Wigan musician's delight at release of first single

A Wigan singer who has overcome tough times with the help of music has spoken of his delight at the release of his debut single.

Andrew Cantwell, from Standish, has seen his song Watching The World Go By made available for music fans to buy across a host of top streaming platforms.

The song is paired in the official release with a cover of How Long Will I Love You, a song by one of his favourite acts, Scottish folk-influenced group The Waterboys. But Andrew says the track may also be familiar to a younger group of music lovers thanks to the efforts of a recent pop star.

Andrew recorded the songs at The Music Projects in Pemberton under the expertise of Merry Hell guitarist John Kettle and the two tracks feature an impressive array of local talent. It is also hoped that the single and its B-side may be released on CD and vinyl once the coronavirus crisis is over.

For Andrew, who joined The Music Projects as a student after battling alcoholism and going teetotal, his success on the local scene is an extraordinary tale of triumph against the odds.

He said: “With my background story, if someone had told me that all this would happen I would have burst out laughing. It just shows that if you change your perception and focus on positivity what can happen is unbelievable.

“It’s good for the college too, they are really encouraging people like myself.

“The single has been released for download through the college and they are pushing it. I’m going to do a limited-edition CD and if cost allows a vinyl release too.

“The B-side is a song by my musical heroes, The Waterboys. It was written by Mike Scott from that band. Ellie Goulding had a massive hit with it, but not many people know where it originally comes from.”

Acoustic guitarist and singer Andrew is joined on Watching The World Go By by popular musician and producer John Kettle on guitar and bass. John also appears on the cover and he and Andrew are joined by vocalist Alex Strickland, The Music Project’s lecturer Dean Meadows on piano, drummer and gig promoter Rob Fairhurst and Will Watts from Flechettes on bass.

Andrew is now hoping to write more original material and trying to keep doing his work promoting Wigan’s increasingly-lively music scene, a task made somewhat more difficult by the lockdown and closure of public venues.

The single is available now at most big streaming platforms. For more information visit www.reverbnation.com/andrewjcantwell

A message from the Editorial Director, Gillian Parkinson:

Thank you for reading this story on our website.

But I also have an urgent plea to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality local news on this free-to-read site and in print, please purchase a copy of our newspaper as well.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on our town centres and many of our valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you buying a copy when you pop out for your essential shop or subscribing for delivery.

Our journalists are highly trained by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards anywhere in the world. Our content is universally trusted - as all independent research proves.

As Baroness Barran said in a House of Lords debate this week on the importance of journalists: "Not only are they a trusted source of facts, but they will have a role to play in rallying communities and getting the message across about how we can keep ourselves and our families safe, and protect our NHS. Undoubtedly, they have a critical role."

But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis. In return we will continue to forensically cover the local news - not only the impact of the virus but all the positive and uplifting news happening in these dark days.

We thank all our readers and advertisers for their understanding and support - and we wish YOU all the best in the coming weeks. Keep safe, and follow the Government advice. Thank you.

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE:

You can subscribe for delivery by contacting us at [email protected] or calling us on 0330 4033004 for details of a participating newsagent near you.