A SINGER from Droitwich has recorded a new album with the help of a celebrity chef.
Scott Wilkes, from the Copcut Rise estate, released an album with television chef Gino D’Acampo called Me and My Guitar.
The 27-year-old's YouTube channel had initially caught D'Acampo's attention after he watched a few of Mr Wilkes's singing videos.
When Mr Wilkes originally received an email from D'Acampo’s team, he thought it was about arranging for him to sing in one of Gino’s restaurants.
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However, little did he know at the time Gino wanted him to be the voice behind the songs he had written.
“I couldn’t believe it when I went to meet Gino, and he wanted me to record these wonderful songs he’d written," Mr Wilkes said.
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"He had seen a YouTube video of me singing and decided I had the voice and tone he was looking for.
"He loved the way I pronounced the words.”
Italian chef D'Acampo is best known for his food-focused television shows and cookbooks.
He rose to fame as a regular chef on the ITV show This Morning but in an interview on his website reveals he has been playing guitar since the age of eight.
"I have been playing the guitar since I was eight, but I never play in front of people, even my best friend, or my wife.
"I own about seven guitars but I play them for my own pleasure," he wrote.
D'Acampo had been looking for a singer to bring his songs to life because he disliked how he sounded when he sang them.
On one of Mr Wilkes' YouTube videos, D'Acampo said he prayed that Mr Wilkes would want to sing his songs.
Mr Wilkes learned to play the guitar at primary school and was performing gigs around the country by age sixteen.
He and his family were originally from Halesowen until he decided to move to Droitwich.
One of the songs, To The Moon And Back, pays homage to the residential estate in Droitwich which he lives on.
Mr Wilkes said: “I really love it here.
“So it seemed natural to include a reference to Copcut Rise in the song I Love You To The Moon And Back, which is the first hit off the album.”
Mr Wilkes had also recorded a video of the adapted version in his kitchen, which was featured on ITV's This Morning.
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