The Texas Tenors found fame last year when they finished fourth in America's Got Talent. The trio come to Fairfield Halls next Wednesday as part of their first UK tour and SAM GODDARD caught up with one of them, Marcus Collins.

Sam: As fans of America's Got Talent will know, you guys are all classically trained singers from Houston. How did you meet and how did the band as we know it today actually take shape?

Marcus: Well, we'd all been friends at home for a very long time and had a lot of experience singing individually and in groups so we just kind of thought 'why not pull all of this together for America's Got Talent?'

Sam: Your act involves quite an eclectic mix of genres, with elements of Gospel, Country, Broadway, and even some Classical stuff. Is this a reflection of each of your personalities and personal tastes, with each member bringing his own musical preferences and background to the table, or are you all into each of these distinct elements?

Marcus: Our backgrounds definitely had an impact. As fans know, John is known as The Tenor, because of his classical training and his time spent singing in opera companies. JC was also classically trained, but he came more from the country route. Myself, I bring the more Broadway kind of angle, since I spent a while appearing in shows like Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, stuff like that.

Sam: Obviously America's got talent was your big break as a group. You must be sick of being asked this question, but what was it like performing to that many people and in that kind of atmosphere?

Marcus: The only way I can describe it is as the experience of a life-time. We look back on that now and think 'did we really do that?'. It was huge. We even get fan-mail from Indonesia and Denmark, where the show is just going out at the moment, and from the UK of course. The judges were great as well. They were all really strong characters. Piers (Morgan) told me after the show that he was just having a walk on the beach one evening and realised that he'd been humming one of our songs the whole time. He called us his guilty pleasure. I was happy to see we'd got through to even him. Sharon (Osbourne) seemed to really like us though.

Sam: It seemed like she took a bit of a shine to you personally...

Marcus (laughs): Yeah, I think Sharon liked our look quite a lot...

Sam: Finally, how does it feel to be performing in the UK and what can audiences expect from these performances? Will it be a case more of the same of what we've already seen on America's Got Talent?

Marcus: First off, were extremely excited about getting a chance to perform in the UK. And no, it definitely won't be a case of more of the same. The show only touched upon what we're capable of and what we can do. Audiences didn't really get a chance to hear any of our classical stuff for example. Those who buy the album or come along to the live performances will be treated to a real variety of music. It really runs the gambit.

The Texas Tenors, Fairfield Halls, Park Lane, August 25, 7.45pm, £19.50. Call 020 8668 9291 or visit fairfield.co.uk.