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Although I've passed the age of 50,
I certainly don't consider myself to be over the hill... I only ever got half way up it!
Music has been my motivation for about four decades now; I live, breathe, eat & sleep it. Hardly surprising, then, that I have worked in various capacities in the music business (either part- or full-time) for around 35 years.
Primarily involved in record retailing for nearly 30 years (and CDs count as records – the word is short for 'recordings' and those are what CDs contain too!), I have also played & recorded (in groups & solo), produced (for local bands & musicians), written about (for Sounds, Kings Of Oblivion, Penetration, Liquorice, Hot Wacks, Metro News, etc), compiled & annotated (for EMI's reissues department), managed (local bands again) and otherwise dabbled in all music-related aspects in the past.
My preference has always been for the studio rather than the 'live' environment, whether as an active participant or passive consumer, so I very rarely attend gigs (I'll enjoy the DVD in surround-sound, thanks, in the comfort of my own home, half way up the aforementioned hill here in the countryside!).
Nowadays, aside from selling and listening to music, I have a Recorded Music Consultancy so I can continue to write, compile & broadcast on a freelance basis. CLAIMS TO FAME
Sang backing vocals on “We Are Normal”, the flipside of the 1978 single “Things Go Wrong” by the Reducers, which was valued in the 2006 edition of Record Collector's Rare Record Price Guide at £50.
Compiled and/or provided sleevenotes for LPs & CDs by the Pretty Things, Hawkwind, Edgar Broughton Band, the Harvest label, etc.
Guested on radio shows, presenting features on collectable artists, unusual recordings, etc.
Played a part in elevating the early 80s tape-swapping scene to the retail sector as half of Trick Switch, appearing in Rough Trade's Top Ten chart in Sounds (or was it NME?) and having a track broadcast by Mark Radcliffe on Manchester's Piccadilly Radio (with Melody Maker picking us out as the most interesting of the bands he played). See below left and my photos section for more on this subject.
What seems to impress people the most, however, is that I studied the Russian language at school, gaining an 'O'level qualification - but that was a LONG time ago!
TRICK SWITCH
Trick Switch released three cassette albums and counted Nikki Sudden (from Swell Maps) amongst our fans. “Where's The Raft?” was variously described as “Enoesque soft-focus electronics” (Melody Maker), “A nice assortment of noises, mostly indescribable, with titles like 'Benedict Arnold's Nightmare' & 'A Vow Of Celibacy'. The effect is soothing: satisfying as background music but just as interesting when you listen to it upfront” (NME) and my favourite, from a local newspaper: “The album sounds a bit like Tangerine Dream music and one or two tracks sound like the music on a Space Invader machine, but others are really classy”!
Second album “An Exchange Of Clients” remains my personal highlight, described by another local newspaper reviewer thus: “Trick Switch's creations lack musical substance of any kind. The sounds are obviously intended
to be light & ethereal and succeed, but the word 'empty' springs to one's mind, meaning that the duo need to put in the odd musical phrase or two to liven things up. As ambience it's very effective and evokes a feeling of wide open space that makes it very suitable for dreaming. More music is needed and less thought”. Sorry, sunshine, but that description told me we hit exactly what we were aiming for (all that worries me is that it would now probably be categorised as 'New Age' – think more along the lines of “Seeing It As You Really Are” from Hawkwind's debut album or the trippier sections of Gong's side-long contribution to the Glastonbury Fayre triple LP).
By the time of our third release, the double-length “T.S.T.S.”, the cracks had appeared and that set can be regarded as our “White Album” or “Ummagumma”. The first half consisted of three extended (and largely unsuccessful) pieces. The remaining pair of quarters showcased our diversifying interests, featuring my musical partner's new (mainstream) band, Street Gypsy (including a 'live' track), followed by my own mixture of straight songs (mostly covers) & studio experimentation. That was 1983 and the end of Trick Switch.
Two years later, Street Gypsy had split and my former collaborator had a new group in need of a name and a manager. The other members loved the name so I was asked two questions: could they use it (they did, modifying it slightly to Trickswitch) and would I manage them (which I did, for a while).
In time that group also splintered, but I notice there is a London band using the name TrickSwitch nowadays. As far as I know they are unconnected to either of the 80s incarnations and good luck to them – it IS a great name! PERSONAL BELIEFS
For those who may be interested in my beliefs (if you're not, skip this bit, it's no skin off my appendage), I don't subscribe to any organised religion, but probably the nearest appropriate category for me would be Pagan/Spiritualist. My grandfather was a (genuine) gifted medium and my father studied astrology.
Actually I figure all religious beliefs stem from the same root, but have been misinterpreted or deliberately moulded by individuals throughout the ages. I'm no Star Wars buff, but "May the Force be with you" is pretty much the perfect expression to encapsulate the true nature of things to my mind.
I tend to keep my views on this sort of subject to myself as they are personal and I have neither desire nor compulsion to force them onto others. I only mention this aspect of my life here in case anyone out there finds it a reason to become one of my 'friends' on this site.
Cranks and airy-fairy New Agers need not apply, however. I don't go in for tacky trimmings like 'dreamcatchers' (I do have a few pentagrams or pentacles and other items discreetly and strategically placed around the house, but these are used for protection or force focus/amplification, depending on the circumstances).
Similarly I do not indulge in 'dressing the part' (my only concession being a pentagram ring, which my colleagues no doubt assume to be a fashion accessory in line with some of my musical tastes) or elaborate rituals (just keep it simple and get on with it!). And I have no respect for hierarchies. We're each on our own journey and should not be looking to others for The Truth. A little guidance, perhaps, but anyone who comes over as if they know it all obviously doesn't. As with all things, the more one learns, the more one realises there is to be learned.
When it comes to spelling out what happens when you die - only believe what you find out for yourself. And you won't find out the truth about that until you die. And don't be in a rush to get to that point, because you are here for more than just to find out what happens when you get there. At least, that's MY opinion. None of it is FACT... well, it might be, but I can't prove any of it.
As for that idiot who offered a million quid to anyone who could prove SCIENTIFICALLY the existence of The Other Side - that's like trying to measure electricity in gallons. Or litres, if you want to go metric (which I don't – see my blog about the cosmological significance of imperial measurements of distance to find out why!). Expecting another dimension (or however you choose to describe that plane of existence) to comply with Earth sciences just shows how blinkered he is.
There now, that wasn't too heavy at all, was it? Of course this doesn't even scratch the surface of the tip of the iceberg, but then I don't allow my beliefs to show in my public persona – like I said, they're a personal matter – so this is all you're getting here.
Go find your own truth.
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