When I was at Stopsley Senior School, around the age of 11, I started to learn how to play the trumpet. It wasn’t a compulsion, just that my Dad had a trumpet that he used to play, so it was a case of ‘why not?’
I did enjoy being in the school’s brass band. You could get away without playing bits, cos there was more than one trumpet player!! But it wasn’t a passion.
It was around this time that I was in the Co-op in Luton town centre, quite a big department store type of thing, that I saw a Beatles tribute cassette (older folk will remember these). My Mum bought it for me. That was the beginning of an obsession with The Beatles. No other music came close to their mesmerising tunes. I would come in from school, put my headphones on and listen to their music non-stop.
I did eventually enjoy other music, but that obsession with the genius of The Beatles songs has never left me.
At the age of 14 I started to learn how play the guitar. My first teacher, Mick, used to accompany his comedy act with singing and strumming his guitar. He’d always check that he knew where the exit was ahead of a gig, in case it didn’t go well, so I’m not sure how great his act was!! He was an inspiration for those first few strums on the guitar (which was a copy of a Gibson Les Paul). His light-hearted approach and joking around made learning fun. Learning how to play the old-time greats from the 60’s and changing the lyrics for comic affect. For instance, a line in Nowhere Man became ‘you don’t know what you’re kissing’, instead of missing!
I’d practise for hours. I’ve always believed that what you put in, you get out! The sound of my guitar didn’t go down well with our elderly neighbours. The trumpet, which was much louder, was fine, but the guitar upset them so much, they did somewhat overreact, that it acted as a catalyst for my parents to move.
After I’d learned his repertoire, he felt he couldn’t teach me much more. He suggested going to a friend of his, Doug. An amazing professional musician, who played guitar, keyboard and sang. He also had a comprehensive understanding of music theory. Above all, he was a great teacher. Being a good musician, doesn’t make you a good teacher. He was a natural at explaining techniques and theory alike.
Next stop, the school band. Or rather a band that was formed while still at school – Maple Cynder. We had a girl singer called Sarah Lee, a couple of years older than me, who Doug knew via her Mum, I think. Craig on bass and Glenn, from school, on drums. Glenn eventually went into the army and was replaced by Martin. We mostly did covers, like ‘Whole Lotta Rosie’ by AC/DC and ‘Paranoid’ by Black Sabbath. It was during this time I started toying with song writing.
The band didn’t last that long, a couple of years, but I had got the bug for music, playing live in a band and recording. I had my own home recording studio, a Fostex reel-to-reel 8 track machine, a 16-8-2 Studiomaster mixing desk, Yamaha drum machine and a Yamaha multi-effects units That’s where I’d spend hours, practising guitar, coming up with tunes and discovering the magic of multi-track recording and arranging instrumentation.
I got involved with a Luton based Theatre group, playing the guitar in a production of Yakety-Yak. The music was old time 50’s R&R music. The Music Director of that production, Simon, was a fantastic keyboard player and musician.
I recorded some of my own songs at a friend of a friend’s home studio, playing rhythm and lead guitar on them but not singing. I didn’t try singing until much later, as I didn’t think I could (some may still agree with that). A friend of mine, Jeff, did the singing for me on the recordings.
That’s my early years, up to around 20yrs old, as a fledgling guitarist and musician. The foundation had been laid for the future. In truth, the journey never ends, there’s always something to learn or be inspired by. Not to say there’s been moments of self-doubt and hitting brick walls in terms of techniques, self-confidence, etc. But, I’m a stubborn sort, and I would soldier on through. I’ve come to terms with the fact I will never be the most technically proficient guitarist. But that’s OK. I’m me, and there’s only one of me, if I can be authentic and be the best that I can be, that’s more than enough. Above all, I enjoy it!