A Young songwriter is aiming to follow in the footsteps of Coldplay star Chris Martin after making it to the final of a music award.
Peter Ellis, 16, a fifth-year pupil at James Gillespie's high school, has beaten hundreds of hopefuls from across Britain to become one of 30 young people through to the finals of the Make It Break It (MIBI) awards.
Now songs written by Peter and the other contenders will be listened to and evaluated by some of the best-known figures in the music industry, including Chris Martin, rapper Ms Dynamite and broadcaster Mark Radcliffe.
Chris Martin was himself a winner of a forerunner of the MIBI awards as a fledgling musician, when he triumphed in the Yamaha Rock and Pop Awards in 1995.Peter, whose song This Town won him his place in the finals, is now keeping everything crossed that he will be chosen as one of six MIBI award winners on April 8.
The awards scheme, which is run jointly by Yamaha and the Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts (LIPA), was launched three years ago to inspire and showcase the talents of young songwriters across all popular music genres - rock, pop and urban/dance.
The winners will each get the chance to work with professional session musicians, before performing at the LIPA in front of a capacity crowd of invited supporters, music industry and record company executives.
Peter, who plays guitar, harmonica and sings in a band called Danny Cockroach with three friends, said: "It would be amazing to win, although I'm sure there are probably lots of musicians who want to get to that stage too."
Citing his band's main musical influences as Pink Floyd, Cream and Led Zeppelin, he said the thought of his song being judged by the likes of Chris Martin was "awe-inspiring".
A spokesman for the awards panel said: "The judges selected the 30 songs that they felt were the most structured, well-written and that showed songwriting talent. They chose the songs that were obviously commercial. Peter's song would have been chosen for all these reasons."
Chris Martin, lead singer of Coldplay and husband of Hollywood A-lister Gwyneth Paltrow, said his own experiences as a young musician made the MIBI awards especially significant for him.
"When I was invited to perform at Earls Court and rehearse with a group of top session musicians in 1995 for the then Yamaha Rock and Pop awards it was the biggest thing in my life and convinced me that my music mattered," he said. "That's why the MIBI awards are so important."
Radio DJ Mark Radcliffe added: "The MIBIs take your music to independent people who know about the business and care very much about helping real talent - that's the great thing."
Peter's father, Mike, a social worker, said he was very proud of Peter's achievement in getting to the finals. Speaking from the family home in Mertoun Place, Polwarth, Mr Ellis said: "It's fantastic news. He's always been interested in music, although I think he's fairly realistic about the chances of rock stardom."
His son added: "I'm considering a career in science, but obviously, if I could make it as a musician, I wouldn't mind that!"
Source: news.scotsman.com
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