Katie Melua
The jazz and blues singer-songwriter talks about moving to the UK and how her education in Britain helped to launch her career:
“Moving to the UK from Georgia at the age of eight felt like a big adventure for me. I discovered that the UK was very different from the images I’d seen on television where everyone seems to live in big white houses and be very well off. But the people here are so warm and welcoming that I found it very easy to settle in and make friends.
“My love of music inspired me to pursue a career in the music industry. I have happy early memories of watching Freddie Mercury prancing around on stage with Queen and thinking he was amazing. Today, I’m a fan of Coldplay and Damien Rice among others.
“My big break came when I met producer Mike Batt while I was studying for a BTEC in music at The BRITs (The BRIT Performing Arts and Technology School). He really liked a demo of a song I’d written and went on to produce my debut album, Call Off The Search, which reached number one in the charts. There’s no way that I would be where I am now if I hadn’t moved to the UK.
“I enjoyed school and studying music was great. I don’t think any other country has had such a rich and impressive musical history in the last 100 years so it was wonderful to have the chance to study music in the UK.
“We also covered the technological and theoretical sides of music, which is an excellent background for whatever you want to do afterwards. Funnily enough, when I’m away from the UK, one of the things I miss the most is television.
“My advice to anyone thinking of moving to the UK for the first time would be to enjoy it! It’s a great place to live. The opportunities are there – you just have to make the most of them!”
> Content care of Club UK (www.educationuk.org/clubuk/10/index.html), the British Council’s magazine for international students.