hooked by something long term. I was heavily influenced by 1960’s psychedelic blues and rock era, our house hold was mostly belting out the rawness of Janis Joplin and the early Fleetwood Mac, on a gentler day it was early Van Morrison “Astral Weeks” and “Hard Nose the Highway”. I loved it when my mum or dad would turn it up full volume and dance round the house those are some of my favorite moments as a child. Other influences of music from my past were when we went round to my Granny Ruby’s and she after a few scotches would get on the honky tonk piano and thump out a few tunes on the old keys. I would sit for hours trying to mimic her, making up my own melodies and rhythms. There were days when I was 8 we would call to a friends of my parents where the boys would be sitting in a wee back room with guitars, drums and flutes and I used to crouch outside by the window and listen for hours till we had to go home.
I was lucky enough to have flute lessons at the age of 9 and was made to study classical music, I was so afraid of sitting an exam that my teacher at the time did mock exams with me up to grade 5 and then he struggled to keep my interest. At eleven my mum left my dad and
we struggled for a few years as each one found their feet again. I found that in school that where my maths and English failed my music and art flared. At the age of 13 I flew to Lon- don to stay with my best mate and we saved our pocket money and went out and bought “Atlantic Soul 16” It was like a revolution. I carried it around every- where with me. I wanted to tell the world about this music but most of my friends were listening to the top 40.
I was horrified that they did not get it and I could not understand the chart music of the 1980’s. At the age of four- teen I broke away from the classical and started playing on my own along to Santana “Abraxas” and Jimi Hen- drix “Band of Gypsies” These were my first steps in improvisation. Along from there I joined many bands finding my feet and growing slowly in confidence. The first song I wrote was taken by Da- vid Holmes who is now known world- wide for the Oceans 11 and 12 sound tracks. I realized that even though I feared a blank piece of paper and pen I knew that by keeping it beside my bed I would wake up and write down what
ever was in my head while half asleep as I could not create stone cold awake. At 14 I also found out about my dad who had adopted me and that I had an- other one in Southshields , known as a sand dancer. We wrote each other a few times but the first suggestion of meet- ing he went cold and I heard nothing till circumstances brought me at the age of 28 knocking upon his door, where I found I had a half brother.
I am only writing about this now in my late 30’s hence the song “Go Daddy” on our latest album “Wiley Ways”.
I moved to West Yorkshire at the age of 25 to do a degree in popular music. Here I immersed myself in old school Funk and Northern Soul. I loved the fact that there were musicians of like minded souls everywhere along side you and fired up ready to go.
Many bands later and travels to Japan supporting Beverley Knight and Jamiro- quai, I started to explore the pop world and my hand at writing for other people where I co-wrote a piece that my dear friend Corinne Bailey Rae sang on the
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