.

01:01And, you know, I don't know where it sort of came from, but, you know, I'm doing fine.

01:07You know, 2025, it's all good.

01:09So here we are.

01:11And the point is, as you were saying, those songs that you will be singing, the lovely

01:15thing is they mean so much, not just to you, but to millions of people, don't they?

01:20Well, yeah.

01:21Music is that little bit of magic that we can all, you know, sort of jump on to if we're

01:29feeling happy, if we're feeling sad, if we're feeling anxious.

01:34You know, it's therapeutic listening to songs.

01:37And I do think nostalgia is a massive part of how we live these days, probably because

01:44of the mobile phone.

01:45You know, we can instantly put ourselves back in 1988 or 89.

01:50But the show is just not aligned to that era.

01:56It's my work over 35 years.

01:59And I'm excited to get out there and, you know, and bring me to the UK and beyond.

02:06Absolutely.

02:07Is the enjoyment different now, casting your mind back 35 years?

02:11Are you going to enjoy this in a different way to the way you did back in 1990?

02:16I mean, I'm a father now, you know, I have different responsibilities, different, you

02:23know, obligations.

02:26And I'm 56, you know.

02:31So I guess you do approach it in a different way.

02:34But the core of the show and, you know, how I feel about myself is the most important

02:44thing.

02:45And, you know, it's got to be something you love doing.

02:49And I'm very lucky.

02:50I'm, you know, I have a job that I just don't look at the clock each day.

02:56It's brilliant.

02:57You know, I'm very happy, you know.

03:01So I hope to bring some of that to what I do in my work.

03:05It sounds a fabulous prospect.

03:07Really lovely to speak to you again, Jason.

03:09Thank you very much indeed for your time.

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