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The Voice: Bob Blakeley reduced to tears as he is offered recording contract live on air


January 23, 2014
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Scroll down to see the video He might have missed out on a spot in The Voice, but Bob Blakeley’s music dreams are still very much alive.

The 55-year-old warehouse worker was reduced to tears when he was offered a contract with music producer Mike Batt live on air on Thursday.

© Photo: BBC

Grandfather Bob was appearing on BBC Breakfast to talk about his experience on The Voice – all four judges failed to turn around despite his impressive rendition of  Cry Me A River.

During his interview, the studio did a live link-up to Mike, the man who discovered Katie Melua and wrote the chart-topping hit Bright Eyes, who then offered a visibly shocked Bob a contract.

Explaining that he had watched the show in his kitchen, Mike said, "He was so phenomenal, we knew somebody would go for it. But nobody turned around and I felt such a sense of injustice that I thought I ought to do something."

© Photo: BBC

He continued, "I would like to be the fifth person that did turn around… I would love to mentor you, to, if you like, manage you for six months or so until you get a deal with a good company or with my own record company. You must not let this chance go by, and I would like to help you. "Bob was moved to tears by the offer, and thanked the music producer repeatedly. "That means so much," he said, holding presenter

Susanna Reid's hand.He later wrote on Twitter, "Wow what an incredible morning… I can't thank you all enough for your support! I hope to bring you all some great music."

BBC Breakfast tweeted, "It's not every day we get to make a dream come true. "Viewers of The Voice were shocked when judges Kylie Minogue, Will.i.am, Sir Tom Jones and Ricky Wilson let Bob walk away without offering him a place in the competition.

He received a standing ovation, but even that didn't get him through to the next round.

Sir Tom admitted he had made a mistake by not pressing his button. "You should be a professional singer," he told Bob. "Your singing is flawless, it's a beautiful voice with a beautiful tone."

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