A FORMER barman is hoping a prestigious musical showcase will launch his career in the West End.

Classically-trained singer Matt Ibbotson, 23, was a member of all-male choir Only Men Aloud which won BBC talent show Last Choir Standing last August.

He has since left the choir and is determined to make a name for himself as a solo performer.

Matt, who used to pull pints at the Bull Inn, in London Road, Pitsea, was celebrating yesterday after being cast in prestigious West End production The Voice of Tomorrow.

Matt, of London Road, Pitsea, said: “This is very exciting, as it’s a showcase for the best young British musical talent. All the top theatre producers and agents will be in the audience. I’m determined to see my name up in lights, even if I have to put it there myself.”

The show will be at the Bloomsbury Theatre in the West End from May 28 to 30.

Matt will be part of the production’s main choir, so he will have to learn a variety of song and dance routines.

He said: “The songs are from shows like Les Miserables. I was taught to dance from the age of three.

“They’re bringing in the head of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art to work on our acting.”

Matt stopped working at the Bull last November to star in a six-week national tour of the panto Cinderella, where he played one of the ugly sisters.