Alfie Boe busked in Manchester to celebrate his new album.

The beloved tenor kicked off the festive season by surprising shoppers in the northern city this morning (23.11.18) by performing a few acoustic renditions of his songs in St. Anne's Square.

A huge star gathered to watch Alfie playing tracks from 'As Time Goes By' - his first solo album in four years - which celebrates the music of the 30s and 40s.

The star said: ''It was such a thrill to 'busk' in the streets of Manchester this morning, and great to meet the fans today.

''I love these songs from the album most when performing live, so it was a pleasure to do this for one of the first times today in St Anne's Square and hear everyone singing along to 'Minnie The Moocher.' ''

The studio version of the track even features 'Frasier' star Kelsey Grammer, while other songs on the LP include 'La Vie En Rose' and 'The Way You Look Tonight'.

Alfie decided to pay tribute to the golden age of music on his new record, and he encouraged his band to ''make it dirty'' in the studio instead of going for the big band cliches.

He has explained: ''You had Louis Armstrong blasting out songs, Gene Krupa hammering on the skins. Cab Calloway was as wild a performer as you could possibly get.
