Jason Donovan
Encyclopedia
Jason Donovan is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap opera Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...

, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 million records, and his début album Ten Good Reasons
Ten Good Reasons
Ten Good Reasons is the debut album by Australian pop star and actor Jason Donovan. Released in 1989, it became one of the biggest selling albums in the UK that year, and yielded two solo #1 singles and also featured a duet with Kylie Minogue, "Especially for You", which had reached #1 in January...

was one of the highest-selling albums of 1989 with UK sales of over 1.5 million copies. He has had four UK No. 1 singles, one of which was "Especially for You
Especially for You
"Especially for You" was the fifth international single released from singer Kylie Minogue in time for the Christmas 1988 market and is a duet with Jason Donovan. It did not appear on her debut album but was included on Jason Donovan's 1989 debut album Ten Good Reasons. The track did appear on the...

", his 1988 duet with Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...

. In more recent years, he has returned to acting on television and in stage musicals.

Biography

Jason Donovan is the son of actor Terence Donovan
Terence Donovan (actor)
Terence Donovan , also known as Terry Donovan, is an English-born Australian actor and the father of fellow actor and entertainer Jason Donovan...

, who also appeared in Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...

as Doug Willis, and Sue McIntosh
Sue McIntosh
Sue McIntosh is a former news reader for Australian ABC News. She was known prior to the mid-1970s as Sue Donovan, from her marriage to actor Terence Donovan, which ended in divorce in 1973...

. His half-sister is former Neighbours star Stephanie McIntosh
Stephanie McIntosh
Stephanie McIntosh is an Australian actress and singer. She is known for her role as Sky Mangel in the Australian soap opera Neighbours and her music career, which began with the release of her debut album Tightrope in September 2006.-Background:McIntosh attended Firbank and then Melbourne Girls...

. Donovan attended De La Salle College, Malvern
De La Salle College Malvern
De La Salle College is a Roman Catholic Independent school for boys located in the Melbourne suburb of Malvern. The College was founded in 1912 by the De La Salle Brothers, a religious order based on the teachings of Jean-Baptiste de la Salle, and is a member of the Associated Catholic Colleges....

. His girlfriend since 1998 and the mother of his children is Angela Malloch, a former stage manager. He has three children, a daughter, Jemma (born 28 March 2000) a son, Zac (born 22 March 2001), and daughter, Molly (born 9 March 2011). Donovan and Malloch were married in Bali in 2008.

He was the subject of an episode of the BBC TV series Who Do You Think You Are? on 30 August 2010 in which he discovered he is a descendant of the pioneer William Cox
William Cox (pioneer)
William Cox was an English soldier, known as an explorer, road builder and pioneer in the early period of British settlement in Australia.-Early life:...

, who built the first road across Australia's Blue Mountains in 1814. Donovan also confirmed he is of Jewish descent through his maternal great-grandmother, Eileen Dawson (née Lyons). His great-great grandparents Joseph & Rosetta Lyons originated from Whitechapel, London.

Television career and Neighbours

Donovan made his first television appearance at the age of eleven in a guest role on the Australian series Skyways
Skyways (TV series)
Skyways is an Australian television series made by Crawford Productions for the Seven Network.The series, which aired from 1979 to 1981, was set at the fictional Pacific International Airport and dealt with the lives of the pilots, airline staff and management team who worked there.Skyways was...

. In the episode, his on-screen sister was played by future co-star Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...

. He also featured in the series I Can Jump Puddles
I Can Jump Puddles
I Can Jump Puddles is a 1981 Australian television mini-series based on the 1955 autobiographical series of the same name by author Alan Marshall...

before reaching fame in 1986 in the soap opera Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...

as Scott Robinson
Scott Robinson (Neighbours)
Scott James Robinson is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Jason Donovan. He made his first on-screen appearance on 18 March 1985, in the show's first episode. Scott was originally played by Darius Perkins until he was recast.-Casting:Darius...

, replacing actor Darius Perkins
Darius Perkins
Darius Perkins is an Australian actor, best known for his longest-running role, Scott Robinson in soap opera Neighbours, in 1985. His first role was on The Sullivans in 1976. He played "Charlie" in All The Green Years and played guest roles in Prisoner and A Country Practice. He also played "Ben"...

, who had played the role for the first year of the series. His character's most notable story arc was his onscreen romance and wedding
Scott and Charlene
Scott Robinson and Charlene Mitchell are fictional characters and a supercouple from the Australian daytime drama Neighbours.Scott was portrayed by Jason Donovan, and Charlene Mitchell was portrayed by Kylie Minogue.- Storyline :...

 to Charlene Robinson (played by Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...

).

