I'm from a small Irish family of 10, so there always was music in the house. Growing up, my older sisters had things like 'South Pacific' and opera on.

Colm Wilkinson

Categorized in : House Music Family Growing Up

For myself, personally, I am never really aware of timing or anything because I am passionate about what I do, so I have found that if you really love what you do, then time flies.

i-am myself time love

The great saints were always great innovators... They had to be very strong people... principled people. And, apart from their principles, with great tenacity they had to have great reserves of patience.

great strong patience people

There's nothing like being in front of a live audience and getting that vibe from them, and I love people to join in the singing, and I love people to clap their hands.

singing love hands people

You pray for your enemies.

enemies pray your you

Hal Prince and Andrew actually asked me if I would be interested in continuing with 'Phantom', but obviously I was under contract to 'Les Mis' by then.

contract prince then me

The movie has called it closed. I'm not saying I won't ever listen to 'Les Miserables' again. But it closed the door for me. It's gone its own way.

door saying me way

You see some people on stage today, and they have these huge ear monitors.

some-people you today people

The one thing that concerts have done for me is given me the opportunity to get back to sort of do songs that I want to do. It's about enjoying yourself.

yourself back me opportunity

I absolutely had a dream of doing 'Man of La Mancha' one day; that's a long time ago.

day man time long

Once you sign on the dotted line, in terms of a contract with a musical, it's a huge commitment. When you're younger, that's fine; you can take it on, and I still go out, and I still sing 15-20 songs - and I can do that - a night.

you i-can night commitment

I'm up for doing a part if I thought the part was right and the people want to consider me for a part. If I thought the part was absolutely exciting... I would go for it.

doing thought me people

People ask me how I sang the role of the 'Phantom' 1,700 times. And I say that it's down to good material. If it did not have good material, I would have had a major problem doing it for that length of time.

good me time people

You do get a lot of people complaining if you don't do songs they have come to expect. I have to be careful about fulfilling that side of things and keeping it fresh for other people who have come to see the show.

things see you people

It's called showbusiness, and the business end of it is very important, especially now. You have to learn the business end of it; otherwise, you get ripped off left, right and centre.

end you important business

You have to learn how to read contracts, how to position yourself, and about marketing. That is why you find the most successful artists are the ones who can mix creativity with business.

yourself you creativity business

I listen to all kinds of music myself; it can range from practically anything: Opera, Jazz, to Blues, good Pop, just about anything.

blues good myself music

My favorites are songs that I get an emotional charge from, whatever genre they're in.

songs whatever get emotional

My mom was sort of involved in amateur dramatics like Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, and played the violin. My dad played banjo and piano and sang as well, so there was all this music in my childhood.

childhood dad music mom

I suppose I've been very fortunate in terms of my longevity and my voice and the way it has held up over the years. I hope to be able to keep on doing what I'm doing until I can't do it anymore.

doing voice hope way

As I tell my children, the first thing is always health. Get sleep, don't party, don't do drugs or drink. If your body is right, then you will be right, and if your body is wrong, you will be wrong. Live like a Buddhist monk!

you health sleep children