Voice of London

Words, audio & image: Bernadette Galbraith | Subbing: Joanne Clark

The BRIT School based in Croydon recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. Take a listen to the podcast below, where I discuss the potential impact specialised colleges may have on future careers.

Music Source: Adele – Rolling in the Deep, Jessie J – Price Tag, Jax Jones ft. RAYE – You Don’t Know Me

Adele

Born and raised for most of her childhood in Tottenham, Adele’s popular with her fans particularly because of her down-to-earth nature. Having graduated from the BRIT school in 2006, Adele was snapped up by XL Recordings soon after. She has since gone on to release three studio albums, with her lead single Hello becoming the fastest video to hit one billion views on YouTube.

Jessie J

Jessica Ellen Cornish, otherwise known as Jessie J is said to have graduated from the BRIT school alongside Adele in 2006. However unlike Adele, Jessie studied musical theatre at the college and her passion for the theatre was evident from a young age, having starred in Whistle Down the Wind at just 11 years old. As well as a successful music career, Jessie has also branched onto TV, featuring as a judge for BBC’s The Voice.

Imogen Heap

Leading the way for female producers and audio engineers is Imogen Heap. Heap’s song Hide and Seek is her most commercially successful single, having also been sampled in R&B artist, Jason Derulo’s Whatcha Say. Not only this, but she’s also been seen making waves in the production world for her involvement in developing technology and the way electronic music is produced. Heap returned to the BRIT school in July this year, to demonstrate a pair of high-tech musical gloves for their 25^th anniversary reunion event.

The Kooks

Indie rockers The Kooks brought catchy hits to the charts, including She Moves in Her Own Way and Naïve. It was at the BRIT school where three of the founding members met and later decided to form the band, after joining BIMM university. The band did a UK tour in April and May of this year in promotion of their The Best of… So Far compilation album, which was released on 19^th May 2017.

Katie Melua

The BRIT school was a big turning point in Melua’s music career, as this was where she was spotted and later signed by her manager, Mike Batt. She proceeded to produce three studio albums alongside Batt, with her second album Piece by Piece going platinum four times. More recently, Melua was the face of this year’s official BBC Children in Need single, where she covered Eva Cassidy’s Fields of Gold.