He won his first Logie Award
Logie Award
The TV Week Logie Awards are the Australian television industry awards, which have been presented annually since 1959. Renamed by Graham Kennedy in 1960 after he won the first 'Star Of The Year' award, the name 'Logie' awards honours John Logie Baird, a Scotsman who invented the television as a...

 for "Best New Talent" in 1987 and received a commendation in the category "Performance by a Male Actor In a Series" from the Television Society of Australia's Penguin Awards. In 1988 he was awarded the 'Silver Logie' for the "Most Popular Actor" on Australian television.

In addition to his regular role in Neighbours, Donovan appeared as "Happy Houston" in the 1988 Australian World War II mini-series The Heroes, based on the historical novel by Ronald McKie
Ronald McKie
Ronald Cecil Hamlyn McKie is an Australian novelist. He was born in 1909 in Toowoomba, Queensland. After receiving his education at the Brisbane Grammar School and the University of Queensland, he worked as a journalist on newspapers in Melbourne, Sydney, Singapore and China...

. He won the 1990 Logie Award
Logie Award
The TV Week Logie Awards are the Australian television industry awards, which have been presented annually since 1959. Renamed by Graham Kennedy in 1960 after he won the first 'Star Of The Year' award, the name 'Logie' awards honours John Logie Baird, a Scotsman who invented the television as a...

 for "Most Popular Actor in a Mini-Series".

Donovan left Neighbours in 1989. In 2009, he announced that he had been asked to return in 2010 to tie in with the show's 25th anniversary, but said that he was unable to do so due to other work commitments.

1988–1991: Pop career

While he was still appearing in Neighbours, Donovan followed Minogue (who had already left the series by this point) in signing a recording contract with Mushroom Records
Mushroom Records
Mushroom Records is an Australian recoJrd company formed by Michael Gudinski and Ray Evans in Melbourne in 1972. After its sale in 1998, it merged into Festival Mushroom Records. From 2005 to 2009, it is one of the record labels operated by Warner Bros...

 in Australia, and with PWL
PWL
Pete Waterman Entertainment is the production company one-time pop and dance record label owned by pop mogul Pete Waterman. The label, originally PWL, is most famous for being the home of hit record producers Stock Aitken Waterman....

 in the UK. His first single, "Nothing Can Divide Us", was released in 1988. Like Minogue's material, it was written and produced by Mike Stock, Matt Aitken
Matt Aitken
Matthew James Aitken , is a British songwriter and record producer, brought up in Astley, Greater Manchester, best known as the creative force behind the 1980s songwriting/production trio Stock Aitken Waterman....

 and Pete Waterman
Pete Waterman
Peter Alan Waterman OBE is an English record producer, occasional songwriter, radio and club DJ, television presenter, president of Coventry Bears rugby league club and a keen railway enthusiast. As a member of the Stock Aitken Waterman songwriting team he wrote and produced many hit singles...

 (known as Stock Aitken Waterman
Stock Aitken Waterman
Stock Aitken Waterman, sometimes known as SAW, were a UK songwriting and record producing trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman. They had great success during the mid to late 1980s and early 1990s...

). The single reached number five in the UK, number one in Hong Kong and Japan, and the top 40 in several other countries.

Donovan's next single was a duet with Minogue. "Especially for You
Especially for You
"Especially for You" was the fifth international single released from singer Kylie Minogue in time for the Christmas 1988 market and is a duet with Jason Donovan. It did not appear on her debut album but was included on Jason Donovan's 1989 debut album Ten Good Reasons. The track did appear on the...

" was released in December 1988, and after spending four weeks at No. 2 in the UK, it hit No. 1 in January 1989. It was the fourth-highest selling single in the UK in 1988, and 17th in Australia for 1989. Donovan and Minogue also dated for a time during this period.

His next single, "Too Many Broken Hearts
Too Many Broken Hearts
"Too Many Broken Hearts" is a popular song by Australian singer Jason Donovan.Written and produced by Stock, Aitken and Waterman it was Donovan's first solo number one single for two weeks in March 1989, though he had made number one with his duet with Kylie Minogue "Especially for You" in January...

," reached number one in the UK in March 1989. He released his début album, Ten Good Reasons
Ten Good Reasons
Ten Good Reasons is the debut album by Australian pop star and actor Jason Donovan. Released in 1989, it became one of the biggest selling albums in the UK that year, and yielded two solo #1 singles and also featured a duet with Kylie Minogue, "Especially for You", which had reached #1 in January...

, in May 1989, which also reached number one (for three weeks). For two weeks, Donovan held the number one positions in the singles chart and the albums chart simultaneously, when his next single, a cover of Brian Hyland
Brian Hyland
Brian Hyland is an American pop recording artist who was particularly successful during the early 1960s. He continued recording into the 1970s...

