Ashley was a football player, I played rugby. Ashley broke his leg and I didn’t, but the result was that Ashley had an insurance pay out that meant we could upgrade from his moms bon tempi organ to a proper cool looking Roland SH101 synthesiser that you could strap on and play  like a guitar, just like on top of the pops…so we got our first news paper appearance…ASHLEYS LUCKY BREAK and we were off…

Actually I`ve jumped ahead a little as I`ve not explained the third person in the pic, TIM MORRIS, lets go back to the summer of 1983, where we had dismantled all the furniture in my bedroom to make way for keyboards, guitars, amps, microphones, stands , a mixing desk, a tape recorder and…

three chaps , me Ash and not Tim but Mark Allwood , who we drafted in as sound engineer and mixer…we played everything live Ash and I , so we needed someone to press record…

8 tracks were recorded and we called this first collection of songs , “the bedroom session “, luckily when we actually said that title out loud we realised its other connotations , so quickly renamed our first album ” FOOTSTEPS” , after a particularly good track on the album.

As you`ve probably gathered , we called ourselves FIRST LIGHT , but we found another band had the name already so after briefly  becoming DARK LIGHT we settled into DARK EDGE.. we took our 8 track cassette and recruited two amazing guitarists TIM MORRIS and PAUL “SOGGY” COTTON.

Our sound went from synth pop,( think Scary monster period Bowie meets Depeche mode) to a more guitar heavy sound ( think U2/ BIG COUNTRY  meets ULTRAVOX ) complete with live drummer ( always better than a dead one…) MARK LEE, we rehearsed like crazy and wrote a fresh batch of songs that we later released as the rather snappily titled “THE PERSISTANCE OF MEMORY E.P…( It`s now an expanded 11 track full album rather than the original 6 tracks…available from the shop soon ) before that release tho , Soggy and Mark left and we went down to the classic 3 piece line up

Our latest project is to re record all the EDGE albums…why ? well many reasons. when we originally recorded these albums cd`s hadn`t even been invented , so all our releases were on cassette…after 30 plus years , you get audio drop out, warping…one live tape from Germany sounds like Mickey Mouse rocking out , so we have to release listenable music.

Secondly songs are about performance and capturing something special which includes the atmosphere of the room, the hiss of the mixing desk, the amps you use and a whole host of little things that can`t really be re created, so we felt we wouldn`t. that left us with this body of songs that we were re recording from scratch.

Which leads into the third reason… When I wrote the lyrics , I was in a different space , I`m not the same person and while most of the songs could be sung today , some lyrics were too naive or just embarrassing , so I re wrote them. Same with the music. What was ground breaking in the 80`s, suddenly sounded unfinished. We made a creative decision to keep the initial spark of creativity and whatever we could from the original songs but to let them grow as we as people had.

The result has been magical. Some songs haven`t changed at all , but others have matured into almost completely different songs. The important thing for us is that they now work and we can listen to them. New music, new melodies, new lyrics , we hope you enjoy the new old EDGE  albums.

The first album to get the re write treatment is “footsteps”, the original album that started it all off, but it`s had a name change. We`re releasing it under the DARK EDGE banner and calling it the original name ” FIRST LIGHT “. It seemed apt for the first chapter .

**

Just for the record , when we were exploring the idea of being a full band we rehearsed with a few local musicians but never actually gigged . one brief member was ALLEN “ART” TYLER.

We met on a crafts trainee scheme doing art and discovered a shared a love of early punk music and art.

(Rich with ginger spikey hair )

The punk ethos of anyone could write music and be in a band was an early influence on me. anything is possible was my motto. Andy Bishop played bass for a while , but neither he nor Art wanted to commit and left before things really started to get going.

Back to the main story…Rich, Ash and Tim, wrote like mad , what followed was that  in our excitement we`d jam music together all night until they worked as songs and it resulted in two albums that in reality should be seen as one entity .

 We wanted to share our creation with the world , but the Midlands would do for now , so we gigged like crazy.

We started small and the first ever gig was at Pelsall scout hut. I know , it sounds exotic and impressive doesn`t it. we even recorded the gig and released it much later as “LIVE AT THE HUT “, we thought it sounded more mysterious than it`s full title

The line up was drums and backing synth on c90 cassette, Tim on guitar or bass ( he was amazing on both ), Ash on lead keyboards and backing vocals and me on vocals and occasional two note guitar…yes at this early point I couldn`t play a chord , so I picked out notes here and there. I`m amazed at our cheek and confidence as we even played a live jam , made up on the spot and it wasn`t half bad and will be released in a new recorded form on one of the expanded edition albums.

Pics of first ever gig:

Musically Tim was bringing a beautiful intricate and rockier sound to the band , reminiscent of a mix of the Police/Thin Lizzy and U2. Lyrically all my songs revolve around two main themes, even to this present day…

Love ( either though relationships  or the welfare of the planet ) or my spirituality. I`ve always been aware of a more mystical side of life , seeing strange things from childhood. Ghosts, angels and past life memories were everyday occurrences for me , so they naturally pepper all the songs. I`ve always tried to write from experience so the songs had a depth of real feeling to them. Ash brought that keen sense of pop with his keyboard programming brilliance.

Our 2nd gig at Palfrey Community Centre –where we were told off for playing Duran Durans` “girls on film”, as it was still in the charts…how very dare we..”

 

It would be a little later that through musical frustration of not being able to communicate accurately the music I was hearing in my head that I took up acoustic guitar and bass. My father taught me my first three chords . He was a natural musician , having that gift of being able to pick up any instrument and get a decent tune out of it. He played guitar, piano,clarinet and a mean blues harp. Over the years we played together a lot and he`s even featured playing harmonica on my “BURNING NEED” album, the track “I AM NOT ALONE “. A great man and I dearly miss him

I include this “shot” of dad to explain my madness may have been unavoidable …

As I mentioned earlier, one of our purer motives for forming a band was to get girls, so we reasoned the quickest way to achieve this was to play girls schools. we really were ahead of our time. there were two local ones Queen Marys` and Blue Coat, so we booked gigs there and lo and behold we had an instant large following.

This made us very unpopular with the rest of the local bands who felt we were just a teeny bop band. Strange really , as when I listen back to our songs , we really quite rocky.

What really upset them is that we`d attract a couple of hundred fans to each gig , while they were drawing around seven…was there a hint of smugness there ?

We weren`t daft and started to sell merchandise, photo packs and the almost legendary DARK EDGE BADGES. My uncle phoned my mom one day and enquired the name of my band, Dark Edge my mother replied “I thought so , I`ve just got off a bus and all the school girls are wearing Dark Edge badges “

We were also interviewed for lots of local fanzines , a large one at the time was Ligotage and they filled about 3/4 of the issue with us. others were less favourable, one Punk Tranny gave a very damning live review and placed us as 2nd in the top 10 worst bands of Walsall…it was hilarious, we loved it and when I find my copy , I`ll print the actual review as it`s comedy gold.

As our reputation grew, so did the numbers attending and after one such gig , we were approached by a young chap who said ” great gig , love the songs, but you need a live drummer…I`m a drummer “

and so the Edge trio , became four with IAIN SQUIRE joining. we carried on the idea of playing schools as they were perfect venues with plenty of room and good stages. We released a couple more live cassettes to keep interest going while we wrote the next album…

Well we would have if we hadn`t been spotted by local playwright Mark Oakley who asked us to write music and songs for his play LOOKING FOR THE KEY.

We agreed and not only wrote the album but at his request performed the songs each night in between scenes.

Our large fan base was very appealing to venues and secured us a Friday night residency at local hot music joint , the Three Crowns , ( thanks Jim ).

