From local stars Jake Bugg and Holly Humberstone to those with international music prowess, including the one and only Ed Sheeran, a radio host hailing from Nottingham has spoken of how he has been part of an initiative "funnelling" the next best artists into the spotlight. BBC Radio Nottingham's very own Dean Jackson will be hosting an anniversary show on Monday, August 29, celebrating the initiative's 15 very successful years.
BBC Music Introducing launched back in 2007 with the aim of pushing undiscovered and under-the-radar talent into the mainstream. It works by giving artists the opportunity to upload their best tracks with the potential of then having these played on local radio, such as BBC Radio Nottingham.
Radio hosts and producers at each local station then select the top tracks which they feel should be given airtime on national radio, including BBC Radio 1. In its 15 years this initiative has given rise to some of the world's best artists such as Ed Sheeran, George Ezra, James Bay and local talent including Clifton's Jake Bugg and, more recently, Long Eaton's drum and bass big-time Bru-C.
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In George Ezra's own words: "The music industry was a very intimidating and confusing world for me when I was 18. I knew I wanted to perform and write for a living but had no idea how to make this a reality.
"BBC Introducing was and still is the most amazingly inclusive platform I could have asked for. Long live Introducing."
To celebrate 15 years BBC Radio Nottingham's Dean Jackson, who lives in Arnold, will be hosting an anniversary show on Monday, August 29. The anniversary show, which will be broadcast on all 39 local BBC radio stations from 12pm to 2pm, will feature The 1975, Ellie Goulding, Tom Walker and other major artists discussing how the platform helped to launch their careers.
"George Ezra came through BBC Radio Bristol, locally I've had Jake Bugg, Saint Raymond, Dog is Dead, Holly Humberstone and Bru-C," Dean says.
"They all came through the show. Jake came on in December 2010 and from that his manager, Jason, found him via that session. My team drove him down to London and from that he got signed.
"It is like a funnel. We decide what goes higher."
Dean says when BBC Music Introducing launched his team were "quick off the ground" in Nottingham, having already honed their skills with shows such as The Beat. As such BBC Radio Nottingham has helped push a huge number of local artists into the spotlight.
"We are here to support local music and our aim is to discover local music and champion it," he adds. "It is an honour to be on national radio which is coming from here in Nottingham.
"It is a huge celebration. It is going on all 39 local radio stations in the UK and it is coming from Nottingham."
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