's "Sealed With a Kiss
Sealed with a Kiss
"Sealed with a Kiss" is the title of a song written by Peter Udell and Gary Geld. It was first recorded by The Four Voices in 1960 as a single, but their recording was not a hit....

", entered the UK charts at number one. Between 1988 and 1992, Donovan garnered 16 Top 40 hit singles in the UK.

In December 1989, he took part in Band Aid II's version of "Do They Know it's Christmas", which also included Minogue.

1991–1993: Joseph, and The Face

Donovan continued to act alongside his pop career, and in 1990 he appeared in his first feature film Blood Oath
Blood Oath (film)
Blood Oath is a 1990 Australian feature film, known in some countries as Prisoners of the Sun. The film is based on the real-life trial of Japanese soldiers for war crimes committed against Allied prisoners of war on the island of Ambon, in the Netherlands East Indies , such as the Laha massacre of...

(aka Prisoners of the Sun).

With questions about his ability to sing, and the break-up of his relationship with Minogue due to her relationship with INXS singer Michael Hutchence
Michael Hutchence
Michael Kelland John Hutchence was an Australian musician and actor. He was the founding lead singer-songwriter of rock band :INXS from 1977 to his death in 1997, a period of twenty years. Hutchence was a member of short-lived pop rock group Max Q and recorded solo material which was released...

, in 1991 Donovan accepted the lead role in the restaged London Palladium
London Palladium
The London Palladium is a 2,286 seat West End theatre located off Oxford Street in the City of Westminster. From the roster of stars who have played there and many televised performances, it is arguably the most famous theatre in London and the United Kingdom, especially for musical variety...

 version of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story is based on the "coat of many colors" story of Joseph from the Hebrew Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice musical to be performed publicly...

, directed by Steven Pimlott
Steven Pimlott
Steven Charles Pimlott OBE was an English opera and theatre director and actor. An obituary in The Times hailed him as "one of the most versatile and inventive theatre directors of his generation"...

. Donovan had his third solo UK #1 single with one of its tracks, Any Dream Will Do
Any Dream Will Do (song)
"Any Dream Will Do" is a popular song written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice for the 1968 musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat...

,
while the production won the 1992 Laurence Olivier Awards
Laurence Olivier Awards
The Laurence Olivier Award is presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre. Named after the renowned British actor Laurence Olivier, they are given for West End shows and other productions staged in London...

 for set design and costume design. However, Donovan later left the production citing "exhaustion" as the reason, and he was replaced in 1993 by TV presenter Phillip Schofield
Phillip Schofield
Phillip Bryan Schofield is an English broadcaster and television personality best known for presenting shows such as This Morning, Dancing on Ice, and various game shows including The Cube.-Early life and career:...

.

In 1992, Donovan launched a successful libel action against The Face
The Face (magazine)
The Face was a British music, fashion and culture monthly magazine started in May 1980 by Nick Logan.-1980s:Logan had previously created the teen pop magazine Smash Hits, and had been an editor at the New Musical Express in the 1970s before launching The Face in 1980.The magazine was influential in...

magazine which had published allegations that he was gay. Donovan won £200,000 in damages and the magazine had to pay a further £100,000 in costs, but the action of his lawsuit made him appear homophobic to some sections of the media and had the effect of alienating much of his audience. Donovan tried to make amends and claimed that he did not sue the magazine out of greed or because he was homophobic, but because he had been accused of lying to his fans. He also came to an agreement with the publishers of the magazine, which would have closed down had they paid him the full amount he was awarded (though this amount could well have been reduced upon appeal anyway). Regardless, Donovan's career never recovered from his act of litigation. Although he had been a mild drug user who had smoked cannabis joints
Joint (cannabis)
Joint is a slang term for a cigarette rolled using cannabis. Rolling papers are the most common rolling medium among industrialized countries, however brown paper, cigarettes with the tobacco removed, and newspaper are commonly used in developing countries. Modern papers are now made from a wide...

 up until this point, in the months after his libel action Donovan began using cocaine. In a 2007 interview in the magazine Marie Claire and also in his 2007 autobiography Between The Lines: My Story Uncut, Donovan admitted that suing The Face
The Face (magazine)
The Face was a British music, fashion and culture monthly magazine started in May 1980 by Nick Logan.-1980s:Logan had previously created the teen pop magazine Smash Hits, and had been an editor at the New Musical Express in the 1970s before launching The Face in 1980.The magazine was influential in...

was the biggest mistake of his life.

Now no longer signed to PWL, who had released his first two albums and a "greatest hits" compilation, Donovan moved to Polydor Records
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...

