ELLIS DEE: After Reign parted ways, myself and the guitarist went on to form a grunge outfit which at the time we thought was like the next Nirvana.......... but in actual fact we were just rubbish!
DEADLINE: Oh ye of rock faith, all hail to the majestic sounds of 80's rock (during the 90's!!) This was to be my first "proper" originals working band. To sum up what we did: All that was missing was the spandex! Think harmony riffing guitars, high pitched vocals and rock steady drumming........ and you've got The Darkness: we were just way ahead of our time! One newspaper article even reported that we had recently come home from a tour of Holland, Belgium and Germany............. clearly we weren't the only band called Deadline!
BLEED THE FREAK: As the name would suggest this was little jazz band put together to play for old people's days out and kids parties. OK, you got me, I lied, it was energetic yet thoughtful, hard hitting yet subtle, aggressive yet loving, are you even reading this? If you are then may I mention that the band included none other than the legendary Trace of Bass. Can you guess which instrument he played?
SUGARMAN (formerly GLOW): Named after a track by Rodriguez, strangely enough entitled "Sugarman." It was a great mix: 2 Welsh blokes, 2 South Africans and a Geordie. We created an interesting blend of acoustic and electric guitars, mixed with the Genius of Geordieness on bass and some strong harmonies to back up the soopoib vocals. I was always told that my drumming was average at best which I took as a compliment; there was a lot of love in this band! I'd also like to make mention here of our original bassist: A man with no surname, just simply christened "Fuffkin." Evil scientist by day, evil bassist by night...... and an all round good egg.
PLEASURE GENE: The Mighty Mighty. Needing no introduction this was a band that truly captured the imagination. It was always a challenge to create drum parts befitting of such emotive songs. Fronted by the incredibly talented Sarah-Jane Garside (pictured), this band created a soft but gritty sound heavily driven by such creative bass lines, whilst allowing the vocals to truly engage an audience not only melodically but lyrically aswell. This band's disbandment has been a true injustice to the word of music.
THE TOXIC TWINS: The UK's number 1 (and perhaps only!) tribute to Aerosmith. An amazing learning experience which allowed me the opportunity to play European gigs in Holland and Belgium as well as the length and breadth of the UK. However, I can no longer listen to my favourite band of all time without getting palpitations.......... but I must confess, we rocked!!
DARREN MERCER and the Dead Letter Band: A brief encounter with an amazing singer-songwriter from
A-TEASE: As our posters say, for the definitive sound of the 80's! Enter the dawn of the
MAGIC DOG: This was for me so far the most fun I could imagine having with two sticks! A very high energy mix of rock and roll, blues, dirt, filth, swing and some more rock. This was music that just made you feel good all the time. You may have just been eaten by a gigantic marmot who devoured every last bit of you barring one toe, but that one toe would still be tapping if a passer by happened to be carrying a stereo which was playing a magic dog tune. Slightly over the top? I don't think so.
ALED CLIFFORD: Guitarist, vocalist, lyricist, harmonica-ist. Always looking to create the perfect gritty sound that befits the music he writes, he's a true innovator blending old school blues influences with his own unique style. Now one half of Henry's Funeral Shoe, Aled and his brother Brennig are getting to the places they deserve to be. Al, you're a legend, keep on keepin' on butty and Don't Lose The Rhythm!
THE BEN LEE TYLER BAND (Now The Stone Saloon): Apart from the fact that all the other band members are ridiculously talented at a sickeningly young age, I enjoyed every minute of it! It was a pleasure to share a stage with these guys. This rock outfit blended a very powerful vocal and guitar combination between Ben and Mike backed up by a solid and well thought out rhythm section from Tom and, ahem, Myself!! On a personal note I couldn't have asked for better mates off stage too....... If success could have been measured on our laughter then we probably would have been famous in several medium sized towns and sold somewhere in the region of tens of albums!! We could often be found playing over up down by 'ere on a regular basis.
THE HILL VALLEY HUSTLERS: A collection of some of the finest musicians I’ve ever worked with, creating a truly authentic sound with a tip of the cap to yesteryear’s disco, funk and soul classics. It was also another opportunity to play in band with my wonderful wife on lead vox..... bonus! Unfortunately it all fell apart before it really had chance to flourish: I think the root cause stemmed from the jealousy of my oversized afro wig. This was my first opportunity to play with a percussionist which was a dream come true for me, and not just any percussionist......... legendary percussionist Lester Osborne. The man has more bells and whistles than you could shake a stick at......... plus he actually has the stick to shake at them.