I just received an email from the BBC that I had to read three times to believe it was real.
Tonight at 8pm, my debut single Stringshire will get its first ever radio play on BBC Radio Derby with Dean Jackson. The track hasn’t even officially released yet — it drops on 20th March — but the BBC will premiere it tonight.
What This Means
I’ve been writing music for 25 years. Hundreds of songs. Decades of melodies, chord progressions, and ideas that lived only in my note books and on my hard drive because I didn’t know how to share them without exposing myself in ways I couldn’t handle mentally.
Social anxiety made a traditional music career impossible. No performances. No interviews. No being seen. For years, that felt like a dead end.
But I kept writing. Music wasn’t optional — it was survival. It literally saved my life when I was 14. And it’s been my constant companion ever since.
Now, after all those years of silence, the BBC are playing my debut single. The kind of exposure that can change everything.
How Did This Happen?
Honestly? I just submitted the track through BBC Uploader. I didn’t expect anything. I figured maybe — maybe — it would get heard by someone, somewhere. But I never imagined this.
This is surreal.
Why Tonight Matters
This isn’t just about radio play. It’s about validation. It’s proof that after 25 years of writing in silence, the music is worth sharing. That anonymity doesn’t mean invisibility. That you can create on your own terms and still reach people.
Tonight, at 8pm, someone driving home from work in Derby might hear Stringshire and feel something. Someone might add it to a playlist. Someone might wonder who NG20 is and come looking.
And for me? I’ll be listening, probably shaking, processing the fact that the thing I’ve been building in private for decades is finally out in the world.
What’s Next?
Stringshire officially releases on 20th March 2026 across all streaming platforms. But tonight is the world premiere. The first time anyone outside of my studio has heard it.
For now, I’m just going to listen at 8pm and let it sink in.
Thank you to everyone at the BBC for believing in this music. Thank you to Dean Jackson for giving it airtime. And thank you to anyone reading this who’s been following the journey so far.
This is just the beginning.
—NG20