Lester Clayton has been making waves in the music industry of late and is now set on opening the door for others. Jake Rusby finds out where's he's come from and where he's going.

At just 20 Tottenham's Lester Clayton is already attracting admirers for his music, including singer Just Jack and X Factor winner Leona Lewis.

And now the boy who used to tap his feet along to algebra in his maths classes is working to give others the chance to get themselves heard.

Lester runs an open mic night in Wood Green every other Wednesday at the Jolly Anglers pub on Station Road, and another one weekly Finsbury Park.

The Jolly Anglers is where Lester first played to an audience at the tender age of 17, accompanied only by his guitar and a bundle of nerves.

"For me performing was just a way to let off steam. I didn't have a clue I wanted to be a musician until after I had done a couple of months of open mic nights," Lester said.

"In Tottenham there a lot of kids getting into trouble but when they go home they make beats and stuff but don't do anything with it."

It was while he was working night shifts that Lester, who counts Bob Dylan and Jack Johnson among his many influences, got his lucky break. Through a colleague, his record found its way into the hands of Just Jack, who offered him the chance to support him on tour at the Carling Academy in Islington.

"I was lucky enough to meet the right people at the right time" Lester says. "It can happen to anyone."

Over four days in January he supported Just Jack at the Carling Academy and also played at X factor winner Leona Lewis's celebration party.

For the Just Jack gig, Lester got in contact with two friends who he wanted to support him, and now they make up the other two thirds of his band.

Twenty-two year old Bassist "Throbbing" Mehmet Raif lives in Palmers Green and works as a teaching assistant at the College of North East London in Tottenham. Rastafarian percussionist "Big Daddy" Steve Straughan has just turned 50 and has been growing his locks for 25 years. He lives in Wood Green and is a full time musician.

Since their big debut in January, The Lester Clayton Band have played over 50 gigs, including a night headlining at Soho's glamorous Revue Bar, where Lester admits they felt a little out of place: "Everyone was buying £240 bottles of wine and we were scraping together £3.90 to buy a bottle of Carlsberg to share! Still, it was the best gig we've ever played."

The Just Jack gig also grabbed the attention of alternative music store Fopp, who began stocking their EP Half Way There But Twice As Far To Go', where it promptly sold out.

The band continues to sell their EP on their MySpace page, and are busy recording a second album, Dream a Little More, Live a Little Less', which they hope to release in September.

Despite the work and competition Lester, who was born on Valentine's Day, is enjoying helping others to break into what is a difficult industry: "It's a way out of whatever you're doing now. It's really hard work; don't get me wrong, but it beats a normal 9 to 5. I'm living the dream!"

For more information on how to get a slot at the open mic nights, visit www.myspace.com/lesterclayton