A former Petersfield Rugby player swapped the pitch for the musical kind when he found himself at the renowned Abbey Road Studios.

Colin Billyard, was one of a lucky few people chosen to provide backing vocals for a new song called Roadsigns, by Jamie Manning. The song won last year’s Talent Is Timeless competition.

In addition to singing, Colin plays the guitar and keyboard, and has played and performed with many famous people in a music career spanning 60 years. In 1972, he won the BBC Young Composer of the Year competition and in 2021, took out The King Lear Prize for Music, judged byJulian Lloyd Webber.

“The performance expertly conjures up the atmosphere of a moonlit night in Vermont. Nice, laid-back jazzy chords,” Webber said, describing Colin’s winning performance in the King Lear Prize.

When asked what it was like to be inside the studios where The Beatles recorded, Colin described it as “fantastic!”

He said: “I grew up with The Beatles, that was the background to my my teenage years.To see and experience the studio that they actually recorded most of their output was incredible.

“The studios themselves were lined with photographs of not only The Beatles, but loads of famous artists who had recorded there.”

Recording in Studio Two, which is the most famous recording space at the site, Colin was part of a choir of around 50 people, and they all gathered outside for Jamie’s arrival, applauding him to show their support.

Since the doors opened in 1932, Studio Two has seen the likes of Adele, Oasis, Kate Bush and other big names, and now it has welcomed Colin.

Having previously lived in Petersfield, Colin still lives with his wife Pamela in the local area, and can be found performing out and about or sharing his music online.