People power pays for South Tyneside musician's new album

Paul Liddell, from Whitburn, launched a crowd-funding campaign on the Kickstarter website in the hope £1,000 would be donated to fund the pressing of new record The Mean Seeds Of Yield.

But in just a few weeks, backers more than doubled the amount pledging £2,251 to the cause.

The extra funds means Paul, who is well-known on the North East gig circuit, can pay for an artist to create images for a booklet for the CD version when the album is released next month.

Paul, 35, who over the years has shared the stage with the like of Turin Brakes, Florence And The Machine, Calvin Harris and Billy Bragg, says he’s delighted with people’s support for the creative arts.

“This is the second Kickstarter campaign I’ve held for an album so I thought I would have used up everyone’s good will,” he said. “So it was a really pleasant surprise to raise this amount.

“Kickstarter is a great way of getting people involved in the record making process.”

The Mean Seeds of Yield will be launched with a gig at Sunderland Minster on October 7, where Paul will be playing both solo and with a band, before he heads off on a European tour.

Gig-goers will be able to hear tracks from the new album which Paul says has been informed by his live shows.

He said: “The idea behind this album is to preserve the live feel of these songs from when I play them at my gigs. To that end, the recording process so far has been very loose, with most of the vocals and guitar tracks being recorded simultaneously. The rest of the tracks have then been built around these core takes, and the result sounds very organic and lively.”

He added: “I’m really looking forward to the Minster gig, it’s such a brilliant venue, it feels like a treat to play there.”

•There’s still a day left on Paul’s Kickstarter campaign, more details here

•Paul Liddell plays Sunderland Minster on October 7. Tickets are priced from £6 from http://www.wegottickets.com/paulliddell