Charley Macaulay: Southampton Singer Hits The Bigtime

There was promise of an announcement yesterday on the Facebook profile of 19 year old Charley Macaulay, aspiring female soul singer from Southampton. And an announcement indeed there was.

It turns out that the determined diva has got herself signed to ‘Acid Jazz Records’, the same legendary record label who gave us the soul funk pioneers ‘Brand New Heavies’ amongst others.

Whilst this comes across as an overnight success story, the Charley Macaulay train has been chuffing away for years, pulling in at every station, from local boozers to major music festivals. After relentlessly gigging, by the age of 18, Charley had already played the Isle of Wight music festival. Charley and her band have also graced the stage of infamous west country venue ‘Mama Stones’ run by parents of critically acclaimed international soul singer, Joss Stone, and were appreciated enough to be invited back for repeat performances.

As well as having a spectacular voice and unquestionably perfect vocal range, there is versatility to Charley’s many styles, anything from an acoustic rendition of an Alicia Keys hit to a full blown brass band ballet. This lady can do it all, and even organised and hosted large scale events for local Southampton charities like ‘Naomi House’ in her spare time, raising up to £2000.

Having heard the band gig many times myself, that look of awe on someone’s face when they hear her voice for the first time never fails to be entertaining. In a world of ‘make or break’ rock star clichés and instant ready-made TV fame, this is a good old fashioned real life success story. A talented, hard working singer making it in the business, and in my mind, doing it properly.