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Singer,
Musician
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Born
10-03-52 Bromley Kent England
Usual, normal number of arms, legs & head facing the right
way, sadly brain scrambled from birth
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Educated
at Sevenoaks & ended up with 10 O-levels & 2 A-levels.
Could
not/ did not wanna go to University ,instead had dream of earning
"loadsa" money from working in Insurance in the City of
London.Well I survived but the dream of "loadsa money" never
came true! I Worked for a variety of Lloyds brokers & ,for a time
for Lloyds of London itself- held a "substitutes" ticket
of entry into the Lloyds building for 28 years working in the community
mostly as a broker. Became an "expert" in Professional Indemnity
Insurance (this is insurance taken out by Architects Accountants Solicitors
& all professional classes against their errors & omissions
IE professional mistakes & misjudgements which lead to financial
loss / damages sustained by their clients who then make a claim against
their adviser) Sadly I was never very adept at "wearing a bowler
hat" by which I mean I was never a skilled exponent in the field
of office politics which in turnmeant that , whilst I certainly held
my own in a highly competitive world I was never to rise very high
in the ranks. I look back now & see how , compared to some of
my contemporaries, my heart was never fully in this career even though
I worked bloody hard & survived for 30 years in it & I was
the one who finally walked away from it to a better life.
In
1996 I married June & it was she who was to turn my life long
fascination in pop music (combined with a moderate singing voice &
very modest abilities on the guitar) from an absorbing hobby &
refuge from daytime stresses into a living & a new way of life.
After giving June a series of "concerts" in my car (often
to tapes I had made -& still use-of 60s pop tracks & Elvis
records) she began to suggest that I should try my hand at serious
professional singing. My earliest efforts (once I found the courage
to get up & do it) were at local Karaoke competitions & Conservative
Clubs where I would persuade the visiting performer to let me sing
a song or two. Basically I did well- no one got hurt (!)- & my
confidence grew as the showbiz "bug" bit me. By the end
of 1997 I had my own PA system & was earning a few pounds singing
in clubs & private parties at the weekends.
From
there we jump to a holiday in the Mountains of Austria in 1999 which
was to change our lives. By then I was more bold & persuaded the
owner of a big hotel in a skying resort to let me sing in one of his
bars. This I did & it led to a contract to work at the hotel for
7 months of the year (3 1/2 in Summer the other half in winter) for
the next 2 years. WE sold our house ,resigned from our jobs in the
City & went to live & work in one of the most beautiful (&
expensive!) places in the world. The problem of how to fill the remainder
of the year (& have a home of our own again) was solved by moving
to the Costa Blanca in Spain. In this part of the world I could work
as an entertainer & we could afford to live well in a lovely area
where lifestyle is good but the COST of living is low.
We
built a house in the Jalon Valley near Calpe on the coast, a decision
which proved wise when the Austrian work surprisigly ceased after
2 years. Excluding annual trips to the UK & occasional working
trips to other European Countries I am now firmly based in Spain-
stating the long process of becoming an official resident in 2007.
So
this goes on as I approach my 56th year with one wonderful addition
which too has fulfilled a long standing ambition. I am now a radio
DJ too.
So
there we are a potted history taking the boy from an average academic
background, through an overlong (& certainly in the closing years
highly stressful) 29 3/4 years of commuting & daily grind in the
City of London, to the Mountains of Austria & latterly the sunkissed
shores of Spain & a radio studio. Having lived this I cannot recall
too many dull moments & still have dreams that the best still
lies ahead of me.