UP CLOSE: Maldon’s 21-year-old singing star, Callum White, shares his showbiz dreams
From karaoke to cruise lines, how 21-year-old former Plume Student Callum launched his career in showbiz.
If you came across an ad for one of Callum's local shows, you'd be forgiven if you expected a man much older.
Callum White, 21, from Great Totham, launched his stage show Doing It My Way in 2024, selling out his first ever show at Maldon Town Hall in less than two weeks.
An eclectic mish-mash of singing, stories and laughs, the show proved incredibly popular, gaining a standing ovation from the 180-person strong audience.
Alongside a team of community volunteers, Callum hopes to continue using the talents he's honed as a cruise-line performer in a stage show tour around Essex.
With his second-ever show just round the corner, we chatted to Callum about how he got to this point, his love of performing and his hopes for the show.
Callum's first look into the world of entertainment was in 2021, when he left school and began working behind the bar at Mill Beach Caravan Park, Heybridge. Having spent six months watching the action in the clubhouse, he put himself forward to become Entertainment Manager.
"I approached the boss and said, 'well, I'm hoping to move into the entertainment industry, would you like me to be the host? I'll do the singing'," Callum says, "that was where I first ever started singing, really."
After a year and a half of karaoke, quizzes and bingo, Callum began looking for more.
In 2023, he applied to go and work on cruise ships for Cunard, a luxury transatlantic cruise-line which has hosted the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Elizabeth Taylor.
Callum soon joined the team as an entertainment host and singer, travelling around the world to places like Japan, Korea and Alaska while singing to crowds of holiday-makers.
After six months, and once back on dry land, Callum started looking towards the future.
"I got a lot of contacts through Conard, and through them I learned a lot of the way their event management works from outsourcing people to come onto the ships," he says.
"I decided, well, instead of trying to outsource myself going onto the ships and being away from family, why can't we bring it to the local community?"
On his return, Callum worked on realising his stage show dreams.
His first show in November 2024 was supported by 15 community volunteers and saw sponsors from Maldon and Tiptree Football Club and other local businesses.
"It was quite daunting," he says, "but you've got to push yourself out of your comfort zone. Especially from a performer's point of view.
"If you're not happy to push yourself to a place where you think you're not capable, then you shouldn't be a performer."
After resounding success, Callum hopes his next one on February 22 will receive a similar response: "I want to make a show where people can come from the local community and meet people there. I want to get people talking to people next to them.
"It's a nice community evening, it's not all about me at the end of the day."
He adds that he hoped potential audience members won't be put off by his age: "If there was an older gentleman who had a good name for himself, and a 21-year-old, most people would probably go and choose the older person. So I want to bring younger musicians that are starting up to my shows to witness what can be done.
"All in all, the show is about my life and my stories, but a lot of the time people can mirror themselves to my stories if they've been through the same things.
"The songs that I sing can be quite slow and some of them are quite sad, but we try to put a funny twist on it. Last time I brought up a random lady onto the stage and sang to her like I loved her and it was hilarious.
"What I would say is if people want to experience a night of vocal talent, good laughs and interesting stories, then this would be the night for them."
And if none of that persuaded you? "It's a social gathering, and there's a bar!" Callum jokes.
Callum hopes to begin hosting shows in larger venues, with the dream being to have a UK-wide tour, and open his own community theatre.
After unfortunate schedule clashes last year, he also aims to re-audition for The Voice and Britain's Got Talent in 2025.
There are less than 50 tickets remaining to Callum's show at Maldon Town Hall next Saturday. You can purchase them here for £16 each.
Join a packed audience, including the Mayor of Maldon, to watch Callum perform his show and try the 'song wheel' for the first time.
Links to Callum's social media pages can be found here.
CHECK OUT OUR Jobs Section HERE!
maldon vacancies updated hourly!
Click here to see more: maldon jobs
Share:
