Place of birth: Isle of Man (which was renamed the Isle of Sam for one day to support Sam during her time in BBC1 show 'I'd Do Anything' in 2008)
Originally from: Laxey, Isle of Man
Current Location: Cardiff (on tour)
Eye Colour: Brown
Hair Colour: Dark Brown
Hair Length: Long
Height: 5ft 5 3/4 "
Horoscope: Libra
Siblings: 1 Older Sister and 1 Older Brother
Niece(s)/Nephew(s): Chloe (aged 1)
Pets: A family King Charles Cavalier Spaniel called Halle (although she calls her Linda) and her own Chihuahua called Lily
Hobbies: Singing, Dancing, Shining on Stage, Sleeping, Playing with Lily (her chihuahua), Eating (especially red velvet cake and chocolate), Partying with friends, Shopping, Watching TV
Huge fan of: Ricky Gervais
Scared of: Mittens
Hates: Vegetables, Early Mornings
Professional
Occupation: Professional Actress/Singer
Years Active: 2008-present
Training: Arts Education School in Chiswick before entering Andrew Lloyd Webber's BBC competition 'I'd Do Anything' in 2008 looking for an unknown talent to play Nancy in a new West End production of Oliver!
Current Job(s): Playing Nancy in the UK Tour of Oliver! from 10th Dec 2011 until 23rd June 2012
Past Jobs: Numerous amateur productions with the Manx Operatic Society and performances with her band on the Isle of Man (full details in the 'Sam's Career So Far section), Sally Bowles (Cabaret UK Tour 2008-9), Aladdin (Panto in Windsor 2009-10), Eponine in Les Miserables at the Queen's Theatre in London's West End (2010-11), Eponine in the Les Miserables 25th Anniversary Concert at the O2 Arena on 3rd October 2010, Zoe in 'Groove High' (Disney - due to air spring 2012))
Dream in life: To be starring as a leading lady in a West End show (ACHIEVED)
Dream Role: Elphaba (Wicked)
Role Models: Catherine Zeta Jones, Idina Menzel
Favourites
Musical: Wicked
Song: Defying Gravity (from Wicked)
Singer: Regina Spektor
Book/Magazine: The Stage
Place to be: On stage, at home or Disneyland Florida
Films: Zoolander, Happy Feet, Sex and The City
TV Programmes: The Office, Extras, Friends, Sex and The City
Animal: Penguin
Item of Clothing: Shoes
Colour(s): Blue, Red
Food: Chocolate, Red Velvet Cake, Vegetable Lasagne, Cheese and Onion Tayto Crisps
Chocolate Bar: Lion Bar
Groove High
Sam will star as the lead role, Zoe, in a new Disney TV Series called 'Groove High'. Voice recording started on 28th April 2010 and filming happened between Aug 2010 and late Oct 2011 in Ireland! It will air on the Disney Channel in spring 2012!
Oliver! UK Tour
Sam is currently playing the role of Nancy in the UK tour of Oliver! until 7th July 2012!
Saturday, 8 October 2011
Singing at Rugby League Final at Old Trafford - 8th October 2011
Sam sung 'Jerusalem' at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester at the Rugby League Final earlier today just before kick off!
superleague.co.uk said "Old Trafford will also showcase West End star Samantha Barks, who will perform the Grand Final anthem ‘Jerusalem’ before the teams emerge from the tunnel. Samantha rose to fame on the BBC's "I'd Do Anything" and has since made her West End debut, playing Eponine in Les Miserables and performed the role in front of 50,000 at the O2 Arena. Samantha will be accompanied by Ottoni Brass, a symphonic brass band making its debut at the 2011 Engage Super League Grand Final."
Hi, this is my fan blog for the incredibly talented singer and actress, Samantha Barks (incase you hadn't already guessed haha). I'm Jenny, also known as Barkateer Jenny and on this blog I will keep you up to date with everything Sam is doing.
