Life
This track started life (!) as a very melodic riff that I had been playing with for years. I overlaid a picked guitar sound and a slow bass line to get the sound I wanted. I asked my daughter Deni to add her voice to the backing vocals which is her and I going ‘oooo’. She had fun doing that and her voice adds sweetness to the song in my opinion. As usual, the last thing was to record the vocals and write the lyrics. Also as usual, the lyrics simply fell out as I listened to the track… Don’t despair Don’t give up It’s all we have And this is our life Life is passing me by But it’s too soon to say goodbye So much to do yet
Read More »Facists
Facists was the last song written for The Early Years. The song started with the introduction – picking out notes from a chord and adding in a harmony – and the main riff developed out of that. I had in other songs discovered that adding a sort of lead guitar riff in background added color to a song and I continued that theme with this song. I also played with a changed tempo during the song. The lyrics and topic came last and I chose to sing it in a lower – almost speaking voice with multiple overlays – some spoken to give it depth… It’s up in the air It’s hanging around Nothing we can do Nothing at all The world’s gone crazy The world’s gone mad
Read More »I Got My Eye On You
One of my favorite tracks is I Got My Eye On You. It’s very rocky with a real upbeat feel. The song developed from a guitar riff initially and I could not find a good bridge. I stumbled on the idea of a picked bridge to the song and it really seems to work for me and it makes the song quite different.Once the basic track was recorded, the lyrics dropped out of thin air just listening to it. I played around also with backing vocals on the track and discovered a great effect of singing with a backing of spoken words. It gives depth to the song…. a little lead guitar in the intro and hey presto – a rock song!
Read More »Waitin’ For You
Still back in the early 1980’s, I imagined waiting for a girl arriving on a train to write this one. Back then, the Hull to Birmingham train was a frequent trip for me and Sheffield and Doncaster changes quite usual….. Deni joined me on this one – such a sweet voice to round out the song. The riff is a two string riff that I came up with one day by chance and really liked….. Waitin’ For You was played at several ‘live’ performances at that time and people seemed to enjoy it.
Read More »She Is Still Out There – Somewhere…
It was 1979 and I was sitting in my 19th floor study bedroom on the campus of Aston University. I kind of liked the rock reggae riff I had just discovered on the guitar and I was still angry with a certain girl….. the result was ‘She’s Out There’. An angst ridden song about a failed relationship in an era when The Police were simply it. I played it live quite a few times back then and people loved it… When I sat down 30 years later to record a few songs, it was the first one I recorded and I had played it so often, my 9 year old daughter could sing it with me.
Read More »Gone Away
Gone Away is a rocker and one of my favorites…. I wrote the backing track first and just made up the lyrics as I started to work the melody. It isn’t about anyone or anything but simply seemed to fit….. I think we have all been there though.. You took ages to decide You must know your own mind You had ages to decide And what is it that I find? You’ve gone away You’ve left me cold again You’ve gone away today And left me cold again You told me nothing And left me alone again You said nothing And left me alone again So what do I do now? Thinking of breaking up with you But nothing that I can do Seems to be good enough for you
Read More »Talk, Talk
Talk, Talk is one of my favorite songs off of the album The Early Years. It came about when just playing with E and A chords on the guitar and it is essentially a two-chord song! The variations are around the two major chords. In common with pretty much all of my songs, the lyrics came after the track was completed and I looked to my poetry for inspiration. It has a vibe going that to me, harks back to some Electric Warrior T.Rex perhaps tho others have said it is more an 80’s sound…. whatever it is, I like it and I hope you do too? How fitting To see your name in print Fame always eluded you Now you are a household name A life lived in vain
Read More »The Early Years Released
The Early Years – my first foray into music is now released and available digitally on most music sites… do give it a listen!
Read More »True Tales of Haunted Places
I have a new book out in the run up to the Xmas period. It’s called True Tales of Haunted Places and its a compilation of my own stories and submissions to the My Haunted Life Too website that I think make a very creepy little book. Its available for pre-order now and will be officially released on December 10th. I love the cover!
Read More »Punk Politics
I remember very well the adrenalin rush I felt on hearing God Save the Queen by the Pistols. I also recall being disgusted by their behavior when interviewed on TV and yet, I was also enthralled and fascinated. The music establishment was crumbling under the assault by The Clash, Sex Pistols, and many more like them. It was shocking fashion, shocking talk and shocking and outrageous behavior. A kick in the face to all the nice people with their nice cosy lives and boring bale existences…. It was fun while it lasted. Eventually, the status quo prevailed. Punk became the new romantics, The Police and well, mainstream again. Looking back, it was a rush, exciting, but just a back alley. We grew up. We became part of the system we
Read More »