MY STORY
Where do I begin? From Brighton busker to globe gigger. It's been a crazy journey. I guess my love for jazz started when I was 16. I'd go out busking in my tux and sing classics from Nat to Ella to Frank. I just fell in love with the American song book and the joy it gave me. Within 2 years or so I was gigging at the local pubs and had a few amateur muscial theatre lead roles under my belt plus my first feature film appearance in 'The World's End' with Simon Pegg.
Soon I began to delve into the world of YouTube. Nothing too serious. Just a bloke, his phone and a cheap backing track. I uploaded a short video of me singing Bring Him Home from Les Miseerables and that's when my journey shifted a few gears.
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A guy got in contact asking me if I'd like to join a band. A musical theatre boy band. I said 'why not' and met up with the group to sing a few songs. Next thing you know, we are winning Britain's Got Talent six months later! The whole experience was a whirlwind. Simon Cowell loved the sound and signed us up to SYCO RECORDS straight away. It was August 2014 when the album dropped and hit No.1 in its first week. It went on to sell 300,000 copies. I couldn't get my head round it. From then on we had two sell out UK tours including venues like the Royal Albert Hall and The Palladium. We performed in front of 30 million people on Japanese TV live, released a book, performed in the Royal Variety Show and shared the stage with stars like Gregory Porter, Shirley Bassey, Bette Midler, Alfie Boe, One Direction, Ed Sheehan, Michael Ball, Neyo, Little Mix, Ella Henderson, the list goes on and on. These were truly amazing experiences for me but something wasn't right.
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I had put on weight, I had lost confidence, singing wasn't fun anymore. Yes the fans were awesome and the experiences were out of this world but I couldn't handle the politics of the music industry. Being part of Collabro had shattered my confidence and stopped me enjoying singing. After performing for the 10th anniversary of Britain's Got Talent in 2016, I decided it was time to leave the band to focus on my mental health and happiness.
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People ask me about loosing the fame and success but I honestly couldn't have made a better decision. Fame doesn't fulfilled you and it certainly isn't an appropriate measure of 'success', especially when it doesn't make you happy. After taking a few months off, I decided to get back into the music industry and return to my original love...Jazz.
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I secured a spot at the Legendary Dean Street Live Jazz and perform my first solo show alongside my new instrumental band. It was a sell out and a hit. You can check out the review here. News outlets picked it up which led to several interviews across the UK (ITV news, The Sun, London live, The Evening Standard and many more) about my new sound and the next move for my career.
Since then I've performed internationally in some amazing venues like Ronnie Scott's and the Hippodrome in London, across the pond in NYC's West Village and begun writing my own music. I feel incredibly fortunate to be working with some awesome producers and writers such as Don Black, Jerry Wonda and Nait Masuku. My 5 track acoustic EP Soho Sessions is now available to download from Spotify, Prime Music and iTunes etc and you can hear some other recordings on my LISTEN page.
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I get to perform a range of music with amazing musicians and vocalists all over the world which is incredible. If you want to keep up to date with my live shows subscribe to my newsletter or check out my SHOWS page.
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Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read my story. I'm sure there's plenty more to write so check back in.