10 facts you didn't know about The Ten Tenors

From unassuming beginnings back in 1995, to a now platinum record-selling and international touring act, the history of The Ten Tenors has been anything but standard.When ten young opera students from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music in Brisbane, Australia, banded together to form what was then largely a corporate act, the group’s performances were few and far between and were essentially just a part-time affair, providing the members with a bit of money to help them through their studies.“We joke about it now, but back in the day, The Ten Tenors was really just a fun way to earn a bit of extra beer money”, remarks Matthew Hickey, Producer and original group member. “It was all very informal and we could never understand why people would hire us to essentially fool around onstage”.Indeed, it was exactly those hi-jinks that essentially became the secret of much of The Ten Tenors’ future success.In 1998, with the popularity of the group growing by the month, the boys decided to take their onstage antics on the road and began a full-time touring schedule that has yet to wane. Early tours in Australia took them through many outback towns, regional centres and capital cities where the group honed its performance skills in music and comedy, wowing audiences wherever they went.Arguably their biggest break came in early 2002 when The Ten Tenors were invited to perform at the German entry selection event in anticipation of the Eurovision Song Contest. Within hours, they had sold out an entire tour and were well on their way to becoming one of the most successful touring acts in Germany. Further European and Asian countries followed and in 2003 they made their US debut. Nowadays, The Ten Tenors circle the globe ten months of the year, performing around 250 shows on five different continents around the world.In 2006, The Ten Tenors embarked on their most ambitious album project to date. Recorded in studios in Australia, the US and London’s famed Abbey Road Studios, “Here’s To The Heroes” is now available in 27 countries around the world.With an unparalleled palette of repertoire, The Ten Tenors have taken their passion for quality music and powerful singing to such venues as London’s Royal Albert Hall, the Sydney Opera House, The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles as well as countless other venues throughout the world. The Ten Tenors next album, Nostalgica, featuring outstanding new arrangements of songs most requested by fans, will be released later in 2008.