DRUMMER Richard Baxendale will be playing to a TV audience of millions tonight.

South Shields-born Mr Baxendale, 30, will be part of teenage rock sensation Avril Lavigne's backing band at the Brit Awards.

He is among 20 drummers hired to simultaneously pound out the beat when she performs a rendition of her smash hit Sk8er Boi.

His big break was confirmed just days ago after 18-year-old Lavigne, whose debut album Let Go recently reached number one, decided to play the London show despite terrorist fears.

Now Mr Baxendale is set to rub shoulders with rock royalty at the Earls Court event.

He said: "I liked what I had heard and was over the moon when I got a call from a music agency asking me if I would like to play for her at the Brit Awards. I immediately said yes.

"I've seen her on MTV and she's pretty cool. It's the biggest gig I've played and it should be a great experience. I'm not nervous - it's just rock 'n' roll."

A former pupil at Harton Comprehensive School, South Shields, Mr Baxendale moved to London to fulfil his musical ambitions ten years ago.

He regularly returns home to visit father David, 71, a retired South Tyneside College marine lecturer, and mother Marjorie, 65.

Yesterday, he played a full rehearsal of Sk8er Boi with Lavigne.