Dean bids for talent show glory

Dean, of Wembley Avenue, Lancing, breezed through the semi-final of the Brighton and Sussex section of South Coast Idol, which aims to uncover the best unsigned acts in the south of the country.

He will be on stage at Brighton's Concorde 2 tomorrow night, singing for a place in the grand final in Portsmouth next month.

Dean told the Herald: "I am looking forward to it. I have got another one of my own songs which I will be performing."

Nerves won't be a problem for swing singer Dean, who earns a living performing to people at parties, functions and events.

"I was very nervous at the audition, when I had to sing to three people," he said. "Singing to 600 people or more is just great.

"It is what you want as a performer. It all goes quiet, you come out to the cheers and you are in your zone. You really come alive."

Dean, who moved to Lancing from Southwick earlier this year, said he would be hoping to build on the support he received at the semi-final, where he converted some new fans.

"They were shouting, 'Deano, Deano'. They started chanting at the back and it worked its way up to the front," he said.

Dean's performance tomorrow night will follow hot on the heels of an audition he is attending in London today '“ for TV's X-Factor show.

He told the Herald this week: "I am really looking forward to it. It will be the first time I have done it. I will be waiting with thousands of other people ready to sing a song '“ I am still going to do one of my own.

"By Saturday morning, I will either be ready to jump off Beachy Head because I am so depressed, or I will be optimistic."

Dean appeared on national radio station talkSPORT last week to talk about his progress in South Coast Idol, and said he had even been recognised by people in the streets near his home.

He said: "I was in one of the shops and someone said 'Good luck'. They said, 'I saw you in the paper'. It was great."

Track's from Dean's album, Sentimental, which he wrote and recorded himself, can be found at his website, which also has Dean's contact details, and anyone who would like to lend their support at tomorrow's contest should send him an email via the links.

For more information, people should log on to www.deanager.com