Richie Bates

"I write pretty much everything, but the band I was in at College mainly played melodic rock. I also write acoustic stuff, and I'm interested in the recording and producing aspect of it too. I did music at college so I learned to respect all kinds of music - except death metal!"

Richie has found it difficult to make his mark on the music industry.

"I would love to be part of a band, but want to perform as much as possible, even if this means being a solo artist. I've dealt with some people who were horrible to work with, and have never been able to raise the funds to get myself a good producer to make an album that could be released."

Richie has Phocomelia - if you want to know more, go and look it up in a medical dictionary. OK, clue, it's a limb thing. He says:

"I think it would be nice to see someone with a severe physical disability do well in the music industry and show that there are people slightly different out there who can also entertain."

Click below to hear a live recording of a track called 'Wadda Ya Want', which Richie recorded with his previous band, Audible Mercy.