Top of the pops: The 90 per cent visually impaired Andrea Begley landed BBC TV’s The Voice against odds-on favourite Leah McFall.


By Geoffrey Rowlands


Beating odds-on favourite Leah McFall to win the 2013 season of BBC Television’s The Voice was a spectacular success for Andrea Begley. But just getting safely through each day effectively represents a triumph for the 27-year-old singer. Andrea is 90 per cent blind.
“I was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis when I was four,” explained the girl from Pomeroy, Northern Ireland. “People associate arthritis with pain in their joints but, in my case, it affected my eyes. I got uveitis which led on to glaucoma. This raised pressure in my eyes and caused my loss of vision.”
Although Andrea has tried to live as normally as possible, her life has been punctuated by a series of operations in the attempt to preserve her sight.
“I’ve had 23 operations over the years to relieve the build-up of pressure in my eyes. The first of these was when I was five. Without them, I’d have been totally blind years ago. But the pressure obviously couldn’t be relieved every day so it has gradually caused more damage to my optic nerves.
“Losing my sight in this way is certainly better than sudden blindness. I was able to adapt as my vision worsened. But there were some really bad days when I’d realise my sight was noticeably worse. For example, I might pick up a book and find I couldn’t make out the words or watch a film I’d seen before and there would be things I’d remember that I could no longer clearly see.”
Andrea did not allow the impaired vision to interfere with her academic ambitions.
“I knew I’d probably have to work twice as hard as normally sighted people to overcome the problems of studying but I was desperate to do as well as I could. I also felt like I owed it to the people who helped me. I had an assistant in class who took notes from the board and my younger sister, Hannah, read textbooks to me. I never wanted my helpers to feel their efforts were wasted.”
She earned a university degree, secured a job in the Civil Service and is currently pursuing a postgraduate law degree. But music has always been Andrea’s passion. She played piano and guitar, wrote her own songs and, as the whole of Britain now knows, had a superb voice.
“Music was always part of our family. My aunt, Philomena Begley, is a famous Irish country music singer. I loved singing at home or in shows at school and later performed at local open-mic events. But I always felt my academic work should take priority.
“Television talent shows like X Factor made me consider the possibility of trying for a career in show business but I felt I wasn’t what the X Factor people were looking for. The Voice was different. It’s all about vocal ability, not your appearance. I thought this might be my chance.”
Andrea’s victory was not without controversy. Black Eyed Peas star Will.i.am, mentor to Leah McFall, was so disgusted by the result that he stormed out of the studio without congratulating Andrea.
“Will spoke to me later and wished me well. Everyone is entitled to their opinion on who should have won. I’m just grateful that enough viewers voted for me.”
Early indications suggested Will.i.am might have been right. Andrea’s debut single, a cover of Evanescence’s 2004 hit My Immortal, peaked at number 30 on the UK chart. This contrasted with Leah’s cover of Gloria Gaynor’s classic, I Will Survive, which reached number eight.
But two further releases by Leah have failed to make the top 30 while Andrea’s debut album, The Message, shot straight to number seven.
“I don’t think of it as a battle between Leah and myself. Our voices suit different styles of music. I know my blindness means I don’t have the same stage presence as Leah so we’re different types of artists. It would be nice if we could both become very successful.”



in
brief

Young The Giant

American alternative rockers Young The Giant will release their second album, Mind Over Matter, on January 21.
Lead single, It’s About Time, is already available. The official video can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO6LJUyNA0M.
The new single is also posted at (no www.) soundcloud.com/youngthegiant. So too are all 15 songs from the band’s self-titled 2010 debut album. These include the three special edition bonus tracks.
Also here is their entire Young The Giant Remix EP, all eight songs from the band’s iTunes Live from Soho EP and one track from an MTV Unplugged performance.

The Rolling Stones

Over 100,000 fans packed into London’s Hyde Park last July to witness two rip-roaring concerts by The Rolling Stones. The band were effectively re-living their youth having given a memorable performance at the same venue as long ago as 1969.
That show was captured on film as were their 2013 concerts. The best of these performances have now been released on DVD / Blu-ray, CD and vinyl as The Rolling Stones Sweet Summer Sun — Hyde Park Live.
Unfortunately, the DVD / Blu-ray contains just 16 of their 19-song set. No explanation has been offered for the missing tracks but these are included on both the CD and vinyl products.
The band have promoted the package by offering their performance of Start Me Up as a taster from the DVD / Blu-ray. It can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nqp2stVMVjM.

Erik hassle

It’s been a while since anything was heard from Swedish pop-soul star Erik Hassle. The 25-year-old singer / songwriter has taken a couple of years away from the music scene to travel the world and fall in, and out, of love.
His recent experiences are explored in the songs Erik has written for his forthcoming album. No title or release date has been decided upon but the video for lead single, Talk About It, can now be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9H693xmCws.
The song is also available to hear at (no www.) myspace.com/erikhassle/music/songs. It is the last of 28 tracks Erik has posted on this webpage.

Strangeheart

Los Angeles-based synth-pop duo Jeff Thompson and Brandon Queen, better known as Strangeheart, have just released their new single, How to Feel Right. The song is posted at (no www.) soundcloud.com/strangeheart.
Jeff and Brandon’s debut single, In Another Life, can also be found on the SoundCloud webpage along with four remixes of the song. Other tracks include recent release, All It Took, and a song which Strangeheart have retitled as Five Two. This is actually their cover of Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue (Has Anybody Seen My Gal), a popular ditty from the 1920s.
Strangeheart’s version can be downloaded for free. Anyone who enjoys the song might care to hear a 1925 recording by Art Landry’s Orchestra which is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqYJjA4aYXM.

Mac Miller

Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller has released a free mixtape under the name of his latest alter-ego, Delusional Thomas.
Produced by Mac using his beat-making alias of Larry Fisherman, all ten songs have been created without the use of samples. However, vocal effects give Mac a high-pitched voice which may not be to everyone’s taste.
The mixtape can be heard and downloaded at www.delusionalthomas.com.