The Piano’s Brad Kella dedicates love letter to foster parents who bought him first instrument
The Piano winner, Brad Kella, became homeless after his mother’s death when he was just 18 years old. By chance, Channel 4 bosses overheard him play piano in public, and his life changed forever. Brad Kella became a country-wide phenomenon when he showcased his remarkable skills on Channel 4‘s The Piano. Years earlier, the show […]
The Piano winner, Brad Kella, became homeless after his mother’s death when he was just 18 years old. By chance, Channel 4 bosses overheard him play piano in public, and his life changed forever.
Brad Kella became a country-wide phenomenon when he showcased his remarkable skills on Channel 4‘s The Piano. Years earlier, the show winner had walked out of his GCSE exams, and ended up homeless.
Brad Kella dedicates song to foster parents
Growing up initially in Bootle, a working-class suburb of Liverpool, a problematic family situation led to Brad Kella, now 23, and his twin brother being placed into foster care at the age of seven.
He has now released a song, Eve & Frank, named after the foster parents who took in Brad and his brother. It is a recorded version of the piece performed by Brad on the finale of The Piano.
Brad said, “After seeing that teacher play piano in high school, I went home and asked my foster parents – Eve and Frank – if I could have a piano, which just seemed like a pipe dream.”
“At first they got me a keyboard, and I picked it up really quickly. Then there was this government grant available to kids who’d been fostered, which funded an electric piano for me,” the pianist added.
The Piano winner lands record deal
Months after winning The Piano, Brad has landed a record deal with Modern Sky Records. With an album set for release in 2025, he has been writing and recording the tribute song at the RAK Studios in London.
He said, “Some of the best string players in the world were there, reading through pages of manuscript, but I managed to get through the whole session – eight hours – remembering it off the top of my head.”
Revealing he cannot read music, Brad added, “I was 13 when I first saw a piano, now I’m 23, so I feel I was born to do it.” He now thanks his music teacher from school, Andrew Peckham-Morris, for inspiring him.
He ditched GCSEs after mother’s death
Brad walked out of his GCSE exams after finding out his mother had died. He had earned a scholarship to the Liverpool School of Performing Arts (LIPA), but Brad’s world was again turned upside down.
After turning eighteen, the death of his mother led to a spiral in which he was effectively homeless for a period. Brad and his long-time girlfriend drifted around Liverpool at the time.
Luckily, Brad was spotted by The Piano bosses while playing on a public piano. They urged him to audition – in which he turned up in a tracksuit “expecting nothing” – and went on to win the show!
WATCH THE PIANO ON ALL 4 NOW