BIOGRAPHY
I have been playing Bass guitar for over 35 years, and teaching Bass for over 25 years in Schools Colleges and Universities around The Midlands.
I am self taught, and reached grade 8 with Distinction.
Previously, I have been an examiner with Rockschool, the leading examination board around the world. I have a BSc first class honours degree in Music technology and Production, as well as an MSc Masters degree in Audio Technology.
Currently, I am MD and bass player with 'Them Heavy People' - a Kate Bush tribute band, UP! to NOW, a Shania Twain tribute band, band leader for a Tina Turner tribute, as well as being the bass player for Both Sides Of Phil Collins (Phil Collins tribute), Amy Winehouse tribute, and Simply Red tribute. I also regularly play as a dep musician for any bands that require me, (including David Bowie tribute soul bands/artists and function bands), as well as working as a pit musician for shows around the Midlands area.
Tribute bands that I work with, or have worked with include;
Celine Dion
Tina Turner
Simply Red
Amy Winehouse
Cher
Phil Collins
Shania Twain
Kate Bush
David Bowie
Queen
Meatloaf
Spandau Ballet
Duran Duran
Pink Floyd
Robbie WIlliams
Tom Jones
Lionel Richie
Roxy Music
Foo Fighters
Bon Jovi
Bryan Adams
Bruce Springsteen
Dio Trilogy (Ronnie James Dio)
UFO
I started playing bass after being influenced by seeing Peter Gabriel in 1983, with Tony Levin on the bass. I have always been attracted to the lower frequencies, and have a strong sense of rhythm. With several friends who played drums, the bass was the ideal instrument to accompany them, and laid the foundation for a long-standing love affair with the instrument in it’s various guises.
I have focused on being a fully rounded bass player, able to cover almost any style, and am self-taught in my quest to find my own style of playing. Throughout my career, I have mainly focused on function band work, and also tribute bands/artists, but have also been an active member of numerous original band projects. I am an in demand dep player, often called in at short notice to work with anything from Hard Rock bands to Jazz gigs, and various cover bands to Big Band Jazz, as well as being able to perform in various ‘pit’ bands for shows around the Midlands. Gigs with numerous bands have seen me play all over the UK, as well as many visits to several European countries.
Alongside my playing career, I have earned an enviable reputation as one of the best Bass tutors in the midlands, teaching at School, College and University level, as well as being a previous examiner for Rockschool, the leading exam board for Rock and Pop around the world.
My favourite long standing musical artists are Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush, so it was inevitable that I should find myself in the position of Musical Director and Bass player for the highly acclaimed Kate Bush tribute band ‘Them Heavy People’. “There are so many great bass lines on Kate’s tracks, performed by a variety of players, and I try to recreate them as accurately as possible. This means using a variety of basses, as there are a good selection of fretless bass parts in her songs, as well as upright bass and regular fretted bass”.
My instruments of choice with Them Heavy People are 5 string fretted and fretless Wals, along with NS Design Electric Upright bass.
For other projects, I also uses a Musicman Stingray and Fender Jazz and Precision basses.