Report by NATALIE BOWYER A MULTI-talented artist from Offord D arcy looks set for West End success after the musical he has spent years writing attracted attention from some of the top names in the industry. London-born Nick Fogarty told The Hunts Post he

Report by NATALIE BOWYER

A MULTI-talented artist from Offord D'arcy looks set for West End success after the musical he has spent years writing attracted attention from some of the top names in the industry.

London-born Nick Fogarty told The Hunts Post he first tasted fame at the age of 21 when he was in the 80s band The Academy.

Since then he said he has written and released more than 60 songs, but has also discovered a passion for writing musical theatre.

Nick, who moved to Offord Darcy a decade ago, said that he has dedicated nearly five years of his life to writing his first musical from a recording studio in his back garden in Bramley Drive.

His musical is called Chariot, which he describes as semi-autobiographical.

It's set in the late 90s and tells the story of Nick Chariot (played by Nick Fogarty) who is a down on his luck, divorced song writer.

The character launches his own song-writing club, unaware that he has a son, Taylor, who by coincidence is one of the members - Taylor believes his father died in a car accident.

Nick, who works as a vocal coach at Ballet West in Scotland, said: "I wanted to embellish my own life. This is a touching story with themes of love, relationships and good versus evil.

"Everything in it has been written or created by me, it's all mine."

At a workshop for Chariot at Danceworks in London, the show caught the eye of Julian Stoneman, general manager of Mamma Mia! in London and responsible for productions of the show worldwide.

Nick, 46, said: "Julian told me he loved my musical. My aim is now to get it performed at the Novella Theatre in Aldwych by spring 2009."

He is also said to be in talks with renowned West End musical directors Martin Lowe and Adam Kenwright.

In addition to this, Nick said he is also finalising a deal for the release of some of the songs from Chariot.

An underlying aim of Nick's is to show that anyone can make it in theatre, as long as they have persistence, determination and self-belief.

"The door is very much closed for up and coming artists and I want to show that this can change. I want to help shape the stars of the future and bring new people to theatre.

"I was born in a council flat in London and didn't come from a musical background yet I'm proof that if you are good then you will succeed."

INFORMATION: To listen to a track from Nick's musical, visit www.huntspost24.co.uk