He's battled the jungle nasties in I'm A Celebrity, been in showbusiness for nearly half a century and is now heading out with his brothers for one final Once In A Lifetime Tour.

Jimmy Osmond has a wealth of experience when it comes to being a star, and we got the chance to chat to him about the upcoming live dates, what to expect from those shows and how it feels to be such a success in the music industry.

You're heading out on tour, what can fans expect from the Once In A Lifetime Tour?

Well you know, we've done this before, and it's been an amazing party. People come and it's not just about The Osmonds, it's about David Essex, and really what it is - it's about the era. It's music that everybody knows and can sing along - it transports people back to an easier day.

It's been a great tour and Tony Denton was always known for producing these festival kind of shows. We've done them before and we've always had a blast because we know the bands.

People come there with a really good attitude - they get involved and have some fun, and when Tony said he was taking this 70s Once In A Lifetime Tour out for the last time, and he chose us as one of those groups to be involved, it was kind of sad in a way because I hate to see it come to an end - we've done it several times.

As you mentioned there's other artists on the tour - will we see any collaborative performances on stage?

I don't know if that'll happen. It did the last couple of times. I'm sure two or three of us guys will probably be collaborating somehow! (laughs) 

How does it feel to have such loyal fans that still to this day pack out arenas to see you?

Well we probably don't deserve it! It blows my mind. The 70s was a unique year because there were only a handful of radio stations and TV stations so a lot of acts like us in the 70s had a lot of attention. Nowadays, that doesn't happen as much - there's so many channels and so many genres, you know?

What's the dynamic like working with your brothers?

Well I don't really have any other reference. I've been performing for 47 years - it's a long time. I think it's really cool. You've got somebody who's got your back regardless of any problems. You know you're gonna make it work - it's family.

Should we expect any new music from you guys in the lead up to or following the tour?

We released an album last year - our 201st album if you can believe it (laughs) and it was great fun. We got a lot of contemporary players to play on it, it turned out really cool because it was kind of a blend. We had a lot of fun. 

Back in 2005 you took part in I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here - would you ever consider doing anything like that again?

Back then I didn't know what that was. I wasn't living over there or anything, I didn't know it was such a big deal and I'd hate to go on it now! When I was there we were nice to each other, now they wanna pull each other's hair out!

You also took part in panto last year and the beginning of this year, how did you find that experience?

Yeah I've been doing panto for many years but the last tour was probably my favourite, because I was Captain Hook! (laughs) It's fun to just be a part of that. My kids - they're still fairly young - and so I was doing panto in the past because it's a fun time to spend time with them too, so every year we like to do another tour and have a proper British Christmas. That's definitely part of a British Christmas! It's a lot of fun.

You're obviously very busy with your working life - how do you balance that with your personal life?

I know my life looks busy, but the truth is I just do one thing at a time and I think it's important for your kids to see you work and just to be a part of that, so I take my kids with me on some projects and my wife. But I don't know, the way I was raised was the old Hollywood way, and when we're not working we're a little bit crazy. I can be happy anywhere as long as I know I have purpose and there's a reason for me being there, so a lot of times I'll take a project or go some place exotic - I can work and also have a fun experience.

Tickets for the Once In A Lifetime Final Tour are on sale now, featuring The Osmonds, David Essex, Showaddywaddy and Les Mckeown's Legendary Bay City Rollers.

TOUR DATES:

JUNE 2014 FRI 20th MANCHESTER Phones 4U Arena 0844 847 8000 www.phones4uarena.co.uk 

SAT 21st LEEDS First Direct Arena 0844 248 1585 www.firstdirectarena.com 

SUN 22nd CARDIFF Motorpoint Arena 029 20 224488 www.motorpointarenacardiff.co.uk

TUES 24th NEWCASTLE Metro Radio Arena 0844 493 6666 www.metroradioarena.co.uk 

WED 25th LIVERPOOL Echo Arena 0844 8000 400 www.echoarena.com 

THUR 26th LONDON THE O2 0844 856 0202 www.theo2.co.uk 

FRI 27th BIRMINGHAM LG Arena 0844 338 8000 www.lgarena.co.uk 

SAT 28th BRIGHTON Centre 0844 847 1515 www.brightoncentre.co.uk


by for www.femalefirst.co.uk
find me on and follow me on


Tagged in