SINGER, songwriter Stephen James from Newton Poppleford released his debut album Andabrek on Sunday.

SINGER, songwriter Stephen James from Newton Poppleford released his debut album Andabrek on Sunday.

Steve, pictured, who moved from Sidmouth to live in the village, held the launch party at The Showman, Exeter, where he showed guests exclusive video and talked about the album, giving them insight into what lies behind the songs.

Among special guests at the launch were local radio presenters Vic Morgan and Kirstin Nielsen Hunter.

In a speech at the party Vic wished Steve success with the album, which he featured on his show on Wednesday.

Steve, who worked as a drum technician with Howard Jones in the 1980s, has sent Howard a copy of Andabrek. He has been invited to appear on Exeter FM next week and presenter James Santer will feature tracks from Steve all week.

Stephen, better known locally by his real name Steve Watts, has appeared on local radio before and recorded jingles for BBC Radio Two's Steve Wright in the Afternoon show in the early 2000s.

He said: "Albums were available on launch night and were snapped up by the fans and those sales have been followed up by orders over email and Facebook."

He will also be promoted by the country's leading fan sites for the TV series "The Prisoner" as the album has strong links with the theme of the series.