For thousands of burgeoning singer/songwriters the dream of becoming a musician starts off at a very early age.

But not Wivenhoe’s Helen Connelly.

When she left school she had absolutely no idea what she wanted to do and only discovered a career as a singer quite by chance.

She says: “I’ve always been singing and it’s been important to me at various times in my life but I never once thought about doing it seriously.

“I did go to the part-time performing arts school Stagecoach but that was only because my friend went and when she left I did as well. I kind of regret not sticking with it but I lacked quite a bit of confidence in myself back then, which took a while to get back.”

It’s a very different story now because not only has Helen realised she has a real talent for singing, and writing songs for that matter, she’s also had the confidence to go part-time to try and make a go of it.

“It all started to come together a few years ago,” she explains. “A friend of mine introduced me to a local musician called Kirsty Morgan who in turn knew all these other people, like the guys from Fox. Suddenly these really amazing creative people were in my life and that was all the encouragement I needed.

“It was Kirsty who heard me sing first and persuaded me to sing with them in the studio.

Before that I hadn’t performed or anything but that was the opening of a floodgate for me and it snowballed from there.”

Born and brought up in Wivenhoe, Helen went to school at Broomgrove and then the Colne in Brightlingsea before taking a secretarial course at the Colchester Institute.

After graduating she started off in admin sales before working her way into selling advertising.

Although she still works in sales, Helen has gone part-time to concentrate more on her music.

“I suppose I wanted to give it a real go to see what happens really,” she smiles.

“I always wanted to play a musical instrument but never got around to it, but now I’m giving music a go I’m starting to learn to play the piano and absolutely loving it.

“My music draws on my love of soul, jazz, blues and r‘n’b.

“I listened to a lot of Motown growing up through my parents.

“Both my parents have a big love of music which I think definitely rubbed off on me”

“I’ve been writing material for years,” she continues. “Poems, lyrics and even melodies that have popped into my head but for the last couple of years I’ve been working with this great guitarist called Crazz and things have moved on quite quickly since then.”

That means gigs all over Essex, Suffolk and London at venues and festivals both large and small, plus her debut EP, Love, Life and Lyricality, which came out at the beginning of the month, and is now available on iTunes.

ý Helen plays the Fleece, Chelmsford, this Saturday.

For more information, check out www.helenconnellymusic.com