Brit Award-winning Paloma Faith showed her appreciation for the part Showsec steward Edward Lynch played in her rise to stardom at the First Direct Arena in Leeds.

Lynch, who was Faith’s old dance teacher, dropped the singer-songwriter a note telling her he would be on duty at the venue for her sell-out concert there (21 March).

The singer told the audience about Lynch’s influence on her and also invited him backstage after the concert for a catch-up. She then made him a special guest of hers for a night out at the O2 Academy to see Chic featuring Nile Rodgers.

“It was pretty amazing; she is still very much the Paloma I worked with many years ago,” said Lynch, a professional dance teacher instrumental in forming RJC Dance in 1993, which established The Northern School of Contemporary Dance.

“Although we have stayed in touch, it had been a long, long time since we last met up. So I thought it might be worth making her aware that I would be there on this occasion, never expecting though to get such a fantastic response from her.

“I’ve always gained a lot of satisfaction from seeing what she has achieved. The warmth of her words on stage, her reception when I went to meet her backstage and her insistence that we go out the following night were a measure of her appreciation of the support and guidance in the early stages of what has been a long journey to the top.

“She may have been crowned the Best Female Solo Artist at The Brit Awards recently, but she is still incredibly humble and very honest.”

Lynch recalled when he first came into contact with Faith in her early teens as RJC Dance undertook a project at a school in London.

“It was clear she had a lot of talent, not only as a dancer, but also as a singer and an actress,” he said. “Our work was all about inspiring young people to express themselves, to be creative and to make the most of their talent 

“After that initial work with Paloma, she then came to The Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Chapeltown to study for a degree in contemporary dance, so that was another important stage of her development into a top performer.

He concluded: “I’ve been privileged enough to work with a good many people in the industry who have gone on to great things and I am just so pleased that I was able to be such an inspiration to Paloma in helping her to progress to where she is today.”

Got a story for Access All Areas? Email Tom Hall
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Brit Award-winning Paloma Faith showed her appreciation for the part Showsec steward Edward Lynch played in her rise to stardom at the First Direct Arena in Leeds.

Lynch, who was Faith’s old dance teacher, dropped the singer-songwriter a note telling her he would be on duty at the venue for her sell-out concert there (21 March).

The singer told the audience about Lynch’s influence on her and also invited him backstage after the concert for a catch-up. She then made him a special guest of hers for a night out at the O2 Academy to see Chic featuring Nile Rodgers.

“It was pretty amazing; she is still very much the Paloma I worked with many years ago,” said Lynch, a professional dance teacher instrumental in forming RJC Dance in 1993, which established The Northern School of Contemporary Dance.

“Although we have stayed in touch, it had been a long, long time since we last met up. So I thought it might be worth making her aware that I would be there on this occasion, never expecting though to get such a fantastic response from her.

“I’ve always gained a lot of satisfaction from seeing what she has achieved. The warmth of her words on stage, her reception when I went to meet her backstage and her insistence that we go out the following night were a measure of her appreciation of the support and guidance in the early stages of what has been a long journey to the top.

“She may have been crowned the Best Female Solo Artist at The Brit Awards recently, but she is still incredibly humble and very honest.”

Lynch recalled when he first came into contact with Faith in her early teens as RJC Dance undertook a project at a school in London.

“It was clear she had a lot of talent, not only as a dancer, but also as a singer and an actress,” he said. “Our work was all about inspiring young people to express themselves, to be creative and to make the most of their talent 

“After that initial work with Paloma, she then came to The Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Chapeltown to study for a degree in contemporary dance, so that was another important stage of her development into a top performer.

He concluded: “I’ve been privileged enough to work with a good many people in the industry who have gone on to great things and I am just so pleased that I was able to be such an inspiration to Paloma in helping her to progress to where she is today.”

Got a story for Access All Areas? Email Tom Hall
Follow us @Access_AA
Or on Facebook and Instagram
Read the latest Access All Areas here.