Member Article

Competition winner records CD for children's charity

Judges at the recent X-Factor-style auditions held at The Sage Gateshead have named the winner of the competition as 18 year old Philip Bolam. The auditions, organised by regional children’s charity Chin-Up, attracted hundreds of budding singers from across the region. Contestants were asked to audition using their own song choices, and those successful went through to the finals where they were asked to cover the charity’s adopted song, ‘I Find Your Love’ by US musician Beth Neilsen Chapman.

Philip has since recorded his version in accompaniment with the Northern Sinfonia which has now been released as a CD single, with all proceeds going direct to the charity. He will be performing the single at the Windows store in The Arcade, Newcastle on Friday 16 March from 5–7pm. Signed copies of the CD single will also be available.

Maureen Hardcastle, Chin-Up Chair, said: “The original idea was to record a CD, but things gradually snowballed into this amazing event. Choosing the winner was incredibly difficult as the contestants were, for the majority, so very talented. However, we feel that we made absolutely the right decision with Philip. Both Philip and his family have been incredibly supportive and Chin-Up look forward to a long and rewarding relationship with them. We also hope that this will be the start of a fantastic singing career for him!”

The CD single of ‘I Find Your Love’ by Philip Bolam is available to buy at HMV in the MetroCentre, Newcastle and in Carlisle and in Windows, Newcastle and directly from Chin Up. Priced at £4, all proceeds will go towards the charity. The charity is currently looking for a national CD distributor. To find out more about Chin-Up, visit www.chin-up-charity.org.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .