Lester J Allen
Lester J Allen is a 20 year old singer songwriter born on the 22nd of March and raised in Luton. Living with both loving parents and brother Lloyd, Lester was encouraged from a young age to play music. Starting with a piano at the age of two. Lester's parents say "I knew if the boys were brought up with instruments around them they would one day learn to play". The brothers started learning piano at a young age and then also picked up the guitar. Learning different material then teaching each other, they quickly learnt different songs and styles. Lester started song writing at the age of thirteen basing the songs on over exaggerated stories from his life. Tragically, his life soon moved in a direction where his stories no longer needed exaggeration. Lester started developing signs of depression and psychosis. Both parents noticed a change at the age of 14 but could not place what it was that was wrong or what was the cause. Lester finished high school with some difficulty moving on to college where he studied music and music technology. However on the 21st of February 2009, classmate and friend Taylor Burrows was murdered which exacerbated his mental illness to new heights. Lester moved to Cambridge with best friend Adrian where they lived and worked in a pub. Eventually after a prolonged period of trying to deal with his issues with sleeping tablets and alcohol, Lester's mind finally reached a collapse. He was moved to the south coast to live with his parents while he could be looked after. After a few incidents concerning his personal safety Lester was taken into the care of the NHS mental health service.
"This story has a very happy ending as Lester did brilliantly, coping through each stage of his illness. In all time of his recovery he still managed to show great kindness and respect to his family ./he is so brave, creative, intelligent and kind with a huge capacity for love that it is no wonder he pulled through. He was discovered by Goldie who involved Lester performing at Buckingham palace in front of HRH Prince Harry. His family watched bursting with pride and now marvel at him going from strength to strength.
He deserves a long, happy and continued life!" - Sharon Allen (Lester's mother)
