Mary Sturt

It would have been my Mother's birthday today. She died in 2006. It saddens me but I'm not crippled by her loss - it was her time to go - but I don't think I've yet got used to not having a parent to talk to …. or to try to impress! 

Bill Nelson - Legends DVD

The Bill Nelson Legends gig comes out on DVD this week …. for which I was very happy to play bass. 

Bill has been an inspiration to me for many years …. when I was 18 and in my first band we played the Be Bop Deluxe classic Sister Seagull. ….. and 'Sound on Sound' by Bill Nelson's Red Noise was a turning point for me. I moved away from listening to the prog epics of the time and got on to the 'new wave'. For some reason I lost track of Bill's output for many years after that … I moved from the North East to London in search of fortune and fame - and so had a lot to deal with! But his name appeared out of the fog now and again - always doing interesting things - including 'Gone to Earth' with David Sylvian and art installations and film/theatre productions. 

When I finally got to play with him at his Nelsonica convention I found it hard to believe …… and I still find it amazing how many similarities there are in our approaches to music - it's like that chemical attraction in a relationship - where you can't really explain what it is - it just feels right  …… well it's the same with music and musicians - there is, at least for me (!) a real feeling of 'belonging'. 

So … the DVD is out - I haven't seen it but Bill's fans are praising it on the forum at http://www.billnelson.com/. It's the first DVD I've been on - so I'm pretty chuffed!

It looks like we will be doing some live work later in the year ...... and a full band tour in Spring 2012 ... it just gets better and better!

Blog No.1

This site will play host to an occasional outpouring of thoughts, memories and current events. I'm not sure if I'm doing it for my benefit or for a wider audience - maybe that will become clear as it progresses.
Let's see what happens ...........