I was born in 1958 in Long Eaton Notts. I first fell in love with the guitar when I was about 11 years old having heard classical guitar & flamenco played on the radio & T.V. I was totally fascinated & touched by the melodic and percussive sound of the instrument. After much pestering, my parents bought me my first guitar, a classical model for £17. Lessons were arranged for me & I started to learn the rudiments of classical guitar. I think my teacher became very exasperated with me as I found playing the instrument fairly easy but my sheet music sight reading was a nightmare! My handicap was I could play from memory very easily so I did! To this day I still cannot sight read standard notation although of late I have mastered tab which has enabled me to learn some of the music I've always loved and wanted to play.
By the age of 18 I had moved on to writing some of my own material and was desperately trying to imitate players such as James Taylor, Leo Kottke, Ry Cooder & Jackson Browne. As you could imagine the classical guitar lessons were by now a thing of the past much to my parents disappointment. About this time I began to perform in folk clubs. For a couple of years I enjoyed a certain amount of success amongst my peers. By the time I was 22 the guitar had been put aside to be replaced by sleepless nights & nappies. It wasn't until I reached my late 20's that I decided to have a go at being a rock star, the acoustic guitars being replaced by 2 fender telecasters and an ear shattering array of high powered sound equipment. I had a wonderful time in an assortment of original material performing bands.
After a gap of a few years, during which I had a new love affair 'with fast motorcycles' I returned to my first love, the acoustic guitar. It's taken many hours of practice & locking myself away in the spare bedroom to re-acquire & develop my sound & tone, both these things being very personal to every player. I've drawn great inspiration from such great players as Pierre Bensusan, Leo Kottke, Eric Roche, Antonio Forcione & many others. Time spent learning some of their pieces has been an invaluable tool in expanding my technical knowledge & repertoire and has contributed immeasurably in developing my own writing style.
