EXCLUSIVE: Bros star Matt Goss reveals personal heartache as he swings into UK for Christmas shows
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The 48-year-old and his twin Luke are desperately missing mum Carol who lost a 12-month battle against breast cancer.
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Matt, who now lives in Las Vegas, says it will be particularly hard for him when he returns to the UK next month and she is not in the audience to see him perform his seven date Matt Goss Christmas Tour, which starts at Leeds O2 Academy on Monday, December 5.
In an exclusive chat - listen to it in full here - Matt, who will reunite with Luke afer 25-years next summer, for a Bros reunion arenas tour, said: "Spiritually I'm fine. I know that she is around me, but the difficult thing that I am having issues with right now is the physicality of her not being around
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Hide Ad"My friends and fans will be there for me. But her not being there is one of the most, if not the most difficult thing I have ever dealt with in my life.
"She was my best friend. We spoke three times a day. I recognise there are many people like myself that struggle at this time of year."
It will be particularly poignant when he sings as special guest on the Christmas Day Strictly Come Dancing special. The last time he did that she was too ill to watch him.
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Hide AdHis tour is also being recorded for a BBC Radio 2 special on Christmas Eve and he says wants to make it a festive season fans will never forget.
Matt, who has been selling out The Gossy Room at Caesars Palace as the hot ticket in Las Vegas for over seven years, now brings Rat Pack style and swagger to performances with
Sinatra standards Luck Be a Lady, That's Life and I've Got The World On A String, along with swing covers spanning musical genres, such as Hotel California and Superstition and his own pop hits, When Will I Be Famous and I Owe You Nothing.
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Hide AdOn his upcoming solo tour he will be adding a bunch of Christmas Classics with a jazz quartet and including a Q&A with fans each evening. He revealed production meetings are also well underway ahead of the Bros reunion tour with brother Luke, who has reinvented himself as an actor in films including Blade II.
He said they were amazed when the first Bros comeback date at London's O2 Arena sold out in a record breaking seven seconds.
The chart-topping Eighties band sold more than 17 million records worldwide, played sold out shows at iconic venues like Wembley Stadium and the Royal Albert Hall, including 11 consecutive nights at Wembley Arena.
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Hide AdMatt's debut album went seven times platinum, spawned 13 top five hits, and remained on the UK charts for an astonishing 84 weeks. He has just finished writing another but says Bros have no plans for a new album as yet, with all their time spent on planning a spectacular comeback show.
Last month he celebrated 30 years in the music industry with a solo performance at Wembley Arena which inspired him to announce the Christmas shows
He said: "I played Wembley and then we did the Bros announcement - it was amazing and incredible, but it really made me miss home. I just wanted to come home and sing some songs with a jazz quartet, doing swing where I can connect and we will do a Q&A. I can get to know the fans and they can get to know me a little better.
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Hide Ad"I will have a double upright bass, a piano, with guitar and a Jazz drummer. I can't wait to do these shows I've never done anything like this.
"It's a beautiful time of the year. I want to give people memories, some warm love, sing songs and have a conversation with them.
"I am an old romantic. My grandfather Harry used to love Nat King Cole and Sinatra and that whole era.
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Hide Ad"I want to sing some songs that I've grown up listening to. I have been rehearsing them over the last few days. It has been really uplifting and I am just looking forward to getting home and connecting with everybody and having a really beautiful evening.
"There is going to be a majority of Christmas songs, absolutely, but I am also going to be singing songs by one of my favourite singers, Nat King Cole, including Unforgettable and L.O.V.E.
"There is so much energy in that type of music but I am a soul boy at heart so we put a soul swing edge on to all of those old songs.
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Hide Ad"I have an a whole album written. I've written a really beautiful record that I am proud of probably when I get back I like to think about how I put that together in the studio."
Just as Sinatra made Caesar's Palace his spiritual home and sung for Presidents, A-list film stars and royalty, Matt is doing it His Way.
He added: "I've had some incredible guests. Every star that you can imagine has come to see the show. I just played for the vice-president of the United States.
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Hide Ad"I've been in Las Vegas for seven and a half years. It's incredible. I feel blessed. They have just giving me Caesar's Palace Icon Award that people like Muhammad Ali, Sinatra and Tony Bennett have had. For a simple South East London boy to come into a town like this and you manage to make a dent; I am very, very proud."
The When Will I Be Famous singer said it was never about the fame for him, but the singing and the songs.
"It comes from either you want to be famous or you want to be a singer. I made a decision after the band that without question I wanted to stay on the journey of being a singer. It wasn't just about being famous," he said.
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Hide Ad"I mean the same did come with it but there are good times and bad times and through it all the one thing that has kept me strong and my North has been that I am essentially a singer and that has taken me all over the world. I am always going to sing."
Matt, whose pop career with Luke hit an early peak when they were just 17, said of next year's reunion: "I am looking forward to going back to the originals with my brother and playing these big arenas. We will contemporise them a little but stay as true to the originals as we can. That's the beautiful thing about music there are no rules there are no mistakes in music. Whatever feels right is right.
"We want to put on a show that really is state of the art and will blow people away
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Hide Ad"I would like to do a solo section - but probably not on this tour, we are going to focus on a lot of Bros music. Millions of people bought that first record. We are not planning a new album right now, it is taking so much time just to get back on stage. We want to focus on making sure the show is amazing and the music sounds incredible. Visually it will be spectacular."
* The Matt Goss Christmas Tour plays O2 Academy venues in Leeds, Dec 5; Newcastle, Dec 6; Bournemouth, Dec 8; Glasgow, Dec 11; London O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, Dec 12; Manchester O2 Ritz, Dec 13 and Birmingham, Dec 14. All tickets at www.ticketweb.co.uk
The Bros 2017 reunion tour plays London O2 Arena (sold out), Aug 19; London O2 Arena, Aug 20; Manchester Arena, Aug 22; Nottingham Motorpoint Arena, Aug 23; Birmingham Barclaycard Arena, Aug 25; Newcastle Metro Radio Arena, Aug 26; Glasgow SSE Hydro Arena, Aug 27.