UK STUDENT, EMMANUAL DADEY, IS THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE LEGENDARY R&B GROUP THE DRIFTERS!

A BRITISH music student has been recruited as the newest member of the legendary US vocal group, The Drifters.

After meeting and auditioning for the iconic group earlier this year, Academy of Contemporary Music (ACM) student Emmanual Dadey, 30, was named The Drifter’s latest understudy.

The Drifters are one of the biggest selling and longest serving bands of all time having sold an incredible 214 million singles and over 114 million albums worldwide.

The story of The Drifters is phenomenal and helped to define Atlantic Records, inspired early rock and roll and was a forerunner to both the black music movement in 1950’s America and even early Motown.

The rise and fall of The Drifters over the last 60 years has been very much an integral part of its history. It is the only group in history that has been successfully rebranded and reinvented on several occasions. With 65 members in 62 years, the brand has been elevated back to the forefront of the modern music industry.

The Drifters in 1960

Dadey, who is currently on the final year of his vocal degree at the Academy, told The Voice: “I’m British and proud to wave the flag. I think it’s awesome to be part of the legacy. To be able to be part of this is wonderful.”

On the recruitment of their new understudy, The Drifter’s Dan Healey, said: “We are really pleased to have Emmanuel on board as our understudy for the Drifters – his audition was very impressive and we are thrilled to have such a talented vocalist on board!”

For Dadey, singing has always been a big part of his life, but he only started taking it seriously a few years ago.

For twelve years the singer owned a unisex hair salon, which he sold in 2015 so he could concentrate on his singing and studies.

He said: “From an early age I’ve been quite heavily involved in music. Recently I decided to take it really serious.

“It was a bit of a gamble, but I got to the point where I knew I had to follow my heart and my dreams. My heart always knew it was music, so I just decided to take the plunge.”