Call Me Laura

Laura has just released her debut album 'Sometimes I' which is in record shops now and her single 'What Do We Do' is on the BBC Radio 2 playlist. Terry Wogan has said on air "Excellent album and and an excellent singer".

Laura already counts Jamie Foxx, Robbie Williams, Ronan Keating and Mika as among her fans, so you know she must have something special. On listening to Liverpool's latest music sensation Laura Critchley for the first time, it's immediately apparent why she's attracted such early acclaim and earned comparisons with female songwriting icon Carol King; it's hard to believe that a 24 year old can produce a voice of such effortless beauty and write songs that recall the classics of modern pop music.

Laura's first experience of the limelight came at the tender age of six, when she was asked to sing in front of 1000 people in Liverpool's Floral Pavillion. However, it wasn't the most auspicious way to begin a career in music, as stage fright took hold of her; she burst in to tears and ran off stage! This early setback back didn't deter Laura and by the time she was 10, she was back on stage regularly performing with the local theatre group ‘Jigsaw'. Singing and dancing regularly in front of large audiences quickly developed her confidence and by the time she left Jigsaw at 16 she was an accomplished performer and had already written her first song, "Change".

Despite some natural scepticism from her Dad, Laura was determined to forge a career for herself within the music industry. She started buying entertainment trade paper The Stage every week, and applying for competitions, travelling with her Mum to auditions across the country. Her first big break came in 2001 when she entered Fame Academy. Still only 16, she managed to get down to the last 50 out of 36,000 and became firm friends with Lemar but she just missed the cut for the final 12 housemates.

Not deterred by this first venture into TV broadcast, Laura then sent her music off to a TV production company looking for original material. "First up" was presented by Sarah Caywood, on Sky TV. The 10,000 entrants were narrowed down to 6, of which Laura was one, but eventually she lost out to a Ska punk band!

Her family continued to worry about her not focussing on a traditional career and Laura eventually decided to take a job in a bank. But she continued to write songs and melodies, working with musicians who were able to produce the music backing to her lyrics and harmonies. Having written several great songs that would eventually go on to feature on her debut album, Laura used her evenings and weekends to send out demos to producers, managers and labels. She even began using her holiday time to travel down to London to follow up her packages personally, arriving at the reception desks of some of the country's biggest music companies and convincing the receptionist that she had a really urgent appointment with the company's top A&Rs! This rather cheeky approach paid off and after receiving encouraging feedback from several top industry figures, Laura gained the confidence to abandon the alternative career in banking and move down to London permanently.

Laura was approached by Big Print Records boss Andrew Gemmell to perform at a company 10th anniversary party. Also present at the event was Jeremy Marsh the man responsible for the careers of Take That, Annie Lennox, and Craig David amongst others. Jeremy was stunned by Laura's performance and convinced Andrew that he should sign her immediately.

Before Mika hit the big time, he and Laura used to exchange tips and ideas on how to break in to the industry and Robbie Williams' producer Steve Power agreed to produce her album after hearing the 4 songs on her profile. She has since been to LA for a photo shoot with Robbie Williams' photographer.

Laura is currently on tour supporting re-formed massive pop group Boyzone.

What The Media Are Saying:

"Keep an ear out for her. Laura Critchley, excellent record" - Terry Wogan BBC Radio 2

"An upbeat album full of well written, radio friendly songs… In a world of manufactured, synthetic vocals, it's very refreshing to hear a quality singer, singing great acoustic songs" Acoustic Magazine

"Watch Out… for singer Laura Critchley" Rav Singh, News of the World

"A sweet husky voice" Daily Star

"Superstar is every inch a hit single" Fred Dellar (Freelancer for Q)

"A series of lush orchestration draped ruminations… Critchley has considerable talent…Sometimes I is an enjoyable collection of songs." www.bbc.co.uk

"Shimmering debut from Merseyside's country-tinged folk-pop princess." – Subba-cultcha.com

"It is just a matter of time before Laura's album is in the charts" Musicomh.com

"You'd be hard pushed to find a more note perfect vocal performance.. This girl could go global" Getreadytorock.com

"This batch of songs and this lady's dreamily strong singing put this album in the Top Ten releases of the year, no question" Fairhearing.co.uk

"The album's title track is a summer sunshine moment of pure pop artistry… Extremely talented and pretty too Laura has the potential to break into a pop chart dominated by singer songwriters who are all surface and no substance. Laura seems set to buck that trend". Godisinthetvzine.co.uk

"A good voice with just a hint of huskiness and it combines well with the rock-lite backings" ukmusic.com

"An easy listening style of rock inspired pop" The Magazine

"Laura's debut album Sometimes I is a fun and light hearted pop album with fantastic singalong songs, power ballads and catchy tunes. Her sound is somewhere between Natalie Imbruglia, Lena Marlin and Avril Lavigne on a lazy Sunday morning. She is definitely one to watch!" North South Magazine

"She has a clarity and vibrancy that belie her relatively tender years and shows here that she's ready to take on all-comers" Toxicpete.co.uk

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Laura Critchley
Sometimes I (Remix)
Category:	All Artistes, Celebrities - Music
Available for:	Corporate Events and Conferences, Celebrity Parties, Festivals, Television Commercials & Films