Russell Watson (born 24 November 1966) is an English tenor who has released singles and albums of both operatic-style and pop songs.

He came to attention in 1999 when he sang "God Save the Queen" at the Rugby League Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, "Barcelona" at the last match of the Premiership season between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford, and a full set of songs at the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final in Barcelona between Manchester United and Bayern Munich.

Then married and with a baby, he began to earn extra money singing cover versions of Elvis Presley and other artists in North West clubs to help support his young family.

In 1998 Ian Boasman, manager of the Bistro French restaurant in Preston, arranged for him to sing at Old Trafford during the interval at a memorial football match for the Munich air disaster, a huge privilege for a lifelong Manchester United fan.

Russell signed a management deal with Boasman; this also involved comic Bobby Ball and businessman Keith Chadwick.

[citation needed] After the game, when his team had won the league championship, he returned to the pitch to sing the Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé song "Barcelona",[6] during which he tore off his dinner jacket to reveal a Manchester United shirt; a week later he was invited to sing a full set at the final of the UEFA Champions League in Barcelona between United and Bayern Munich, duetting with Montserrat Caballé.

The album contained perhaps Watson's most unusual collaboration to date, with former Happy Mondays singer Shaun Ryder who lent his vocals to the Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé song "Barcelona".

[9][10] Prior to the formation of Velvet Revolver, Watson was asked by Slash (guitarist of Guns N' Roses) whether he would be their singer.

[11] In 2001, Watson sang the opening theme of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise, "Where My Heart Will Take Me",[12] written by Diane Warren.

[13] In late 2004, Watson released the single "Nothing Sacred – A Song for Kirsty" to raise £5 million for the Francis House children's hospice in Didsbury, Manchester.

In November 2005, Watson recorded "True To Your Dreams", his ending theme for the video game Castlevania: Curse of Darkness.

In addition to his recording work, Watson played Parson Nathaniel in the stage adaptation of Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds which toured the UK in early 2006.

The programme involved eight couples, including Siân Reeves and Watson, competing in a duet-singing showdown, complete with a live band, a panel of judges and viewer voting, to see who would be crowned champions.

Watson, a late arrival to the competition replacing Reeves's original partner Rick Astley, who had pulled out, took the crown despite the low scores awarded by the judges to their performances.

Russell Watson was scheduled to defend his title in the 2007 series with a new celebrity partner, Loui Batley, but had to withdraw at the last minute because of serious health problems.

On the advice of his doctors, his latest UK tour, which had been due to start in late October 2006, was also postponed until March 2007 to coincide with the album release.

[21] His album People Get Ready, containing easy listening, rock and soul music standards, was released on 17 November 2008.

[24] In April and May 2009, Watson undertook a 20-date tour of the UK backed by Liverpool's Sense of Sound, who came to his attention after they performed in the BBC's Last Choir Standing.

[27] He and his female lead Helen Sjöholm were praised by music critic Stephen Holden as having "first-rate poperetta voices, with Mr. Watson's Puccini-ready tenor the more operatic.

[38] On 15 June 2022, Watson performed at Bridgewater Hall, in Manchester, for a charity concert in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Seven years ago classical crossover didn't exist – putting Italian lyrics to pop songs in a big ballsy way.

After a visit to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and an MRI scan, he was advised that he had a developing pituitary adenoma, which was the size of two golf balls.

He stayed in Los Angeles for two days and continued recording his album while tests confirmed whether the tumour was malignant or not – it turned out to be benign.

[15] Watson then returned to the UK, and had a five-hour emergency operation to remove the eight-centimetre lump at St George's Hospital in Tooting, South London, in September 2006.

[65] After the operation, Watson could barely walk, and the tumour had affected his pituitary gland which controls hormone levels: "My mood swings went from ecstatic to suicidal.

"[15] Watson was readmitted to hospital in Manchester for tests on 6 October 2006 after complaining of dizziness, headaches and blurred vision.

[15] While in the middle of the studio recording of his album Outside In on 24 October 2007 Watson suddenly became incapacitated, with multiple symptoms including a dramatic deterioration of vision.