Stortford's own Shakila K named as opening act for East 17’s Thorley Park concert

Nineties legends East 17 are playing in Thorley Park over the Easter bank holiday weekend – and Bishop’s Stortford songstress Shakila K has been announced as their opening act.

The 21-year-old starlet will kick off the East 17 concert at The Marne Inn on Saturday, April 20.

The group were one of the UK’s most popular boy bands during the early to mid-1990s, achieving 18 top-20 singles and four top-ten albums.

Terry Coldwell is the only band member who was part of the original line-up – he has since been joined by Robbie Craig and John Terry Bull – but die-hard fans of the Walthamstow bad boys still flock to their shows.

Shakila Karim, who goes by her stage name Shakila K, will warm up the trio’s Stortford crowd when they visit The Marne this spring.

“I’m grateful to Aaron Fennell, the landlord of The Marne Inn, who’s organised this gig and engaged me to perform,” she said.

Shakila is currently a student at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP) in London and works on the customer services desk at Tesco in Bishop’s Park.

The former Hockerill schoolgirl is currently working on her debut EP, which she plans to release later this year.

She also has another large-scale Stortford gig planned for 2019, Grove Cottage’s food and drink show The Festival of Flavour, which takes place on Sunday, July 7.

“I’ve got a lot going on this year,” she said. “Right now, I’ve got my hands full finishing my final year at ICMP London, working on finishing my EP and also doing some really exciting gigs.”

Shakila is looking forward to what promises to be a fantastic night of music.

“I’m delighted to have the opportunity to perform on the same stage as such a top act as East 17,” she said.

“East 17 have had an incredibly successful career, with multi-platinum album sales and, of course, it’s great that they, like me, have such a strong connection with east London.

“I was born there and lived there for much of my life, so it’ll be amazing to be performing with people from that part of the world.

“I’m sure everyone who comes to watch this event will have a night to remember. I hope we have a great crowd to witness a very special event.”