Michael Ball announces new single ‘Vintage’ and tracklisting from his forthcoming album ‘Glow’ released on 24th April 2026

Released on April 24^th, Glow is Michael’s twenty-third solo record and first full album of original, self-written material. Vintage  was written by Michael, along with co-writers Amy Wadge and Zak Lloyd (who also produced the album) in a process Michael describes as “the happiest I’ve ever been in a studio.”

The Tracklisting for Glow is as follows – 

Best Night Of Your Life
Glow
A Million Lights
Little Wins
Holding On Letting Go
How Do We Get Back There?
Vintage
You
Remember to Remember
On With the Show

The Deluxe version of the album features covers of Some Guys Have All The luck and Everything I Own

Having become a master interpreter of other people’s work, both on record and onstage, after his last album, 2021’s We Are More Than One, featured a half-and-half mix of covers and songs written with Wadge, Ball knew that Glow needed to be all original material as he found not only his voice as a songwriter, but he felt a strong desire to make a deeper connection with his audience.

“After writing some songs for the last record, I did think to myself, why didn’t I start doing this sooner?” admits Ball, explaining why he has not written a full album until now. “I guess when you’re working with lyricists like Stephen Sondheim, Don Black or Leslie Bricusse, you might be a little intimidated, but once I realised songwriting is about connecting with people, I knew where I was going. I regret that I didn’t do it before, but at the same time it does feel right that it’s happening now, because I hope what I have to say, what I’ve learned through life, will resonate with people.”

Finding the right creative foils to nurture his ideas and songs was also a crucial part of his artistic evolution, Ball adds, as he created the new record without a label, taking full creative control of the whole project.

“The last in-person interview I did on the radio before everything got locked down in 2020 was with Amy Wadge,” recalls Ball of the serendipitous way their collaboration started. “She’s such an amazing writer. I remember when she came into the studio, I was playing an Alicia Keys song, and by chance it turned out she’d written it. Afterwards, I mentioned I’d always wanted to write, not thinking she would want to work with me, but she insisted we swap numbers. We just clicked instantly. So we wrote the songs for the last record remotely, then we toured together, and now she’s really my best mate. When I asked her if she thought we could do a whole album together, she immediately said yes and brought Zak in to help, and it just flowed. We just had this wonderful creative explosion. It was the biggest joy I’ve ever had in the process of making an album.” 

The creative energy and assured songwriting that ripples through Glow’s ten songs is immediately apparent, as whether drawing from personal experience, spinning stories or indulging in some unashamed love songs, Ball delivers vocals that are not just on a par with his finest performances, but surge with authentic lived experience and candid personality.

“We went on a real journey with each song,” explains Ball of the writing sessions, which took place in a small studio in West London. “We’d get a vibe going, and things would evolve from there. Whether I was writing about something that happened to me or I was inhabiting a character, I think you can hear it all flows from the same voice, both physically and psychologically.”

On the first single Vintage Michael recalls “Last year my late friend, Jane Birkin’s handbag, which Hermès created especially for her, was auctioned off.  It got me thinking about how things aren’t second-hand anymore, they’re ‘pre-loved’ or ‘vintage’.  I thought ‘look, some of us are not in our 20’s anymore, so I guess we’re vintage too.’ So it is a reaction to people dismissing you because you’re old, and saying you could learn from our vintage.  So you can call me an old fart if you like, but I’m actually still really enjoying myself, so why not embrace the vintage?”

“I know I probably say this with every album I release, but Glow is the best thing I’ve ever done, it really is,” declares Ball. “It’s certainly the most personal, connected and relevant record I’ve ever made. It’s a body of work that will really stand up.”

In addition to the album’s ten original songs, a deluxe edition of Glow will feature two covers that were recorded during the sessions, although Ball points out this is not because he is unsure of his own material, but Bread’s Everything I Own and Rod Stewart’s Some Guys Have All The Luck were both suggested by his partner, Cathy McGowan. She said, ‘Can you just record these two songs, you’d sound great on them?’ So I did the two covers just for her. I’m calling that the McGowan Mix – and she’s right, they’ll both work very well in the live show too.”

