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Bouncing back from diet of vitamins and alcohol
Whatever happened to that nice lad from Fame Academy, the one from Denholm?
There have been a few successes from these reality talent shows, the ones that thrive on throwing naive young hopefuls to the lions for the sake of a guaranteed Christmas number one.
That Scottish guy Leon with the funny teeth, Hear'Say, Gareth Gates, Alex whats-her-name, who was so bland she merged into any wallpaper she was standing next to – just try naming previous winners and you'll probably run dry sooner than you think.
Winners typically enjoy the same career success as former Bond girls, but there have been the odd one or two who survived with their credibility intact – Will Young, Leona Lewis, Lemar and Girls Aloud. Credibility? Perhaps.
The shows promise much but usually fail to deliver, often leaving young aspiring artists disillusioned and out of work – and that's not a million miles away from Ainslie Henderson's experience of Fame Academy back in 2002.
The young Denholm singer/ songwriter was thrust into the limelight after making it to the final four and, despite being knocked out at that stage, won himself a 250,000 recording deal with Mercury Records.
But two years later he was dropped after releasing only one single and, after floating his way through life on lager and vitamin pills, he found himself worse off than ever.
"It always amazes me how hard it is to sum that whole experience up," Ainslie reflected this week. "It was really overwhelming and turned my whole life on its head.
"I'd just worked in bars before that and didn't have much money. Suddenly there was money to play with and I could do anything I wanted.
"I was gutted when it all ended."
Forced to look back at a low point in his life, there's no sense of melancholy or self-indulgence as Ainslie describes his experiences.
Instead, there's a calmness and maturity that signals a turning point for the talented young musician.
"Things could've been better, they could've been worse, but I'm philosophical about it now," he continued.
"I lived on lager and vitamin pills for a long time and things were so frantic I didn't know what to think.
"Writing songs and just having normal relationships became difficult. But everything's at a more steady pace now and much more enjoyable. Life's a lot better now."
Now based in Edinburgh, Ainslie is performing regularly and recently released his first album, Growing Flowers by Candlelight, which has been met with critical acclaim.
And last weekend he was back in the Borders for two acoustic concerts at a packed-out Heart of Hawick auditorium, supporting Julie Fowlis.
"I was really pleased with the way that went," he commented. "It's difficult playing in front of my mates and my family because my songs are very personal and candid.
"But solo shows are really exciting and I'm starting to do a lot more. They’re more exhilarating because you’re utterly exposed and there’s more of a buzz and a freedom to be creative.”
Yes, he has some regrets, but his growth as a musician owes a lot to his experiences following Fame Academy. He’s travelled a lot, played at venues across the States, at Wembley and on Top of the Pops. He’s even written and played with childhood heroes.
But now there’s an intimacy in his music that, he says, comes from forming honest relationships with people, something that dates back to his childhood in Denholm.
“I suppose I have a lot of close friends and I just listen a lot. If you listen, people want to tell you things about relationships and I use that in my music. I grew up in a very close community where everyone knew and cared about each other and that was really valuable.”
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Weather for Galashiels
Thursday 24 May 2012
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