Background
From the first moment I saw Sam on the first live show of 'I'd Do Anything', I have been a huge fan. Just something about her made me sit there and watch her and I just thought 'Wow! This girl is amazing!'
Ever since that day I just sat and watched her grow so much every week and since the end of the competition I found myself wanting to carry on supporting her.
Usually with these talent competitions on the TV, I have a favourite, then once the programme finishes, I forget all about them. But no, not this time, something was different! And now I know why!
Not long after the end of 'I'd Do Anything', I 'teamed' up with 2 other huge Sam fans and we called ourselves 'The 3 Barkateers'. From there, we made friends with 'Sam's Lambs' and some of us started talking to Sam on Facebook. A few of us have become good friends with her over the past couple of years, which has been soooooo amazing.
We have been supporting and following Sam's amazing career ever since the 'I'd Do Anything' final in 2008, and we will continue to do so. This has so far allowed us to be able to travel to all sorts of places, for example, the Isle of Man (or should I say Isle of Sam), to go and see her perform and we've loved it. What an amazing experience we have had so far!!
We are soo excited to see what her future holds and we're really looking forward to seeing her live over and over again and watching her grow and develop as a performer!!
We love you Sam and always remember that we are here supporting you 100% always!!
Love from The 3 Barkateers, Sam's Lambs and all your other amazing fans!!
xxxxxx
Fan Mail
If you wish to send Sam fan mail, please either e-mail her at:
Sam and Frances singing at the O2 concert (3rd October 2010)
Sam's career so far
Sam has been dancing since the age of 3, training in Ballet, Modern and Tap. She was also a member of the Manx Operatic Society, which provided her with a lot of performing experience
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Her previous work includes playing Snow White aged 4 in a school production, Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, The Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland, The Scarecrow in a ballet version of The Wizard of Oz, Dancing in Coppelia, La Boutique Fantasque, La Sylphide, The Nutcracker, Dick Whittington, Cinderella, Robinson Crusoe, Rizzo in Grease, a Hot Box Girl in Guys and Dolls, Cyndi Gibson in Back to the 80s and she understudied Lucy in Jekyll and Hyde
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Sam represented the Isle of Man in the Maltese International Song Competition in 2007, where she won the main prize of €2000 and the title of Best Foreign Singer
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She performed at the 2007 Peel Bay Festival supporting the Sugababes and Matt Willis, which also saw appearances by Robin Gibb and Madness
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Sam had a singing role in the ITV1 TV movie, The Final Quest, directed by and starring David Jason
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She moved to London at the tender age of 16 to pursue her dream as a performer, which would not have been possible without the amazing support of the late Mr Patrick Taylor, who dedicated his time and money to Sam, helping her make her dream reality. He funded her so she could start her training at Arts Educational School where she began to study Performing Arts A-Level
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Sam came into the public eye when she appeared on the BBC1 show 'I'd Do Anything', searching for an unknown talent to play Nancy in the new West End production of Oliver, where she eventually came 3rd, in 2008. Sam left the competition gracefully, having learnt amazing skills and worked with some amazing people including Idina Menzel and Liza Minelli, which has already helped her a lot in her career. The competition provided her with a fantastic opportunity to get a huge head start in the world of performing.
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She had to drop out of Arts Ed once she got too far in the competition
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Sam sang the Manx National Anthem at Senior Race Day of the TT Races in the Isle of Man in 2008
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She played the lead role of Sally Bowles in the UK touring version of Cabaret (29th August 2008 to 11th July 2009) touring the UK and the Isle of Man
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Sam launched the new Manx Ship, the Caly Manx, in Shanghai on 30th September 09
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Sam, along with Wendy Craig and Jess Conrad (fellow cast members in Aladdin) switched on the Christmas Lights in Windsor's town centre on 21st November 09
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She officially launched BreastHealth UK's new clinic at the Spire Thames Valley Hospital in Wexham on 27th November 09
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Sam then bought sparkle, talent and cheekiness to Windsor's Theatre Royal playing the title role in Aladdin, the most starriest panto ever, from 9th Dec 09 until 10th Jan 2010
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She released a new song called 'I Hate Playing Games' on http://www.reverbnation.com/GarryLake, which she co-wrote with Garry Lake
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Sam will star in a new Disney TV series called 'Groove High', playing the lead female, Zoe, which she is very excited about! It will be half animated and half live action! They started doing the voice recording for the animations on 28th and 29th April 2010 and filming was done between August 2010 and late October 2011 in Ireland! She is very excited as she has always wanted to be made into a Disney cartoon!! 'Groove High' will air on the Disney Channel in Spring 2012!