. The year after his libel action against "The Face", he released his third album, All Around The World (1993). However, the album was not a success and failed to make the UK Top 20 (all of Donovan's albums up until then had been Top 10) and was not released at all in his native Australia. Donovan was subsequently dropped by his new record company, effectively marking the end of his career as a pop star.

1995–1999: Drugs

Donovan later admitted that by 1995 he had a serious drug problem, taking around two grams of cocaine a day. In early 1995, he attended model Kate Moss
Kate Moss
Kate Moss is an English model. Moss is known for her waifish figure and popularising the heroin chic look in the 1990s. She is also known for her controversial private life, high profile relationships, party lifestyle, and drug use. Moss changed the look of modelling and started a global debate on...

's 21st birthday party at The Viper Room in Los Angeles, where he suffered a drug-induced seizure (the same venue at which River Phoenix
River Phoenix
River Jude Phoenix was an American film actor, musician, and teen icon. He was the oldest brother of fellow actors Rain, Joaquin, Liberty, and Summer Phoenix.Phoenix began acting at age 10 in television commercials...

 had died of a drug overdose in 1993). Donovan was rushed to hospital and claims that the last face he remembered seeing was that of Michael Hutchence
Michael Hutchence
Michael Kelland John Hutchence was an Australian musician and actor. He was the founding lead singer-songwriter of rock band :INXS from 1977 to his death in 1997, a period of twenty years. Hutchence was a member of short-lived pop rock group Max Q and recorded solo material which was released...

.

Later in 1995, Donovan starred in the natively produced Australian film called The Last Bullet with Koji Tamaki
Koji Tamaki
is a Japanese singer-songwriter, and actor. He has been well known as a frontman of the band Anzen Chitai that debuted in 1982 and enjoyed their successful career particularly during the 1980s....

, directed by Michael Pattison, which was set in World War II on the Pacific island of Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....

 in the last days of 1945.

In 1998, Donovan took the lead role of Dr. Frank N. Furter in the UK touring production of The Rocky Horror Show, where he met stage manager Angela Malloch. After the pair had a brief relationship, Malloch became pregnant and gave Donovan an ultimatum that he had to kick drugs once and for all if he wanted to be part of their child's life.

In various articles in late 1999, Donovan admitted that he still used cocaine, saying: I still have a joint and I still take coke, but not as much as I did two years ago.

Donovan has claimed to be drug-free since 2000, the year his first child was born.

2000–2005: Fatherhood

Donovan's daughter Jemma was born in March 2000. Since then, with his drug problems now under control, he continued to act on stage and television, and had a role in the medical-legal television drama MDA
MDA (TV series)
MDA is an Australian television series that aired between 2002 and 2005 on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation . It concerned the day-to-day operation of legal firm MDA, which specialised in medical defence.-Synopsis:...

(2003–05), on Australia's ABC network
ABC Television
ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....

. Since 2003, Donovan has also lent his voice to the Buzz!
Buzz!
Buzz! is a series of video games originated by Sleepydog Ltd., developed by Relentless Software and published by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable consoles. They are quiz games that see the players answering trivia questions while...

series of quiz video games.

In late 2004, he was headlining in the stage musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (musical)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, also known as Chitty the Musical, is a stage musical based on the 1968 film produced by Cubby Broccoli. The music and lyrics were written by Richard and Robert Sherman with book by Jeremy Sams.-Productions:...

at the London Palladium
London Palladium
The London Palladium is a 2,286 seat West End theatre located off Oxford Street in the City of Westminster. From the roster of stars who have played there and many televised performances, it is arguably the most famous theatre in London and the United Kingdom, especially for musical variety...

. He finished his original run on 13 March 2005, but was then invited back from June onwards to play in the final two months of the show, until its closure on 4 September 2005. Following this, he has toured the UK performing a few gigs and returned to the stage in January 2006 to star in a UK tour of Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...

's Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd (musical)
Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a 1979 musical thriller with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and libretto by Hugh Wheeler. The musical is based on the 1973 play Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Christopher Bond....

. After this, he returned to Melbourne to star in David Eldrige's Australian transfer of the London drama Festen.

2005-2006: Virgin marketing campaign and I'm A Celebrity...

In 2005, Donovan's mobile phone number was circulated around the web in Australia, due to an image that was taken in Sydney. It appeared that Donovan was trying to sell his car, and unwittingly released his mobile phone number to the public. From 10 September, his answering machine had a special message on it, because he was frustrated by the number of calls he was receiving for no particular reason. Virgin
Virgin Group
Virgin Group Limited is a British branded venture capital conglomerate organisation founded by business tycoon Richard Branson. The core business areas are travel, entertainment and lifestyle. Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by Companies House, who class it as a holding...

 placed advertisements in several high-profile Australian newspapers, urging people not to call Donovan, one of their customers. Virgin Mobile has since admitted the photos were all part of a marketing ploy. Virgin also ran TV advertisements showing Donovan answering prank calls, asking the viewer not to call him, then displaying his number.