It was here that we were approached by a young German lady , Petra who loved our sound and said “you must come over to Germany , they will love you there” she foolishly gave us her address…more on that later, the seeds had been sewn.

Out and about we spotted a gig in Walsall by a band called CROOKED HOUNDS , the poster proclaimed , back from Germany….hmmm a coincidence , me thinks not. we went to the gig and asked loads of questions about their German experience. “just do it guys “was their singers advice , but we could see by his expression he never thought we`d actually go.

As Germany began to look like a reality , Iain our exceptional drummer began to get cold feet…I did advise thick woollen camping socks but he was having none of it  and unfortunately he left.

We needed a new drummer and quick. as luck would have it Ashley’s younger brother Joddy had just purchased the latest very trendy hexagonal electronic  Simmons drum kit. what he lacked in experience , he made up for enthusiasm and we devised a sound plot, whereby we would link the programmed drums in until he was up to speed and could take over.

This did lead to the very embarrassing but funny exchange , where during a sound check at a very large venue , his brother called out ” come out front down here and listen to the drums “

We decided to get a few gigs under our belt with Joddy , before we went and we even dabbled with backing singers, tho they only lasted for a handful of gigs as we couldn`t take them with us

We also splashed out on a beat up once white transit van and recruited a sound engineer/ mixer to operate the sound on our fancy new mixing desk and P.A purchased on the knock from local music shop T.R.MUSIC ( thanks Borgy ) after all we had to do the German tour in something.

Our sound man was a very sound man by the name of Martin “bomber” Bynorth, so called as he would dive bomb in on any conversation and try and steal the girl away..

While we readying to leave we chanced upon a tape that we`d forgotten about in the hectic days and later released it as “dancing on the edge”.

It was a great album and showed a funkier side of the band , two of the songs became live favourites ” stay close ” and ” save me “

A farewell gig at the three crowns was played and we were off to Germany….

We left on the ferry and landed in the Hook of Holland and drove across the border into Germany, kipping in the van overnight. It was here I learned the invaluable skill of being able to sleep anywhere, anytime.

Now we were young , naïve and possessed of quirky English senses of humour. We thought it would be hilarious just to turn up , unannounced on the door of the unsuspecting Petra and with our best Liverpudlian accents exclaim “SURPRISE, SURPRISE ” “remember us and your kind invite ? “

Before I continue with this story , I`d just like to explain that for some ears the Midland and Liverpudlian accents sound the same ??? we had many promoters in Germany claim “AUS LIVERPOOL…DARK EDGE” , on their posters..

Anyway , back to the mortified face of Petra who opened her door to find five big blokes on her doorstep.

True to her word and a shining example of all the hospitality we received in Germany , we were welcomed with open arms.

Very soon we outstayed our welcome with Petra , who hastily moved in with her boyfriend ( he has us to thank for the speedy progress of that relationship ) and we were homeless…we secured a gig at a local bar in Hamburg , where the manager Franz gave us a great gig , lots of money and beer and we met a couple of girls who volunteered to put us up in their flats. so we were living in Hamburg.

Under the guidance of these two girls , Beata and  Sabina ( and good friends Ronnie, Ingy ) they found the office of Horst Fashcer, who managed the Star Club , when the Beatles played there. this had afforded him some notoriety as a music promoter   and once we`d convinced him to take us on his books…the conversation went-

“I like your tape boys, the music is good , you look good but I have no room for any more bands.. sorry “

“horst , if we don`t play , we don`t eat “

” any way , I already have an English band “

“who ???”

” the crooked hounds “

” the crooked…we know them… please Horst , we need to eat “

“ok , I`ll give you one try out gig, if you`re any good….”

and so we became one of his bands and our gigs jumped from a couple of hundred back home in sunny Walsall to 9  to 13 thousand playing open air concerts in Frankfurt Stadt Park.

It was here the live album “Communication was recorded.

The trial gig we did for Horst was very eventful , it was a wild night and is worthy of a small paperback novel itself but the key moment for us was when local studio owner PETE HARDER, liked our sound and invited us to his studio, the rather brilliantly named “try harder” studio.

MISSED OPPORTUNITY.

We played all our material down on a now lost demo tape, which Pete took round the record companies…apparently they had a similar conversation to our first with Horst , ” they liked the sound of the band, they liked the look of the band BUT  no singles…”

We were a little deflated, but I do have a sure fire hit I`ve written , but no band to front it.. he handed us the song and said ,” learn it , make it yours and we`ll have a hit”

Had I mentioned earlier that we were young ? , well we were and full of ego. we didn`t like his song , it was too Euro poppy…our egos couldn`t handle the fact we hadn`t got a single yet, so we took his very catchy, sure fire euro hit and we turned it into a very un-sellable , unregnisable version of his baby.

He was furious and rightly so , “what have you done to my song ???”

( I think the correct answer would be, wrecked it )

“get out of my studio “

and so ended our Euro pop hit career. to this day I can still sing that memorable , catchy euro song. to be fair it wasn`t us and if we`d had success at the early point , I dread to think how we would have handled it, but it was an official missed opportunity.

Horst was a fascinating character and opened many doors for us and blagged many a fine chauffeured meal from venue owners where he quietly explained we were going to be the next big thing . we would then be regaled with fascinating stories about his time with the Beatles, which for a Beatle fan like myself was heaven.

We also had interviews and a track played on RADIO HAMBURG that just happened to be on a weekend of madness, a Friday  night gig, sat morning open air gig outside radio hamburg, radio interview then another gig on the night, all when three mates had come over to see how we were doing…they thought we were pop stars…living the life and to be fair , we were having an amazing time.

After some fantastic gigs and living in Hamburg for a year , our time with Horst and the girls came to an end and we moved to LUNEBORG, which we re named LOONEY BURG, once we moved there. again we were very lucky , whilst playing a beer fest in a courtyard , one Ingrid and her daughter Eiki , took a shine to us and offered her large loft space as the EDGE`S new home.

One night Ingrid called up to us asking if we could pick up her friend from the Police station , who`d been held overnight being

drunk and disorderly…

“yes of course “

It turned out to be local famous English rocker TONY SHERRIDEN, who recorded his hit single “MY BONNIE”, with THE BEATLES , as his backing band.

We spent the night trading songs on acoustic guitar, drinking whisky, talking about James Taylor and the Beatles…

We carried on writing and wrote the next songs that would make up the “STRANGE DREAMS ” ALBUM

After a year and a half away from home , it felt right to come back to England , so we left Germany and headed back.

As soon as we got back Tim and Joddy became electricians again and left the band…we became a duo and wrote and recorded “LIFE WITHOUT RISK “

We played lots of gigs and recruited PAT BINELLI , on lead guitar. we played many gigs at the City Slicker , where the album “LIVE IN THE CITY ” gets its name

Like any relationship can  , being best friends since 1977 , things became a little strained and Rich and Ash went separate ways and the Edge was no more.

I  went down to stay with a mate in Hastings, Pete Fullard, who turned out to be Ashleys cousin ? and began writing songs that would become the “BURNING NEED ” ALBUM.

Pete and I decided to write together, me on guitar and bass and Pete on keyboards and form a new band, KEO . this really wasn`t my idea , but Pete thought it short , sharp , catchy and it was also a beer he`d drank…well ok then.

We demoed 3 tracks, somewhere in London, with Gavin Heatherington adding lead guitar.

Not long after we officially released the cassette album “BURNING NEED” on the BOOTS AND SHADES label

During the recording of the album, the line up varied ( can`t remember the dark haired guitarist who briefly joined..

But the earliest full line up- me and Pete Fullard , ROB FELLOWS and MARTIN SHAW

Not long after STEWART ELMS recorded a blues album in Pete`s studio , which I sang backing vocals on and drew the cover for. an instant magic bond formed.

