A MUSICIAN who does a fine line in bittersweet love songs is set to put Worcester on the musical map as his tunes finally hit high street shelves across the country.

Jamie Knight, from St John's, Worcester, has been singing for 10 years and playing the guitar since the age of 16 and the release of his second album Bound marks a new stage in his career.

The 10-track CD was engineered and produced at FFG Studios in Gloucestershire.

A little help from the Wigornia String Quartet and Hammond organist David Pickering Pick add a new dimension to his work.

It was officially released last month and, to top it all off, the talented singer has now signed a distribution deal with Proper, with his CD set to hit the shelves at major retail outlets such as HMV and Virgin and local music stores including Worcester's Face The Music soon.

The album - which follows on from his debut, 2002's Where The Heart Lies - will also be available online through Amazon and is set to be distributed across Europe.

"It's great - I feel I'm really lucky to get a deal because I know how hard it is and it gets harder than because the work starts in getting people to hear your music," said Jamie.

"I class my audience as the number one thing as they're obviously the people who buy the music and I just want to spread it out there and get as many people as I can to hear it and raise my profile."

Jamie has worked with double-bassist Paul Smith, pianist Dave Staiger and drummer Jon Sharp on his latest album, with Ria Keen being called in to provide backing vocals.

The 31-year-old took inspiration for the songs, written over a two-year period, from everyday life and drew on influences such as Elvis Presley and Jeff Buckley.

The album was initially due to come out last autumn but its launch was delayed as the singer worked on fine-tuning the tracks.

However, Jamie said he was confident that what has now been released is his best work yet.

"I'm feeling really good about it and how it sounds - its' the best thing I've done in my life so far!" he said.

"The people I've worked with on the album are really excellent performers and there's some great tracks on there.

"It's a real eye-opener working with a string quartet so that also helped with what I wanted to do with my own songs."

The dedicated Worcester musician has also been busy setting up his own record label - Kite Records - and is now looking to form a new band for a summer tour, possibly taking in some of the country's festivals.

He also hopes to jet to New York in a few months to tour and has also begun writing tracks for his third album, which he hopes to release this Christmas.

"I couldn't be happier at the moment," he said. "The music industry is so difficult to break into because it's so big but it's enjoyable though and that's the main thing that keeps me going."

n We have two copies of Jamie's new album Bound to give away. To be in with a chance of winning, answer the following question: What was the name of Jamie's first album?

Answers should be sent, with your name and address, to: Jamie Knight CD Competition, Nightlife, Worcester News, Hylton Road, Worcester, WR2 5JX by Friday, April 22.