Biography

My first ‘guitar’ was a violin — played with a plectrum. I’d started learning classical violin aged 9, but by the time I was 11 had persuaded my mum to get me a nylon-string acoustic. So, with that, Bert Weedon’s ‘Play in a Day’, a set of pitch pipes and a cassette recorder I started trying to learn the usual stuff in the usual way – introduced to blues and soul via The Rolling Stones and The Who. Progress was painfully slow and many years later I marvel at how rapidly people now learn with the aid of affordable high quality instruments and YouTube. My first proper guitar was a Shaftesbury copy of a Rickenbacker 330, which I still have and did dozens of gigs with during the resurgence of live music that came with punk in the mid-70s.

I’ve been in bands ever since and, for more decades than either of us care to remember, have played in a covers band with Jon Murdock, whose been with DSoTW since 2004. It’s thanks to Jon that I got the chance to audition with DSoTW. I’d been to DSoTW shows but never thought it was the kind of set up I could participate in. So, to be actually joining DSoTW is a fantastic opportunity and I can’t believe my luck – although replacing Andy Nixon is a pretty daunting prospect and I really appreciate the encouragement he’s given me. I wasn’t ready to appreciate Pink Floyd’s music fully until recently, let alone attempt to play David Gilmour’s extraordinary guitar parts. But it now really means something to me, so I hope at least that will come across and those of you who know the music in much greater depth than I do will eke out my imperfections with your thoughts.