JOE McELDERRY is arguably the North-East’s busiest solo singer having recently announced a two-week run of Joseph and His Technicolor Dreamcoat as Newcastle’s MetroRadio Arena Christmas show to follow the musical’s UK tour, and a UK-wide concert launch for his fifth studio album.

“I can only do all this because I have a great team who work behind the scenes so that all the planning doesn’t fall on my shoulders,” he says.

McElderry reckons that he’s already a year ahead with planning his career and usually knows about six months in advance what he’s doing.

“It’s a combination of things. I’m prepared to put the hard work in and I’m very lucky as well. I’m very fortunate to have a huge break off something as big as X Factor, plus very supportive fans and it’s little snippets like that which help along the way,” he says.

The South Shields singer temporarily handed in his loincloth in Londonderry at the beginning of the month (June) before launching his Saturday Night At The Movies tour next month, which plays Newcastle, York and Sunderland. There’s also an album of the same name, due out on July 14, which features McElderry’s latest single Gloria, a song created for him by well-known songwriter and 10cc frontman Graham Gouldman.

“I agree that not many people would have put our names together, but that’s the beauty of songwriting because people come from different walks of life, background and styles of music. At the same time, we are all fans of music. Graham and I have music styles that are, probably, very different. But when someone says, ‘I’ve written a song for you’, I think it’s a wonderful thing and a huge compliment to me. I feel very fortunate that he’s written that song. My name was always in the mix and when we went into the studio it kind of just worked,” McElderry says.

The collaboration resulted in the single selling well for Mother’s Day in March. “I heard a demo of the song and I thought it was great and went into the studio to put my stamp on it. Eventually, everything is run past me before it enters the public domain, but you also have to trust other people as well.”

And mum’s verdict? “She thought it was great. As I’m touring the song this summer, I haven’t had much of a chance to perform it yet. I’m looking forward to seeing what my audiences make of it. We released it and it did well, but the big test is how the song works live on stage.”

His Saturday Night at the Movies release will have 14 tracks, including Gloria, and McElderry says that he chose his favourite film songs plus looked at ideas from his record company and fellow professionals he trusts chipped in other suggestions.

“It turned out to be a huge list, but I was kind of expecting that because I suspected that some of them might not work. But I was surprised how well the shortlist turned out. Every single one seemed to work as a tracklist. I think when you are doing something as specific as this you know the genre and style of music and movies and musicals are a great platform to work from. The song Saturday Night at the Movies wasn’t first choice, but we thought that it does what it says on the tin because everyone knows what vibe that song gives off. You can put that track on in the car and drive along to it. You can put this album on and sing along because you know all the tracks. There is a real mix,” he says

Conscious of keeping his fans in the loop, McElderry recently did a Facebook live session to “let people know what’s going on with the album and my career”. He is playing Newcastle, York and Sunderland with the Saturday Night tour, having decided to change the name from the Gloria tour.

“The North-East, as everybody knows up there, is a huge part of my life and always will be. It’s wonderful that I can bring all these performances, plus the two-week run of Joseph at the arena, up there. I think this will celebrate the amazing experience I’ve had over the past seven years.

“I think that going to Newcastle College of Performing Arts meant that I’ve always done things the right way. The great thing about our region is that people always get behind each other and support each other. It’s where it all began for me and the North-East has always had my back,” he says.

McElderry is earning plaudits as the best Joseph ever and saw the latest soundtrack from the show featuring his lead role go to the top of the musical album charts. “It’s been a wonderful experience even though you’re always nervous when you put your name to a show. You’re putting yourself in a whole new area of criticism and work. I was worried that people would target me because I was from a reality show, but I’m just pleased that people have enjoyed the tour.”

The singer recently bit back at references to him putting on weight inside the multi-colored dreamcoat, and admits that “dressing in a loincloth always makes you think a bit more about how you look”.

“I’m on a heavy schedule and I keep trying to be disciplined so that I also sleep and rest and not pick up too many bugs and things. At the same time you have to live your life because if you’re miserable behind the scenes, you won’t be happy on stage. I think I’ve got the balance about right.

“I’m going to feel some more pressure when I stop the Joseph tour and then restart it. You leave the show with a relaxed feeling because you’re performing up to ten times a week. When you have time off it tricks your brain and you think, ‘Oh my God, can I remember what I’m doing?’ But it’s like riding a bike. The music starts and everything falls back into place again.”

  • Saturday Night at the Movies Tour: July 30, Newcastle Theatre Royal. Box Office: 08448-112121 theatreroyal.co.uk

August 9, York Grand Opera House. 0844-871-3022 atgtickets.com/york

August 10, Sunderland Empire. 0844-871-3022 atgtickets.com/sunderland

  • Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat runs at the MetroRadio Arena, Newcastle, from December 19 to 31. Box Office: 0844-493-6666 eventim.co.uk metroradioarena.co.uk