Michael Ball (singer) represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest, finishing second with the song "One Step Out of Time". In 1995, he reprised the role of Marius in "". His other West End roles include Giorgio in "Passion" (1997) and Caractacus Potts in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" (2002). He has twice won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He won in 2008 for his role as Edna Turnblad in "Hairspray", and then in 2013 for the title role in the revival of "". Ball was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in
Michael Ball (footballer) club, winning the Dutch Eredivisie. Ball was sold to Manchester City in 2007. He signed for Leicester City, where his career was cut short to a recurrence of his knee injury. Ball was born in Liverpool, Merseyside. As a schoolboy he was part of the Liverpool youth system, playing alongside Michael Owen and Steven Gerrard. From 1994 to 1996 he attended the The Football Association's National School at Lilleshall, before joining Everton. He played his first senior match in April 1997 as a substitute against Tottenham Hotspur, and made his first start a week later at West Ham United. Ball