Blackpool singer Kelvin J Wood wins international songwriting award

His upbeat romantic number, ‘Fred Astaire’, claimed the prize in last month’s World Songwriting Awards, based in Sydney, Australia.

And at the time of writing it, professional singer Kelvin J Wood had barely written any songs at all.

Kelvin, 49, of Headfort Close, Bispham, had concentrated on his singing career, appearing at pubs, clubs and other venues in Blackpool and across the country, performing covers in a variety of styles.

He is also a regular fundraiser for local causes, including a running challenge last year which netted more than £2,500 towards the Bobby Ball statue fund.

But it was the tragic death of his cousin’s daughter Gemma McCormick, who unexpectedly died in her sleep aged just 38, that prompted his to start writing.

He penned the poignant ballad, ‘This was Goodbye and I Didn’t Know It’, back in 2020 – and it indirectly led to him writing ‘Fred Astaire’.

Kelvin, who is originally from Carlisle in Cumbria but moved to Blackpool seven years ago, said: “Gemma had always encouraged me to write my own songs, ironically, but I never did.

"It was devastating for the entire family when she died and I wrote the song to play at the funeral rather than me trying to say something, which would have been too difficult.

"That song ended up being shared on Facebook and I’m glad it meant something to people, but every time it cropped up on my Facebook links, it reminded me of Gemma’s death.

"So I decided to write an upbeat number out of self-preservation, I suppose.”

The song ‘Fred Astaire’, is about a couple who split up after years together, but get back together after a long time apart and will ‘dance like Fred Astaire’.

The song proved more popular than Kelvin anticipated and after he released it onto various sites last year, including Spotify, it went to number one in a local American chart in Georgia, Atlanta.

It was that which prompted Kelvin to enter into the World Songwriting Awards, whose stated aim is to ‘give serious songwriters the recognition they deserve’.

Kelvin, who received his award through the post, said: “I couldn’t believe it, it’ a wonderful accolade that I never expected.

"It’s amazing, really.”

The song can be heard online at various sites.

As for his songwriting, he has now gone on to record an album of his own songs, ‘Battle Stars’, which can also be heard online.

Kelvin said: “I suppose it opened up the floodgates and, unbelievably, I’ve now written 49 songs in total.

"I’ve always performed other people’s songs for years and I never really considered myself as any kind of songwriter, but now I’ve stated performing my own as well.

"That is something I would not have imagined doing a couple of years back.

"It’s an incredible turn around for me after so long in the entertainment business.”

He added: “Gemma always said I should write my own songs and because of her, I have.”