http://offthehoox.com/2008/03/08/amy-belle-what-a-star/
Amy Belle – What a star!
What an incredible story this is.
Amy Belle, was discovered busking on the streets of Glasgow by a friend of Rod Stewart and really soon afterwards was performing with Rod on stage at a “One Night Only” show at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Simply incredible. For those not familiar with U.K. terminology, Busking is the practice of doing live performances in public places to entertain people
I absolutely love this video and have watched it countless times. It gives me goosebumps. Watch this and just try to imagine how her nerves must have felt. God I love this. Amazing sax too! Awesome!
You can check her out on MySpace.
The following interneiw was taken from The Daily Record:
Singer Amy Belle Is Back Busking To Pay The Bills – But Rod Stewart’s Team Are Ready To Launch Her Into The Big Time
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SCOTS busker Amy Belle thought her life would change forever when Rod Stewart whisked her away to perform with him at the Albert Hall after spotting her singing on a Glasgow street.
But three years later Amy, now 26, is still singing for her supper in the city’s busy shopping precincts, despite being tipped as the next big thing after her appearance with Rod.
Things are not quite as bad as they appear for the budding star however, it is just that the the wheels of show business are moving slowly.
Amy said: “I am back busking and doing gigs in pubs because I need to pay the bills.
“Since Rod took me down to London a lot has happened and I am really hopeful for the future, it is just that everything takes a lot of time, which can be really frustrating.”
After singing I Don’t Want To Talk About It with the veteran on his show One Night With Rod Stewart at the Albert Hall in October 2004, Amy was expected to shoot to stardom but while the singer/songwriter appeared to sink without trace, Rod’s team were working tirelessly behind the scenes to forge a career for the young Scot.
The wrinkly rocker’s manager introduced Amy to one of the best A&R men in the business, Stephen Ferrera, who works with Kelly Clarkson.
And before long she found herself in Los Angeles working with some of the the music industry’s top singer and songwriters, including John Shanks who wrote the Kelly Clarkson hit Breakaway, Anastasia’s song Piece of Me and So-Called Chaos by Alanis Morissette.
He was also involved in the movie soundtracks for Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, Herbie Fully Loaded and Princess Diaries 2.
Amy also worked with a team of songwriters who have worked with Hilary Duff, Britney Spears and Ricky Martin.
Amy said: “It was a bit strange to come back from London and go back to normal life.
“I still look back on that night in the Albert Hall as one of the most amazing experiences of my life.
“But then it was just a case of back to Glasgow, organise some gigs and go out busking.
“My dream has always been to make it big in music, it would have to be or I wouldn’t keep putting myself through it all. I did hope that after I was spotted by Rod things would start happening. It was a bit slow to start with but in time it did.
“I went out to LA three times to work with people like John, which was just amazing.
“I always thought I would be a New York kind of girl but as it turned out I loved everything about LA and I was just so excited – those trips were just incredible.
“Then after doing the rounds of all the record companies, I finally got a deal with Epic in New York last year.
“I was thrilled and we then spent about three months recording an album which was a great experience, but since then it has been just a case of waiting to see what happens.
“It was always going to happen like that because there is so many people involved but it takes a lot of patience to just wait when you know success could be just round the corner.”
It’s undoubtedly a frustrating task for Amy, who has already had a taste of the kind of life that could be waiting for her.
In the last three years, LA has become one of her favourite places and mixing with her heroes has become par for the course for the girl from Knightswood in Glasgow.
Not only has she hung out backstage with her guitar hero Slash from Guns ‘n’ Roses and Velvet Revolver and met the guys from Bon Jovi, she has also recorded a track with Robby Krieger and Ray Manzarek from legendary Sixties rock band The Doors.
Amy said: “The Doors are one of my favourite bands and to record one of their own tracks with them was just out of this world.
“I remember one particular moment when I was sitting in a darkened room with Ray and Robby listening to the track of Jim Morrison’s vocals for the song we were recording, Touch Me.
“It was as if he was in the room with us, it truly was a heart-stopping moment and I’ll remember it forever.”
WHILE Amy patiently waits to find out what the record company’s plans are for her album, she tries hard not to feel envious of other talented Scots female singer-songwriters.
She said: “I don’t begrudge people like KT Tunstall and Amy Macdonald their success at all.
“KT especially is incredible but you can’t help feeling a bit frustrated when you see them all hitting the charts. I just try to keep hoping that maybe it will be me next.
“Some people have said maybe I would have been there by now if the whole thing with Rod hadn’t happened but I just have to think about all the times I have been to LA now and the people I have worked with to realise that none of it would ever have happened if I hadn’t met Rod.
“I am still hopeful my dream of making it big will come true and I am trying to do as much self-promotion as I can.
“I’m told record companies are influenced these days to see how many hits people get on the internet so I am trying to get everyone I know to go on my My Space page.
“Other than that it really is just a case of waiting to see what happens.”
No matter where Amy’s career goes now, she is grateful for all the experiences she’s had since that fateful day Rod spotted her singing and playing guitar outside a Glasgow subway station.
And the night she sang in front of millions of people at the Albert Hall will live with her forever.
She said: “I do try now not to mention the whole Rod thing and to play it down if other people mention it but I do still look back on that night, usually in wonder that it ever happened at all.
“I remember chatting to Chrissie Hynde backstage and being utterly terrified of going out to sing, especially when Rod’s manager came up and asked me to try and give Rod a cuddle at some point.
“I mean it wasn’t like I didn’t have enough to think about.
“I also remember going for a quiet drink afterwards with my boyfriend at the time and my mum in the Park Lane Hotel and wondering if it had ever happened at all.
“Then the next day it was just back to Glasgow and back to the pub gigs and busking that I had been doing before. By that point it did almost feel like it never happened.
“I sent Rod a congratulations note when he won his Grammy and he sent me a nice thank you note back, but otherwise I haven’t spoken to him again.
“He’s a busy man though and his people are always in touch with me to keep me posted on what’s going on.
“I am hoping to hear from them again soon.”
To find out more about Amy click on myspace.com amy belle music