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She played the role of 'Eponine' in 'Les Miserables' at the Queen's Theatre in London's West End from 21st June 2010 - 18th June 2011
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Sam was chosen to play Eponine in the 25th Anniversary concert of Les Miserables at the O2 on 3rd October 2010!!!!
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She was asked to sing 'On My Own' from Les Miserables at the Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium on the 9th December 2010!!!!
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Sam starred in a new concert, 'Direct From The West End'. Run by a company called 'Musical Ovation Ltd' set up by Scott Garnham (current Les Mis cast member) and Martin Neely (2010-11 Les Mis cast member), They did 3 nights - 23rd Jan in York, 6th Feb in Oxford and 13th Feb 2011 in Windsor. It also starred Antony Hansen (from BBC1's Any Dream Will Do) and took the audience on a journey through some of the world's greatest and best-loved musicals featuring two hours of spectacular songs from Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Mamma Mia, Oliver, West Side Story, Miss Saigon, Hairspray and many more....
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She performed 'On My Own' at the Classical Brits 2011 at The Royal Albert Hall on 12th May 2011
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Sam performed at a concert at The Battersea Barge in London on Sun 21st August 2011 called 'SUMMER WITH ... THE COMPOSERS: IRVINE, OLDING, SUTTON & WYTHE'
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She is now playing the role of Nancy in Oliver! UK Tour (10th December 2011 - 23rd June 2012)
Snow White - 1994/5
Sam as Snow White in a school production, aged 4
Cheshire Cat - 1997/8
Sam as the Cheshire Cat in Alice In Wonderland, aged 7
Scarecrow
Sam as the Scarecrow in a ballet version of The Wizard of Oz
Back to the 80s - 2005 and August 2007
Sam as Cyndi Gibson in the Manx Operatic Society production of Back to the 80s in 2005, and she reprised her role at the Gaiety Theatre, Douglas, Isle of Man in August 2007
Grease
Sam as Rizzo in her school production of Grease
Jekyll and Hyde - 25th Feb 2007
Sam as Lucy in the Manx Operatic Society production of Jekyll and Hyde. She was the understudy of Lucy so only got to perform for one show
Sam launches her debut album - April 2007
Sam launches her debut album “Looking in your Eyes” in a concert at the Peel Centenary Centre
Performing at Peel Bay Festival June 2007
Sam with her band performing at the Peel Bay Festival, Isle of Man, where they supported Matt Willis and the Sugabaes, in 2007
Performing at The Creek
Performing at Essentially Dancing
Malta International Song Competition - Dec 2007
Sam in Malta, where she represented the Isle of Man in the Malta International Song Competition. Sam sang “Nothing Else” from her album and “Play On” a hit song in Malta. She won the title of Best Foreign Singer and 2000 euros!!
I'd Do Anything - Jan - May 2008
Sam in Nancy dress
Cabaret - Aug 2008 - July 2009
Sam as Sally Bowles
The official poster for 'An Audience with Sam Barks' - 3rd Jan 2009
A few pictures I took from 'An Audience with Sam Barks'
Aladdin - Dec 2009 - Jan 2010
Sam as Aladdin in panto in Windsor
Groove High Voice Recording - April - May 2010
Sam doing voice recording for Disney TV show 'Groove High'
The chicken was about to cross the road and a duck came up and said "Listen mate, don't do it, you'll never hear the end of it!"
