A MUSICIAN who appeared on Channel 4’s The Undateables has joined forces with arts charity Carousel to start crowdfunding for his upcoming gigs.

Daniel Wakeford, 29, from Brighton, refuses to let autism hold him back in his quest for both love and recognition as a singer.

Daniel’s music is a relatively new discovery for many of his 43,000-plus followers on Facebook and he has now been booked to play at Brighton’s The Great Escape festival next month.

In January he made his fourth appearance on The Undateables, which aims to pair up people with disabilities and learning difficulties. The programme featured him on tour and showcased his song Playboy Girls.

The rising star said: “I am on the autistic spectrum but have been making music for ten years.

“I am very excited to see my fans and a lot of them want to see me and my band Daniel Wakeford and the Experience.

“We need to play some more gigs but we also need some help to do it.”

Carousel and Daniel are hoping to raise a total of £15,000 to fund ten shows.

With his songwriting partner Tom Cook, he has compiled well over 100 songs, ten of which were recorded for his album The Songs of Gigs.

Daniel represented the UK at the Song for Europe event in Sweden in 2013 and last year he completed a nine-date tour of the UK.

As well as his vast social media following, he has accumulated more than 125,000 plays on Spotify and topped the Spotify UK Viral Chart at the beginning of March with Playboy Girls.

Daniel’s mother, Carol Wakeford, 58, co-director of a shared living scheme for people with special needs, said she is extremely proud of what her son has achieved.

She said: “It’s surreal if I am honest; he is just our Daniel.

“It’s fantastic that he is getting to live out his dream of being a musician and the support provided by Carousel is amazing.

“We have seen him do some really big shows and to come from being such a shy person to where he is now is so impressive and inspirational.”

Carousel’s senior music producer Gareth Evans said: “It is perfect timing for Daniel to be propelled into the next stage of his career.

“He has the songs, the talent, the fans and certainly the potential to go all the way.”

To donate to Daniel and help his dream of playing more gigs come true, visit indiegogo.com and search for Daniel Wakeford.

He is offering a range of prizes to those who donate.