Now That's What We Call Culture Banner
As part of the Liverpool 2008 European Capital of Culture celebration, a huge talent search was launched in August 2008, to be held at the Liverpool Echo Arena on the 8th August 2008. The final acts were selected by getting through a two day series of auditions, in front of a host of different judges. The audition judges consisted of industry professionals and celebrities, such as Creative Director Phil Redmond, Liverpool comedienne Pauline Daniels, ex-Brooksiders Philip Olivier and Jennifer Ellison and Hollyoaks’s Emma Rigby, celebrity hairdresser Herbert Howe, Sir Paul’s brother Mike McCartney, The Farm guitarist Keith Mullin and many more.
This is the advertisement that prompted me to apply and subsequently, pass the auditions.
Are you Merseyside's next big cultural hit? Are you a star waiting to hit the big time? If so, then you need to audition for NOW THAT'S WHAT WE CALL CULTURE.
This is the biggest regional talent search ever! We're not just looking for singers and dancers – if you think its talent, we call it culture! Absolutely anyone who lives, works and plays in Merseyside can have a go. So, if you've got what it takes to wow an audience and pull a crowd, whether a Pavarotti or a McCartney, we want to see you auditioning at the fabulous Echo Arena on Wednesday 6th August and Thursday 7th August 2008.
NOW THAT'S WHAT WE CALL CULTURE is a unique media partnership by Open Culture, led by Phil Redmond and supported by Liverpool Daily Post and Echo, Radio City, Radio Merseyside, ICDC, Juice FM and Liverpool Culture Company.
As one of the thousands of hopefuls, I was very lucky to have won a place in the final with 11 other finalists to perform to a ten thousand strong audience at the Liverpool Echo Arena. It was an amazing experience and I got a fantastic response to my piece 'I Swear To God I Tried'.
The link below shows a television news clip of the end of the show:
BBC News Clip
My success has led to me now having a weekly performing slot on BBC's Radio Merseyside.