By Phil Coleman

Last updated 08:25, Friday, 04 July 2008

Generations of talented youngsters have dreamed of fame and a life in the limelight as a rock or pop star...

Steve Harrison

Now a Carlisle couple are poised to do their bit to help at least some young hopefuls in north Cumbria turn that aspiration into a reality.

Veteran musician Steve Harrison, who is currently the drummer in the Olly Alcock blues band, is launching a rock and pop school for would-be stars aged between seven and 16.

Steve is setting up the Rock Project Carlisle with his wife Chris, 44, teaching all the skills young people need to set up their own rock or pop band.

An accomplished singer and musician, who plays guitar and drums, Steve has played in several gigging bands in Cumbria over the years and performed on TV with the likes of Maddy Prior and Oasis guitarist Colin Gem Archer.

Working with professional music tutors, he aims to teach the key skills needed, including musicianship, band formation, and live performance.

“I’m convinced there’s a market for this,” said Steve, from Sandsfield Park, Carlisle, who has spent many years working as a housing officer.

“You only have to look at TV programmes such as Britain’s Got Talent, and the X Factor with people like Simon Cowell.

“Programmes like those have done a lot to raise the expectations of ordinary young people to go out and make a success of being in the entertainment business and there’s a real wealth of talent out there.

“If there had been a Rock Project around when I first got interested in music as a child, I’d have jumped at the chance to get involved.”

The school will launch in September, and pupils will get the chance to showcase their talent in an annual end-of-year concert July.

Steve’s own musical life began when he was just five years old, growing up in Carlisle and enviously watching his older brothers rehearsing with a local band.

He said: “I tagged along with them to rehearsals and used to practise drumming with my mother’s knitting needles.

“I found that I could do it and always wanted to get involved in live music.”

Over the past 28 years, Steve has been a familiar figure on the live music scene, playing in a variety of bands, including Exit 43, and Horizon, which recorded original songs.

As well as playing with the Olly Alcock Band, he is also a member of the Carlisle-based band Locoweed.

Steve and his wife, a professional nurse, will run the school at weekends and during the week between 4pm and 8pm, but they hope also to forge links with local schools. All the project’s tutors will have been checked via the Criminal Records Bureau, explained Steve.

He added: “There are a lot of musicians in Carlisle who, like me, are ordinary guys and equally there must be a lot of young people whose talent has yet to be discovered. That’s the point of the Rock Project – giving help, advice and encouragement to young people who could benefit from learning some of the skills involved.”

To find out more, call Steve Harrison on 01228 522203 or email him on carlisle@therockproject.com