SINGING teacher Julia Charlton says TV programmes like Pop Idol and Fame Academy are encouraging more people to try singing. Her pupils range from teenagers to 60-year-olds and most of them haven't sung before.

Julia, of Darlington, trained as a classical singer at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and sang with various companies before becoming a full-time teacher. She says: "If you have a classical training you can control your voice and you can do what you like after that.

"Everyone can do it and most people come to me from scratch. I do have a few pupils who have sung before and want to improve but I usually have to take them right back to basics."

Julia's pupils have a wide range of singing interests - some sing at school or in amateur productions, one is hoping to launch a career in the West End, and several are members of bands.

Jack Hardwick, 17, is frontman with Darlington rock band Fude. He decided to become one of Julia's pupils to improve his performance at a time when most young bands rely on a "wall of sound" to impress potential fans.

He says: "I decided I wanted to improve my voice because when I sang for the band I kept losing my voice. I didn't have any breathing techniques, so I thought if I went to a singing teacher I'd be able to control my voice better and improve."

He's pleased with the results of many months of coaching and didn't mind the thought of approaching a classical singing teacher, even though his ambition is to become a rock singer.

"Singing is singing. If it helps to improve my voice then it's got to be good. It's a little weird at the start when you have to do all the exercises, but they all help you out so you might as well do them and not be too embarrassed about making 'la' sounds and doing scales."

He confesses that having to learn classical songs like those of Benjamin Britten made him take a serious look at what he wanted to do with his voice.

"Most people my age want to sing pop songs or well-known rock tracks, don't they? They don't want to sing classical songs, but you've got to because it helps you improve when you are singing pop songs."

Fude's four member band - with music composed by drummer Matthew Roberts and lyrics by Jack - are currently awaiting the release of a three-track demo CD this month, made at Stockton's Sanity Studios. Much will rely on the first impression created by Jack's voice, supported by the classical training of Julia Charlton.