AN ELDERLY songwriter remains hopeful of having a hit song despite being knocked out of a competition.

Jo Masters, 89, of Tanners Lane in Barkingside, had hoped to fulfil her lifelong dream of having a hit single but did not make the cut of four songs for a charity CD hoped to raise money for Barnardo’s.

The pensioner’s song House of Tears was placed on a shortlist of 21 tracks for the Oldie Composers competition, run by Charity Goods, but was not picked by the judges, who included Terry Wogan and ‘Whispering’ Bob Harris.

But Mrs Masters had her Advertising Song played on a radio station in Australia after her daughter Petra went on Phoenix FM to talk about her mother.

Mrs Masters said: “We listened at 11 at night. It was very satisfying to hear my song being played on the other side of the world, I was very pleased.

The songstress was part of a singing and dancing double act which performed for British and American soldiers posted in the Middle East between 1941 and 1945.

And she hinted that the exposure may pay dividends in the near future: “There’s a young singer interested in recording one of my songs, but that’s all I can say at the moment. I think there’s still a chance of having a hit single but it’s not something I’m going to worry about.”

You can listen to Mrs Masters’s music at croozy.com/jo.

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