Donovan took part in I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in 2006 and finished in 3rd place. While in the jungle, he became good friends with David Gest
David Gest
David Alan Gest is an American concert promoter and media personality, perhaps best known for his turbulent marriage to Liza Minnelli, friendship with The Jackson 5 and appearance on the 2006 series of the British reality television show I'm a Celebrity.....

 and Matt Willis
Matt Willis
Matthew James Willis is an English singer-songwriter. He found fame as a founding member of the band Busted.- Early years :...

. Donovan also took part in many Bushtucker Trials, which included wearing a helmet full of insects and playing a giant game of Operation
Operation (game)
Operation is a battery-operated game of physical skill that tests players' hand-eye co-ordination and fine motor skills. Originally made by Milton Bradley, and currently made by Hasbro it has been in production since 1965, the year in which the game was invented by John Spinello.The game is a...

. Donovan lost out on the King of the Jungle Crown to Matt Willis. However, during an interview on "The Steve Wright Show" on BBC Radio 2 (January 2008), he claimed that his appearance on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! had revitalised his career.

2007–2009: Return to music and soap operas

Donovan performed a medley of songs from Joseph along with other actors who have played the eponymous role (Donny Osmond
Donny Osmond
Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond is an American singer, musician, actor, dancer, radio personality, and former teen idol. Osmond has also been a talk and game show host, record producer and author. In the mid 1960s, he and four of his elder brothers gained fame as the Osmond Brothers on the long...

 and Lee Mead
Lee Mead
Lee Stephen Mead is an English musical theatre actor, best known for winning the title role in the 2007 West End revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat through the BBC reality TV casting show Any Dream Will Do...

) at the Concert for Diana
Concert for Diana
Concert for Diana was a concert held at the then new Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom in honour of Diana, Princess of Wales, on 1 July 2007, which would have been her 46th birthday; 31 August that year brought the 10th anniversary of her death...

 in July 2007.

In early 2008, Donovan had a role in ITV's post-watershed soap opera Echo Beach
Echo Beach (soap)
Echo Beach was a short-lived British teen-drama series that aired on ITV in 2008. Set in the fictional Cornish coastal town of Polnarren, it ran for twelve weekly episodes from 10 January to 21 March 2008...

; the series was cancelled after 12 episodes. He also presented Sunday Night with Jason Donovan, a programme on The One Network
The One Network
The One Network was the collective name for thirty-eight regional Independent Local Radio licences operated by Global Radio in the United Kingdom. It was formed from the combination of GWR Group's The Mix Network and Capital Radio Group's The Capital Radio Network when the companies merged in 2005...

 of British local radio stations.

On 25 September 2008, Donovan performed in the canteen at the head offices of Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...

 in Welwyn Garden City
Welwyn Garden City
-Economy:Ever since its inception as garden city, Welwyn Garden City has attracted a strong commercial base with several designated employment areas. Among the companies trading in the town are:*Air Link Systems*Baxter*British Lead Mills*Carl Zeiss...

, Hertfordshire. He was promoting his forthcoming album, Let It Be Me, which was released on 10 November 2008. The album, his first for 15 years, reached No. 28 in Britain.

Also in 2008, Donovan performed at the Party In The Park in Wellingborough
Wellingborough
Wellingborough is a market town and borough in Northamptonshire, England, situated some from the county town of Northampton. The town is situated on the north side of the River Nene, most of the older town is sited on the flanks of the hills above the river's current flood plain...

, Northamptonshire.

In 2009, Donovan performed as Tick (Mitzi) in the London stage musical production of Priscilla Queen of the Desert at the Palace Theatre
Palace Theatre, London
The Palace Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster in London. It is an imposing red-brick building that dominates the west side of Cambridge Circus and is located near the intersection of Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road...

. Also in 2009, Donovan began appearing in television commercials (with Kerry Katona
Kerry Katona
Kerry Jayne Elizabeth Katona is an English media personality and singer best known for her television work, predominantly in light entertainment and reality shows. She has also been a pop singer with girl group Atomic Kitten, a magazine columnist, an actress, and the author of ghostwritten books...

 and Coleen Nolan
Coleen Nolan
Coleen Patricia Nolan is an English born television presenter, author and singer of Irish descent. She was the youngest member of the girl group, The Nolans, in which she sang alongside her sisters...

) for the frozen food supermarket chain Iceland
Iceland (supermarket)
Iceland is a supermarket chain in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Iceland's primary product lines include frozen foods, such as frozen prepared meals and frozen vegetables - hence the name of the company...

 in the UK.

