Sony signs opera-singing dentist

An NHS dentist has just been signed up in a £1m record deal by SonyBMG, it was announced today. Andrew Bain, 34, who had worked in a North London dental practice for ten years, was noticed by Sony executives after he send in a demo tape containing his operatic interpretation of Prince’s pop classic, ‘Purple Rain’.

The Lancaster-born tenor’s first album, to be released this September, is a collection of cover songs by pop bands including ‘Life on Mars’ by David Bowie, ‘Winner Takes it All’ by Abba and ‘Chasing Cars’ by Snow Patrol. He is said to be influenced by the sounds of Led Zeppelin and David Essex.

Bain, billed as the latest ‘crossover’ artist, said he planned to mix styles further.

“Not only have I finally got a record deal, but they understand my eclectic taste in music. Who needs yet another version of Nessun Dorma?

“Opera really was the pop music of its day, so I feel that mixing this style with the pop songs of today is a natural progression despite what the critics might say.” He said his operatic renditions of pop ballads were re-orchestrated to contain more piano and string instrument sounds.

Sony, whose label has included the work of Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras, said: “He is a refreshingly different talent.”