(I tell that one all the time now haha!)
What lies at the bottom of the ocean and shakes?
A nervous wreck!
A woman walked into a doctors and she says, "Ive been having really, really bad weight problems, my weights just up and down. Have you got any diets that you'd recommend?"The doctor said "Well, basically this isn't good advice but try eating for one day, skipping a day, eat one day, skip the next etc."The woman came back and she looked half dead and he said "Are you just completely starving yourself, well, i mean you look half dead basically."She said "No no, the eating's been fine, but the bloody skipping is killing me."
Two goldfish in a tank. One turns round to the other and says "How do you drive this thing?"
Sam at TT Races 2008
Here are some pics of Sam when she sang the IOM national anthem at TT on Senior Race Day 08.
Singing the Manx National Anthem 'O land of our birth' at the Grandstand
Flying the Manx flag
Sam and her parents, Richard and Ann
Reviews
'Samantha Barks is a revelation!!!'
-----------------------------------
'So cannot believe that Sam is only
17, god knows what she will be like
in 10 years time.'
-----------------------------------
'Sam's dancing was amazing, up
there with the professionals. Then it
was 'Maybe This Time' - wow! What a
performance it was. It started off
very still so she was showing off her
exceptional voice, and so she should,
then when it got to the big chest
notes she completely went for it.
I felt she was in a world of her own,
Sally Bowles' world. And so was I. It
blew me away. I've never really
understood the words to that song
ever before, however every word
that she sang made complete sense
and was crystal clear to me. I have to
say it was the highlight of the whole
show.'
-----------------------------------
'Sam Barks' singing is simply superb.'
-----------------------------------
'Samantha, who, astonishingly, given
her confidence on stage, is still only
a teenager, is a far better singer
than the nightclub chanteuse she
plays is meant to be. Her
performance of 'Maybe This Time'
sends shivers down the spine, while
signature song Cabaret is a mixture
of heartbreak and passion.'
---------------------------------- 'Where it counts is in the songs, and
she hits them out of the park'
----------------------------------
'She may have missed out on winning
the television talent show 'I'd Do
Anything' but she is certainly not
short of star quality. She has the
naive Sally down to a tee and is at
ease on stage, capable of shifting
from sexy to vulnerable and of
belting out a good number.'
----------------------------------
'Samantha Barks is very good as Sally
Bowles and performs with a maturity
way beyond her teenage years. She
convinces throughout and is
obviously a talented performer all
round, although her singing is her
strongest asset, her powerful voice
hitting each note beautifully.'
----------------------------------
'I’d Do Anything’s Samantha Barks as
Sally Bowles proves her theatrical
worth by singing everybody off the
stage'
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'Samantha Barks was fantastic as
Sally Bowles. Her acting I feel was
actually spot on; for the first time I
felt that I saw a Sally that was young,
naive and didn't have a clue about
what was going on in the world
around her and only focused on some
aspects of her own life; the title song
for me was probably one of the
highlights of the show for me and
vocally Samantha Barks is amazing. '
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'Sam Barks is vocally a sensation.'
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'She is a true, raw, natural talent and
vocally she is untouchable.'
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'Her Aladdin can sing and dance up a
storm, act the handsome hero and
yet she never once leaves us in doubt
that this young chap is also a truly
gorgoeous girl.'
----------------------------------- 'Samantha Barks' Aladdin is principal
boy perfection. She can sing, act and
dance beautifully and she sure knows
how to slap her thigh.'
----------------------------------- 'Barks plays Aladdin as a cheeky
adventurous young scamp and she
has a great future ahead of her as a
principal boy if she wishes to pursue
this role in the future seasons.'
----------------------------------- 'Some producer had better snap her
up for next year quickly as she is
sure to guarantee success; that is if
she's not already taken.'
----------------------------------- 'With actresses like Barks playing
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