Ex-Stringer Student Storms the Charts
As one half of Rizzle Kicks, Harley "Sylvester" Alexander-Sule (on the right of the image above) along with partner in rhyme Jordan "Rizzle" Stephens, has been storming the charts with a Number 1 hit collaboration with Olly Murs; Heart Skips A Beat and simultaneous Top 10 hit with their single Down With The Trumpets.
Whilst still at Dorothy Stringer, Harley was an active participant in all things drama, appearing in our school production of Romeo and Juliet, amongst other things. He also returned as a drama assistant after leaving school and then went on to study at the acclaimed BRIT School, where he met Jordan and Rizzle Kicks was born.
Harley was kind enough to take some time out of his hectic scedule as a newly fledged celebrity to answer a few questions for us:
DSS: "What experience did you have of drama and the performing arts at Stringer and what were the highlights?"
HAS: "I studied drama at GCSE and also played the part of Mercutio in the school production of Romeo and Juliet. I always found the drama department somewhere I could escape to and really come into my own at school. The environment there was so comforting and it was seen as quite a social area as well as a workspace. The highlight was definitely performing in the school play. I advise everybody to try and take part in the school productions in some way."
DSS: "How did your experiences at Stringer and beyond encourage you into a career in the arts?"
HAS: "My experiences at Stringer were definitely a massive part of who I am and what I do now. I enjoyed doing drama so much that it made me want to fully do it as a career which led to me going to the BRIT school and then onto a career in music. Years 10 to 11 are in my opinion the main years which you decide which areas you want to focus on later in life and doing drama fully prepared me for what I wanted to do."
DSS: "Any advice for kids who want to get involved in the arts industry?"
HAS: "The main piece of advice I can give is to say; the arts industry is an extremely competitive industry to put yourself in so if at any point you get turned down, it's likely not because of your talent but because of the amount of people applying for the same thing so it can turn into a game of luck. If you want to pursue a career within the music industry, go into it knowing exactly what you want to do and the exact music you want to make. As long as people can see you're being completely genuine then it's likely you'll go further than others."
We are very proud of Harley's achievements and look forward to watching him grow as an artist. If you would like to learn more about Rizzle Kicks please use any of the following links:
www.rizzlekicks.com
www.yourdailykicks.com
www.myspace.com/rizzlekicks