At the age of 15 I took up
the acoustic guitar and alongside my interests in natural history this has become my other
main passion in life. I play a whole range of different types of music, ranging from folk
to medieval with the occasional blues and classical piece finding its way in there.
For many years, I played in a 3-piece group called Manticore
which toured folk clubs around the North-West and more recently I fulfilled a long-term
ambition by recording a range of instrumental pieces on a CD called ‘The
Sun Returns’ which was released in 2000.
I was joined on the album by a couple of musicians who can only be
described as multi-talented. I had been well aware of John Neilson’s talents both as
a musician and arranger from our pervious collaboration with Manticore. His input of
accordion, piano and whistle into several of the tracks on this CD illustrates his
enormous ability. Equally, the end result was further enhanced by the skills of another
fine musician I had long admired - Drew Hurley on flute, fiddle and bodhran.
The end result was a somewhat eclectic mix of traditional tunes, hymns,
classical pieces and some original compositions, many of the tracks have being used by the
wonderful photographer Ben
Osborne in his AV shows
Life in the
Freezer and Common
Source.
These have been enjoyed by audiences all over the UK.
So, if I'm not bird watching, the chances are that you'll find me trying
to work out the next new piece on the guitar.
Which is probably more relaxing for me than anyone listening in.