ALWAYS up for an exclusive, 24:7 managed to hook up with star in the making Rick Guard -- the local lad who is about to hit the big time...

24:7 -- So tell me a bit about yourself.

Rick Guard -- "I'm from Chorley, but I've been travelling around, living in London and Brighton. I always knew I was going to be a musician. I've been writing with the same guy for about seven years, slogging away to get a record deal. Then one day I hooked up with Perry, my manager, and he made it happen."

24:7 -- So you got the deal to release this single?

RG -- "Well, not just the single, it's a five-album deal with Universal", explains Guard, understandably chuffed. "So I'm going to be around for a bit."

24:7 -- Would you say that the first single, Stop It I Like It, is your style?

RG -- "When I said I wanted to do a record, people wanted me to do the songs in one style and that was it, but I always wanted to write different kinds of songs. The album has a bit of everything, from ballads with strings to quirky, edgy stuff so there is something for everyone."

24:7 -- With such a broad range, who are you inspired by?

RG -- "The classics -- Sinatra, the Beatles -- and newer acts like George Michael."

His manager interjects: "We like to say it has lots of different colours."

24:7 -- So is it ready to release, this colourful album?

RG -- "It's about 90 per cent done now and it's due out at the end of September."

24:7 -- So what's your dream career-wise?

RG -- "A Number One album worldwide," he replies in a flash, before adding: "A wall full of discs, like yours," and pointing to his manager.

Just before we part company and Rik is whisked off lunch, he tells me something that reveals a lot about him.

"When I went to the signing there was a boardroom full of London execs and I walked in with a T-shirt saying Chorley across it." He pauses. "They didn't get it at all."

Lets hope that, should his dreams come to fruition, this is one pop star whose feet will remain firmly on the ground.