You need to upgrade your Flash Player Alice has been singing and generally making noise for as long as she can remember. it wasn't until she was around the age of 10 that she discovered that she could hold a note and the noise she made actually resembled something quite tuneful!! she attended singing lessons from this point on and was constantly encouraged by her mum who made her sing at every opportunity and to 'keep your shoulders back'. She also has her mother to thank for introducing her to the music she loves the most- blues and soul. One of the first artists she remembers hearing was Ray Charles and she was hooked!! While others were listening to Peter Andre and East 17, Alice was immersing herself in the music of the blues and soul greats like Etta James, BB King and Aretha Franklin.

She attended singing lessons and amateur dramatic societies throughout her school life but it wasn't until the age of 17 that she decided she would try and pursue singing as a serious career rather than just a hobby. In 2002 she auditioned for a place on the contemporary popular music degree to study vocals at the academy of contemporary music (ACM) in Guildford, where she was offered a place on the spot after hearing her sing. From September 2003 she began her course at ACM and never looked back. She met a talented guitarist named Ruth Sharpe (www.ruthsharpe.com). Together they formed an acoustic duo named 'Two Rogue Blondes' and held an 18 month residency at Rogues Wine Bar in Guildford. They also performed in many other venues around the Guildford and London area and even traveled as far as the Algarve in Portugal where they have performed a number of successful gigs.

During her second year at the college Alice was fortunate enough to meet and begin a creative collaboration with guitarist Jonny Pike. Together they wrote a number of songs for which they received critical acclaim through performing and headlining many gigs for some of the major record labels such as Sony, EMI and Universal. Her songwriting ability has been compared to the likes of Alicia Keys and Carole King and her voice is not dissimilar to the likes of Eva Cassidy, as she has a powerful, soulful voice.

In January 2006 after completing her degree for which she gained a high 2:1 Classification, Alice came to a crossroads in her life as most musicians do. She had to make the decision between waitressing until something better came along or getting the ball rolling down the path to musical success. She chose the latter. In june 2006 Alice embarked on a three month residency singing at Centro Bar in the Kerry Centre Hotel, Beijing, part of the prestigious Shangri-la chain of hotels. Centro Bar is widely regarded as one of chinas finest jazz venues, where Alice is fortunate enough to be the youngest singer ever to perform. Alice will perform nightly from the 12th June until the 12th September when she will return to the UK to pursue other career avenues. She has a keen interest in session singing and has gained recognition form the likes of Joss Stone and the dance label Hed Kandi. She is also keen to pursue further contracts around Asia through contacts she has made with other international jazz musicians whilst being in China. Alice B music AliceB Birkhead