Lee Mead talks ahead of Telford appearance

A few weeks back, he was in an all-singing, all-dancing production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. And tonight he's at Oakengates Theatre, where he'll be promoting his new album, Some Enchanted Evening, which was released in February.

The record gives fans the chance to take a journey back to the time when fabulous MGM films and musical theatre shows of the 1940s and 1950s thrilled audiences around the world.

The audience can enjoy beautiful songs like 'Some Enchanted Evening' from the 1958 film 'South Pacific'; 'I'll See You In My Dreams' from the 1940s film 'Kitty Foyle'; and the foot-tapping title song from the Gene Kelly film 'Singing In The Rain', as well as many other musical surprises from the Golden Age.

"I'm looking forward to it," says Lee. "I've only just finished in Birmingham, with Chitty, which was brilliant. I signed for five months and Birmingham was the last venue on the tour. I finished at the Hippodrome. That tour was such good fun. It was such a great role to be part of and to take the lead role was great."

He featured alongside Claire Sweeney and Phill Jupitus, enjoying their mix of professionalism and knock-about-fun.

"They're both great and it's always a thrill to be at the Hippodrome because it's an amazing venue. It's really incredible. I was there at Christmas for seven eight weeks in Aladdin so it was really nice to finish the tour and come back.

"Over the years, I've done Miss Saigon and other big shows there. The crowds in Brum are unbelieveable.

"I've brought my own show to the Alex Theatre and also played the Symphony Hall, where the crowd was great. Telford's not too far away, though it's a bit smaller. I'm looking forward to it. There's a really good curry house just around the corner, so I'll probably have a bite to eat there."

Lee catches up with old friends when he's in the Midlands – spending his days performing, socialising and catching up on missed sleep. "With panto we can do eight-nine shows a week. On the one-show days we're not called until 6 so I'll sleep in a little bit because I'll be knackered. But I know Birmingham quite well, so it's nice to get round town and see friends who are based here. My friend Rob is from Dudley, just up the road, and a mate called Phil is the masseuse for the BRB. We'll catch up and have a Chinese."

His show in Telford will be completely different to the big productions that he's used to at the Hippodrome and Symphony Hall.

"It's a different dynamic to being part of a company in the show. Going out with the band is my baby. It's nice to go out for two hours and sing some great songs. It's nice not to be in character, as in theatre or on TV. It's nice to have a chance to sing really great songs. It's the best thing really. It's a chance to let go and make the evening all about the voice. I have a great band with me and the new album went into the top 20. It's quite exciting. I didn't expect it to do so well so we thought we'd follow it up with a handful of shows."

Mead has creative control over his work. He produces his own albums and doesn't have a record company telling him what to do. That means he doesn't have tens of thousands of pounds to spend on TV ads, but he's happy that he can do as he pleases.

"I've always wanted to do a musical theatre record. I wanted to do stuff from 30/40s but make it modern so I found really beautifully songs like I'll See You In My Dreams. It's wonderful. I've given a really modern take of it.

"Playing live is the best part. I love TV and musical theatre, but to go out with my band and tour, it's so much fun. We have a sound check at 3pm. That's done by 5pm. Then there's a break. I'll get to the venue or town at midday, have a few hours to go round and meet people and you can't beat it. I'm a smaller artist, in terms of music, but even super artists, like Adele, have to deliver. It all comes down to that moment of you, the mic and the song. I focus on that. It's about taking the audience on a journey and telling a story."

Mead became a household name with Any Dream Will Do, on BBC. It earned him subsequent West End roles in Wicked, Legally Blonde: The Musical and The West End Men as well as a role in Casualty as Ben 'Lofty' Chiltern. He's learned from his mistakes. His private life played out in public when he began dating Any Dream Will Do judge Denise van Outen, who he later married and had a child with. The couple split after five or six years but remain good friends.

"Any Dream involved very little thought. I've been doing it 15 years now and I've been in the public eye for nine-10 years. Early on, I was very naïve. I'd be speaking to Jonathan Ross and Loose Women and Lorraine and it wouldn't be until much later that I'd realise how important that was.

"I didn't understand the gravitas until time had gone by. As George Michael said, 'you can have the best album in the world but if people don't know it's out there people won't buy it and see you on tour'.

"So you have to engage to let people know. That's the great thing about twitter and social media.

"There are downsides, of course."

He's referring to the Red Top hounding that he and Van Outen faced when they split.

"It's funny. Do you know what I think it is? I think society in recent years, the past five years, has dramatically changed with Celebrity and Big Brother.

"We've always had celebrity with the public and stars and talking about who we are and the things we love to do and the music.

"But as a society, unfortunately, we have become too obsessed with having to know the ins and outs of what pants people are in or what toilet paper they use.

"It's gone too far. In a large percentage of media, they are more interested in the personal life and silly things, like your next baby's name, who isn't yet born, rather than the fact you have a great album or tour.

"It confuses me. As you can imagine, I've done hundreds of interviews, a lot of them, they'll ask you nothing about what you're selling and it's all frivolous stuff.

"You can't expect to give interviews and not expect to have some people ask. But for me, it's all about how much you give.

"I've been asked for big interviews for Okay or to do the Jungle and Big Brother. To be honest, I prefer to keep a bit back."

By Andy Richardson