Work commitments meant the 5 piece keo band soon shrunk to a three piece.

I took up bass and lead vocals, Stewart played guitar and we found a fantastic drummer in the guise of ROGER “EARL” ROBINSON. A new busy era of KEO ensued.

When you`re writing songs , you`re always hoping for special moments that will translate into a great song. One sunny day in the Wild West Midlands, I wrote a song on my bass guitar. It was about how past lives can be the cause of problems in this life. I was quite excited about the quiet power of the song and melody, so I rang up Stewart who lived in Winchester…

“I`ve got a great song, Stew “

“well, I`ve just written a lovely flowing chord progression…”

“when are you coming up? “

… and before I finished the sentence, he was there… well, ok he hadn`t developed the ability to transport himself instantly through time and space, but I thought it sounded good…he actually arrived at the weekend.

I sang and played the song and bass part and he began to play his guitar part…and they fitted. We`d been writing parts of the same song, hundreds of miles apart…and ” LIGHT INSIDE” , was born.

Another special moment came on stage at the Hibernian gig in Birmingham. we played there a few times and tended to play the rockier more uptempo numbers but this night we played an acoustic haunting song called ” MAN OUT OF TIME “.

During the song , the words and melody naturally fall into a North American Indian chant. the actual chant changed slightly every time we played it , but I always felt the presence of an indian standing next to me. I`d catch him from the corner of my eye and just accepted that this song must be tapping into a shared past life memory.

This particular night, the song felt very powerful and after we finished the set, we headed to the bar. Someone from theaudience,, bubbling with enthusiasm was telling us how much he enjoyed the songs;

“but one in particular, man out of time , the Indian one..that was different “

He turned to me and said,

“Was that Indian standing next to you real?  Was he one of the crew? I watched him watching you all through the song, then he vanished? “

“Ah that`s one of my spirit guides”, I said all matter of fact, as if it was normal… (well it is really, but most people don`t realise )…

He went away very impressed and bought a copy of the “ELEMENTS” CD… did I mention it`s available in the shop?

Yes folks, another shameless plug for the music shop page…

Richard Lightman used to play and made his money with pop band M who had a world wide no.1 hit with “POP MUZIK”. He invested the money into his London studio NIGHTSHIFT , so we went down and recorded two tracks , that open the “ODDS AND ENDS” album. this led to the full blown 11 track demo session , that sounded so good to us we released it as the “SHADOWS ” album

We then recorded and released the 6 track “ELEMENTS”

We were also invited to record 6 tracks for the JOHN TAINTON SHOW , so we went down to BBC PEBBLE MILL STUDIOS in Birmingham and recorded in this vast studio that normally housed huge orchestras. one track each night was played on his show. we released this as well, even tho the track listing wasn`t that different to Elements, it was a valuable document and captured different 

versions.

We then returned to Nightshift studios and recorded another 6 tracks , which we combined with the Elements session to make the 13 track full album “AND SHE CRIES”

We made the papers a few times…

We recorded a live album at the ROBIN, JUNCTION1O

After some great gigs , and good support slots , with rockers WOLFSBANE ( bit of a mis match, they were more metal-we were more STRANGLERS at the time) KINGMAKER at the HIBERNIAN, who had about 3 singles that made the charts ( he lent me his bass when I broke a string )and the DAVE GIBBONS band we decided to call it a day.i released ” the odds and ends” album , which features some great tracks not on the other albums and I`ve recently found a Betamax tape with a live gig from the Three Crowns in 1994, which will be available in the shop soon.

Ash had joined KEO on the last few gig adding keyboards to the sound but the writing was on the wall and when KEO ended , THE TRUTH took over.

Back to a duo we recruited Louise to add another vocal flavour, did lots of gigs and recorded the album “BEST OF BOTH WORLDS”

Re formed as THE TRUTH , Ash and I wrote separately and together to bring the next batch of songs into existence. as a songwriter , some songs come instantly and some hang around and grow as they attempt to find their true spirit and sound. Several songs here carried this fate. ALTAR OF MY HEART, morphed from a very lively country pop number here to the more folky version that appeared on SONGS FROM THE SPIRIT.

SMILE, which is featured on some copies was a song I played around with from the KEO days and I could never settle on a version until the forthcoming “SUN KING” album ,which kept the intro guitar chords and verse melody but went in a slightly different direction for the chorus,  tho this version is great. it eventually ends up as the track “STAY”

Another track ended up being re written , keeping only the verse that you find here and growing into the track “LOVE WILL SEE YOU THROUGH”, on the “WAKING DREAM” album

I was moving more towards my acoustic guitar period , so the songs I wrote for this album are the guitar driven tracks , while Ashley brings out my poppier side so our collaborations have that great instant appeal ( hopefully ) tracks like “ARMS OF LOVE , WE ALL NEED, WHEN I SEE YOU , HEART TO HEART “, all carry that great guitar/pop mix.

Louise had a great voice and added some great vocals and a definite eye catching appeal to the band and the few live shows we did went down well. Eventually Louise was offered her own record contract and left us and was replaced by the equally talented Rachel Evans.

This began a long friendship and working relationship with Rachel that lasts to this day. it`s Rachel who sings backing vocals on the “SONGS OF THE SPIRIT  and  ” TO THE SKY ” albums.

We played gigs around the Midlands and even played one gig in Walsall under the name of KIRBY. This was just me saying I loved the comic artist Jack Kirby , but people thought it was a nod to our friends up north.  

Leaning to a cleaner , less cluttered sound I started to write more and more with a singer songwriter style that suited the lyrical content more and allowed me to explore the weird and wonderful side of life , a succession of albums followed , sometimes with a full band , sometimes just a violin, sometimes just guitar.

The first album was originally released under the title DREAMCATCHER , my idea being that this would be an umbrella name that other musicians could come and play under as needed.. about 300 were originally pressed… collector’s items ?

As I was doing lots of evening talks that told of my spiritual experiences with ghosts, Angels and past lives, I`d always play a few acoustic songs and the Dreamcatcher album was redesigned with a new cover ( same songs ) and called ” SONGS OF THE SPIRIT”.

The key song and lead track “SHE DANCED ON THE WATER”, came one sunny morning when I was writing songs and I suddenly felt that I was writing the same song , so I stopped, and looking up to the sky I asked for a little inspiration, within seconds my fingers began picking out a rhythm. I`d never played with a fingerpicking style before, always strumming rhythm. I looked up to the sky again and said,

” well this sounds great , I hope you`ve got another good chord coming ? “..

My fingers slid down the neck , keeping the same shape.

“ooh nice , now what ? “

My fingers changed chord shape and moved down the neck a little.

This continued for the next few minutes as my fingers seemed to develop a new skill and I ended up very quickly with what I feel to be one of my finest songs to flow through me. I know I have coloured this song but I honestly felt it was given to me “from above”.

Lyric wise almost simultaneously a very vivid story played out in my mind’s eye, like watching a film and the lyrics flowed with ease.

Other songs which seemed to capture a timeless feel were “WHO CRIES FOR YOU ” and “RADIATE”, which all have that waltz 3/3 time signature. The rhythm of the waltz locks into the rhythm of the heartbeat and has a very calming almost naturally spiritual effect. This is possibly why Indian music has this spiritual feel that can take you somewhere else.

