Having recovered from coronavirus, the singers stuffed choirs and orchestras into a Christmas album to lift the spirits – and are now the most successful UK duo in chart history
“We’ve topped the charts more than Wham! or Chas & Dave? We’re a mixture of them both,” jokes Michael Ball. I have just informed Ball and Alfie Boe that their three UK album No 1s also outstrip Simon & Garfunkel and, indeed, any non-family singing duo in history (the Carpenters also scored a trio, but two were greatest hits). Equally impressively, Ball & Boe’s latest chart-topper, the festive collection Together at Christmas, is outselling BTS, the world’s biggest pop group.
“So we’re the biggest boyband in the country!” explodes Ball, 58, like a child opening a present, although the duo’s armoury of skills has not extended to the technical demands of the Zoom interview. The first words Ball says to me are: “How do we turn the camera on, Alf?” But suddenly, here they are – two grinning mates in dinner suits, their album cover come to life.