About Me
Ex-art student of Gt. Yarmouth Art College, Hull Regional College of Art & Newcastle University, during the 1970's.Pursued a 'musical direction' whilst at Hull, with the help of AMM drummer Eddie Prevost (improvisation) - a jazz/improv group, MEANS TO AN END is formed - & fellow student Eric Goulden (performance, spontaniety, song structures, making mistakes sound good, looking the part & putting on a good show). Form RUBY & THE TAKEAWAYS (with Eric, guitar & vocals, Arthur Smee, drums & vocals, & myself on electric piano & vocals).............Back in Gt. Yarmouth. Local band PARISHEIGHTS - best described as rock/punk/pop, visually we were a strange mix of styles (see photos), & musically, even stranger - but good & tight & entertaining to watch.....what more could anyone want? This is when I started writing my own numbers, all performed by the band. We had a Summer residency in a seafront pub, & one memorable night people were dancing on the pool table by the 2nd set. Brilliant! I think that was 'the moment' when I wanted to head down the slippery slope to a musical career.
Next stop............London: Move into a North London house, with a guitarist living in the basement (is'nt there always?). Form PENGUIN FURY (with Mick Bradley, guitar, Charlie Sinclair - ex-Kilburn & The High Roads, on bass & Bruno Perusa, drums). I write a lot of stuff, & also add vocals. Recordings, demos, videos, lots of gigs & no fame & fortune, so I move on. Solo recordings, collaborations & gigs. Still no luck. Next up is DEAR JOHN (Mick, guitar, Gitika, vocals & a 'rhythm section from the East End'). Recording, gigs, T-shirts, videos, photo shoots, no luck. A brief spell with THE WORRY DOLLS (one gig), & trying to survive in a cramped, rented flat, made me think there was more to life than living in London, so I moved northwards to..................Hull: I join HULL MAN (Dave Whatt, guitar, Ruth Davies, bass, Patrick, vocals, oh, & various drum tapes). Then, THE ORDINAIRES (Arthur Smee, drums, Andy Lee, guitar, Ruth, bass, Judy Scott, vocals - replaced later by Drew Venemore), & next up came BRAZIL (Garry Pullen, vocals, Andy, guitar, Ruth, bass & David 'Spud' Murphy, drums - later replaced by Dave Burnby). Lastly, there was FRANK (Gary Stout, vocals, Rupert Creed, guitar, Ruth, bass & Dave on drums). All the above bands have involved a lot of gigging & recording - & great fun (no real pressure!).
I now do quite a bit of solo recording - experimental, as well as jazzy/electro stuff, & take part in Art-based webcasts & events. I gig occaisonally with WRECKLESS ERIC, & also more recently with AMY RIGBY. I thoroughly recommend Eric's album 'Bungalow Hi' ( & that's not just because I'm on it).
Very recently, I've formed a duo/collaboration with former BRAZIL vocalist, Garry Pullen. He's singing, & playing electric ukelele, & I'm playing keyboards & gadgets, with the odd bit of singing thrown in for good measure. We aim to cover everything from Elvis to Alex Harvey (& beyond) in our own unique way. At first called ACHTUNG SCHWEINHUND, we've now changed the name to BIG SPIDER BECK..............so watch out!
