Five things I can't live without - Russell Watson
Tenor RUSSELL WATSON, 46, lives in Cheshire with his partner Louise Harris, 24.
His daughters are Rebecca, 18, and Hannah, 12
1 TENNIS RACQUET
I am absolutely obsessed with tennis and if I can I try to play every day.
When I go on tour and my personal assistant is booking hotels I never request the honeymoon suite or a fridge full of champagne.
The only thing I want is to be close to a decent tennis court.
I am a pretty mean player and if I wasn’t a singer my dream job would be a tennis coach.
I don’t think I would ever get bored with being out on the court.
As with anything else though it is important to have the right equipment.
I swear by my racquet which is a Wilson Pro Staff Six One 100 BLX.
It is a favourite of both Pete Sampras and Roger Federer and it works wonderfully well for both speed and control.
2 MY VOICE
Obviously I would not be where I am now if I hadn’t been born with my voice and it is a gift that I will always be grateful for.
I really don’t think you can teach someone to sing. The vocal infrastructure is either there or it isn’t.
Although my younger daughter Hannah shows promise as a singer I am not sure where my own talent came from as nobody else in my family could sing.
What I love about my voice is the sense of euphoria it gives me.
Being up on stage singing always produces this tremendous surge of endorphins. I have never experienced anything else like it.
3 MEDICATION
In 2006 I was diagnosed with a large benign brain tumour which doctors successfully removed.
Unfortunately the tumour appeared again the following year and I really thought I was going to die.
Once again doctors managed to operate successfully and over the next couple of years I slowly recovered and resumed my singing career.
However my illness damaged my pituitary gland which controls the secretions of hormones. I now need 30 tablets a day to stay alive.
I take a variety of hormones and am meticulous about having my medication on time.
Taking tablets is not something I will ever complain about.
I just feel lucky to have survived.
4 PLAYSTATION 3
People sometimes assume that the music business is all about hard work and talent but actually there is a lot more to it than that.
It involves lots of business meetings too. I am not naturally a very commercial person.
That side of my career has come as quite a shock and I find it quite stressful.
I think it is very important to be able to switch off from work.
At the end of a long day I like to pull down the blinds in my cinema room at home and escape from the outside world.
I project my PlayStation on to a 10ft cinema screen and I relax by slaughtering monsters or shooting aliens for a while.
5 WINE
Whenever we go out to dinner my girlfriend Louise cringes if I get chatting to the sommelier.
I admit I am a bit of a wine bore and once I get started on the subject it is very hard to shut me up.
I don’t think you can beat a full?blooded merlot or a glass of ice-cold chardonnay.
I also love champagne and my favourite fizz is Pol Roger’s Sir Winston Churchill which is divine.
I have never been someone who drinks to get drunk. I prefer to savour every sip and feel myself unwinding slowly.
Russell Watson will be performing at Hampton Court Palace Festival on June 16. Book tickets at hamptoncourtpalacefestival.com