Paul Carney

Coming from a musical family many of whom were professional singers, Paul Carney is a powerful and passionate singer-songwriter who hails from the North East of England. Paul's Uncle was a successful Opera singer who performed regularly on radio and at the Albert Hall and his nephew is a concert pianist. Paul's upbringing was rich in music and singing was a regular family event as he was expected to sing unaccompanied in front of his large family who were all excellent vocalists in their own right.

"Performing is just in the blood" He says. "You were just expected to stand up and sing, even if you didn't want to! There would be a large room full of professional singers all gathered around listening to your every note. I guess I was a born performer though as I never complained. Mind, you never knew when these events were going to happen, they would just be spontaneous get-togethers so you had no time to prepare anything!"

Early musical influences include light opera, country music, chart music and the crooners such as Sinatra. Always the emphasis was on beautiful and brilliant vocals and fantastic songs.

As a child Paul performed lead roles in many stage presentations however he soon began playing and singing in Rock bands and at the age of 16 he began writing his own music. This has been at the heart of what drives and inspires Paul. For him the 'kick' is in performing his own music rather than performing covers.

"Many many people have fine singing voices. Just listen in to the people singing at your local Karaoke" He says. "Yeah sure there's plenty of dire one's but there's also many good one's too. I believe that the biggest factor of success is the song, not just the singer. Mind, writing a classic song is incredibly difficult."

Paul hopes that one day his beautiful, passionate and romantic music will be heard by a wider audience and that he might gain a reputation for writing popular classics.

"I don't give a fig about money or fame" He says candidly, "For me the thrill would be to have my music become part of popular culture and more than that, that it might bring pleasure to people who can identify with my lyrics."