Name	Alastair Alexander ward
Date of birth	17 November 1983
Hometown	Bath, Somerset, England, UK
Resides	Swindon, Wiltshire, England, UK
Influences	Oasis, Bruno Mars, Bon Jovi, Michael Jackson, Aerosmith, The Beach Boys, R.E.M, Guns n’ Roses, Queen, OneRepublic, Lenny Kravitz, The Kinks, The Beatles, Bryan Adams, Blur, Def Leppard
General interests	Football, Singing & Guitar, Writing Songs, Snooker, Gym, Spending Time With His Girlfriend & Family, I.T, Karaoke, Hanging With Friends, Cars, Watching Films.

What can be said about this 28 year old Singer/Songwriter/Guitarist who hails originally from the wallows of Bath but now resides in sunny Swindon? It's a classic cliche' really, you either love him or you hate him.
Bringing to you a fusion of commercial Rock/Pop which is made unique by wonderfully toned and souring vocals and a thunderous rockin’ six string. Throw in some brilliant melodies, meaningful lyrics with more hooks than a cloak hanger. The end result a contagious blend of rock and pop that captures the emotion, soul and excitement of this charismatic young man and all round entertainer known as Ally.

The Story So Far... Early Years

Ally’s musical journey began in 1988 when he first heard the music of Michael Jackson on a old cassette. Around that same time he was introduced to the sounds of hair metal bands of the time such as Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Guns N’ Roses and Def Leppard. This played a big part influencing the genre of music that Ally would be inspired to follow.

In 1994 at the age of only 10, Ally 1st picked up the guitar after being inspired by bands like Oasis and the Britpop movement of the time. After having lessons at school, Ally decided he would make more headway if he taught himself by isolating himself for hours upon end in his bedroom, trying to make sense and strumming away at chord diagrams and guitar tabs of his favourite bands songs.

This led Ally at the age of 13 to playing his first gig as lead guitarist with his first band which was called ‘'Loquacious’’ at a talent gig held at his secondary school.

Finding The Voice

Discovery of Ally’s vocal ability can be credited to an evening spent doing karaoke in 2001. Ally had never sang live publically before, but after a bit of encouragement from his friends and himself of course, he took to the microphone. He garnered a very positive reaction from the audience and even more importantly developed the passion and the buzz for singing live.

Consequently discovering his natural range was soprano tenor. Ally posessed the ability to reach with very clear pitch and tone, dynamic, high and powerful levels. Versitille to suit many genres liken pop, RnB and rock. This often lead to comparisions with his idols such as Jon Bon Jovi, Bruno Mars, Ryan Tedder,Freddie Mercury, and Steven Tyler. Over the next few years Ally worked hard on enhancing his vocal capabilities even further, this would go on later to pay extra dividends.

Developing Years

To test himself, Ally took part in his first national karaoke contest in 2002 at Yates, qualifying for his first local final and only just being pipped into first place.

Ally also began to write his own songs which would enable him to express himself honestly and creditably. While he continued to develop into one of the finest young male singers around the local area. Taking part and winning final's in various competitions all around the south west.

In 2006 Ally joined the alternative rock outfit ''Dropstone'' as singer/frontman. Although this relationship came to a premature end due to musical differences.

2007 saw Ally excel away from Swindon as winner of the Singer/Songwrtier/Guitarist category in the Saba Uk Unsigned competition in Weymouth. In Trowbridge he was crowned Chicago Rocks ‘’Rock Idol’’. Added to that Ally also took part in South Coast Idol in Bath.

Golden Year

2008 was a very successful year for both his original song's and performing live. Ally’s music and vocal ability came under extreme attention from record labels and management companies on both side's of the pond. With his music also attracting attention from film makers and other songwriters who expressed an interest in potential collaboration's.

While on the Road, Ally advanced to the national finals of the Greene King singing competition in Cardiff via Swindon and Abingdon finishing 2nd overall. Ally went onto win the Lava Lounge £3000 national competition held in Swansea. This event was witnessed and judged by various high profile members in the record industry. A management deal was also offered as result of that win.

Having advanced through all the stages at both local and regional finals held in Hungerford and Southampton respectively, Ally reached the national finals of Pub Stars held in Preston. Ally finished 3rd overall but still managed to pocket £1300 as prize money. Victories in Cirencester and a year long singing competition at Varsity Bar Newbury also followed. 2008 overall set Ally's high standards and remains the benchmark but more importantly exposed his name and talent nationally to a wider audience.

Mercury River

Ally formed the band ‘’Mercury River’’ in 2008. The purpose was to bring Ally’s songs to life on the live circuit.

The band consisted of Ally on vocals and guitar, ''Rich Maidment'' on guitar and piano, ''Ben Lee'' on bass and ''Harvin Singh'' on drums. They played their first gig at the final of Swindons Got Talent 2008 held at Swindon's Art Centre.

The band played many gigs throughout 2009 in different towns and cities in the UK, playing and headlining at many prestigous venues, events and supporting well known acts along their way. The band was well received and gained a loyal fan base by achieving over 250'000 plays on myspace. They disbanded in late 2009. Their last gig was played at the same venue and same event they made their debut a year earlier at Swindon Got Talent 2009.

Returning Solo

After Mercury River's demise Ally returned his focus to the competitive singing scene and also began a solo project recording acoustic covers adding his own twist to them. Ally has since built a strong collection of tunes which have gone on to be very popular and well received on Youtube especially.

2010 saw Ally return on the road to competitive high level singing with his presence being felt at Park Resorts National Finals on the Isle Of Wight and Clacton On Sea resulting in finishing 4th overall. He also made his mark competing at The Text Factor held at Bushwackers Swindon. Ally also reached the finals of Bath's Top Talent 2010 and Finals of another tough competition held in Cardiff.

The Past Is Practice

In 2011 Ally and former members of Mercury River ''Rich'' and ''Ben'' teamed up with Vocalist/Rapper Jack Stuckey to form the unique cover's and original's band ''The Past Is Practice''. The band made their ''critically acclaimed'' debut performance at Bath's Top Talent 2011 held at the Komedia club with also an added performance from Ally and Jack in Bristol 2 days later.

2011 highs

2011 saw Ally and Jack be short listed to the final 50 out of over 20'000 YouTube Audition submissions for the X Factor. Ultimately earning a chance to perform in front of a packed 5000 strong audience at Cardiff International Arena. Also showcasing their talents in front of celebrity judges Gary Barlow, Kelly Rowland, Tulisa and Louis Walsh. They left the stage to a standing ovation, and earned some good praise from Dermott O'Leary and Olly Murrs. They was featured briefly on national T.V in September.

In August 2011 Ally was crowned the male UK Karaoke Champion in London. This resulted in Ally earning the honour to represent the UK at the World Karaoke Championships 2011 held that year in Ireland. Competing and sharing the stage against champions of 40 nations, Ally performed on the grandest stage over 3 nights that would be broadcasted live on ABC television in the U.S.A and broadcast all over the world via the Internet. Ally finished the tournament as the world number 12. Ally considers the experience to be one if not the greatest achievement to date.