About
Richard kept persevering and appearances in plays, EastEnders, films and the usual TV commercials followed but again, Richard was aware there was something else on the cards for him. So he took a diversion and concentrated on developing a singing career as the new ‘Brit Crooner’.
Not knowing anyone in the music business, he set about forming a band, recording a demo CD and getting gigs. “My previous career was actually enormously useful. I approached this with a logical mind and made a business plan, listing my objectives and strategies. I think of it as the drama school of life!”.
Significant successes followed with performances at London’s world famous jazz club Ronnie Scotts and The Jazz Café and live performances on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 4 ‘Loose Ends’. Richard’s first experience as a recording artist came when he made an album of 80’s classics in Jazz called ‘Retro Spectrum’.
In the Autumn of 2003, Richard recreated his ‘Best Actor in a Leading Role’ nominated performance (Manchester Evening News) at the Whitehall Theatre in London’s West End as Frank Sinatra in the award winning play Rat Pack Confidential. National reviews include, “Shelton is quite simply phenomenal” (BBC Nottingham), “Marvellously played by Richard Shelton, sings the hits with style and captures Sinatra’s domineering personality” (Daily Telegraph), “A splendidly tough yet laid back performance” (The Times) “Capture’s perfectly Sinatra’s string pulling menace” (The Guardian) “A stand-out performance” (Manchester Evening News).
Richard’s first major film appearance was as the crooner in ‘I Capture the Castle’ where he met Pete Long. It was a fortuitous meeting and together they set about outlining ideas for an album of swing music with a twist. “We wanted to capture the essence of great swing sounds with a modern twist which is where the idea for including Top Cat came from. It’s a glorious sound delivered with fun”.
