Promoter recalls Cheryl Cole’s road to stardom

Mar 7 2010 by Lisa Hutchinson, Sunday Sun

SURROUNDED by promotional programmes from the 1990s, Rod Jeffries is reminded of the little star he had on his books.

A beautiful schoolgirl, a charismatic performer and a newcomer who could command the stage at the tender age of 12.

Cheryl Tweedy, as she was known in those days, caught the eye of everyone who saw her.

She was a regular on the centre stage at the MetroLand funfair, which used to be based at the Metrocentre in Gateshead, and she had her following of teenyboppers who wished they were like her.

Cheryl was taken under the wing of Rod and Andrew Falconer, partners in Newcastle-based Bucket and Spade promotions.

And she was a star on their books, with the pair giving her the performing experience she craved.

Today, as Cheryl faces a broken marriage with cheating husband, football ace Ashley Cole, Rod has dusted off his memorabilia he has kept from his days as a promoter to share with the Sunday Sun.

Rod, 57, now an underwriter with Northern Rock, said: “I remember it well.

“I knew her when she was just a kid. We would pick her up at her house in Byker and take her to venues and watched her grow as a performer. I’m a bit of a hoarder and kept the promotional material we used in those early days for our shows and of course Cheryl features heavily on them.

“There was a sports ground in Byker where there used to be a summer festival held each year. There were local acts and stalls and we used to supply a couple of our local bands for the event.

“It was around the summer of 1995, I think. Cheryl’s mum came up to us and asked if we could have a look at her. We said yes and organised for her to come to MetroLand. We used to use the stage there and their PA system which was set up for that sort of thing.

“Cheryl got on the stage and really impressed us. She wasn’t the best singer in the world, but she was a pretty kid and was very charismatic. She was so confident and held the stage well. She knew what she wanted and was determined to get it.

“Andrew took her on and she was doing shows at MetroLand on Saturdays and Sundays. She wasn’t getting paid for it and neither were we, but it was a great situation to get experience. It was a tough gig doing MetroLand as the roller coaster was zooming overhead and there was a lot of noise in the background, but she did really well. You knew she was a star in the making.”

Speaking from his home in Kingston Park, Newcastle, Rod added: “We were the ones who brought Boyzone to MetroLand and Ant and Dec. Andrew knew a lot of people with Byker Grove and people with bigger bands.

“He had excellent contacts so we could get some good acts.