D ESPITE starting music lessons as a toddler, Joel Peat wasn't that enamoured with music. And he certainly didn't harbour any ambitions to be a star.

"My mum was close to canceling my lessons when I first started playing at the age of seven," says the guitarist with Lawson, the four-piece guitar pop band who'll be opening for The Wanted at the Capital FM Arena on Wednesday.

But all that would change when he was 11.

"It was on a holiday to America when I saw John Mayer perform. That pretty much changed my life.

"After that I played any chance I could and haven't looked back."

Originally from Ravenshead, Peat, 21, would form his first band with a couple of schoolmates. He then met bassist Ryan Fletcher, 22, and formed Red Lemons.

"That was an amazing experience," says Peat.

"Eventually it faded out because of GCSEs and leaving school but it was pretty important to what I'm doing now."

The pair would meet up again at university and with Andy Brown, 24, and Adam Pitts, 21, went on to form Lawson.

Says Peat: "Before we met Andy, he had lost all the hearing in his ear while at university. Once the doctors had performed an MRI scan they found that a benign tumour had been growing in his brain, which permanently damaged his hearing.

"It was a Dr Lawson who removed it, so we named the band after him."

The theme continues with the band's logo which features a heart monitor wave.

For the past three years Lawson have been trekking across the country playing anywhere and everywhere.

They recently signed to Polydor Records, home to Take That, Girls Aloud and James Morrison and supported The Wanted, Avril Lavigne and Will Young last year.

"It's been surreal going from four people a night to 7,000. Playing at arenas was amazing."

2012 is going to be a busy one, he says.

"We're going to have singles coming out and a debut album, which has been in the works for a long time."

They have been recording the album in London and Los Angeles with John Shanks, the Grammy Award-winning producer of Take That's albums Beautiful World and The Circus.

Their debut single will be released in the spring.

And there's something else afoot with Lawson but Peat is remaining tight-lipped.

"There's nothing I can really confirm but we're completely overwhelmed. It's massive."

He adds: "It's going to be an amazing year."

Although he now lives in London, he still has family and friends in Notts.

"I love coming home and seeing everyone," he says.

"It's a really positive having that support there."

Lawson support The Wanted at the Capital FM Arena on Wednesday at 7.30pm. Support also comes from Fanfair (see interview right). Tickets are £19.50 to £27.50 from the venue box office, call 08444 124624 or visit www.capitalfmarena.com. For a free download of Lawson's track Red Sky visit www.lawsonofficial.com or facebook.com/lawsonofficial