Musician makes final in short note

B story- with pic of Sean Clack

(DOMINIC BAREHAM)

dominic.bareham2@archant.co.uk

A HOPTON musician's tunes have hit the right note with judges after he reached the regional final of a national competition.

Sean Clack, 38, of Imperial Mews, will perform for judges at the Live and Unsigned final at the Regent Theatre in Ipswich on April 10 after being selected following auditions in Ipswich on Saturday.

But the father-of-two thought he had failed after the judges stopped him a minute into performing his song Decision Time, while most of the other acts were getting much longer on stage.

However, moments later one of the judges re-appeared in the side room where he was waiting and told him he had made it through to the final.

If he manages to go the next stage and qualify for the national final at London's O2 Arena, he will have the chance to perform in front of 2,500 people and win recording time at a local recording studio.

He said: “I really expected the judges to say thanks, but no thanks so I was delighted when they said I had made it through.”

Mr Clack, who is married to Becky, and has two children - Shannon, 10 and Natalie, eight, regularly performs at pubs and clubs in the Yarmouth area, including the Wood and the Wire event at the Albion in Gorleston, which showcases acoustic guitarists.

He has written 25 of his own songs, including Pretty Mama and Summertime in the City, which was how he qualified for Live and Unsigned, a competition for musicians with their own material.

This weekend, he will be playing at The Grange in Ormesby St Margaret tonight, starting at 9pm and on Sunday at the Wood and the Wire at 8pm.

His influences include Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Dire Straits and Oasis.