2010 – present

In September 2010, Donovan took part in the BBC Television Series Who Do You Think You Are?, tracing his family tree back several generations. Donovan's fifth studio album, Soundtrack Of The 80s
Soundtrack of the 80s
Soundtrack of the 80s is the fifth studio album by the Australian singer Jason Donovan, released in October 2010. The album consists of cover versions of Donovan's favourite 1980s hits, as well as three new original tracks....

, was released in October 2010. The album is composed of cover versions of well known 80s hits such as "Drive
Drive (The Cars song)
"Drive" is a 1984 song by The Cars, the third single from the band's Heartbeat City album and their biggest international hit. It was written by Ric Ocasek and produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange with the band. Lead vocals were by Cars bassist Benjamin Orr....

" (The Cars
The Cars
The Cars are an American rock band that emerged from the early New Wave music scene in the late 1970s. The band consisted of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Ric Ocasek, lead singer and bassist Benjamin Orr, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson...

), "I Just Died In Your Arms" (Cutting Crew
Cutting Crew
The Cutting Crew is a pop rock band formed in England in 1985, best known for their #1 hit, " Died in Your Arms".-Career:Vocalist Nick Van Eede founded the group along with Canadian guitarist Kevin MacMichael in 1985, and the two made demos that led to a recording contract, before bassist Colin...

) and "Sign Your Name
Sign Your Name
"Sign Your Name" is the name of a famous song written and performed by Terence Trent D'Arby .Released in his 1987 album Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby, it was an international success, reaching number two on the UK Singles Chart in early 1988 and number four on the US...

" (Terence Trent D'Arby) and several others. The same year, Donovan played the role of The Artilleryman in the 2010–2011 stage show Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds
Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds
Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds is a 1978 concept album by Jeff Wayne, retelling the story of The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells. Its format is progressive rock and string orchestra, using narration and leitmotifs to carry the story via rhyming melodic lyrics that express...

. The show toured the UK and Europe, starting in November 2010 and finished in Germany in January 2011. Donovan also voiced the part of Toby the Kangaroo in the environmental animated film, Animals United.

In February 2011, Donovan appeared on the BBC series Ready, Steady, Cook. Donovan has appeared in Casualty
Casualty (TV series)
Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...

as a British soldier injured in Afghanistan. In 2011, he performed on the Here and Now Tour
Here and Now Tour
The Here and Now Tour is a series of concert tours, which began in 2001, featuring groups and singers famous in the 1980s. The Tour takes in arenas and theatres around the UK and still runs today. The tours are organised by Tony Denton Promotions...

, and also toured in a production of The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...

playing Captain Von Trapp. The production co-starred Verity Rushworth
Verity Rushworth
Verity Rushworth is an English actress who is best known for her role as Donna Windsor-Dingle in the ITV1 soap Emmerdale, having taken over the role from Sophie Jeffery in 1998.- Life and career :...

 as Maria.

From September 2011, Donovan has been taking part in the ninth series of Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing (series 9)
The ninth series of Strictly Come Dancing began on 10 September 2011 with a Launch Show, and the live shows started on 30 September and 1 October 2011. The show was broadcast from Wembley Arena on 19 November with all proceeds going to the BBC charity, Children in Need...

. He was partnered with dancer Kristina Rihanoff
Kristina Rihanoff
Kristina Rihanoff is a world finalist professional ballroom dancer, instructor and author.-Achievements:...

.

Donovan also currently hosts his own show on Heart Network Radio across the UK, on Sunday afternoons between 12 noon to 4pm.

Singles

Year Single UK
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...


GER
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

IRE
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...


AUS
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...


FIN
1988 "Nothing Can Divide Us" 5 3 3 12
1988 "Especially for You
Especially for You
"Especially for You" was the fifth international single released from singer Kylie Minogue in time for the Christmas 1988 market and is a duet with Jason Donovan. It did not appear on her debut album but was included on Jason Donovan's 1989 debut album Ten Good Reasons. The track did appear on the...

"
(duet with Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...

)
1 10 1 2 4
1989 "Too Many Broken Hearts
Too Many Broken Hearts
"Too Many Broken Hearts" is a popular song by Australian singer Jason Donovan.Written and produced by Stock, Aitken and Waterman it was Donovan's first solo number one single for two weeks in March 1989, though he had made number one with his duet with Kylie Minogue "Especially for You" in January...

"
1 16 1 7 3
1989 "Sealed With a Kiss
Sealed with a Kiss
"Sealed with a Kiss" is the title of a song written by Peter Udell and Gary Geld. It was first recorded by The Four Voices in 1960 as a single, but their recording was not a hit....

