BEN Montague ran the London Marathon in memory of his grandad, who was a real lover of music, especially that of his singer/songwriter grandson.

Ben will also hit the high road for Swindon this autumn, when he plays at The Vic in Old Town on Thursday, October 22.

He says he couldn’t walk for two days after April’s marathon but raised £2,800. Half went to the campaign for Prostate Cancer Research and half to a hospice.

“It was lovely to be part of such an amazing day. My grandfather sadly died but he was such a big fan of music so it was for him and my grandmother’s hospice.

“If you have a following of fans it is good to use your name for good and raise money for charity,” said Ben.

The singer admitted that when he was in training for the marathon doing practice runs he listened to his own demos to come up with ideas.

Ben’s new album, Back Into Paradise, was released on June 15 on his own label MWM.

He says during one of his practice runs, he had been thinking about who he wanted to produce the album.

The one name that came up was Peter John Vettese, who has worked with Paul McCartney, Pet Shop Boys, Tom O’Dell and James Bay.

“It was a long practice run in Dublin. I was thinking what if this is the last album I ever do?

“Who would know where I wanted to go with it? And I thought of Pete. I went back to the hotel and there, in my emails, was a change of address email from Pete. It was bizarre, the weirdest thing.”

The singer gained support and airplay from BBC Radio 2 with his songs Can’t Hold Me Down, Haunted, which broke into the UK singles chart, and Broken.

Ben lost his way in the music business becoming disillusioned with the whole industry until his friend Shane Filan, the former lead singer of Westlife, persuaded him to go on a tour of Ireland with him.

“I never lost my love of music, but it is a tough industry. I got on so well with Shane, and the fans on tour kept asking what next,” said Ben.

The singer really tested his followers by asking them to pay for his album to be produced through pledges. He got 200 per cent instead of the 100 per cent he needed, and he was Back Into Paradise in more ways than one, as the album was recorded.

Support slots with the Stereophonics, Boyzone, Muse and Wet Wet Wet followed.

Ben said: “One of the best things as a support act is you make new friends as well as new fans. The Muse tour was pretty surreal. I am a fan of the band and it was bizarre. They were so nice inviting us back stage for a drink, and Marty Pellow is just about the nicest man in music. I did a soundcheck and I had forgotten my guitar strap so Marty went and got me one.”

Along with performing, Ben set up a customised guitar business with his dad.

“My dad is guitar mad. We found a guy in Vermont in USA, and we sat down with a glass of wine and decided to bring his work over here.

“Now we have 20 builders, but I still can’t resist opening all the boxes and playing with them,” said Ben.

The singer also played at the 2010 Grand Prix in Milan. “Hanging out in the Ferrari VIP lounge was out of this world,” he said.

Ben will play The Victoria in Old Town on Thursday, October 22. Tickets are on sale now at £10 from 01793 535713 or visit seetickets.com and search for 
‘ben montague’