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The tenor’s tale Adam Zacharias / 26 September 2012 Urs Bühler from classical crossover behemoths Il Divo tells us about battling a volcano and charming Chris Isaak’s mum SPEAKING SHORTLY BEFORE Il Divo’s first ever concert in Zagreb, Urs Bühler recalls the odd story behind the group’s rendition of Wicked Game, the title track to their 2011 album. Having been presented with a lush string arrangement to Chris Isaak’s signature song, the four members who comprise the world’s foremost classical crossover act were united in excitement. However, this initial elation was swiftly deflated by a procession of administrative niggles – beginning with the fact that Simon Cowell, the group’s creator and label head, wanted to nix the idea from the start. “Simon didn’t get it at all,” says Urs, who hails from Switzerland but lives in London. “He was like, ‘What do you want to do with this?’ Then we approached Chris Isaak’s management team and said we wanted to record the song in Italian, and they refused.” With the idea dead in the water, Il Divo found salvation from an unlikely source – Isaak’s elderly mother Dorothy, an eccentric influence who once claimed she was singing Elvis’ Blue Suede Shoes when she gave birth to her rocker son. “Apparently Dorothy, who is Italian, convinced him to let us record the song, under the condition we do it in Italian,” says the tenor in his cheerily languid tone. “So we put a little thank you on the album to her, because she made it possible.” Making the band Il Divo formed almost nine years ago, after Simon Cowell decided to tap the growing market for pop music with an operatic sheen. An exhaustive worldwide search finally yielded the discovery of Urs, fellow tenor David Miller from California, baritone Carlos Marín from Madrid and Parisian pop star Sébastien Izambard – the line-up which remains in place today. Upon its 2004 release, Il Divo’s self-titled and multi-lingual debut record proved an immediate global phenomenon, shifting close to five million units. Meanwhile the band themselves – who were all in their early to mid-30s at the time – stirred boy band levels of adoration among their slightly older female fanbase, thanks to their pin-up looks and mellifluous voices. Eight years later, the group have released five more studio albums and sold 26 million records – meaning that life for Urs and his bandmates remains as hectic as ever in 2012, with shows in 46 countries across six continents. “We’ve been touring since January and we’re on around show number 115,” Urs tells us. “We’ve got about 20 more to go and we finish in South America at the end of October.” In time for a well-earned rest? “No actually!” exclaims the 41-year-old, revealing that the quartet have little more than one week’s break before they fly to Japan to promote Il Divo’s Greatest Hits. Out on November 26, the record features favourites including Unbreak My Heart and Adagio, as well as four new tracks: My Heart Will Go On (in Italian), I Will Always Love You (in Spanish), Alone (in Spanish) and I Can’t Help Falling in Love With You (in English). A long way from home Urs’ transient lifestyle as a musician has become harder since he became a father to three-year-old daughter Billie with his partner, Il Divo’s British former hair and make-up artist Tania Rodney. “Last time we were on tour, the little one was only just born so we basically just took her around the world along with mummy,” he explains. “Now she’s started going to nursery, so I’ve just got to get myself through with Skype and phone calls. “It’s been hard this year but it’s a choice you make. It’s a way of life and you know it’s not going to last forever.” But the classically-trained performer insists that he has no problem getting invigorated for shows despite the demanding tour schedule and displacement from his family.   “When people come to our concerts they expect a top-notch show,” he says. “They expect you to look good, they expect you to sing well and they expect the show to be interesting and emotional. And you owe them that. I want to – and I have to – give my very best every night, because it doesn’t come for free. “I always say that singing is like a tightrope act. Every note you sing has the possibility to fail, so you always have to apply yourself. That challenge every night automatically invigorates me.” Despiteforever being tied to Simon Cowell, Urs insists that the music mogul has “absolutely nothing” to do with the day-to-day running of Il Divo. “He functions as executive producer on the album recordings and that’s it,” says the singer. “We see him once every year or two. Normally he’ll listen to demos and suggest we give certain songs a shot, and he’ll listen to the songs after we’ve been in the studio and say what he likes and what he doesn’t. That’s all he does.” These days, the group also have a greater deal of autonomy when it comes to selecting tracks for their albums. “It’s a co-operation between the four of us, Simon, the producers and the management,” adds Urs. “Everyone is welcome to give suggestions. Simon will decide, but if we don’t agree with anything then we don’t agree. “If there’s something that’s really close to our hearts and Simon doesn’t get it then we normally manage to convince him. That’s how the dynamic works.” Stuck in      ABU DHABI Il Divo’s upcoming UAE show marks the first time they’ve been here since getting stranded in Abu Dhabi during the 2010 eruption of Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull, which spewed a huge ash cloud over Europe causing chaos among air passengers. “We came from a show in Kazakhstan, and we were trapped in Abu Dhabi,” Urs remembers. “But that wasn’t the worst place to be! We all just hung out at Emirates Palace hotel for a few days, sat by the pool and enjoyed a good meal. “When you’re travelling all the time, sometimes you want to just completely chill and do nothing, and that’s exactly what we did.” For crying out loud... In 1966, The Beatles decided to stop touring as concerts inevitably descended into a wave of screaming from hysterical fans which drowned out the music. While Urs insists that Il Divo’s wildest fans are “definitely in Mexico”, he recalls a concert in Portugal three years ago when the feverish adulation almost pushed him to a similar breaking point as The Fab Four. “We were stood in front of 12,000 people in Lisbon, and at one point I asked myself, ‘What am I doing up here? Nobody’s listening.’ They were just shouting at us – in appreciation, which was wonderful – but wouldn’t you also like to listen?” says Urs. “It’s fabulous that people love you and what you’re doing, but sometimes it really almost tips over that edge.”