With Glow’s opening track, Best Night Of Your Life, not only written to open the album but also to kick off dates on his upcoming tour, Ball is now relishing the opportunity to perform the new songs live alongside a host of crowd favourites when his UK shows take place later this year.

“I’ve made 23 albums and done a lot of stage shows, so there’s such a wealth of material to choose from for the shows, but I think these songs are strong enough to stand among them,” suggests Ball. “I have a suspicion that the audience will be excited to see me doing them live. As I sing on Best Night Of Your Life, it’s all about the moment, and with Glow I think we’re really going to have a great one together.” 

In addition to releasing his new album, Michael will be hitting the road in 2026 with his Glow UK headline tour! Kicking off in Cambridge on 26 August, he’ll dazzle audiences in Liverpool, Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester, Nottingham, Bournemouth, and more, before a show-stopping performance at The London Palladium on 1 October.

Glow the album, will be available via the Michael Ball store and usual retailers LINK .

Michael Ball – Glow UK Tour 2026
August
Wed 26 Cambridge Corn Exchange
Thu 27 Ipswich Regent Theatre
Sat 29 Oxford New Theatre
Sun 30 Birmingham Symphony Hall

September
Wed 02 Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
Thu 03 Bradford Live
Sat 05 Sheffield City Hall
Sun 06 Hull Connexin Live
Tue 08 Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
Wed 09 Edinburgh Usher Hall
Fri 11 Newcastle O2 City Hall
Sat 12 York Barbican
Mon 14 Manchester Bridgewater Hall
Wed 16 Stoke-on-Trent Regent Theatre
Thu 17 Leicester De Montfort Hall
Sat 19 Nottingham Royal Concert Hall
Sun 20 Milton Keynes Theatre
Tue 22 Brighton Dome
Wed 23 Bristol Beacon
Fri 25 Southend Cliffs Pavilion
Sat 26 Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre
Mon 28 Torquay Princess Theatre
Tue 29 Cardiff New Theatre

October
Thu 01 London The Palladium
Fri 02 Portsmouth Guildhall

MICHAEL BALL

Michael Ball is Britain’s leading musical theatre star, a double Olivier Award-winning, Grammy nominated, multi-platinum recording artist and a hugely popular radio and TV presenter. For over 40 years he has been at the top of his game, starring in musical theatre productions in the West End and on Broadway, winning critical acclaim, a devoted following and awards for his stage work and recording career.
Michael’s theatre credits include Edna Turnblad in Hairspray (ENO/Coliseum), Javert in Les Misérables – The Staged Concert (Gielgud Theatre & UK / Australia Arena Tour) Anatoly in Chess (ENO/Coliseum), Mack in Mack and Mabel (Chichester/UK Tour), Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd (West End) for which he won the Olivier Award for ‘Best Actor in a Musical’, Edna Turnblad in Hairspray (Original West End Cast) for which he won the Olivier Award for ‘Best Actor in a Musical’, Kismet (English National Opera), Patience (New York City Opera), The Woman in White (West End/Broadway),Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (West End), Passion, The Phantom of the Opera, Aspects of Love (West End/Broadway) and creating the role of. Marius in Les Misérables (Original West End Cast). His television credits include the Victoria Wood BBC TV film, That Day We Sang, opposite his Sweeney Todd co-star, Imelda Staunton.
Michael has a successful radio broadcasting career which includes his own show on BBC Radio 2 on Sundays. He is also a popular TV presenter – he has hosted The Michael Ball Show on ITV1, his first TV travelogue, Wonderful Wales on Channel 5 and most recently an Easter Sunday special for the BBC.
He regularly tours the UK as a concert artist and has sold millions of albums over the last 40 years; he’s performed in Australia, China, USA, Japan and, in 2007, made his BBC Proms debut: An Evening with Michael Ball at the Royal Albert Hall which marked the first time a musical theatre star had been given a solo concert at the Proms.