STUDENTS will be told 'There's Only One Way of Life - That's Your Own' when frontman of folk-punk band The Levellers drops in next week.

Mark Chadwick, guitarist and lead singer with The Levellers - whose hits include One Way - is among the famous faces visiting Weymouth College to mark Music Industry Week from March 23-27.

He will be joined by a number of other music professionals who have been invited to take part. The event, in its second year, draws upon the knowledge and experience of professionals to give students an insight into working in the music industry.

Topics that speakers cover include their own route into the music industry, how to get funding as a musician, how to secure gigs and how to be successful.

Mark Chadwick said: “I'm looking forward to sharing my experiences over last 25 years of songwriting, the industry and The Levellers alternative approach to the music business.

"Hopefully I can inspire one or two to take the leap.”

Kicking the week off on Monday, former Weymouth College student Duncan Honeybourne will be sharing his experiences of being a pianist. Duncan has had an exciting career, and has played and given recitals at many major venues and leading festivals. Other speakers include Trevor Coley who has been designing and creating professional-quality microphones for more than ten years.

On Tuesday, students will hear from speakers including Mark Tattersall who is the artistic director for Dorchester Arts, a charity supporting and running community arts projects in schools and the local area and Rhino Audio Visual which provides professional quality equipment to theatres and studios.

On Wednesday, the day starts with an inspiring speech from Chris Spedding, a musician, singer, songwriter and session guitarist whose career has spanned more than 40 years. In the 1970s, Chris was one of the most sought-after session guitarists in England and has played on countless albums and singles including appearing on Paul McCartney’s Give My Regards to Broad Street in 1984. Other speakers on the day include Ben Ellis who is the lead guitarist for the band Bloodshot Dawn.

Thursday’s speakers include Maria Greenwood, head of news at Wessex FM and Mark Chadwick from The Levellers. The group was founded in 1988 and have had a hugely successful music career. In 1994 they headlined Glastonbury Festival with their performance attracting the biggest stagefront crowd the event had ever seen. Mark’s career has spanned the decades since and he still continues to tour with The Levellers. In 2003 the band founded the Beautiful Days festival in Devon.

Following Mark’s thoughts and experiences, students will then hear from Alex Holmes who is part of GotSome, a UK production duo who recently exploded onto the house scene from their home town of Bristol. The duo have made a big impact within the industry and worked with some of the latest cutting-edge artists including MC Wiley who featured on their most recent single ‘Vibe Out’. Alex will be providing an interactive production masterclass along with hints and tips for those who might want to tread a similar career path.

The week concludes with Pink Hedgehog Records based on Portland and Matt Houghton who has worked as a speech writer and is currently reviews editor for Sound on Sound Magazine.

Isaac Draper, Lecturer in Music and Creative Industries and the organiser of the week said: “The aim of the industry week is to give our students an insight into the eclectic nature of work in the music business.

"We hope the week will equip them with some of the skills they need to make a career in music and allow them to benefit from the expertise and knowledge of a wide range of music practitioners.”