During a meditation, I was told that music can carry soul keys, that is, a power to unlock spiritual experiences, such as past life memories and hidden information and though I was blissfully unaware of how or why, some of my songs contain them…

I haven`t quite told the whole story here, but hey, what the heck, musicians are supposed to be a little strange ( please note I avoided the word mad and definitely prefer the word eccentric, if it`s being applied to me ). ..here goes… I mentioned earlier that I`ve always experienced strange and wonderful things, like ghost, Angels and past life memories, well I have a Muse, that is an Angel /guide who helps me with inspiration when I`m doing anything creative…she`s very good and if I`m honest deserves at least 50% royalties…luckily Angels aren`t concerned with money…

Anyway, when I perform my acoustic numbers, she often dances around and joins in singing harmonies. now I could quite believe that my creative fertile imagination completely conjured her up, that was until several different people at several different gigs all described seeing this beautiful woman dancing around and joining in the songs. One day I was a guest speaker at a school in Liverpool and at the end of the session I got them all to close their eyes and experience the song as a kind of guided meditation. One girl midway through, opened one eye and looked around and afterwards, she came up to me and said;

” sir ? “( I know this shocked me…I think anybody older than them in a school was classed as a teacher..no one had called me sir before..)

” when you were singing, I heard a woman’s voice join in and I thought it must be miss ” ( there was always the normal class teacher sat at the back when I gave a talk )

” but when I looked, she wasn`t singing…so who was that? “

” ah that was my muse…”

I have found that certain songs do indeed touch people and unlock new experiences for them and I`ve been blessed to have a few come through me.

It took a while to record piecemeal, but eventually a batch of songs backed by a whole band emerged. chock full with live favourites, I still play today.” BETTER MAN TODAY”, “SO FAR AWAY”, “ARTHUR THE ONCE AND FUTURE KING”, “IF ONLY” to name but a few.

“TO THE SKY “, was originally released as “TALKING TREES -TO THE SKY” , with a beautiful fiery sunset sky and silhouetted tree, a picture taken by my cousin Mark. When I found more people were connecting with my name , I re-released it and put the sky picture, which I took somewhere in Alvechurch.

Whilst playing a solo acoustic open air gig in Alvechurch cricket ground, a chap by the name of MICK SHALER , asked if he could play along with his violin…”yes ” I said ” please do “.now when I write on guitar , in my head I hear everything, bass lines, backing vocals and string arrangements. during the gig , I nearly forgot to play as Mr.Shaler started playing the exact string arrangement I heard in my head.

“would you like to come to my home studio in Warwick and record an album? “

” yes please mr.Mickey “

and so in two days we played , recorded and mixed the album ” THROUGH MISTS OF TIME ” the cover of which is a picture I took in the South of France coming down the hill from Rennes le Chateau.

This album was a joy to record , as I just sang and played the songs , usually in just one take and then added backing harmonies and Mick added his improvised violin parts.this way you can capture a spark of magic in the performances…Where it sometimes misses is that I had my own unique way of keeping time, which meant I speeded up and down according to excitement…

Performance wise Mick excelled himself with a haunting plaintive violin part that combined with the reverb, makes it sound like a horn on the opening track “DON`T LET THE HURT”.

” THE BEATLES AND ME”, is another song which was literally a dream I had, where I walked into a studio and the “young” Beatles were there. I began playing them some of their later songs they hadn`t written yet and they loved them. I awoke from the dream in a state of bliss as I love the Beatles work and wrote down the dream while it was fresh in my mind. within minutes the chords and melody flowed and there was the fully formed song.

Note to Beatles fans…I`m not implying in any way that I wrote any of the Beatles classics, it`s just a time travel twister of a  dream …it was just a dream…that I cherish still…

Obviously Mick and I connected through the ” SHE DANCED ON THE WATER ” song , which he loved , so I included it on this album, but the etheric fiddle mix, to differentiate it from the “SONGS OF THE SPIRIT”  album version. it has a different feel and of course, his violin part which takes it to another level.

Mick also joined us on the “ALIVE” ALBUM, which was recorded in Stourbridge at the Bonded Warehouse. a full band backed me who we named at the time Talking Trees

I`d started to hold gigs at this great venue in Stourbridge, called the Bonded Warehouse. they were ticket only and sold really well. with good numbers turning up, I decided to record a live album to capture one of the moments.

The gig started off just solo acoustic guitar, then violin would join in followed by the full band. There were some extended and different versions captured here.

Originally I released this album as a double on pre-order , so there are literally only about 30 copies of that version in existence. I later trimmed it down to a single, losing a lot of the banter inbetween songs and a couple of cover versions , the version available in the shop is the single version, but  don`t worry though , there are some bad jokes remaining in the odd bit of band banter I left in …

This live album is notable for the tracks “LORD OF THE WOODS” and “JOIN THE DANCE “, which are early versions originally intended for an album entitled “SONGS FROM THE WOODS “, but I later changed and expanded the tracks to encompass four powerful new songs based on memories with my late father. these fit perfectly with the theme of the original album as those songs too were based on my experiences in Ross on Wye, with the Keogh clan. The new album is called “DRAGONFLY DAYS ” ( more on this later )

ALIVE is also notable for some great violin work by the late, great Mick Shaler and some very “strawberry fields” keyboard swirls, a Mr. Hill added to enhance the track “THE BEATLES AND ME “…I wish I`d added them to the studio version …

Then I met STU EVANS , owner of 77 records and a great studio. he signed me for a year to his label and we recorded and released “WAKING DREAM”, Which features the very sympathetic and occasional keyboards of DEE.

The cover is a picture of three of my horses that I rescued. I co founded a registered charity , that exists to this day, but after 7 years I no longer help in the day to day running, just support them from afar. they are THE ANIMAL HEALING TRUST  and are a worthy cause , please support them if you can.

” WAKING DREAM”

In my now normal recording fashion , I sat down in the recording booth and sang and played everything, with the view that these were just demo`s to show Stu the songs. we ended up keeping them, for performance sake and just adding backing vocals and occasional keyboards.

There were some lovely moments captured, “ANGEL OF THE STARS “, was a very personal song as I`d called out for help one night when I was feeling emotional over my dad being very ill and the Angel of the Stars spoke to me…

“DISTANCE IS NOTHING”, which talks of the illusion of time and space when you`re thinking and connecting with someone, seems to have touched a lot of people. whether their someone is in this world or the next it has a powerful healing message, that many have picked up on.

Of course, that is the beauty of words, you read into them and get out of them, what you will and what you need.

The whole album was written during a strange phase in my life where life was changing dramatically fast, so much so that now when I look back, it seems like two different lifetimes before the one I`m in now, consequently there are a wide range of themes from relationships ending to questioning the future and my usual mix of Angelic and past life  experiences .

“WOKEN FROM A DREAM”, touches on my search and need for finding a true soul mate and is also notable for being the only song of mine that has a spoken word section…

I`m still a little troubled to this day, that I actually did that, for as an old punk, spoken word bits in songs is akin to the mortal sin of wearing socks with sandals.. but you know, it works in a crazy kinda spoken word way…

As a companion to that album I released a compilation of rare or demo versions of songs through the years. I borrowed my old band name DREAMCATCHER ,

These are deleted now , but for the record I released “TREE OF DREAMS”, which was a compilation of KEO tracks and Mick Shaler released “LORD OF THE WOODS”, a recording of a gig we did in Tamworth , which I consider an official bootleg.

