YOUNG music maestro Jamie Cullum has become the first British jazz artist to have an album go platinum.

Twentysomething has now sold more than 300,000 copies since its release in October.

The record, which reached the top 20 in the charts, is the first since the 24-year-old Hullavington star signed a £1 million deal with Universal Records earlier this year.

Now Jamie is set to return to his roots and will be playing at the Apartment, Havelock Street, Swindon, on December 21.

The event is in aid of the BBC's fund-raising event Children in Need.

Jamie's last performance at the Apartment was in February when he performed alongside Ray Butt, a well-known Swindon musician.

The audience will be able to ask the self-taught pianist questions in between his songs.

Richard James, owner of the Apartment, said: "We are delighted to have him back. We knew he was a star in the making when he performed in Swindon before."

His hit album features songs as diverse as 1950s Jazz Standards, contemporary rock and self-penned ballads which have broken the mould and proved a hit in a market saturated with boy bands.

American producer Stewart Levine, who has worked with greats such as BB King and Simply Red used analogue tapes instead of modern digital recording methods.

In addition, most of the songs were recorded live with little need for extra takes, giving the album a sound critics have warmed to.

Mr Cullum's climb up the charts represents a remarkable achievement for the boy who performed Bugsy as a youngster at Grittleton House School and who, before May, was unknown outside the jazz clique.

Other local gigs included a show at Malmesbury Jazz Festival a few years ago and a more recent performance at Crudwell Village Hall with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra.

Now, two performances on Parkinson, and the first European to perform at the Oak Room of the Alonquin Hotel in New York, have suggested Jamie's star is unlikely to fade soon.

Music is not his only talent.

His youthful good looks are vying with those of England rugby world cup star Jonny Wilkinson and pop heartthrob Robbie Williams in a poll of More Magazine readers to find the celebrity of the year. But Mr Cullum remains quietly understated about fame and

remains determined that the music should come first.

He took up the piano and guitar at just eight years old, taking the lead from older brother Ben.

He studied English Literature at Reading University and, after finishing his degree in 2001, he recorded his first album, Pointless Nostalgic, and continued to play in pubs and clubs as well as the odd cruise boat.

TV and radio presenter Michael Parkinson championed the youngster's record on his Radio 2 show, and months later Mr Cullum made the deal with Universal. Since then he has appeared at the Queen's birthday party at St James's Palace and won the Rising Star award for the BBC Jazz Awards.

He is now doing a UK tour, including headlining the recent London Jazz Festival. This week he performed and signed CDs at the Virgin store at London's Oxford Street and in December he is due to play a sold out gig with his mum in Bath.