Paul Potts
Paul Potts (born 13 October 1970) is an English tenor.[1][2] In 2007, he won the first series of ITV's Britain's Got Talent with his performance of "Nessun dorma", an aria from Puccini's opera Turandot. As a singer of operatic pop music, Potts recorded the album One Chance, which topped sales charts in 13 countries.[3] Before winning Britain's Got Talent, Potts was a manager at Carphone Warehouse. He had been a Bristol city councillor from 1996 until 2003, and performed in amateur opera from 1999 to 2003.
This article is about the British singer. For the author of Dante Called You Beatrice, see Paul Potts (writer). For the genocidal leader of Cambodia, see Pol Pot.
Paul Potts
- Classical
- pop opera
2007–present
Early life[edit]
Potts was born on 13 October 1970[4] in Kingswood, Bristol, and raised in nearby Fishponds by his father Roland, a bus driver, and mother, Yvonne (née Higgins), a supermarket cashier. He has two brothers and one sister.
Potts attended St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School, where he developed his love of singing.[5] He also sang with the choir at Chester Park Junior School and with the choirs at several Bristol churches, including Christ Church. Potts said in interviews that he had been bullied in school, and that experience may have made him lack self-confidence. He has also said that his voice had always been a source of solace in the past when he was bullied.[6]
After he left school in 1987, Potts had various jobs including working at Waitrose and Tesco; he also may have worked part-time at Debenhams. At the time of his Britain's Got Talent appearance, he was working in The Carphone Warehouse.
In 1993, Potts earned a B.A. (Bachelor of Arts) Honours degree in Humanities from University College Plymouth St Mark & St John.[7] In 1996, Potts was elected in a council by-election to represent the Eastville ward of Bristol City Council as a Liberal Democrat councillor;[8] he was the youngest member of Bristol City Council and served until 2003.[5][9]
After winning Britain's Got Talent, Potts took a six-month sabbatical from his job and resigned on 5 March 2008.[10]
One Chance: A Memoir[edit]
In 2013, Potts' memoir, One Chance, was published by Weinstein Books, as a companion to the 2013 film of the same name. One Chance describes Potts’ difficult childhood, enduring passion for music, Britain's Got Talent win, and subsequent professional career. One Chance was featured as a top film tie-in of the year by Publishers Weekly, where it was described as a "fascinating tale...of the shy Welsh (he was from Bristol) store manager who seized his dreams and won worldwide audiences."[55]
