biography

Beginnings

Born in the Isle of Man but brought up in a variety of southern English cities, I have always been a musician and artist at heart and felt most at home inside the artistic and creative community. My father was Director of Music in the Royal Marines and I inherited his love for music and some of his talent. I was playing piano at three and was a passionate lover of classical music from about seven. From my mother, I inherited a lifelong love of art and beautiful things.

My family moved from the south coast to London when I was 12 and life moved rapidly into top gear. In the heady days of the mid-60s, I was blown away by Robert Johnson, Chuck Berry, Howlin' Wolf, Steve Cropper and Eric Clapton, and through them fell under the spell of the blues. A passion which lasts to this day.

Art and music were frowned upon at school (an archaic institution straight out of Tom Brown's Schooldays, where sport, science and beatings were the making of a man!) so I majored in English, Latin and modern languages, becoming fluent in French and Russian. Meanwhile, I pursued my artistic interests outside and dreamed of becoming a designer for Biba, a photographer like David Bailey, or a musician. The musician won.

I learned guitar by following the guitar heroes of the day around London blues clubs and watching them play - Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Peter Green, Jimi Hendrix, Mick Taylor... What an education! Whenever blues legends came to town - B.B. King, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, Freddie King, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters - I was there, soaking it up.

By the late 60s, after a short stint at Kingston Art College, I was playing guitar in a succession of moderately successful bands on the club and college circuit (right). I even got to play in backing bands for two of my heroes on a few gigs - John Lee Hooker and Howlin' Wolf. A humbling and magical experience. Those were halcyon days, with hundreds of places to play, from the Marquee and the dozens of clubs in London alone, to the network of clubs, universities and polytechnics beyond. Glamorous? No - trying to sleep in the back of a van full of guitars and gear was pretty tough. Fun? Unbelievably so - nothing can compare to the high of arriving at the next gig, setting up and playing to an appreciative audience.... a buzz I still get today whenever I play live.

A few years of one-nighters and several festivals later, I ducked out of London, looking for Kerouac's elusive Road (or was it Bilbo's?), and rediscovered the Isle of Man, one time home to Archibald Knox and Mackay Hugh Baillie Scott, heroes of the Arts & Crafts and Art Nouveau movements.

Celtic roots

Celtic blood runs through my veins. There is an affinity between the Celtic nations of Mann, Scotland, Ireland, Cornwall, Wales and Brittany which is unfathomable.The Isle of Man is a microcosm of these ancient lands, sharing the same rugged scenery, traces of language, and fierce pride in its heritage and identity. From its heather-carpeted hills, Scotland, Ireland and Wales are spectral silhouettes on the horizon, which reinforce the sense of belonging. From its northern tip, the aurora borealis can occasionally be seen in the far distance, adding to the sometimes other-worldly mood of this magical place.

Beyond Mann, I feel closest to Scotland. My first trip to Edinburgh was love at first sight. I'm awed by the Highlands and the open friendship of the people. These landscapes hold the memory, wisdom, poignance and celebration of the Celtic soul. And the music... one phrase on the uilleann pipes is enough to transport your heart and soul back across centuries of Celtic history and mythology. Soraidh bhuam gu Barraidh.

Getting settled

Arriving in the Isle of Man, I ran a bookstore for a few years, settled into the island's artistic community, and eked out a meagre but very happy living selling books, music, art materials and coffee. And playing with local musicians. Finally having to find a real-life, grown-up job, I went to work in the finance sector.

I now live in a rambling, crumbling Victorian house with my collection of Fender, Gibson, PRS and Martin guitars (click here to view), keyboards, an embarrassingly huge and eclectic music and book library, Arts & Crafts and Art Nouveau paraphernalia, a black cat (I ain't superstitious, to quote Howlin' Wolf!), a tortoiseshell cat with an identity crisis, and a goldfish.

From spring to the onset of winter, I often walk the four miles between home and my office. The journey takes me around the breathtakingly beautiful coastline, through fields and over stiles. Good for the soul!

I have two gorgeous daughters: Amelia is a hugely talented artist, currently working her gap year in a design agency before going on to take a graphic arts degree; Elise and her new little man, Oscar, divide their time between the island and her mother's home in Spain.

And I still find time to play with local musicians. (See the Downloads link on the right for some examples of my work.)

Working in design and pre-press

In 1987, I introduced a desktop publishing function into the financial services company I worked for and started producing all their marketing material in-house, including product brochures. From design concepts and copy writing through to pre-press. After initial, fairly disastrous experiences with PCs, we bit the bullet and invested heavily in Macs and never looked back.

I and my assistant at the time (hello Giselle) collaborated with an island design agency and a print company and became proficient in the established digital pre-press tools - QuarkXpress, Photoshop, Illustrator, Freehand... In those early days, I spent a lot of my spare time at the print company, learning about paper, computer to film, offset printing and other wonders. Literally getting my hands dirty. The pre-press function I introduced to our company more than 20 years ago is still the principal method by which its literature is produced.

Throughout the 1990s, I worked with Scottish and London design agencies on developing creatives for product literature and promotional material. During one three-year period, I regularly commuted between the Isle of Man and Edinburgh to collaborate with an agency on new design concepts, learning how to produce effective customer journeys. A very exciting time, and I learned so much.

In 2000, I extended my skills to web design, becoming fully conversant in HTML and CSS, and built our company's corporate web site. In 2002, it was voted one of the top five financial services sites by Investment Adviser.

Look & Feel...

I set up Look & Feel in 2001 as an outlet for my web and print design skills. Look & Feel was originally part of a collaborative community of designers and programmers and for several years I was house designer for an Isle of Man-based IT consultancy. I now handle all Look & Feel commissions myself, mainly serving the Island's artistic community.