'I have to keep pinching myself': Britain's Got Talent winners Collabro are playing it for real

On the face of it, Collabro are an unlikely bunch.

A random group of five lads from opposite ends of the country, with a love of musical theatre and blazers, who only formed a month before their TV debut.

Yet they were among the musical sensations of 2014 – winning Britain’s Got Talent with their heartfelt and polished delivery of show tunes and following that up with a number one album.

“It all seems surreal and I have to keep pinching myself,” says the group’s Michael Auger, who plays Oxford’s New Theatre tomorrow with singing mates Richard Hadfield, Jamie Lambert, Thomas Leak and Matthew Pagan. And this self-styled “musical theatre boy band” are proving a big draw among their army of fans – or ‘Collaborators’ as they are known.

“I can’t believe we are now out on tour,” Michael tells me, excitedly.

“This is our first tour and it’s fantastic that people want to come and see our shows. We are doing 31 dates and they have been selling so well, over 90 per cent are sold out. I took a week off and tried to reflect on what’s happening, but we are so busy I just keep on going.”

Formed by Cumbrian Matthew and Tynesider Jamie (who at the time were working as, respectively, a kitchen salesman and in the finance department of a hospital), the rest of the group were recruited through social media with online auditions. At the time Michael was working in a petrol station near his home in the quiet market town of Petersfield, amid the Hampshire Downs.

Just four weeks later, last February, they were receiving standing ovations from the judges and audience at their first BGT audition with their rendition of Stars from Les Misérables.

They stormed their way to victory in the June final in front of 11 million viewers. Their album, also called Stars, which features such hit covers as John Legend’s All of Me and Let It Go from Frozen, was released on Simon Cowell’s SYCO Music label.

“It was difficult to know what was going to happen, but there was a great public vote for us,” says Michael, who has a degree in accounting. “I still can’t believe it though.

“The studio held 1,000 people and there were 1.4 million viewers at home. You think ‘this can’t possibly be happening’.

“I couldn’t believe people were picking up the phone and paying money to vote for us. It has changed my life.”

So where did they get the name from? “We wanted one word,” he says. “We thought ‘what are we?’ Just a group of guys with a love of musical theatre who collaborate. So it’s a play on the words ‘collaboration’ and ‘brother’. It also sounds a bit Italian, like Il Divo, which fits!”

And, he admits, it’s a great life. “Do I want to sit in an office and go to meetings, or sing songs that audiences love hearing?” he laughs.

“And it’s nice to know at least some boys in their 20s can sing musical theatre without being stereotyped. People seem to think it’s more for the older generation but our fanbase has a huge age range and we are bringing a much younger generation to this music. It shows you don’t have to sing pop or have a huge dance routine to have success as an artist.”

So does that mean they are ruling out learning any elaborate dance moves?

BGT runner-up Lucy Kay

“We’ve all got rhythm, love music and know how to move,” he says. “And our dream before starting Collabro was to go to the West End and join shows like Hairspray and Grease. But now we prefer shows like Les Mis, which are more about the music.”

So what’s the attraction?

“Musicals take a story and enhance it,” he says. “It’s a world where words aren’t enough and can be used in different ways.

“Now we get to wake up and sing for a living – along with everything else, like meeting great people. It’s the kind of thing I used to dream about!”

And, what about Simon Cowell? I mean, come on... what’s he really like? “He’s actually really nice,” laughs Michael, sincerely.

“People say he’s a horrid person, but he just speaks the truth.”

He goes on: “People used to greet us by asking ‘aren’t you those boys from Britain’s Got Talent? But now they say ‘aren’t you Collabro?’ We owe everything to the show, but now we are a band in our own right.

“We have been given a great opportunity and want to make the people who buy our music proud!”

CHECK IT OUT
Collabro play the New Theatre Oxford tomorrow.
Tickets are £23.40- £43.40 plus £2.85 transaction fee from atgtickets.com