Tour director of world famous rock group, Muse, will be visiting Purfleet promoting degree courses in Live Events.

Glen Rowe has managed some of the world’s leading live bands, and even managed the Pope’s only UK tour, but now he has taken up a more academic role as the Managing Director of Backstage Academy - a live events university centre.

Glen is joining forces with Beat the Streets Tour Bus to visit sixth form colleges in search of the ‘roadie’ talent of the future and will be visiting the Backstage Centre in Purfleet on February 8.

Students will hear from Glen about the two-year foundation (FdA) and three-year degree courses available and then get the chance to quiz him about his own life backstage.

Afterwards, they will visit the Beat the Street tour bus and try their hand at loading and unloading a tour trailer in a time trial.

Rowe said: “Every music festival, stadium gig and world tour needs an army of highly skilled production personnel to bring them to life.

“Production Managers, Sound Engineers, Lighting Designers, Guitar Technicians, Riggers, Carpenters and Tour Managers are just some of the roles instrumental in creating live events.

“Backstage Academy uniquely trains all these professionals for a career in live events through academic study and work experience. 

"All our students spend time on location with some of the world’s leading artists getting a real work experience.

“Employability is an important feature of all our courses. Recent graduates of Backstage Academy have gone on to careers touring with major musicians such as Robbie Williams and Ed Sheeran or working at events such as Glastonbury or the Radio One Live Weekend.

"Work experience during their course includes tours and live festivals in the UK and overseas.”

Rowe started selling t-shirts for the Manic Street Preachers and since then has been on the road with bands and acts including The Thrills, Ronnie Wood, Ginger Baker, Hard-Fi, The Kooks, Magic Numbers, Amy MacDonald and Gareth Gates.