*** lord of woods album pic

“you must meet Thomas”, I was told

“you must meet Richard “, Thomas was told

We`d better meet then. We did and Thomas is a German guy who lived in Ireland had an animal activist radio show WILD TIME , was a shamen and writes and releases lots of albums. I was an Englishman from Irish stock , who lived in Germany, had an internet radio show , the ANGELMAN SHOW , followed  a spiritual path, fiercely supportive of animals, founding a horse charity who writes and releases lots of albums…

Guess what we wrote and recorded three albums together

I have many more albums written, waiting for time to record them, keep an eye out for

DRAGONFLY DAYS,

THE INNOCENCE OF ALBION

SUN KING

NEW LIGHT ON OLD

Ashley was a football player, I played rugby. Ashley broke his leg and I didn’t, but the result was that Ashley had an insurance pay out that meant we could upgrade from his moms bon tempi organ to a proper cool looking Roland SH101 synthesiser that you could strap on and play  like a guitar, just like on top of the pops…so we got our first news paper appearance…ASHLEYS LUCKY BREAK and we were off…

Actually I`ve jumped ahead a little as I`ve not explained the third person in the pic, TIM MORRIS, lets go back to the summer of 1983, where we had dismantled all the furniture in my bedroom to make way for keyboards, guitars, amps, microphones, stands , a mixing desk, a tape recorder and…

three chaps , me Ash and not Tim but Mark Allwood , who we drafted in as sound engineer and mixer…we played everything live Ash and I , so we needed someone to press record…

8 tracks were recorded and we called this first collection of songs , “the bedroom session “, luckily when we actually said that title out loud we realised its other connotations , so quickly renamed our first album ” FOOTSTEPS” , after a particularly good track on the album.

As you`ve probably gathered , we called ourselves FIRST LIGHT , but we found another band had the name already so after briefly  becoming DARK LIGHT we settled into DARK EDGE.. we took our 8 track cassette and recruited two amazing guitarists TIM MORRIS and PAUL “SOGGY” COTTON.

Our sound went from synth pop,( think Scary monster period Bowie meets Depeche mode) to a more guitar heavy sound ( think U2/ BIG COUNTRY  meets ULTRAVOX ) complete with live drummer ( always better than a dead one…) MARK LEE, we rehearsed like crazy and wrote a fresh batch of songs that we later released as the rather snappily titled “THE PERSISTANCE OF MEMORY E.P…( It`s now an expanded 11 track full album rather than the original 6 tracks…available from the shop soon ) before that release tho , Soggy and Mark left and we went down to the classic 3 piece line up

Our latest project is to re record all the EDGE albums…why ? well many reasons. when we originally recorded these albums cd`s hadn`t even been invented , so all our releases were on cassette…after 30 plus years , you get audio drop out, warping…one live tape from Germany sounds like Mickey Mouse rocking out , so we have to release listenable music.

Secondly songs are about performance and capturing something special which includes the atmosphere of the room, the hiss of the mixing desk, the amps you use and a whole host of little things that can`t really be re created, so we felt we wouldn`t. that left us with this body of songs that we were re recording from scratch.

Which leads into the third reason… When I wrote the lyrics , I was in a different space , I`m not the same person and while most of the songs could be sung today , some lyrics were too naive or just embarrassing , so I re wrote them. Same with the music. What was ground breaking in the 80`s, suddenly sounded unfinished. We made a creative decision to keep the initial spark of creativity and whatever we could from the original songs but to let them grow as we as people had.

The result has been magical. Some songs haven`t changed at all , but others have matured into almost completely different songs. The important thing for us is that they now work and we can listen to them. New music, new melodies, new lyrics , we hope you enjoy the new old EDGE  albums.

The first album to get the re write treatment is “footsteps”, the original album that started it all off, but it`s had a name change. We`re releasing it under the DARK EDGE banner and calling it the original name ” FIRST LIGHT “. It seemed apt for the first chapter .

**

Just for the record , when we were exploring the idea of being a full band we rehearsed with a few local musicians but never actually gigged . one brief member was ALLEN “ART” TYLER.

We met on a crafts trainee scheme doing art and discovered a shared a love of early punk music and art.

(Rich with ginger spikey hair )

The punk ethos of anyone could write music and be in a band was an early influence on me. anything is possible was my motto. Andy Bishop played bass for a while , but neither he nor Art wanted to commit and left before things really started to get going.

Back to the main story…Rich, Ash and Tim, wrote like mad , what followed was that  in our excitement we`d jam music together all night until they worked as songs and it resulted in two albums that in reality should be seen as one entity .

We wanted to share our creation with the world , but the Midlands would do for now , so we gigged like crazy.

We started small and the first ever gig was at Pelsall scout hut. I know , it sounds exotic and impressive doesn`t it. we even recorded the gig and released it much later as “LIVE AT THE HUT “, we thought it sounded more mysterious than it`s full title

The line up was drums and backing synth on c90 cassette, Tim on guitar or bass ( he was amazing on both ), Ash on lead keyboards and backing vocals and me on vocals and occasional two note guitar…yes at this early point I couldn`t play a chord , so I picked out notes here and there. I`m amazed at our cheek and confidence as we even played a live jam , made up on the spot and it wasn`t half bad and will be released in a new recorded form on one of the expanded edition albums.

Pics of first ever gig:

Musically Tim was bringing a beautiful intricate and rockier sound to the band , reminiscent of a mix of the Police/Thin Lizzy and U2. Lyrically all my songs revolve around two main themes, even to this present day…

Love ( either though relationships  or the welfare of the planet ) or my spirituality. I`ve always been aware of a more mystical side of life , seeing strange things from childhood. Ghosts, angels and past life memories were everyday occurrences for me , so they naturally pepper all the songs. I`ve always tried to write from experience so the songs had a depth of real feeling to them. Ash brought that keen sense of pop with his keyboard programming brilliance.

Our 2nd gig at Palfrey Community Centre –where we were told off for playing Duran Durans` “girls on film”, as it was still in the charts…how very dare we..”

 

It would be a little later that through musical frustration of not being able to communicate accurately the music I was hearing in my head that I took up acoustic guitar and bass. My father taught me my first three chords . He was a natural musician , having that gift of being able to pick up any instrument and get a decent tune out of it. He played guitar, piano,clarinet and a mean blues harp. Over the years we played together a lot and he`s even featured playing harmonica on my “BURNING NEED” album, the track “I AM NOT ALONE “. A great man and I dearly miss him

I include this “shot” of dad to explain my madness may have been unavoidable …

As I mentioned earlier, one of our purer motives for forming a band was to get girls, so we reasoned the quickest way to achieve this was to play girls schools. we really were ahead of our time. there were two local ones Queen Marys` and Blue Coat, so we booked gigs there and lo and behold we had an instant large following.

This made us very unpopular with the rest of the local bands who felt we were just a teeny bop band. Strange really , as when I listen back to our songs , we really quite rocky.

What really upset them is that we`d attract a couple of hundred fans to each gig , while they were drawing around seven…was there a hint of smugness there ?

We weren`t daft and started to sell merchandise, photo packs and the almost legendary DARK EDGE BADGES. My uncle phoned my mom one day and enquired the name of my band, Dark Edge my mother replied “I thought so , I`ve just got off a bus and all the school girls are wearing Dark Edge badges “

We were also interviewed for lots of local fanzines , a large one at the time was Ligotage and they filled about 3/4 of the issue with us. others were less favourable, one Punk Tranny gave a very damning live review and placed us as 2nd in the top 10 worst bands of Walsall…it was hilarious, we loved it and when I find my copy , I`ll print the actual review as it`s comedy gold.

As our reputation grew, so did the numbers attending and after one such gig , we were approached by a young chap who said ” great gig , love the songs, but you need a live drummer…I`m a drummer “

and so the Edge trio , became four with IAIN SQUIRE joining. we carried on the idea of playing schools as they were perfect venues with plenty of room and good stages. We released a couple more live cassettes to keep interest going while we wrote the next album…

Well we would have if we hadn`t been spotted by local playwright Mark Oakley who asked us to write music and songs for his play LOOKING FOR THE KEY.

We agreed and not only wrote the album but at his request performed the songs each night in between scenes.

Our large fan base was very appealing to venues and secured us a Friday night residency at local hot music joint , the Three Crowns , ( thanks Jim ).