"
1 4 1 8 2
1989 "Every Day (I Love You More)
Every Day (I Love You More)
"Every Day " is a 1989 song recorded by Australian singer Jason Donovan. It was the fifth and last single from his debut album Ten Good Reasons. It was also the least successful from this album, remaining at the bottom of many European charts, although it hit number two in the UK...

"
2 19 1 43 9
1989 "When You Come Back to Me
When You Come Back to Me (Jason Donovan song)
"When You Come Back to Me" is a pop song recorded by Australian singer and actor Jason Donovan in 1989. It was the first single from his second album Between the Lines and reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart....

"
2 36 1 40 2
1990 "Hang On to Your Love" 8 51 3
1990 "Another Night" 18 52 6 14
1990 "Rhythm of the Rain
Rhythm of the Rain
"Rhythm of the Rain" is a song performed by The Cascades, released in November 1962. It was written by Cascades band member John Claude Gummoe. It rose to number three on the US pop chart on March 9, 1963, and spent two weeks at number one on the US Easy Listening chart. The song was also a top 5...

"
9 38 6 44
1990 "I'm Doin' Fine" 22 60 9
1991 "R.S.V.P." 17 66 8 97
1991 "Any Dream Will Do
Any Dream Will Do (song)
"Any Dream Will Do" is a popular song written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice for the 1968 musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat...

"
1 55 1 92
1991 "Happy Together
Happy Together (song)
"Happy Together" is a 1967 song from The Turtles' album of the same name. Released in February 1967, the song knocked The Beatles' "Penny Lane" out of the #1 slot for three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the group's only chart-topper. "Happy Together" reached #12 on the UK Singles Chart in...

"
10 53 6
1991 "Joseph Megamix" 13
1992 "Mission of Love" 26
1992 "As Time Goes By
As Time Goes By
As Time Goes By is a British sitcom that aired on BBC One from 1992 to 2005. Starring Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer, it follows the relationship between two former lovers who meet unexpectedly after not having been in contact for 38 years....

"
26
1993 "All Around the World" 41
2007 "Share My World" 118
2008 "Dreamboats and Petticoats" /
"Be My Baby
Be My Baby
"Be My Baby" is a 1963 single written by Phil Spector, Jeff Barry, and Ellie Greenwich, performed by The Ronettes and produced by Spector. When released as a single, the song reached #2 on the U.S. Billboard Pop Singles Chart and #4 on the UK's Record Retailer...

"

Albums

Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...


(sales thresholds)
UK
AUS
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...



FIN
GER
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

NZ
Recording Industry Association of New Zealand
The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand...



1989 Ten Good Reasons
Ten Good Reasons
Ten Good Reasons is the debut album by Australian pop star and actor Jason Donovan. Released in 1989, it became one of the biggest selling albums in the UK that year, and yielded two solo #1 singles and also featured a duet with Kylie Minogue, "Especially for You", which had reached #1 in January...

1 5 3 3 4
  • UK
    British Phonographic Industry
    The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...

    : 5× Platinum
  • FIN
    Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland
    Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland ry, or Musiikkituottajat for short, is the umbrella organization of recording producers active in Finland, with 23 record labels as its members.-Activity:...

    : Platinum
1990 Between the Lines
Between the Lines (Jason Donovan album)
Between the Lines is the second album by Australian pop singer Jason Donovan. It was released in 1990.- Background :Produced by the team Stock Aitken Waterman, the album reached No.2 in the UK charts , though was far less successful in Donovan's native Australia where it peaked at no.77...

2 77 16 52 44
  • UK: Platinum
  • 1991 Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Cast Recording) 1
    Greatest Hits 9
    1993 All Around the World
    All Around the World (Jason Donovan album)
    All Around the World is the third studio album by Jason Donovan. It was released in 1993 and reached no.27 in the UK. The album was not released at all in Donovan's native Australia....

    27
    1998 The Rocky Horror Show (Cast Recording)
    2006 Greatest Hits
    Greatest Hits (2006 Jason Donovan album)
    Greatest Hits is a compilation album by singer Jason Donovan. The album featured all the hit singles by Donovan while he was produced by Stock Aitken Waterman....

    80
    2008 Let It Be Me
    Let It Be Me (album)
    Let It Be Me is the fourth studio album by the Australian singer Jason Donovan. It was released in November 2008, and was Donovan's first new studio album in 15 years. It reached no.28 in the UK....

    28
    2010 Soundtrack Of The 80s 20

    Acting credits

    Year Title Format Role
    1980 Skyways
    Skyways (TV series)
    Skyways is an Australian television series made by Crawford Productions for the Seven Network.The series, which aired from 1979 to 1981, was set at the fictional Pacific International Airport and dealt with the lives of the pilots, airline staff and management team who worked there.Skyways was...

