Hulme’s young stars in the party mood

LEAPING to the top: The acrobatic Rhys Yeomans and blues prodigy Alex McKown

A WEST End star and a blues prodigy with a debut album under his belt are among the talented pupils who will help Hulme Grammar School celebrate its 400th birthday.

Rhys Yeomans (13), who played Billy Elliot for a year, will perform at the Party in the Park at the Werneth school on Saturday.

Former Hulme pupil and Manchester City star Nedum Onouoha is due to attend. And the line-up of current and former pupils also includes singer and guitarist Alex McKown (14) who has been nominated for a British Blues Award.

The teenager, who lives in Glossop, appeared with respected Texan blues star Hamilton Loomis on his 2009 UK tour

At a time when most young people are into rap, R&B and pop, Alex was developing his performance skills by playing regularly at the blues/rock jam night at The Whittles, Oldham.

His first gig with the Alex McKown Band, at the Moon and Sixpence in Glossop, went down a storm and Alex was hailed as a star of the future.

They now have an array of major gigs on the blues circuit under their belt including the The Great British Rhythm and Blues festival and the Zinc Blues Festival in France.

Alex’s talent has earned him a best young artist nomination at the British Blues Awards and his international following includes Loomis, who has sent him a message of congratulations for his debut album, ‘Crossing Boundaries’.

“I love the buzz of performing, it’s getting to see the crowd enjoying the music. I feel free and I just enjoy what I am doing,” explained Alex.

Rhys, from Chadderton, had been at stage school for only a few weeks when it was suggested that he auditioned for the role of Billy Elliot — despite not being able to dance.

The musical tells the story of a boy from a mining village who is sent for boxing lessons but joins a ballet class and Rhys said: “Out of about 4,000 boys I got down to the last four but I couldn’t dance so they so they sent me to a dance school and I had six months training.”

That dedication paid off and, after auditioning again, Rhys was one of four boys chosen to play the lead part at the Victoria Palace, in London.

Rhys has recently returned from Los Angeles, where he auditioned for the Disney Channel, as well as recording the video for his single “Best Friend” which has been released on YouTube.

He has been working with Sting’s songwriter Kipper and added: “Billy Elliot was amazing but I would like to do something else other than musicals.

“I want to be a worldwide singer or an actor. It’s not really about the fame, I just love to do what I do.”

Party in the Park runs from 1pm until around 9pm and Hulme development director Zenos Christo said: “We are celebrating 400 years as an institution and we want to welcome everyone in the local community and the Hulme family to help us celebrate.”