College News

Former QE student rocks with Robbie

It’s always a pleasure for staff and students at QE to catch up with former students and hear about their achievements and adventures beyond College. Mark Brown, who studied Music, English Literature and Politics at QE currently plays saxophone, guitar and keyboard as part of Robbie Williams’s touring band and has done so for the past nine years. ‘It has taken me all over the world and I love it’, he explains. Other artists he has played for include Basement Jaxx, Girls Aloud and George Ezra, and Mark is also a member of Alex Horne and The Horne Section, a comedy jazz band which appears on television and plays live across the country.

Looking back on his time at College, Mark comments: ‘I loved being a student at QE. It felt like I was growing up and I met some great likeminded people. College definitely put me on the right track for university’. Before touring, Mark studied Classical Music at Durham University and attended both the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Trinity School of Music. Mark’s advice for current QE students is: ‘Make the most of your time at College and be ambitious, it’s a great stepping stone for university.’ When asked about advice for students wanting to work in the Music industry, Mark explains: ‘It’s a tough industry to break into, therefore you need to have self-belief and work hard. The trick is to be prepared when an opportunity arises as there are no second chances, there is always someone just as good as you waiting in the wings’.

For further information on Alex Horne and The Horne Section, please visit: www.thehornesection.com.

If you are a former student and have a story to share, we would love to hear from you. If you could email qe@qeliz.ac.uk with your details, a member of staff will be in touch.