TL:DR – I have dozens of songs and instrumentals for you to download or stream through my BandCamp page right now.
Although, I’m probably best known as a professional science writer and an amateur wildlife photographer, when I’m not involved in those you might catch me singing and playing live with my band, C5 Website/Facebook, or in our community a choir (TyrannoChorus). You can hear my latest solo and collaborative recorded music on BandCamp and SoundCloud. Some of my stuff is on Spotify and iTunes too, including a few cover songs. As of 30th July 2023, Mrs Sciencebase and myself are also now veterans of the Cambridge Folk Festival having performed there live with a scratch choir organised and rehearsed by Ben and Dom.
My latest musical venture involved launching a Cottenham Jam with fellow musos at our local pub, this was almost 13 years after I co-founded the Cottenham Arts Night with Simon O, Adrian H, and Adrian I.
I’ve always been in love with music, since my first baby rattle and toy guitar as a tot, been attempting to play guitar ever since. It is only in the last fifteen years or so that I have performed live in front of audiences and written and recorded my music, first with a community choir and then in a gigging band C5. I’ve sang at the Royal Albert Hall with a mass choir and recorded at Abbey Road Studios, ditto. Have also sung with The London Community Gospel Choir (twice) and with Pete Churchill’s London Vocal Project (twice). I’ve also taken part in a couple of choral workshops with classical composer John Rutter.
I’m proud to have played quite a few pubs, events, festivals, and party gigs with my band C5 and also alongside the inimitable Barbara D and others. I’ve also been guitar and assistant musical director to Barbara in the CTW pit band. We’ve both now stepped back from our roles with CTW, me after ten years, although in 2025 I am taking on a new role with the CTW for this year’s Christmas role.
I am also proud to have had a few solo slots in front of audiences of a fair few hundred singing the lead on Billy Joel’s “The Longest Time” with the TyrannoChorus choir (led by Siobhan Lihoreau, with arranger and pianist Tim Lihoreau) at the West Road Concert Hall in Cambridge. I also sang the solo on “Be the Man” by The Young’uns for two charity events with the choir just before the 2020 lockdown. I’ve also occasionally provided guitar accompaniment on songs we have done by Cat Stevens, Sting, Paul Weller, The Who, The Divine Comedy, The Traveling Wilburys, The Beatles, and others.
This is a very short list of some of the musicians, bands, and artists I admire in alphabetical order: Alan Parsons Project, Athlete, B52s, Badly Drawn Boy, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Blondie, Blue Aeroplanes, Blur, David Bowie, Kate Bush, Camel, Glen Campbell, Phil Collins, Crowded House, The Cure, Paco de Lucia, John Denver, Al Di Meola, Thomas Dolby, Doves, Dr Dre, Duran Duran, Editors, Elbow, Fred’s House, Robert Fripp, Peter Gabriel, Genesis, Steve Hackett, Steve Hillage, Carole King, King Crimson, The Kinks, Led Zeppelin, Manic Street Preachers, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Mike Oldfield, Pavlov’s Dog, Placebo, Porcupine Tree, Radiohead, Gerry Rafferty, R.E.M, Nile Rodgers, Rush, Seals & Crofts, Siouxsie and The Banshees, Squeeze, Steely Dan, Supertramp, Andy Summers, Talking Heads, James Taylor, Tears for Fears, U2, Franki Valli, The Willows, Yes, Neil Young, there are many others, it’s hard to think of them off the top of your head.
I’ve been told that I occasionally sound like a Geordie Glenn Tilbrook (that’s according to Dek “Mono Stone” Ham), and sometimes George Harrison, Steely Dan, Stephen Duffy, Peter Gabriel, early Oasis, Phil Collins, Alan Parsons Project, Sting, James Taylor, David Bowie (most often, admittedly), and Stephen Stills, and most recently, Cat Stevens and Neil Finn (Crowded House) on the basis of my charity single “Bridges crossed and burned“.
I couldn’t claim to have even an ounce of the talent of those people, but I do reckon I’ve finally developed my own sound now. And, more to the point, I don’t wear my influences quite so prominently on my silk kimono sleeves as with many of my earlier songs, although there are almost always allusions to many of those inspirational musicians in there some where. I also get the feeling that if they’re commenting, then the singers they suggest I sound a bit like just happen to be ones they listen to the most.