Rhodes overcomes singing fear to perform for fashionistas

LONDON (Reuters) - When British musician Rhodes first began singing two years ago, his fear of performing was so strong, he had to close his eyes to get him through the process. Having long played the guitar and the bass in a band, the 25-year-old, full name David Rhodes, only recently found the confidence to pick up a microphone. The singer-songwriter released his first EP "Raise Your Love" in 2013 and three others followed to critical acclaim. "I had this real deep fear of singing, I don't know why and what spurred it," Rhodes told Reuters when explaining the title of his new single "Close Your Eyes". "When it came to doing my first ever show, I had to develop a coping mechanism and I used to just close my eyes." His raw and emotive voice and songs won him a fan in Burberry Chief Creative and Chief Executive Officer Christopher Bailey, known for his support for British young musicians, asked him to create the soundtrack for two of the luxury label's fashion shows. Accompanied by a 24-piece orchestra, Rhodes sang and played the piano as models strutted down the catwalk for Burberry's spring/summer 2016 menswear line on Monday. His performance won him applause from the fashionista audience and front row celebrities such as actors Samuel L. Jackson and Chiwetel Ejiofor. "I think it's really cool how (Bailey) is introducing artists to a world that might just not be aware of it at all," Rhodes said. "It's also really cool for artists who might not be aware of fashion to come and do something like this and have our eyes opened to this whole very different world." Rhodes will release his first album "Wishes" in September after a year and a half in the making. "I've been experimenting and just learning about who I want to be," he said. "I wrote these songs but I knew that I didn't want to be a balladeer folk guy, I wanted something more." (Reporting by Holly Rubenstein; Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Alison Williams)