When I was seven my father gave me a radio he had repaired (he was a TV & Radio Serviceman). This began a lifelong love of music. Every week I would listen to the American Top 40 presented by Casey Kasem. That was during the early 70's. I loved it all; pop, rock, RnB, disco, funk and ballads.

 

When I was 16, I saw an old acoustic guitar for sale in a second-hand store. It was the first time that it ever occurred to me that instead of just listening to music I could actually create music. I traded an old cassette player for the guitar. My mum paid for me to have a few lessons to get me started. I spent hours tinkering around with that guitar. Over time I finally replaced it with an electric guitar.

 

I spent many hours in my bedroom playing alone. I knew no one else who played an instrument until I went to college. There I met Steve, an amazing guitar player. We got together for a jam and I was in heaven. He told me he was putting together a band and needed a bass player. I knew nothing about playing bass but was eager to be involved so was given the job. I traded my guitar for a bass and set about learning bass lines.

 

Steve's mate Glen played drums and could sing and so The Afterthought was born. We played at parties, rugby clubs, weddings, anywhere we could. Our set list was made up of songs by The Who, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie etc. I am sure we sounded dreadful, but we were having a ball!

 

Travel, marriage and kids meant a long break from playing music with others. Then in the early 2000's, with the kids in their teens, it was time to get back into it. I played in several bands of varying sizes - duo, trio, 4-piece, 6-piece. Different genre's - 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's 2000's. There were mixed levels of success – some never left the garage, the biggest playing to a crowd of over 1,000. Sometimes I played bass, sometimes guitar.

 

Around 2015 I decided to put all my energy into the bass. This was the instrument I truly loved. I was all about creating the groove - the deep low-end groove that gets people tapping their toes, that gets people dancing!