A singer from a North Cumbrian village has won an award for his talents.

Hethersgill man Kelvin Wood, has been a singer and entertainer for around 22 years.

Born and bred in Hethersgill, he moved to Blackpool where he is now based in 2015.

Kelvin said of his background in singing: “I started at the Great Fair stage in Carlisle at the age of eight.

“I was a massive Shakin’ Stevens fan growing up, I remember going to the side of the stage and there was the backing band and I spoke to one of the band members and asked if they knew any Shakin’ Stevens songs, and they didn't, but I said it wasn’t a problem, and I did a song with no backing after they gave me a mic.

“It wasn't until several years after when I went to a few karaokes on nights out and there was a competition in Carlisle, I got through to the final, and for the final you had to dress as the person you were going to be, so I dressed as Robbie Williams and sang Let Me Entertain You.

“I won that final, and then I thought I want to do this, and for a few years I did a Robbie Williams tribute, it was before tributes were anything like what they are now.

“Back then it opened a lot of doors, you put ‘Robbie Williams tribute’ on the window and someone would come, whereas now everyone's a tribute.

“After a couple of years I got bored of doing the same stuff and wanted to do more 60s and 70s, I then went out as myself and it went from there.

“In February of 2022 I was anonymously nominated for two awards at the prestigious National Entertainment Awards , Best Male Solo Artist and Best Original Artist.

“Each category had 25 artists and was put to a public vote until July 2022 when the top 10 in each category were invited down to The Deco theatre in Northampton on September 25 for the awards ceremony.

“I won the Best Male Solo Artist award and now I go forward to represent the north of England, North Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland at the National Finals on November 27 in Essex.”

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