It was here that we were approached by a young German lady , Petra who loved our sound and said “you must come over to Germany , they will love you there” she foolishly gave us her address…more on that later, the seeds had been sewn.

Out and about we spotted a gig in Walsall by a band called CROOKED HOUNDS , the poster proclaimed , back from Germany….hmmm a coincidence , me thinks not. we went to the gig and asked loads of questions about their German experience. “just do it guys “was their singers advice , but we could see by his expression he never thought we`d actually go.

As Germany began to look like a reality , Iain our exceptional drummer began to get cold feet…I did advise thick woollen camping socks but he was having none of it  and unfortunately he left.

We needed a new drummer and quick. as luck would have it Ashley’s younger brother Joddy had just purchased the latest very trendy hexagonal electronic  Simmons drum kit. what he lacked in experience , he made up for enthusiasm and we devised a sound plot, whereby we would link the programmed drums in until he was up to speed and could take over.

This did lead to the very embarrassing but funny exchange , where during a sound check at a very large venue , his brother called out ” come out front down here and listen to the drums “

We decided to get a few gigs under our belt with Joddy , before we went and we even dabbled with backing singers, tho they only lasted for a handful of gigs as we couldn`t take them with us

We also splashed out on a beat up once white transit van and recruited a sound engineer/ mixer to operate the sound on our fancy new mixing desk and P.A purchased on the knock from local music shop T.R.MUSIC ( thanks Borgy ) after all we had to do the German tour in something.

Our sound man was a very sound man by the name of Martin “bomber” Bynorth, so called as he would dive bomb in on any conversation and try and steal the girl away..

While we readying to leave we chanced upon a tape that we`d forgotten about in the hectic days and later released it as “dancing on the edge”.

It was a great album and showed a funkier side of the band , two of the songs became live favourites ” stay close ” and ” save me “

A farewell gig at the three crowns was played and we were off to Germany….

We left on the ferry and landed in the Hook of Holland and drove across the border into Germany, kipping in the van overnight. It was here I learned the invaluable skill of being able to sleep anywhere, anytime.

Now we were young , naïve and possessed of quirky English senses of humour. We thought it would be hilarious just to turn up , unannounced on the door of the unsuspecting Petra and with our best Liverpudlian accents exclaim “SURPRISE, SURPRISE ” “remember us and your kind invite ? “

Before I continue with this story , I`d just like to explain that for some ears the Midland and Liverpudlian accents sound the same ??? we had many promoters in Germany claim “AUS LIVERPOOL…DARK EDGE” , on their posters..

Anyway , back to the mortified face of Petra who opened her door to find five big blokes on her doorstep.

True to her word and a shining example of all the hospitality we received in Germany , we were welcomed with open arms.

Very soon we outstayed our welcome with Petra , who hastily moved in with her boyfriend ( he has us to thank for the speedy progress of that relationship ) and we were homeless…we secured a gig at a local bar in Hamburg , where the manager Franz gave us a great gig , lots of money and beer and we met a couple of girls who volunteered to put us up in their flats. so we were living in Hamburg.

Under the guidance of these two girls , Beata and  Sabina ( and good friends Ronnie, Ingy ) they found the office of Horst Fashcer, who managed the Star Club , when the Beatles played there. this had afforded him some notoriety as a music promoter   and once we`d convinced him to take us on his books…the conversation went-

“I like your tape boys, the music is good , you look good but I have no room for any more bands.. sorry “

“horst , if we don`t play , we don`t eat “

” any way , I already have an English band “

“who ???”

” the crooked hounds “

” the crooked…we know them… please Horst , we need to eat “

“ok , I`ll give you one try out gig, if you`re any good….”

and so we became one of his bands and our gigs jumped from a couple of hundred back home in sunny Walsall to 9  to 13 thousand playing open air concerts in Frankfurt Stadt Park.

It was here the live album “Communication was recorded.

The trial gig we did for Horst was very eventful , it was a wild night and is worthy of a small paperback novel itself but the key moment for us was when local studio owner PETE HARDER, liked our sound and invited us to his studio, the rather brilliantly named “try harder” studio.

MISSED OPPORTUNITY.

We played all our material down on a now lost demo tape, which Pete took round the record companies…apparently they had a similar conversation to our first with Horst , ” they liked the sound of the band, they liked the look of the band BUT  no singles…”

We were a little deflated, but I do have a sure fire hit I`ve written , but no band to front it.. he handed us the song and said ,” learn it , make it yours and we`ll have a hit”

Had I mentioned earlier that we were young ? , well we were and full of ego. we didn`t like his song , it was too Euro poppy…our egos couldn`t handle the fact we hadn`t got a single yet, so we took his very catchy, sure fire euro hit and we turned it into a very un-sellable , unregnisable version of his baby.

He was furious and rightly so , “what have you done to my song ???”

( I think the correct answer would be, wrecked it )

“get out of my studio “

and so ended our Euro pop hit career. to this day I can still sing that memorable , catchy euro song. to be fair it wasn`t us and if we`d had success at the early point , I dread to think how we would have handled it, but it was an official missed opportunity.

Horst was a fascinating character and opened many doors for us and blagged many a fine chauffeured meal from venue owners where he quietly explained we were going to be the next big thing . we would then be regaled with fascinating stories about his time with the Beatles, which for a Beatle fan like myself was heaven.

We also had interviews and a track played on RADIO HAMBURG that just happened to be on a weekend of madness, a Friday  night gig, sat morning open air gig outside radio hamburg, radio interview then another gig on the night, all when three mates had come over to see how we were doing…they thought we were pop stars…living the life and to be fair , we were having an amazing time.

After some fantastic gigs and living in Hamburg for a year , our time with Horst and the girls came to an end and we moved to LUNEBORG, which we re named LOONEY BURG, once we moved there. again we were very lucky , whilst playing a beer fest in a courtyard , one Ingrid and her daughter Eiki , took a shine to us and offered her large loft space as the EDGE`S new home.

One night Ingrid called up to us asking if we could pick up her friend from the Police station , who`d been held overnight being

drunk and disorderly…

“yes of course “

It turned out to be local famous English rocker TONY SHERRIDEN, who recorded his hit single “MY BONNIE”, with THE BEATLES , as his backing band.

We spent the night trading songs on acoustic guitar, drinking whisky, talking about James Taylor and the Beatles…

We carried on writing and wrote the next songs that would make up the “STRANGE DREAMS ” ALBUM

After a year and a half away from home , it felt right to come back to England , so we left Germany and headed back.

As soon as we got back Tim and Joddy became electricians again and left the band…we became a duo and wrote and recorded “LIFE WITHOUT RISK “

We played lots of gigs and recruited PAT BINELLI , on lead guitar. we played many gigs at the City Slicker , where the album “LIVE IN THE CITY ” gets its name

Like any relationship can  , being best friends since 1977 , things became a little strained and Rich and Ash went separate ways and the Edge was no more.

I  went down to stay with a mate in Hastings, Pete Fullard, who turned out to be Ashleys cousin ? and began writing songs that would become the “BURNING NEED ” ALBUM.

Pete and I decided to write together, me on guitar and bass and Pete on keyboards and form a new band, KEO . this really wasn`t my idea , but Pete thought it short , sharp , catchy and it was also a beer he`d drank…well ok then.

We demoed 3 tracks, somewhere in London, with Gavin Heatherington adding lead guitar.

Not long after we officially released the cassette album “BURNING NEED” on the BOOTS AND SHADES label

During the recording of the album, the line up varied ( can`t remember the dark haired guitarist who briefly joined..

But the earliest full line up- me and Pete Fullard , ROB FELLOWS and MARTIN SHAW

Not long after STEWART ELMS recorded a blues album in Pete`s studio , which I sang backing vocals on and drew the cover for. an instant magic bond formed.

