Sep 8 2005
icBirmingham
A Birmingham singer and former
Fame Academy hopeful has landed the biggest gig of his life - supporting Canadian rock star Bryan Adams.
Nick Hall, from Kings Heath, and his band will be the main support at Adams' gig at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry on September 23, his only UK tour date this year.
Mr Hall, aged 31, an engineer, appeared on BBC's Fame Academy in 2003 after beating more than 12,000 hopefuls to get into the final 13, but was voted off after just one week.
He said: "I had a pretty tough time when I first came off the show. We were all trying to tout our wares around London, and it took me two or three months to realise I was banging my head against a brick wall because I didn't have any material I was really proud of.
"So I came back to Birmingham and I've spent the last year getting a band together and producing something I'm happy with. We are in the middle of recording our first album."
The majority of the 7,000 tickets for the gig sold out within weeks of going on sale in June, but a further 500 have just been released.
Mr Hall has performed with acts such as The Honeyz, Hepburn and Boney M, but supporting Bryan Adams will be his biggest gig so far.
He will also support former Westlife singer Brian McFadden in October, but is used to much smaller crowds. He has been playing gigs in London and at Birmingham's Glee Club to raise the money to produce an album.
Mr Hall said: "This gig is going to be pretty huge for us. It puts us right up there with artists who are signed to a record label, which is great."
He has been writing and playing music since he learned to play the saxophone and harmonica at the age of 12. His music ranges from rhythm and blues to acid jazz, and he has also mastered the guitar and keyboards.
The concert in the Jaguar Events Hall is part of a weekend of activities to mark the official opening of the Ricoh Arena.
* Tickets are available for £45 from Ricoh Arena on 0870 422 7466.
