'LET’S do live music events here - and let’s do them well.’

That’s the rallying cry from Bradford lad Gareth Gates as he gears up to bring live music to Odsal Stadium later this year.

The concerts are The Big 80s Festival on June 3, with Sister Sledge, Martin Kemp, Boney M, Katrina and the Waves, The Fizz and Sonia; Bradford Dance on June 4 with Tom Zanetti confirmed so far; and The Big Pop on September 3, featuring Peter Andre, Five, A1, S Club, Liberty X and Gareth.

He said there has been a great response.

“This is something I’ve wanted to do and house in Bradford for a while,” said Gareth.

“We’ve got a great venue here at Odsal, it’s perfect for music, and it’s going really well.

"I’ve always wondered why we haven’t got our own events here, so our aim is to now bring these events here every year, so that people in Bradford can come here as opposed to having to go somewhere else.

"It’s a great city, it made me who I am, from first singing in Bradford Cathedral when I was the head choirboy there.

“That taught me how to sing and how to work as a group and in a team and there’s lots of other big music acts that have come from Bradford, so why haven’t we got our own events here? Why do we have to go to Leeds or Manchester? Let’s do it here and let’s do it well here.”

He added: “I’ve toured for 20 years myself, I’ve learnt what makes a good event and what makes a bad event and so I’ll be pulling on my experience and expertise in that area to bring world-class events here.

"We’re really really putting all of our efforts into this, we want to bring some great shows here and we’re already thinking about acts for 2023.

"It’s extremely exciting and I’m really really pleased to be doing it here, in my hometown.”

It’s 20 years since Pop Idol, the hit show which thrust Gareth, who was only 17 at the time, into the spotlight

“It’s flown by. It made me who I am now,” said Gareth.

“I’m very thankful for Pop Idol because it gave me that perfect platform for people to see my story.

"I think I would have found it hard making in this industry if I hadn’t have had something like that.

"I always thought pop stars were people who can entertain people on stage, not only singing, but chat with the crowd and be the ‘showman’ as it were.

"I’ve always been a very very shy boy with a stammer and so it was the perfect platform for me because it allowed me to show people my story and my personality, and I think people wouldn’t have got it as much if I’d have tried to make it any other way."

He said his greatest achievement is that he has been able to heighten the awareness of stammering

“When I was a kid, I didn’t know anyone else who had a stammer so you couldn’t relate to anybody, you just felt completely alone, so what I did for stammerers, they could then go ‘well I’m like him’," said Gareth.

Visit www.eventspeople.co.uk for more details on the upcoming concerts.