Sam Duckworth for sell on cbay.
HE may not be on the Bob Geldof scale of raising money for charity but Sam Duckworth boosted the Pakistan flood appeal - by selling himself on eBay.
The 24-year-old Southend singer - who goes by the name of Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly - offered to raise money after seeing the devastation on television.
He attracted more than 40 bids, raising £2100 for the DEC/Oxfam appeal, and will play an acoustic set at the home of a fan in Worcester.
But the Razz can reveal he's raised even more. He said: "Somebody matched the bid for me to play at a special occasion which I don't want to say too much about because it may spoil the surprise, so I've actually been able to raise about £4500."
It means a lot to Sam because his girlfriend is from Pakistan.
He said: "Seeing the devastation on the television was hard enough but hearing stories first-hand from my girlfriend, who has family from there, was very hard to take.
"She didn't lose any relatives but the villages that the families lived and worked in were affected. Most people in the country have had their lives affected by the flooding.
"If there's anything else I can do in the future, I'll be glad to do it."
It's not the first time Sam has put himself in the political pop front line.
A pub run-in with the BNP prompted Sam to become heavily involved with the Love Music Hate Racism campaign and his albums are peppered with social commentary.
So his self-titled third album - out this week - doesn't stick to the cliched themes of love, heartache, material wealth or the rock'n'roll life.
Where Will You Stand is anti-BNP, Collapsing Cities is his take on what poverty means to different people and All Of This Is Yours is a plea for the environment.
But all are done with some cracking electronica beats, dreamy melodies and Sam's crystal clear delivery.
Sam has come up trumps with his third album which follows 2006 homemade debut The Chronicles Of A Bohemian Teenager and 2008's Searching For The Hows And Whys.
His folk electronica style was the blueprint for contemporary culture commentators Jamie T and Jack Penate.
Sam's not taking that and names Mike Skinner, better known as The Streets, as the man who the current crop of British stars owe a big debt. He said: "Mike is the most influential musician of the last decade.
"He made his first album Original Pirate Material in his bedroom, showing it was possible.
"He did it with garage and hip hop elements and I thought I could do it with folk or emo.
"It wasn't just his music. His lyrics talked about rock'n'roll excess and about real life. He changed the pace of everything."
Sam is surprised at is how popular experimental folk pop music has become with Florence & The Machine even performing at the MTV VMAs.
He said: "If you'd told me four years ago that it would become one of the biggest things in British music I wouldn't have believed it.
"It was guitar bands or electro house. Now young people are rediscovering Pentangle or Fairport Convention. It's very important that British music isn't just The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Oasis, Blur or The Libertines."
Sam, who named himself after a solution from an old Batman adventure game, admits his third album was a rollercoaster.
He wrote about 100 songs, with some tracks going through 15 incarnations before the final 11 made the final tracklisting. He said: "All of them weren't necessarily all good. I wanted to make the right album, not just any album."
It certainly boasts some of his best work, from the Gorillaz-sounding All Of This Is You, which features African legend Baaba Maal, to the thundering drum and bass of Stitch By Stitch and the Scouting For Girls upbeat pop of The Uprising.
The new album also sees him move from a major label Atlantic to UK independent Cooking Vinyl. Sam is happy with his new home.
He said: "The people at the very top of the Warner organisation didn't understand what I was doing but the people I worked with day-to-day on Atlantic UK have been amazing and we came to the conclusion it was best to move.
"I want whoever writes the cheques to love and care about what I do."
The new album Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly is out this week. He plays The Garage, Glasgow, on September 25 and The Tunnels, Aberdeen on September 26.
(source:dailyrecord.co.uk)
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