Yeadon-based singer/songwriter Marc Otway, 21, has grabbed the attention of top record producers in this year’s UK Songwriting competition by beating hundreds of entries to reach the semi-finals with his original composition Let Go.

Marc is fast making a name for himself on the local music scene with his appearances at gigs and open-mic nights and he is set to host a new open-mic night at The Tarn in Yeadon.

The competition is judged by many top industry names such as producer Stuart Epps (Elton John, Robbie Williams, Led Zeppelin, Bill Wyman, Paul Weller, Oasis), Brit Award-winning producer, songwriter and musical director Simon Ellis (S Club 7, Britney Spears) and the legendary producer, musical director and arranger Richard Niles (Paul McCartney, Kylie Minogue, Boyzone, Take That, Mariah Carey, Cliff Richard).

The judges decided that Marc’s song, Let Go was one of the strongest compositions of the semi-finals as it was just a whisker away from being considered for the top spot. Marc, who recently received his degree in Popular Music from Leeds College of Music, is very pleased with his standings in the competition, and said: “I am very excited and encouraged that my music was heard, and held in high esteem, by such big industry names.”

This is a significant improvement from last year when Marc entered the competition with a different song and did not manage to reach the semi-finals, despite his entry being commended by the judges.

Marc is hopeful that next year he will impress the judges even more and said: “This year my songwriting was rated twice as high as it was last year by the judges. Next year I won’t need to improve on my score much more to come first.”