    TV series Robin's Brother & Trevor Kirk
    1981 I Can Jump Puddles
    I Can Jump Puddles
    I Can Jump Puddles is a 1981 Australian television mini-series based on the 1955 autobiographical series of the same name by author Alan Marshall...

    TV movie Freddy
    1983 Home TV series Unknown
    1985 Golden Pennies TV series Sean
    1986–1989 Neighbours
    Neighbours
    Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...

    TV series Scott Robinson
    1988 The Heroes
    The Heroes
    The Heroes is a 1916 American short comedy film starring Oliver Hardy.-Cast:* Oliver Hardy - Plump * Billy Ruge - Runt* Ray Godfrey - Plump's and Runt's sweetheart* Bert Tracy - Schoolmaster* Joe Cohen - Circus Agent...

    TV mini-series Happy Huston
    1990 Prisoners of the Sun
    Blood Oath (film)
    Blood Oath is a 1990 Australian feature film, known in some countries as Prisoners of the Sun. The film is based on the real-life trial of Japanese soldiers for war crimes committed against Allied prisoners of war on the island of Ambon, in the Netherlands East Indies , such as the Laha massacre of...

    Film Private Talbot
    1990 Shadows of the Heart TV movie Alex Fargo
    1991 Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat TV special Joseph
    1993 Galleria Short film Duane
    1995 The Last Bullet TV movie Stanley Brennan
    1995 Rough Diamonds
    Rough Diamonds
    Rough Diamonds is the sixth album by rock band Bad Company released in August 1982.Rough Diamonds, like its predecessor, Desolation Angels, was recorded at Ridge Farm Studio in Surrey, England in March and April of 1981 and engineered by Max Norman .It was the last album by Bad Company's original...

    Film Mike Tyrell
    1996 The Sun, the Moon and the Stars Film Pat
    2000 Sorted
    Sorted (film)
    Sorted is a 2000 British thriller film directed by Alexander Jovy.-Plot:Carl has travelled to London to clear up the details of his brothers death. Although Carl finds that there is another side to his brothers life. A group of all-night rave junkies accept him into their family, as the brother of...

    Film Martin
    2002 Tempe Tip Film Max
    2003 Horseplay Film Henry
    2003 Ned
    Ned (film)
    Ned is an Australian film, directed by Abe Forsythe. It is satire of Australian outlaw Ned Kelly, and his iconographical status as a "hero."The film was released in the same year as Ned Kelly, starring Heath Ledger....

    Film Father Thompson
    2002–2003 MDA
    MDA (TV series)
    MDA is an Australian television series that aired between 2002 and 2005 on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation . It concerned the day-to-day operation of legal firm MDA, which specialised in medical defence.-Synopsis:...

    TV series Richard Savage
    2004 Loot TV movie Jon Peregrine
    2005 Buzz! The Music Quiz
    Buzz! The Music Quiz
    Buzz!: The Music Quiz is the first in the Buzz! series of video games created by Sleepydog and Relentless Software for the Sony PlayStation 2. In the game, players answer questions asked by the quizmaster using the four Buzz! remote controls...

    Video game Buzz
    2005 Vietcong 2
    Vietcong 2
    Vietcong 2 is a tactical shooter PC game, developed by Pterodon and Illusion Softworks, published by 2K Games in October 2005, and set during the Vietnam War. It is the direct sequel to Vietcong.- Gameplay :...

    Video game Australian Officer
    2006 Buzz! The Big Quiz
    Buzz! The Big Quiz
    Buzz!: The Big Quiz is the second in the Buzz! series of PlayStation 2 games developed by Relentless Software.Initial promotional material had it named Buzz! The Uber Quiz, however SCEE announced the change upon the game's launch. The format is essentially that of the original: Buzz!: The Music Quiz...

    Video game Buzz
    2008 Buzz! Quiz TV Video game Buzz
    2008 Echo Beach
    Echo Beach (soap)
    Echo Beach was a short-lived British teen-drama series that aired on ITV in 2008. Set in the fictional Cornish coastal town of Polnarren, it ran for twelve weekly episodes from 10 January to 21 March 2008...

    TV series Daniel Marrack
    2010 Animals United
    Animals United
    Animals United is a 2010 German animated film directed by Reinhard Klooss and Holger Tappe, starring Ralf Schmitz and Thomas Fritsch as a meerkat called Billy and a lion called Socrates in the African Okavango Delta who go on a quest to discover why their river has unexpectedly dried up. It is...

    Film Toby (voice)
    2011 Evil Calls Video film  Gary
    2011 Back2Hell Video film  Gary

    External links

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