Charlie beats a path to national final (From The Northern Echo)
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Charlie beats a path to national final
4:19pm Tuesday 7th February 2012 in Middlesbrough News
ON A ROLL: Young Drummer of the Year finalist Charlie Vasilou
THE beat will go on for a talented young drummer - despite him just missing out in a national final.
Charlie Vasilou, 14, who attends Yarm School, reached the last ten out of 537 entrants in the Young Drummer of the Year competition.
He did not return home with the trophy after Sunday's event in Leamington Spa, but was told by a judge he was in the top four and there were just seven points difference between first and fourth places.
His proud mother, Michelle Masih, said: "He was a bit down, but I told him it's a case of chin up and chest out, and he's having another lesson tonight.
"It was a great experience and he got to talk to people like Steve White, who was Paul Weller's drummer in The Style Council, so that gives an idea of the standard. We're all very proud of him."
In 2009, Charlie, who lives with both his father, in Darlington, and mother, in Middlesbrough, won the Drummers Alliance Beat contest, despite being the youngest competitor ever to reach the final of the competition.
