Vicky Meets: Michelle Stratford, Songbird Vocals

I wrote my first song, ‘Bluebirds’, aged five. Old ladies used to pay me in sweets to sing it!

When I was 11, my parents realised that I really could sing. They started entering me into talent competitions, which I won.

Dad always thought if you became a Blue Coat that it would give you a good start in the profession, so that’s what I did.

You’re now a singing and vocal coach, but you’ve had an impressive career in the music industry. Will you tell us more?

I have been lucky enough to travel all over the world with my career. I started singing professionally straight from college when I became a Blue Coat entertainer for a holiday company in Spain. I was the resident singer there, working with fellow Blue Coat and EastEnders star Shane Richie. In the1980s I was selected to join the all-girl vocal group Cover Girls.

We performed on television shows such as The David Essex Show, 3, 2,1, and The Tom O’Connor series, and in cabaret in with acts including Cannon and Ball, Jimmy Tarbuck, Russ Abbott, Cilla Black, Freddie Starr and Michael Barrymore. We also performed for royalty and for the troops during the Falkland’s conflict. I then went on to be lead vocalist with The London Classic Pop Orchestra and The Penthouse Experience, a top London corporate band.

So after 25 years of appearing on stage and television and working in the recording studio, you are now teaching?

Yes. After teaching in London I’m now based in Eastergate, teaching people from the age of around 9 upwards in my studio. My students range from complete beginners to industry professionals. As well as teaching singing, I also help students prepare for auditions. I also teach breath control and offer vocal coaching.

Breathing right is really key to singing, and to public speaking, and I teach technique to all sorts of people; from actors and voiceover artists to after dinner speakers and preachers.

Vocal health is really important too, so I help people learn how to sing properly and safely, so that they don’t harm their vocal chords.

Making sure that you are correctly coached is really important to looking after your voice.

Bad habits or poor technique can cause real damage.

Do some people come purely for therapeutic reasons?

Some students find that singing lessons helps to build confidence and I specialise in helping people in this area. Others find that working on their breathing helps to calm anxiety or just to relax. And some come for singing lessons simply for the feel-good factor, or to build up to joining a group or choir. It’s a varied and very rewarding job and I love it.

W hat do you get up to when you’re not teaching?

I love walking on the beach and exploring the area. I also love painting and gardening. And, of course, song writing and recording.

Where can we find more information?

At my website: www.songbirdvocals.co.uk