Singer Fred surfs wave of success
FRED Clark is a young musician on a mis- sion. He wants to get to the top. But for the time being, he is enjoying the considerable local acclaim that has come his way in recent months. The 19-year-old singer-songwriter has al-
ready played in front of 3,500 at Rochester Castle and organised his own gig at Maid- stone’s Hazlitt Theatre. He has no problems getting bookings -
quite the opposite. In fact, he is now looking forward to a weekend not performing for the first time since June. Fred describes his style of music as “surf- influenced acoustic pop”. He has just re- leased his third album, ‘Good Morning Sunshine’. It was recorded in his home stu- dio at Allington. Music is in his blood - his father Richard
is a guitarist and gran Margaret taught the boy Fred to play the recorder. “I decided that wasn’t rock ‘n’ roll enough so I took up the guitar,” joked Fred, who is studying music technology at theUniversity of Kent’s Medway campus. It was 10 years ago, when still at primary school, that he really turned on to music, regularly watching Top Of The Pops. “I bought ‘Misunderstanding’ by Pink and couldn’t stop playing it. It was that that starting me writing songs.” By Year 9, Fred had acquired some recording equipment and software, which enabled him to experiment with tracks. “I kept fiddling around with my record-
Last orders for
two town shops THE Co-op supermarket in King Street was due to close as DownsMail went to press. The store,which still bears the
name of its predecessor Somer- field, was shut down over “poor trading performance”. Meanwhile, Sharon Music, which opened at 65 High Street in 1971, has also closed. Shop owner Clifton Williams said economic factors, including the rise of internet trading, had led to a decline in trade.
Trust’s new sponsor KENTWildlife Trust has a new corporate ambassador – Lenham-based recycling firm Countrystyle Group. The trust, based at Tyland
Barn in Sandling, manages more than 60 reserves. Chief ex- ecutive John Bennett said: “Countrystyle will be making a major contribution to our con- tinued fight for the future of Kent’s wildlife and country- side.”
KENT Police have launched a new way of responding to calls about anti-social behaviour. The aim is to ensure the most vulnerable people receive a pri- ority response and do not be- come long-term victims of threats, bullying and abuse. A spokesman said each call
ing technique, then I got the opportunity to play some gigs around town. My first was at the United Re- formed Church in 2007.” Two years later, he
had written enough songs to do a “proper” album. “I asked my music teacher if I could use the recording studio at Oakwood Gram- mar. ‘Open Road’ was the result. “It got some nice reviews and got me into play- ing festivals. I did Lounge in the Farm at Canterbury and I started to get really busy, and getting played on the radio.” Fred’s next high point came last year
when he performed at Manchester’s famous Hard Rock Cafe in a Battle of the Bands or- ganised by Waitrose, where he works part- time. This year has been a hectic mix of gigs, writing, recording, revision for exams - and an overdue haircut, after his girlfriend in- sisted! Hismusic showcase at Hazlitt was among
the highlights. “I thought I would be nerv- ous but it was one of the best nights of my
Take-away gets Sunday opening
CHINESE take-awayWok U Like has successfully overturned Maidstone Council’s decision to restrict its trading hours. The outlet was last September refused its application to over- turn a condition, dating back to 1997, specifying that the prem- ises in Sandling Road, Maid- stone, would be a Monday to Saturday operation only. Despite applicantMsWeiyun Xu’s claim that nine of the 11
shops on the road are open on Sundays and Bank Holidays, Maidstone Council argued it would lead to an increased level of noise and general disturbance for neighbours. At appeal, planning inspector Ken Barton sided with the applicant: “In the light of the domination of the noise from traffic on the A229, despite the operation of a number of A5 units on Sandling Road, the proposed extension of opening hours would not cause any unacceptable harm to the living conditions of the occupiers of nearby residential properties in terms of additional noise and disturbance. “Indeed, some of those closest to the site are occupied by operators of the takeaway outlets and the council’s environ- mental health officer concluded: ‘I cannot find an argument against this development being granted.’” The take-away, which trades between 11.30am and 11.30pm Monday to Saturday, was permitted to open be- tween 5pm and 10pm on Sundays and Bank Holidays.
assessment. The new way of working fol-
Family affair - Fred Clark with (l to r) his mum Anne, gran Mar- garet and girlfriend Lauren who can all be heard on his new album's 4th track, How Can Things Get Better Than This.
life.”
Other venues have ranged from the Kent County Show andMaidstone River Festival to a private party in Ditton - “a slice of Glas- tonbury in a farm field”, Fred observed. So where next? “I would love to be a pro-
ducer but I enjoy everything about music - playing on stage, mixing, organising shows But I’d love to be in the charts, and to be on TV. That’s my big ambition.” Fred performs at the Hops and Harvest Festival, Kent Life, on Saturday, September 3; and he returns to the Hazlitt onWednes- day, October 12.
Top businessman found shot dead
LEADING Maidstone businessman and farmer, Mike Foster, was found dead at his farmhouse in Boxley Road, Boxley, with a firearm wound. A gun was found nearby Police are not treating the death as suspicious. Mr Foster, a popular 73-year-old bachelor, helped found the local business of chartered surveyors, es- tate agents, auctioneers and valuers Lambert & Foster. Educated at Tonbridge School, Mr Foster joined The Mote CC, Maid- stone, at the age of 16 and was a leading off-spin bowler for about 40 years. He was a trustee of the cricket ground up to his death. He was proud of his livestock
farm and fought a successful battle for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link running through his land to be pro- vided with a bridge for his cattle and sheep. About 10 years ago he had a seri-
ous stroke but recovered well enough to continue a full life. See Obituaries - page 34
Police pledge on anti-social behaviour – despite cuts Neighbourhood policing
schedule a visit and resolve the issue.
will be graded and a response officer will be sent to callers identified as vulnerable or re- peat victims for a detailed risk
6 Town
lows an internal review and draws on the lessons learnt from high-profile national cases such as Fiona Pilkington, who killed herself and her 18-year- old disabled daughter in 2007 after 10 years of harassment and threats from local youths. Where repeat callers are not vulnerable then the neighbour- hood officer or an agency will
teams will review all anti-social behaviour calls. All victims will be kept informed of any police action, the spokesman added. Kent Police Authority (KPA)
has been helping to drive the changes and agreed the new way of working with the force, which faces making cuts of £50m in the next four years.
Visit Downs Mail’s website —
downsmail.co.uk The KPA - the police watch-
dog - has set the force a target to increase the number of people who are satisfied with the over- all service provided in anti-so- cial behaviour cases. Ann Barnes, chair of KPA
said: “We have set the force a stretching target to ensure a bet- ter service to victims of anti-so- cial behaviour and we will be watching to check they deliver this.”
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