Leicestershire plumber, Kev Crane, landed a record deal after the owner of New Reality Records, Paul Conneally, heard him singing while installing his bathroom.
Crane, who has been a bathroom fitter for eight years, released his first album at the start of September. The Eighties-inspired album, called ‘Why Can’t I Be You?’, was written and produced by Crane.
Owner of New Reality Records, Paul Conneally, told the BBC: “I heard Kev singing as he worked. He sings along to the radio all day as he tiles and plumbs in bathrooms. I told him he had a good voice and he mentioned he’d been writing and recording songs in his home studio.
“He sent me some songs and I was blown away by his songwriting and his attention to detail in producing a sound that is so Eighties but so now at the same time.”
New Reality Records, based in Leicestershire, was started during the first lockdown in 2020 and has now signed 16 local artists. The record label defines itself as a collective for its signed artists and fans.
Crane is self-taught in music production and learned how to record and mix over the past 18 months. He has a studio set up in his home. He told the BBC: “It just feels surreal. I never expected anything like this to happen. I love writing music. It’s my hobby.
“I’m just seeing where it leads. I don’t have any expectations. I would love to be able to write songs for other artists, but if nothing else happens, then it was fun while it lasted.”