Child busker to next big thing - Alex Spencer plays sold out gig at Manchester's Deaf Institute

Tim Scott spoke to Alex about his newfound fame and his devotion to Manchester City.

He began busking on the streets of Manchester at the tender age of 12, now Alex Spencer is being hotly tipped as the next big thing after selling out his first major headline gig at the city's Deaf Institute.

The singer songwriter from Droylsden, who is still only 16, has just released his debut EP 'One Step Forward' and is fresh from supporting Jamie Webster at Manchester's Victoria Warehouse.

Alex started playing the guitar when he was 10, and says his influences range from The Beatles and Oasis to the Arctic Monkeys and Ice Cube.

He was born in Barcelona, to a Spanish mother, and is a fluent Spanish speaker. 

He taught himself to play the guitar after watching his father.

His family travelled extensively when he was young and it was on trips to India and Thailand that he was inspired by other musicians he met and was invited to play at Open Mics.

During lockdown he began live-streaming his performances, posting cover tracks and building a fanbase which included praise from artists such as Liam Gallagher.

It wasn't long before he was writing his own material, self-funding his debut single.

His stellar rise has included playing in front of 20 thousand people at Manchester's AO Arena aged just 14, as part of the Young Voices concert, and he also performed for Pep Guardiola and the Manchester City squad after they won the premier league.

At the age of 15, whilst still at school, Spencer was signed by independent label Modern Sky, releasing his debut single in April before passing all his GCSEs.

The teen is taking it all in his stride, mixing sell out gigs with his studies, having enrolled on a Music Production and Technology course at college.

And he still likes to busk - you might catch him at Manchester's Christmas Markets.

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