The Voice's Rick Snowdon to perform hometown gig in Hartlepool

The 29-year-old promised we hadn’t seen the last of him after his final performance on the BBC One show last Saturday.

Now he’s hitting the stage at The Hillcarter Hotel, in Church Street, to celebrate with his fans.

Rick, from Foggy Furze, is putting on the free gig on Sunday, March 27.

He said: “I’m excited. The last time I performed in Hartlepool was a month ago when I was still on the show and the reaction was intense so I’m hoping it’ll be just as good this time.

“There are people coming from all over the country and staying overnight.

“I’m going to be doing songs that I did on The Voice and songs that other people performed too because you hear them so much you end up liking them just as much as your own.

“I’ll be doing some covers and some of my original songs too so there’s a bit of everything.”

Rick made it to the knockout stages of the contest before being sent home by his mentor Paloma Faith, narrowly missing out on a spot on the live shows.

He said: “The reaction since the knockout was ever bigger than after my blind audition.

“I still haven’t managed to reply to all the messages – I’ve had thousands. Some people are upset that I didn’t make it through but I’m telling them I’m still here. The profile I’ve had from the show has been priceless.”

Rick is continuing to work with his band Black Magic. An Evening with Rick Snowdon kicks off at 8.30pm.