Andrew Derbyshire, an irrepressible talent
On my recent transatlantic cruise on the beautiful Celebrity APEX I had the opportunity to see and hear some incredible talent; singers, dancers, illusionists, acrobats, pianists and cellists. One of the best, who brought the audience to its feet, was singer extraordinaire Andrew Derbyshire. Andrew is an irrepressible talent and I was fortunate to have the opportunity to sit down with him for coffee and a chat. His stage presence continues off stage and he is just fun to be with. Andrew is the whole package; talented, smart, charming and good-looking.
Andrew has had a stellar career as an actor in a wide range of roles but today he has found a new passion; to perform as himself as opposed to being a character in a role. With his confidence, skill and public profile he has taken his solo show and performed on some of the world’s biggest stages and as celebrity guest star on some of the most prestigious cruise liners. Andrew has also been requested to perform at private functions for some of the world’s highest profile people. In 2015 he made the semi-finals on Britain’s Got Talent and was seen by 11 million people.
In addition to his career as a solo artist Andrew is proud of his company, ACE Productions, which he runs with his fellow director Carl Mullaney. Ace Productions is a London based events company, specializing in live entertainment, event planning and entertainment consultancy. Since its inception in 2014, Ace Productions has been responsible for providing live music acts for some of London’s biggest and best entertainment venues, as well as working individually with high profile clients on private parties and events.
Andrew lives in London when he isn’t traveling or doing shows and he and his partner have been together for eleven years. He is a proud gay man and has performed for thousands at London’s gay PRIDE and was scheduled to perform at Miami PRIDE before it was cancelled last year because of the Pandemic.
Andrew shared with me the excitement of being only 19 when he auditioned for the inaugural series of ‘The Pop Idol’ competition for ITV television. Upon making it to the final 50 and the live shows, Andrew was plucked from the contest by musical director Mike Dixon, to join the original cast of the West End Musical ‘We Will Rock You’ where he understudied the leading role of Galileo; a part he would go on to play in over 100 performances. With that show Andrew also performed at The Queen’s Golden Jubilee celebrations, and for Children in Need; both broadcast on the BBC. He went on to perform in many other shows including: From Hollywood to Broadway (UK and International Tour), ‘Dirty Dancing’ (International Arena Tour), Joseph in ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream coat’ (UK tour and New London Theatre, West End), Andrew in ‘Northern Souls’ (Jerymn Street Theatre), Jack in ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ (Richmond Theatre), Prince Charming in ‘Cinderella’ (Capitol Theatre Horsham), Prince Charming in Cinderella (Bristol Hippodrome), and Thriller live (West End Lyric Theatre). He has revisited the role of Joseph in a series of special concerts on the Isle of Guernsey.
His talent and effervescent personality led to a national TV campaign for Vodafone (Under The Tree), and an international cinema campaign for ‘Cutty Sark’. He recorded an album ‘Start of the Road’ and can also be heard on the original cast recording of ‘We Will Rock You’, and recorded lead vocals for the world premiere of the Petula Clark /Dee Shipman musical ‘Someone like you’.
It is exciting to meet someone like Andrew who has been compared to some of the best singers of our time and yet is a lovable, approachable spirit with a hilarious quick wit. It was clear on the APEX stage no audience can help but be thoroughly entertained when Andrew is performing. I hope he will soon perform in the United States so more Americans can get to hear and see this wonderful talent.
