The guitar-strumming, trilby-wearing busker is known for filling Briggate with his vocal talents on a Saturday afternoon.

But now the 25-year-old has signed a deal with Red Kite Records which will see him tour and release an album next year.

"It's a massive leap from busking to getting a contract to doing a tour! I can't believe it all really."

Tristan, who lives in the city centre with his new wife Sarah, is now getting ready to start recording.

Nerves

Calling himself The Bedroom Orchestra, he began busking in June last year.

"I love Leeds. I came up here in 2000 to study English Lit and have stayed ever since. It's when I moved to the city centre when I thought about busking and realised that I should take a chance with my music."

Although Tristan passed his degree at Leeds University, he could not graduate after failing to pay a £27 library fine.

He has previously come close to hitting the big time after getting down to the last 50 in Fame Academy before being booted out.

"I was really disheartened. I didn't listen to music after that, I had no money, I was looking at being evicted and for two years after that I was pretty up and down."

But it was while visiting his mum in his home town of Tiverton, Devon, that he busked for the first time.

"Angels (by Robbie Williams) had just come out. I went out, took my guitar and a little cash box. I was really nervous but it was great. People were hanging out of windows, listening and shouting requests out."

After that, Tristan decided to make his mark in Leeds.

"I was singing and another busker said 'you should have an amp' and lent me his. After a couple of days busking, I made enough money to buy my own. That was so liberating and I realised I could promote my stuff through doing that."

Now Tristan has released four of his own songs through his MySpace website which can be downloaded.

He has recorded these within a spoof version of Jo Whiley's Live Lounge where he has edited her voice so that it sounds like she is interviewing him.

And it is through this that he has been discovered.

"A producer at the studio was surfing MySpace and hit on the Bedroom Orchestra. He listened to the demos and liked them. They emailed me and said do you want to come and look at the studio because they're a relatively new label. The studio is amazing. The way they make albums is to get everyone (musicians) in the room together (instead of via computers) and that made me want to sign to them."

But Tristan isn't turning his back on his busking days yet as he will perform in Briggate on Thursday from 6pm.

To hear his music go to www.myspace.com/thebedroomorches tra