Work commitments meant the 5 piece keo band soon shrunk to a three piece.

I took up bass and lead vocals, Stewart played guitar and we found a fantastic drummer in the guise of ROGER “EARL” ROBINSON. A new busy era of KEO ensued.

When you`re writing songs , you`re always hoping for special moments that will translate into a great song. One sunny day in the Wild West Midlands, I wrote a song on my bass guitar. It was about how past lives can be the cause of problems in this life. I was quite excited about the quiet power of the song and melody, so I rang up Stewart who lived in Winchester…

“I`ve got a great song, Stew “

“well, I`ve just written a lovely flowing chord progression…”

“when are you coming up? “

… and before I finished the sentence, he was there… well, ok he hadn`t developed the ability to transport himself instantly through time and space, but I thought it sounded good…he actually arrived at the weekend.

I sang and played the song and bass part and he began to play his guitar part…and they fitted. We`d been writing parts of the same song, hundreds of miles apart…and ” LIGHT INSIDE” , was born.

Another special moment came on stage at the Hibernian gig in Birmingham. we played there a few times and tended to play the rockier more uptempo numbers but this night we played an acoustic haunting song called ” MAN OUT OF TIME “.

During the song , the words and melody naturally fall into a North American Indian chant. the actual chant changed slightly every time we played it , but I always felt the presence of an indian standing next to me. I`d catch him from the corner of my eye and just accepted that this song must be tapping into a shared past life memory.

This particular night, the song felt very powerful and after we finished the set, we headed to the bar. Someone from theaudience,, bubbling with enthusiasm was telling us how much he enjoyed the songs;

“but one in particular, man out of time , the Indian one..that was different “

He turned to me and said,

“Was that Indian standing next to you real?  Was he one of the crew? I watched him watching you all through the song, then he vanished? “

“Ah that`s one of my spirit guides”, I said all matter of fact, as if it was normal… (well it is really, but most people don`t realise )…

He went away very impressed and bought a copy of the “ELEMENTS” CD… did I mention it`s available in the shop?

Yes folks, another shameless plug for the music shop page…

Richard Lightman used to play and made his money with pop band M who had a world wide no.1 hit with “POP MUZIK”. He invested the money into his London studio NIGHTSHIFT , so we went down and recorded two tracks , that open the “ODDS AND ENDS” album. this led to the full blown 11 track demo session , that sounded so good to us we released it as the “SHADOWS ” album

We then recorded and released the 6 track “ELEMENTS”

We were also invited to record 6 tracks for the JOHN TAINTON SHOW , so we went down to BBC PEBBLE MILL STUDIOS in Birmingham and recorded in this vast studio that normally housed huge orchestras. one track each night was played on his show. we released this as well, even tho the track listing wasn`t that different to Elements, it was a valuable document and captured different 

versions.

We then returned to Nightshift studios and recorded another 6 tracks , which we combined with the Elements session to make the 13 track full album “AND SHE CRIES”

We made the papers a few times…

We recorded a live album at the ROBIN, JUNCTION1O

After some great gigs , and good support slots , with rockers WOLFSBANE ( bit of a mis match, they were more metal-we were more STRANGLERS at the time) KINGMAKER at the HIBERNIAN, who had about 3 singles that made the charts ( he lent me his bass when I broke a string )and the DAVE GIBBONS band we decided to call it a day.i released ” the odds and ends” album , which features some great tracks not on the other albums and I`ve recently found a Betamax tape with a live gig from the Three Crowns in 1994, which will be available in the shop soon.

Ash had joined KEO on the last few gig adding keyboards to the sound but the writing was on the wall and when KEO ended , THE TRUTH took over.

Back to a duo we recruited Louise to add another vocal flavour, did lots of gigs and recorded the album “BEST OF BOTH WORLDS”

Re formed as THE TRUTH , Ash and I wrote separately and together to bring the next batch of songs into existence. as a songwriter , some songs come instantly and some hang around and grow as they attempt to find their true spirit and sound. Several songs here carried this fate. ALTAR OF MY HEART, morphed from a very lively country pop number here to the more folky version that appeared on SONGS FROM THE SPIRIT.

SMILE, which is featured on some copies was a song I played around with from the KEO days and I could never settle on a version until the forthcoming “SUN KING” album ,which kept the intro guitar chords and verse melody but went in a slightly different direction for the chorus,  tho this version is great. it eventually ends up as the track “STAY”

Another track ended up being re written , keeping only the verse that you find here and growing into the track “LOVE WILL SEE YOU THROUGH”, on the “WAKING DREAM” album

I was moving more towards my acoustic guitar period , so the songs I wrote for this album are the guitar driven tracks , while Ashley brings out my poppier side so our collaborations have that great instant appeal ( hopefully ) tracks like “ARMS OF LOVE , WE ALL NEED, WHEN I SEE YOU , HEART TO HEART “, all carry that great guitar/pop mix.

Louise had a great voice and added some great vocals and a definite eye catching appeal to the band and the few live shows we did went down well. Eventually Louise was offered her own record contract and left us and was replaced by the equally talented Rachel Evans.

This began a long friendship and working relationship with Rachel that lasts to this day. it`s Rachel who sings backing vocals on the “SONGS OF THE SPIRIT  and  ” TO THE SKY ” albums.

We played gigs around the Midlands and even played one gig in Walsall under the name of KIRBY. This was just me saying I loved the comic artist Jack Kirby , but people thought it was a nod to our friends up north.  

Leaning to a cleaner , less cluttered sound I started to write more and more with a singer songwriter style that suited the lyrical content more and allowed me to explore the weird and wonderful side of life , a succession of albums followed , sometimes with a full band , sometimes just a violin, sometimes just guitar.

The first album was originally released under the title DREAMCATCHER , my idea being that this would be an umbrella name that other musicians could come and play under as needed.. about 300 were originally pressed… collector’s items ?

As I was doing lots of evening talks that told of my spiritual experiences with ghosts, Angels and past lives, I`d always play a few acoustic songs and the Dreamcatcher album was redesigned with a new cover ( same songs ) and called ” SONGS OF THE SPIRIT”.

The key song and lead track “SHE DANCED ON THE WATER”, came one sunny morning when I was writing songs and I suddenly felt that I was writing the same song , so I stopped, and looking up to the sky I asked for a little inspiration, within seconds my fingers began picking out a rhythm. I`d never played with a fingerpicking style before, always strumming rhythm. I looked up to the sky again and said,

” well this sounds great , I hope you`ve got another good chord coming ? “..

My fingers slid down the neck , keeping the same shape.

“ooh nice , now what ? “

My fingers changed chord shape and moved down the neck a little.

This continued for the next few minutes as my fingers seemed to develop a new skill and I ended up very quickly with what I feel to be one of my finest songs to flow through me. I know I have coloured this song but I honestly felt it was given to me “from above”.

Lyric wise almost simultaneously a very vivid story played out in my mind’s eye, like watching a film and the lyrics flowed with ease.

Other songs which seemed to capture a timeless feel were “WHO CRIES FOR YOU ” and “RADIATE”, which all have that waltz 3/3 time signature. The rhythm of the waltz locks into the rhythm of the heartbeat and has a very calming almost naturally spiritual effect. This is possibly why Indian music has this spiritual feel that can take you somewhere else.

