Russell Watson's story is a classic rags-to-riches fairytale: the former welder, after years of singing in pubs and clubs, travelled from Salford, his hometown, to London. He turned up unannounced at the Decca offices and was promptly signed up by one of the most important classical labels in the world. Vocal coaching followed, as did a number of successful live appearances supporting Cliff Richard. Now we have this 14-track CD which explores a wide range of musical styles. Watson's Italian is a little ponderous in tracks such as "Amor ti vieta", but this is more than compensated by his captivating and utterly natural-sounding tenor voice. The inevitable popular arias are there, namely "La donna  mobile" and "Nessun dorma!", sung with a refreshing and youthful vitality. Pop tracks, including Ultravox's classic 1980s hit "Vienna" and a witty cover version of "Barcelona" sung with former Happy Mondays frontman Shaun Ryder as well as two new songs sit comfortably on the disc--Watson performs them with integrity, not simply paying lip service to the music of his generation. Watson has the potential to do for classical music what Jamie Oliver has done for cookery, and there are few people to whom this debut CD will not appeal. --Rebecca Agnew