I grew up in a musical family. My mother was both a talented dancer and pianist who chose the piano when that decision had to be made. Although my father claimed no musical prowess his tatses in music showed a maturity of appreciation and he had played the violin as a young person. They both encourage me, my brother and sister to learn to play. I learned violin and viola, but always yearned for the electric guitar.

That was the 'fault' of my Aunt who had bought me the Beatles 'A Hard day's Night' album as a Christmas present in 1962. It contained 'this sound' that captivated my young ears. At the age of 12 or 13 I realised 'this sound' was made by a thing called an electric guitar and I had to have one. It took me a long time to save but by the age of 15 I had an entry level guitar - and in those days entry level was pretty horrid. But it was enough to get me started and the next year, as I started sixth form I started up my first group along with Peter Ball (drums), Roger Hall (keyboards) and Richard Barker (bass). We debuted with Nutrocker by B Bumble and the Stingers, July Morning by Uriah Heep and Born to be Wild by Steppenwolf and generally made quite a noise.

By the latter part of the 70s I joined Stranger, a band which was altogether a more polished and serious bunch of musicians, indeed top class musicians: Nigel Sattin (Bass), Gavin Simonsebn (Guitar) and Chris Downton (Drums). Based in Blackpool, we rehearsed at the Halfway House Industrial Estate and played songs by Free, Deep Purple, Humble Pie and Led Zeppelin. Chris left to be replaced by Ricky Hyde and the band replaced most of its cover numbers with self-penned songs. You will find recordings of some of these on this site under the name Down At Heel which the band adopted during its most successful phase.

It was with Down at Heel that I was to get my first taste of recording. We used the services of Smile Studios in Manchester, a day paid for by Nigel Sattin, and which produced four songs which showed just what this band were capable of. It really had the potential to break into the professional circuit and was offered a contract with a new EMI sub label with Martin Birch pomised as producer. That was no mean feat but by then the band had split due to personality clashes.

Over the next year I began writing songs in earnest - somehting I'd not relly done until now. These I recorded by bouncing back and forth between two cassette tape machines. It was primitive but I began to learn the basics of sound production and to experiment with overdubs.

As the 1980s dawned I moved to Johannesburg which was to be a real revelation to me as a musician. Following the encouragement of the owner of a local music shop, Neil Fox, I applied to join a band called Shax. Of all the bands I saw in South Africa and there were many really good international standard bands around, the one that impressed me the most was Shax. I got the job and found myself involved with a group of top rate gigging musicians: John Paul De Stefani (Guitar), Gerald Priestly (Vocasl), Colin Carvahlo (Bass) and Anthony Ive (Drums).

Shax were contracted to EMI South Africa and we rehearsed at their studios in Commissioner Street, having brief chart success with the single 'Saturday Evening'. We played three month residencies around Johannesburg , as well as playing festivals which ranged in size up to and including a football stadium. It was here that I really learned my trade and paid my dues as a musician. What a shame the band never made it to the USA or the UK as they would certainly have enjoyed great success in the 1980s big guitar sound era.

Back in the UK in about 1989 I met with AJ, a diminutive songwriter who had a lot of Paul Simon about him. He would come and play me songs on an acoustic guitar which I would then arrange into full band arrangements. These were recorded on a Tascam eight-track cassette tape machine complete with mixer and effects sends. As the tapes found their way around the London music scene, one recording company wanted to know which studio we'd recorded the demos at because they were so good! Their words not mine but a great encouragement. Things started really rolling for us and the interest in the duo went from strength to strength - until everyone started talking contracts and money. At this stage we bowed out. If they wanted the music and us they would have to pay for it!

At the same time I became a Christian. This has proved to be a real surprise for me as I've never played so much music live in all my life as for the church and Christian events. My recording and PA gear came in useful for field recordings of talks and music, I started playing bass seriously, took up the violin again and generally had a wonderful time. Music-making is at the heart of any Christian community along with preaching - even when its rock music!

So that's what I do. Write, record, sing, play! And all because music is a gift of God that needs to be used. It's to his glory and in his honour that the music on this site is made available to everyone to download as they want - without cost. But as you listen, think of the creator of the musical scale and raise a toast to him.

Nick