Unsigned West Bromwich drummer Ross Harris talks about his career so far

And he could afford that luxury of not worrying about his own material too. The boy from West Bromwich has been working his way up the chain, and has made some pretty impressive friends along the way.

The 26-year-old former Stuart Bathurst School and Walsall College pupil is a drummer by trade, splitting his time between the Midlands and London. That is because he is in demand from some of the biggest names in British music who want to employ his rhythm behind the kit.

"I am the drummer with Busted," he says, "and I have also worked with Union J and was the drummer for Ella Henderson too.

"They are all good to work with and helped me get into the music industry. Busted in particular helped me with PR now I am branching out by myself and they helped me get my songs out there."

The Busted boys - James Bourne, Matt Willis and Charlie Simpson - have become friends as much as employers. And now he is starting to release his own material they are useful ears to bend in the search of tips.

But doing so led to one awkward moment on the tour bus. Ross nudged them into helping him promote his debut single Compound Fracture back in October, with Matt taking to Twitter to say: "It's WICKED!!! Go check it out! And follow him!" and Charlie adding: "It's awesome!!"

But with them all now staring at his online profile, they realised one thing.

"It was pretty funny, they realised that all of them followed me. I didn't really use Twitter before this, I hadn't had to, so I didn't actually follow any of them on there. They were all shouting at me in disbelief.

"So I can officially say that Busted followed me on Twitter before I followed any of them. I think that's quite cool!"

That single release 'did quite well' for Ross, achieving some welcome plays on Spotify while getting love on Facebook as well as feedback from Busted fanatics on all social platforms after his band-mates tweeted it out.

"A lot of them latched on via Twitter or Instagram. It's quite weird that fans of other artists would like me but I guess that's how it grows. People discover things they like and support and promote it."

But the biggest surprise came from the traditional mainstream media.

"Also, my acoustic video for the single was picked up and premiered by GQ magazine. That was pretty nice and made me feel proud."

So if he was getting a lot of success working with others, why make the switch to his own material?

"It's what I've always wanted to do," he admits. "I just didn't know if I was ready. I've always been buried in my drumming but I realised the way to start getting myself out there was to self-release.

"It's harder to get attention and progress, though. Busted had listened and tweeted about it which was nice and Ella Henderson said some positive things but not a lot want to help. It's a very close-knit community and people are wary to promote others' work. And you never get taken seriously as a drummer."

Speaking of his upcoming second single, which is due for a mid-February release with the title still up in the air, he added: "It's completely different to my usual poppier work. It's got more of a rock feel, influenced by who I've worked with but definitely me."

The other benefit Ross has is that he can keep it in the family when it comes to his career. His older brother - Luke - is also a drummer and currently plays for X Factor's Louisa Johnson as well as jazz and funk group The Brand New Heavies.

On top of this, they have a slightly famous cousin, too - Bushbury-born One Direction-turned-solo star Liam Payne. And while the family are close, Ross is keen to point out he doesn't intend to hang around off the coat-tails of others in his search for success.

"His is a different world, a completely different route into the industry," Ross says of Liam's original success via TV monolith X Factor. "It's not a bad thing, we just operate in different places.

"Perhaps if me and Luke get to that level he will have some tips for us. I met him a lot when playing Ella Henderson gigs. Backstage I got to play for One Direction which was fun.

"I haven't seen him for a while, I haven't met his little son yet. But I am hoping when things calm down a bit we can go and see him to say 'hi'."

When it comes to Luke, their paths are slightly more intertwined. "He got me into drumming. We give each other gigs when we hear about things and try to share work and help each other out. We wouldn't want to lose a lot of work to each other but it is cool to have a brother there who I can talk to and get advice from."

Not that either of them appears to be doing too badly. And with Liam waiting in the wings to provide added help, and Busted's management talking about some possible support slots for Ross when he grows his repertoire of songs, it could be a very bright future for the Harris brothers indeed.

l Ross' new single is currently scheduled for a mid-February release. For more information as it becomes available, follow @RossHarrisMusic on Twitter or go to his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/RossHarrisMusic/