A singing sensation from Sussex has signed a £1 million, five-album deal with record giant Universal after forming a band using the internet.

Jules Knight, 25, from Eastbourne, used social networking site Facebook to form classical boy band Blake.

Now the band - named after poet and artist William Blake - is celebrating hitting all the right notes with industry bosses who raced to snap the musicians up.

Band members Jules, Stephen Bowman, 25, from Bath, Dominic Tighe, 24, from Devon, and Oliver Baines, 24, from Wiltshire, all met on Facebook just three months ago through mutual friends and a shared background in classical music.

Jules said: "I already knew Ollie and him and I wanted to start up a group similar to acts like G4 and Il Divo and we thought we could use Facebook to do it."

The four got together and sung at a friend's party for the first time and were such a hit people suggested they should think about doing it professionally.

Facebook again played a pivotal role when the band approached the former manager of boy band Blue, Daniel Glatman, through it.

Jules said: "He got back to us straight away and we ended up meeting him. The audition went well and he ended up taking us to Universal. It all happened literally with a few days of us getting together at that party."

Universal and several other record companies were after them and the band found themselves at the centre of a bidding war until settling on the label which was already home to classical star Katherine Jenkins.

Blake are now busy recording the first album and are hoping for an October or November release.

Since signing the deal they have made television appearances on BBC Breakfast News and Five. They are set to sing at Twickenham before the England rugby team take on France on August 11 as well as appearing on the official song of the Rugby World Cup, World in Union.

Jules, who is now based in London, said: "We are really really happy with with how the album is shaping up. We have had a massive amount of creative control which is a breath of fresh air.

"We didn't want to be involved with a record company if we were going to pushed around. Universal has let us have a lot of control over our music."

The album, provisionally self titled, is set to include covers of Moon River, Hallelujah, Jerusalem and Swing Low.

A £1 million contract does not present itself everyday, so how does it feel to be Facebook's first fab four?

"Absolutely incredible," said Jules. "We have been very fortunate and since we all started singing we wanted something like this to happen.

"It's a remarkable time for us and we are really enjoying it and concentrate on making the best music."

What do you think? Have you used Facebook to make your mark on the world? Leave your comments below.