During a meditation, I was told that music can carry soul keys, that is, a power to unlock spiritual experiences, such as past life memories and hidden information and though I was blissfully unaware of how or why, some of my songs contain them…

I haven`t quite told the whole story here, but hey, what the heck, musicians are supposed to be a little strange ( please note I avoided the word mad and definitely prefer the word eccentric, if it`s being applied to me ). ..here goes… I mentioned earlier that I`ve always experienced strange and wonderful things, like ghost, Angels and past life memories, well I have a Muse, that is an Angel /guide who helps me with inspiration when I`m doing anything creative…she`s very good and if I`m honest deserves at least 50% royalties…luckily Angels aren`t concerned with money…

Anyway, when I perform my acoustic numbers, she often dances around and joins in singing harmonies. now I could quite believe that my creative fertile imagination completely conjured her up, that was until several different people at several different gigs all described seeing this beautiful woman dancing around and joining in the songs. One day I was a guest speaker at a school in Liverpool and at the end of the session I got them all to close their eyes and experience the song as a kind of guided meditation. One girl midway through, opened one eye and looked around and afterwards, she came up to me and said;

” sir ? “( I know this shocked me…I think anybody older than them in a school was classed as a teacher..no one had called me sir before..)

” when you were singing, I heard a woman’s voice join in and I thought it must be miss ” ( there was always the normal class teacher sat at the back when I gave a talk )

” but when I looked, she wasn`t singing…so who was that? “

” ah that was my muse…”

I have found that certain songs do indeed touch people and unlock new experiences for them and I`ve been blessed to have a few come through me.

It took a while to record piecemeal, but eventually a batch of songs backed by a whole band emerged. chock full with live favourites, I still play today.” BETTER MAN TODAY”, “SO FAR AWAY”, “ARTHUR THE ONCE AND FUTURE KING”, “IF ONLY” to name but a few.

“TO THE SKY “, was originally released as “TALKING TREES -TO THE SKY” , with a beautiful fiery sunset sky and silhouetted tree, a picture taken by my cousin Mark. When I found more people were connecting with my name , I re-released it and put the sky picture, which I took somewhere in Alvechurch.

Whilst playing a solo acoustic open air gig in Alvechurch cricket ground, a chap by the name of MICK SHALER , asked if he could play along with his violin…”yes ” I said ” please do “.now when I write on guitar , in my head I hear everything, bass lines, backing vocals and string arrangements. during the gig , I nearly forgot to play as Mr.Shaler started playing the exact string arrangement I heard in my head.

“would you like to come to my home studio in Warwick and record an album? “

” yes please mr.Mickey “

and so in two days we played , recorded and mixed the album ” THROUGH MISTS OF TIME ” the cover of which is a picture I took in the South of France coming down the hill from Rennes le Chateau.

This album was a joy to record , as I just sang and played the songs , usually in just one take and then added backing harmonies and Mick added his improvised violin parts.this way you can capture a spark of magic in the performances…Where it sometimes misses is that I had my own unique way of keeping time, which meant I speeded up and down according to excitement…

Performance wise Mick excelled himself with a haunting plaintive violin part that combined with the reverb, makes it sound like a horn on the opening track “DON`T LET THE HURT”.

” THE BEATLES AND ME”, is another song which was literally a dream I had, where I walked into a studio and the “young” Beatles were there. I began playing them some of their later songs they hadn`t written yet and they loved them. I awoke from the dream in a state of bliss as I love the Beatles work and wrote down the dream while it was fresh in my mind. within minutes the chords and melody flowed and there was the fully formed song.

Note to Beatles fans…I`m not implying in any way that I wrote any of the Beatles classics, it`s just a time travel twister of a  dream …it was just a dream…that I cherish still…

Obviously Mick and I connected through the ” SHE DANCED ON THE WATER ” song , which he loved , so I included it on this album, but the etheric fiddle mix, to differentiate it from the “SONGS OF THE SPIRIT”  album version. it has a different feel and of course, his violin part which takes it to another level.

Mick also joined us on the “ALIVE” ALBUM, which was recorded in Stourbridge at the Bonded Warehouse. a full band backed me who we named at the time Talking Trees

I`d started to hold gigs at this great venue in Stourbridge, called the Bonded Warehouse. they were ticket only and sold really well. with good numbers turning up, I decided to record a live album to capture one of the moments.

The gig started off just solo acoustic guitar, then violin would join in followed by the full band. There were some extended and different versions captured here.

Originally I released this album as a double on pre-order , so there are literally only about 30 copies of that version in existence. I later trimmed it down to a single, losing a lot of the banter inbetween songs and a couple of cover versions , the version available in the shop is the single version, but  don`t worry though , there are some bad jokes remaining in the odd bit of band banter I left in …

This live album is notable for the tracks “LORD OF THE WOODS” and “JOIN THE DANCE “, which are early versions originally intended for an album entitled “SONGS FROM THE WOODS “, but I later changed and expanded the tracks to encompass four powerful new songs based on memories with my late father. these fit perfectly with the theme of the original album as those songs too were based on my experiences in Ross on Wye, with the Keogh clan. The new album is called “DRAGONFLY DAYS ” ( more on this later )

ALIVE is also notable for some great violin work by the late, great Mick Shaler and some very “strawberry fields” keyboard swirls, a Mr. Hill added to enhance the track “THE BEATLES AND ME “…I wish I`d added them to the studio version …

Then I met STU EVANS , owner of 77 records and a great studio. he signed me for a year to his label and we recorded and released “WAKING DREAM”, Which features the very sympathetic and occasional keyboards of DEE.

The cover is a picture of three of my horses that I rescued. I co founded a registered charity , that exists to this day, but after 7 years I no longer help in the day to day running, just support them from afar. they are THE ANIMAL HEALING TRUST  and are a worthy cause , please support them if you can.

” WAKING DREAM”

In my now normal recording fashion , I sat down in the recording booth and sang and played everything, with the view that these were just demo`s to show Stu the songs. we ended up keeping them, for performance sake and just adding backing vocals and occasional keyboards.

There were some lovely moments captured, “ANGEL OF THE STARS “, was a very personal song as I`d called out for help one night when I was feeling emotional over my dad being very ill and the Angel of the Stars spoke to me…

“DISTANCE IS NOTHING”, which talks of the illusion of time and space when you`re thinking and connecting with someone, seems to have touched a lot of people. whether their someone is in this world or the next it has a powerful healing message, that many have picked up on.

Of course, that is the beauty of words, you read into them and get out of them, what you will and what you need.

The whole album was written during a strange phase in my life where life was changing dramatically fast, so much so that now when I look back, it seems like two different lifetimes before the one I`m in now, consequently there are a wide range of themes from relationships ending to questioning the future and my usual mix of Angelic and past life  experiences .

“WOKEN FROM A DREAM”, touches on my search and need for finding a true soul mate and is also notable for being the only song of mine that has a spoken word section…

I`m still a little troubled to this day, that I actually did that, for as an old punk, spoken word bits in songs is akin to the mortal sin of wearing socks with sandals.. but you know, it works in a crazy kinda spoken word way…

As a companion to that album I released a compilation of rare or demo versions of songs through the years. I borrowed my old band name DREAMCATCHER ,

These are deleted now , but for the record I released “TREE OF DREAMS”, which was a compilation of KEO tracks and Mick Shaler released “LORD OF THE WOODS”, a recording of a gig we did in Tamworth , which I consider an official bootleg.

*** lord of woods album pic

“you must meet Thomas”, I was told

“you must meet Richard “, Thomas was told

We`d better meet then. We did and Thomas is a German guy who lived in Ireland had an animal activist radio show WILD TIME , was a shamen and writes and releases lots of albums. I was an Englishman from Irish stock , who lived in Germany, had an internet radio show , the ANGELMAN SHOW , followed  a spiritual path, fiercely supportive of animals, founding a horse charity who writes and releases lots of albums…

Guess what we wrote and recorded three albums together

I have many more albums written, waiting for time to record them, keep an eye out for

DRAGONFLY DAYS,

THE INNOCENCE OF ALBION

SUN KING

NEW LIGHT ON OLD