Street singer Jamie wins busking prize
ATEENAGER from West Lancashire has won an award at the biggest busking competition in London.
Jamie Wooding, 18, from Skelmersdale, made it to the final of the Mayor of London Gigs competition for buskers, which took place in Westfield, Shepherds Bush.
The annual competition invited young musicians to apply in March. Successful applicants were given the task of busking in iconic locations around London.
Jamie had to vie for public votes with performances in Wembley Park, Battersea Power Station and Waterloo underground station, to name but a few.
The former pupil at St Bede’s High School, in Ormskirk, has been playing guitar since the age of 13, but says he’s been singing for as long as he can remember.
He said: “My dream is to be a singer-songwriter and emulate some sort of success, that the likes of Ed Sheeran and James Bay have had.
“When I was eight or nine, I’d get nervous, but it doesn’t faze me any more. Especially since I performed in front of 1,200 people, that was at Euro Disney in Paris with school.”
He entered the competition after his dad spotted it on Facebook. Thousands of people applied, with Jamie getting through to the last few. The judging panel, made up of industry experts, put Jamie through in the songwriting category. His busking also paid off, as public votes put him through again for his performance of a cover.
Although he wasn’t in the top three, Jamie won the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance Prize. He added: “I’m obviously a bit gutted I didn’t win the overall prize, but I’m still proud as I’m still technically a winner.
“To get to the last 50, then the last 12, then the last six. It’s made me really proud.”
Having just finished college, Jamie is taking a gap year to concentrate on his music. He hopes a trip to Australia to see his uncle will give him the opportunity to play music farther afield.