On the 21st February, Tech Music Schools had the pleasure of welcoming back
Vocaltech patron Sam Brown for one of her fantastic vocal clinics. Sam is currently
recovering from an operation after the discovery of a cyst on her vocal chords last
October, so instead of belting out a tune or two as we would normally expect from
Sam, the Master Class provided a more intimate encounter for the students.

She kicked the evening off with a brief history of her career in the music industry. Growing
up in a musical family gave Sam some great opportunities, scoring her first gig doing backing vocals for The Small Faces at the age of just 12. Since then she has performed and recorded with a host of huge stars including Pink Floyd, Dave Gilmour and George Harrison, as well as co-writing and performing with the Jools Holland Rhythm & Blues Band .

Sam experienced mainstream success back in the late 1980’s with her multi-million selling debut album ‘Stop’ from which the title single was the main attraction for the night! As Sam is still in recovery from her operation she invited all the students on stage to sing, arranging a four-part harmony for the chorus and inviting one lucky student to perform the lead vocals with her. This really was an exciting moment for all – having the opportunity to sing with one of their idols!

It wouldn’t be a Sam Brown clinic without her ukulele! She went on to play a beautiful rendition of a track from the new album on the ukulele that was given to her by none other than George Harrison. This went down a treat with the students and they were queuing up to have a strum on this unique instrument.

Sam finished the evening on a high note, with a repeat performance of ‘Stop’ followed by an extensive question and answer session with her audience. Sam gave so much time to everyone in the room – all of them leaving the clinic with some fantastic advice from a professional singer, songwriter…and ukulele player!