11:58am Wednesday 30th June 2010
A LOCAL singer is looking to follow in the footsteps of his childhood hero and launch his solo career when he takes to the stage at the Wigan Life Tuned-In Concerts this July.
Simon James, 26, has been announced as the support act for Ronan Keating on July 9 at Haigh Country Park, a venue he first attended for the now legendary 1998 homecoming concert by Wigan band, The Verve.
Simon, originally from Orrell, said: “Richard Ashcroft was a big hero of mine. He proved what someone in Wigan could achieve if they worked hard enough.
“I was fourteen when they did the big gig at Haigh. Me and my friends were right at the front of the queue to get in and it was one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to.”
Inspired by that memorable show, Simon picked up a guitar and embarked on a musical career of his own, releasing an album and touring the country with former band Eighth Wave before going solo and signing with Brilliant/Universal Records earlier this year.
Now looking to emulate the success of Richard Ashcroft and company, Simon returns to Haigh for a career launching performance.
Simon added: “I was absolutely over the moon when I was asked to support Ronan Keating. This is the biggest gig I could hope to play in my hometown and a lot of my friends and family will be there too.
“I’m excited about getting out there to perform my music and I’ll be doing a couple of familiar songs so that everyone in the audience can have a sing-a-long and enjoy themselves.”
The Ronan Keating concert is part of this year’s “Summer of Sound” which kicks off on July 4 with the annual Haigh Fest featuring the best of Wigan Borough’s unsigned bands. From there, some of the biggest names in music head to Haigh for the Wigan Life Tuned-In Concerts.
McFly will play on Monday July 5, Alesha Dixon and N-Dubz on Tuesday July 6, on Wednesday July 7 Katherine Jenkins will perform with the National Symphony Orchestra, The Saturdays will perform on Thursday July 8 while Simon joins Ronan Keating to complete the Tuned-In line-up on Friday July 9. The “Summer of Sound” climaxes with the 25th Wigan International Jazz Festival which kicks-off on Saturday July 10.
For more information on the Wigan Life Tuned-In Concerts, see www.wlct.org/concerts.
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