Elise
Her Story
Elise whilst living at the Lucas Project overcame many hurdles after the devastating loss of both her parents who died within 18 months of each…
Oh what a night! Well, afternoon actually. 6th October 2024 the live final of a local talent show brought to Bolton by Backup North West. 11 finalists and 1 winner. The auditions were held in August and judged by
The Judges at the live final were;
The aim of the event was to develop something through which Backup could extend its existing reach with young people into other people of all ages who have talents that need showcasing. A way to improve our profile and raise money at the same time. A friendly competition in which people are encouraged, supported and given spotlight, well deserved. There is nothing amateur about this because every act was superb especially since they were performing at the iconic venue The Octagon Theatre, Bolton.
Backup has supported encouraged and enabled young people who are in crisis and homeless for over 30 years, it feels totally natural to adopt this same approach to other people. Future Stars.
The audience were amazing from start to finish in cheerleading and supporting all the acts and of course, Backup. Stars for a Night, run by a charity but didn’t feel like a charity event.
The Finalists.
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Becky Demaine |
Becky sang the instantly recognisable Celine Dion belter – My Heart will go on. A powerful voice and great stage presence. A very strong opening act, very much a star. |
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Buska Ella |
Ella did a song for “swifties”, Taylor Swift – Love Story. Not just a talented singer but violinist as well! This was a lively and engaging performance. |
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Unity Drama Group |
Very popular with the audience they performed a song from Six Musical – Ex Wife which was excellently delivered. The choreography was on point and the whole performance full of sass. |
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Isabell Haywood |
Isabelle sang an Abba track– Slipping through my fingers from Mamma Mia and her soulful melodic voice was just beautiful. |
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Lizzie Anne Crowther |
Lizzie got everyone knee tapping with Miranda Lamberts – Mama’s Broken Heart. A great feel good tune sang with flare. Gave the event a REAL party vibe. |
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TJ Daubney |
A special young man, self taught guitarist treated us to a rendition of Greenday’s – Basketcase. A rock star in the making here. TJ is a young carer aged 15. Fabulous young fella. |
After the interval we were entertained by Carl Wheatley and Simon Harthill, authors of the award winning book ‘Reggie Rockit’ and children from Stagecoach performing Arts Bolton. Reggie is a kid with talent but doesn’t feel cool and is afraid to perform. Their whole performance was wholesome, clever and delivered a great message totally aligned with Backup and the event – be yourself to be happy.
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Kieran Slater |
Kieran performed his personal take on Creep by Radiohead. A beautiful rendition which captivated all the audience. |
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Freya Shaw |
Freya, just 14 was “petrified” about performing but as a wellbeing advocate forced herself to, ‘for all those that just cant.’ She did a fabulous performance of Lady Gaga’s – Shallow. A future star for sure. |
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Summer Helme |
A flawless tribute to Celine Dion by Summer with It’s all coming back to me now. Whether you’re a CD fan or not we could not deny this performance was incredible, pitch, tone and wow – awesome. |
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Olivia Savage |
Another young person here 14 year old Olivia owned the stage when singing a Carrie Underwood song, Before he cheats. Olivia was confident and a first class singer. |
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Spud Squad |
The final act blew our socks off and had us all rocking out to Just a Girl by No Doubt. A band of young people from Smithills School gave us a raw, rock and roll, raucous rendition of a really brilliant and understated track. |
We were so pleased with the calibre of entrants this year. They were all so talented and creative. Big thanks again to Bolton FM, Bolton News, The Octagon, Greenalghs Bakery (for Reggie Rockit biscuits) and Judges for helping to put on this special community focused talent competition. The very worthy winner was KIERAN SLATER, 28 years old from Breightmet who mesmerised every one of us with his impeccable version of Creep. His voice was so powerful, with such range and impact – it impressed both the audience and judges.
He is definitely one to watch if you get the chance and we all have no doubt he will be a star for more than just a night.
It was my absolute pleasure to host this event for the second year running and wished I hadn’t mentioned that the only song I could sing was Amarillo as I found myself doing and impromptu version with the audience. Thanks to my colleagues Laura Pendlebury and Claire Hand for putting on this whole event.
The acts were phenomenal. Such joy for a Sunday afternoon. ‘A weekend well spent brings a week of content.’ Yes.
BACKUP provide multiple services across Bolton to young people aged 16-25 years who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness. Read here about all the supported accommodation which includes emergency housing, temporary accommodation, short and medium stay supported housing. Also the non accommodation based support work that focusses on mental health, employment support and much more.
Young people can live in more than one Backup service as they make progress and develop more independence prior to moving on completely. The different services are designed to meet various levels and ranges of needs.
