Cal, from Wern Ucha, Bagillt, Flintshire, was snapped by the paparazzi, signed autographs and hung out of a hotel window playing for screaming fans during his week-long visit to Austria with the former Libertines and current Babyshambles front man on his solo tour.

The 18-year-old was snapped up by the rocker at a gig in Liverpool earlier this month after throwing one of his home-made albums to his idol.

Doherty called Cal personally after listening to the album he produced in his garden shed and asked him headline as one of the support acts for two gigs in Graz, Austria.

"I couldn't believe it when I got the call – I thought someone was winding me up," said Cal.

"But when his friend called again to make arrangements for me to go to Pete's house in Wiltshire and for the flights to Austria, I started to realise it wasn't a joke!" said Flint High School pupil Cal.

"When I arrived at Pete's, it was a case of getting my songs arranged songs for the gigs and rehearsing.

"I met Pete later on and we talked about my lyrics and he said that my sound reminded him of the original Libertine frontman Scarborough Steve – which was an great compliment to receive." Cal joined the entourage to Stansted airport where they were greeted by hordes of fans and paparazzi before boarding their plane.

He said: "When we arrived, we went to the gig organiser's house in the hills.

"It was beautiful and we all sat out on her balcony and jammed.

"Pete showed me gigs and songs on his laptop that he had been working on and I got a sneak preview into what he was going to release."

That night Cal, who is studying for a BTEC in music technology in his sixth form, played his first supporting gig to 80 Austrian fans at an intimate city venue.

He said: "I opened up for Pete and I got a really good vibe and reaction from the crowd – when I got off, they asked me to play more!

"One of the highlights of the trip was backstage that night, when Pete and I jammed to Stone Roses and the Buzzcocks."

Cal played in front of the biggest audience of his life of nearly a 1,000 people the following night.

"There were people who had seen me the night before and they were all cheering.

"I played five songs and they went down really well," he said.

The true rock star moment came when Cal hung out of a hotel bedroom window after the gig, playing songs for fans who had gathered 20ft below.

His balcony performance was captured by Austrian TV stations and local Press, who later gave the young Bagillt lad rave reviews in the next morning's papers.

He added: "They called me an up-and-coming talent in the paper. It was just great to taste what life could be like for me if I work hard enough.

"Going from playing to hardly anyone to playing with loads of people has just been a dream come true."

The teenager says he is now gearing up for what he hopes is the start of his career in music.

His acoustic songs, based on his life in Bagillt, have struck chords with producers and bands such as The Courteeners, who have asked him to support them at a gig in Preston next month.

"Hopefully I'll get to work with lots of people, as working with Pete was just incredible.

"He is such an intelligent, nice guy – he was on a level with me," said Cal.

"I have had some interest from Polydor records before but hopefully after making more of a name for myself, more interest will come."

Cal has also attracted interest from BBC Radio Wales, who have expressed interest in featuring him as a live artist, and has been asked to return to Austria in November to perform at a music festival.

"This has been a dream of mine since I picked up a guitar God knows when. I have always aspired to be more," said Cal.

"For the time being, I will stay at school, work hard on building up my contacts, keep writing and making songs in my studio, and just rock when I can."

Cal will be playing at Liverpool's Zanzibar in Seel Street, on Saturday at 8.30pm. Admission will cost £4 on the door.

To hear some of Cal's music go to http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=292472166


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