A young bass-guitarist from Carpenders Park has been given the chance to play on the same stage as stadium giants Bon Jovi, at their sold-out O2 arena gig this Sunday.

Andy Saxton from Compton Place, and his band New Device, won a competition to open for the American rock band, who have recorded 11 albums and played 12 tours since forming in the early 1980s.

New Device, a blues-based hard rock band, draw their influences from stadium rock giants of the late 1980s and early 1990s, such as Guns N’ Roses, Aerosmith and Metallica.

They are currently signed to Powerage and are coming to the end of a nationwide tour, receiving positive reviews in magazines such as Kerrang, Rock Sound, Classic Rock.

Mr Saxton said: “We beat thousands of other very successful bands to win this very prestigious prize and are incredibly thrilled at the opportunity.”

As well as writing and producing music ranging from pop, metal and classical, the 28-year-old also teaches bass guitar locally.

“I have always been into music from an early age,” he said “but I found that once I picked up the bass guitar and got lessons that I really started to delve deeper.

“Bass guitar drives me because it is an underdog that hides so much beauty, it can be as melodic as a guitar or as percussive as a drum kit.

“I want more kids to pick it up and learn the proper way, not just playing with a plectrum and following the root notes, because they were the weakest guitarist and got lumbered with it.”

When Mr Saxton posted this solo bass guitar video on youtube he was propelled to internet fame, receiving more than 26,000 views so far.

However, it was after finishing his A-levels and a BTEC National Diploma in music at Amersham College that Mr Saxton's music career really took off.

“I became a very well known and sought after bass player,” he said “I got a call from a local metal band from Watford called Cry For Silence, who had loads of tours coming up with some big American bands."

They needed a bassist and asked if he was interested.

"We went on to tour with bands like Fightstar and My Chemical Romance.

"We even played to a packed out Earls Court, Brixton Academy and at Download Festival 2008.

“We were signed to Visible Noise Records and released a five track EP and then a full length album.

"These were good times, but they eventually came to an end one day."

Cry For Silence split up, but it was only a month afterwards that Daniel Leigh, lead singer of New Device, called to say they needed a bassist.

Their single In The Fading Light has recently been featured in a film called Fish Tank, which won the Outstanding British Film award at the Baftas.

Most recently Mr Saxton has started writing music for short films, one of which premièred at the BAFTA awards last year and was picked by the UK Film Council as best short film, and is currently contracted to write the entire score for a new short film.

He added: “I used to brag to the guys in New Device that I played Earls Court and Brixton Academy, after Sunday I won't be able to as we'll all be sharing that 23,000 capacity sold out venue.”