BIOGRAPHY
I am still as passionate about
music as I was when I got my first real taste at the
age of 11. I had listened to various music before that
age, but it wasn't until I heard "In
The City"
by The Jam, which made me really stand up and listen to what was
going on around me. Too young to go and watch them play, I avidly
bought all their records and watched them on TV, which led me into
other bands like The Clash, The Police, The Undertones, Buzzcocks,
XTC, Adam And The Ants, Bow Wow Wow, Blondie, Siouxsie and the Banshees,
The Who and the Small Faces.
In 1979 I got into The Specials, Madness, The Selecter, The Beat, UB40, Steel
Pulse, Aswad, Bob Marley & The Wailers, Black Uhuru, along with other 2
Tone and Reggae bands. I also got into Stiff Little Fingers and The Ruts, through my passion with The Jam and The Clash.
It was around the same time that I also got into Dub Reggae, Jackie
Wilson and Nothern Soul, already being into Motown and Stax.
The day after my 16th birthday my sister took me to my first ever gig, and
finally got to see my favourite band The Jam on their 'Farewell Tour' at the St
Austell(Cornwall) Coliseum on the 28th November 1982. It's still one of
the best birthday presents I've ever had and what a band to see for my first
ever gig, it was so amazing that it left a lasting impression to this day.
In 1984 I started following around Spear of Destiny and The Cult, and got to know
both bands pretty well, and from that crafted a longterm friendship with Stan
Stammers who was the bass player for Spear Of Destiny and Theatre of Hate. Over the years
Stan has become one of my best friends, so I'm lucky enough to manage
him. After Spear of Destiny, Stan fronted his own band Crazy Pink Revolvers before moving to
the States and forming Philly punk band Plastic Eaters with singer and programmer
Rob Daly. Whilst in Plastic Eaters Stan spent a brief period as bass player for
cult Philly hip-hop band The Goats.
Since 1999 I have been the manager of both Stan Stammers and his band Plastic Eaters, and also look after the
interest of Stan's old band Crazy Pink Revolvers. Although Stan and Rob Daly still operate as a band, they have been producing other artists and bands for many years, so in 2010 they decided to become a music production team writing music for TV and Film, changing their name to Plastic Eater Sound. For the past year Stan and his music partner Rob Daly have been writing and recording a new concept album, a music project done in a similar vein as the Gorillaz concept by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. The album features a host of artists and musicians, including famous Philly rapper Schoolly D, and saxophanist/keyboard player Neil Pyzer (Howard Devo Band, Spear of Destiny, Geno Washington and The Selecter).
I've had a passion for playing the bass for a number of years now, but have recently changed over to playing the drums instead, something I've been meaning to do for a number years, after having played around with a friends drum kit a while back. My interest for playing the drums stems back to 1978, after watching Rick Buckler playing live on The Old Grey Whistle Test tv show. |