IF HE’D stuck to his guns, Lemar Obika might have been a respected pharmacist. Perhaps even running his own high street chemist.

But he just wouldn’t let his first love lie. Instead he set out to make it as a singer. Now known to millions as simply Lemar, he is the most successful black British soul singer of recent times, a double-Brit Award winner, and an instantly recognized celebrity.

So what happened to turn this down-to-earth Londoner, born to Nigerian parents, into a two million album-selling star?

Well, talent, hard work, and a little show called Fame Academy.

Lemar didn’t even win the show – he came third. But while other TV stars have come and gone, he has only got bigger.

Few people know that before Fame Academy, Lemar was already a modestly successful artist, supporting the likes of Destiny’s Child, and even releasing a single – Got Me Saying Ooh.

He found the fame game hard work, however.

And within a year he was paying his way by working for a bank and applying again for university courses.

Fame Academy came along just in time – and changed his life beyond his imagination.

“It’s a brutal game,” he admits, speaking to the Guide during a rare moment off, in London.

He is currently in the middle of a 23-date tour, which on Sunday, hits Oxford’s New Theatre.

“It’s all about having faith in yourself. And the only way you can have success is by being the best you can be. I have been fortunate.”

“I couldn’t wait to get back on the road,” he says in his distinctive North London drawl.

“It had been a while, but it’s great to be doing my thing. Even more so now, than ever. This is the reason I do what I do – it’s for the fans, and I can’t wait to get in front of them.

“I’ve been playing pubs and clubs since I was 16,” he adds, at pains to point out he is more than a product of a prime time talent show.

“It’s true that I had decided to study pharmacy and had a place at Cardiff University,” he says.

“But I turned it down to do music. And after that I did more and more gigs. I did this for eight years. And while everyone said ‘you’re good’, I didn’t get to sign a deal. Then when I did get a deal, it didn’t work out, so I decided to give it up – after one last go.

“I even got a place at Middlesex University to do computer studies.

“All my mates had proper jobs and I realised that I maybe should have made a different choice ages ago.

“Then Fame Academy came up – and it changed my life.”

But he admits being suddenly thrust into the limelight has its challenges.

“It’s strange when people who you don’t know, come up to you, and tell you whether they do or don’t like you. “People seem to think they know me, which can be a bit awkward. But it’s nice when they show their appreciation.”

So has it changed him?

“I’ve still got the same mates,” he says sheepishly, “but I don’t see them much.

“There’s a natural progression as I try to get better at my craft and become more business savvy.

“I still like the same things, though I’ve got a bit more money – and spend it.

“I like Champagne, and I’ve got a nice house and car, but nothing out of the ordinary.”

He sounds uncomfortable talking about success – not for him the world of ‘bling’ – and he steers the conversation on to more comfortable ground.

“I focus on my music,” he says. “I like to make the best songs I can ... and hopefully people will carry on buying them, so I can make more.”

Sunday’s show will feature music from his latest album The Reason (his fourth), which boasts single If She Knew.

And, with a steady-lengthening back catalogue stretching back over five years, fans are in for a feast of hits.

Could he have made it without Fame Academy?

He is honest: “It’s a 50-50 thing. People used to go on the road, and have one man behind a desk deciding whether they are good enough.

“But what these TV shows do is show the whole country what you are about – and they can decide if you’re good enough.”

So, does he ever regret not following that career in pharmacy?

He laughs. “For the recording of my last album, I was in Miami Beach. I woke up one morning, looked over the beach, and had one of those ‘pinch yourself’ moments.

“I realized how it could all have been so different. I just gazed out and thought ‘wow’!”