Macclesfield teenager Blake Richardson has just returned from a one month UK and European arena tour with his band ‘New Hope Club’ supporting The Vamps and is heading off to film for Disney after his GCSEs.
Blake on stage at the O2
The brilliant 16-year-old King’s School pupil is suspending his academic career indefinitely, “to focus on the band.” He added: “There is so much coming up; I can’t talk about yet, but yes Disney are looking forward to working with the band and we are flying off to America straight after my GCSEs.”
Blake, is the son of King’s Junior teacher Soulla Costanda and has been playing the guitar since he was aged just six-years-old regularly performing not only on the King’s stage but in St. Michael’s Parish Church to cooing audiences. Now they are screaming.
He hit the big time, after connecting with a fellow young musician George Smith in London and Reece Bibby in Accrington, over the Internet, writing songs together long distance and then meeting up and putting them out on YouTube.
He said: “We soon developed something of a fan base and got signed to Virgin EMI and before we knew it we were touring with The Vamps, one of the bands I really love, and playing venues such as the O2, the MEN Arena, Glasgow Empire as well as Paris and Amsterdam. It’s been surreal.”
Back at King’s to revise for his GCSEs, Blake has put on hold the idea of A Levels in order to follow his dream and this once in a life time, or indeed once in a thousand lifetimes, opportunity.
Back at King’s in Macclesfield
A singer songwriter and skilled lead guitarist, Blake names The Beatles – and many say there is a striking resemblance to a young Paul McCartney – McFly and other guitar bands as his role models rather than today’s standard boy bands who sing cover versions.
He said: “I learned so much on tour, not just about performing but about composition, writing on the road with The Vamps and getting a collection of songs together we can record in later years.”
He also learned much about being a teen idol and said: “It was strange but I also have to say pretty cool, but you simply couldn’t go out and about around any of the arenas for fear of being followed and not just by one but by a quite lot of fans.”
Now back in Macclesfield, he is answering questions from his classmates while busy trying to catch up with his work: “I tried to keep studying while I was on tour, but it wasn’t that easy, so now it is head down for a couple of months.”
He said: ”Everyone has been very supportive; family friends and teachers and it is now time to concentrate on my exams.”
Principal of King’s Boys’ Division Ian Robertson said: “Blake is a wonderful young man; very polite, lovely manners and kind, caring and comapssionate. We’ve all enjoyed listening to him in school, but didn’t think it would lead to this level of exposure so quickly, but then the internet is a fabulous showcase. What I really like is that Blake is an original artist and has the creativity and courage to write his own material.”
