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I suppose that a lot of early musical influence came from my being of the age that can still remember Time and Tune whilst sitting around the school radio. Programmes like The Good Old Days and endless supplies of Hollywood musicals must also have had their effect, since I love that whole period even now.
When I was 4 or 5 my parents bought me a toy piano, which eventually led to my having piano lessons with Miss Ivy Stribling. Thanks to her endless patience and perseverance I had done grade 8 by the age of 14 which eventually led to three years at Keele University studying music and maths.
After graduating, I moved to London, acting in a theatre company and performing on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral as well as more recognised venuse such as the Donmar Warehouse.
I was also playing piano in London's Soho in lots of seedy bars and nightclubs (there was a lot more live music then!) until a chance conversation with a friend in 1986 convinced me to pack a bag and move to Paris. Not only did I learn French, but I also earned a living for over two years, singing and playing piano in hotels, jazz clubs, restaurants, etc.
On my return to London in 1988 I met tap dancer Tobias Tak, we are still working together. Numerous sessions with bands including Miss America (voted one of ten bands likely to make it in 1989, but didn't) and Bal (who cut a CD at Abbey Road, and also didn't make it) as well as bits of TV and radio work, filled up the rest of life at the time.
In 1989 I began working for Musicworks, a community music organisation in Brixton. Aside from being the administrator for a while, I taught piano to adults and children, ran band workshops, taught songwriting, theory, etc.
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I also began
a drugs awareness project for year 5/6 primary school children called It's up 2U in which the children wrote songs based on what they knew about drugs and the issues surrounding them.
In this project, apart from loads of music making, we also talked about the implications of drug taking, and tried as much as possible to encourage the children to think about making informed choices in their future lives. This project turned out to be very successful, visiting over 35 schools in south London and was featured on the BBC's Children In Need Appeal programme.
In 1994 I began to write Orpheus, for schools after getting fed up with being asked to accompany the same handful of schools' musicals that had been performed since the 1960s/70s. Teachers confirmed that they had problems finding new music that was challenging and fun to perform, especially for the older children. A CD Extra of the musical with Johnny Morris narrating is now nearing completion.
My aim eventually is to produce a series of musical shows that can be put on by any class teacher, no matter how developed (or not) their musical skill. It was with this in mind that Kate Stilitz and I founded Balagan Theatre Company, and we now have groups of children aged between 9 and 13 with whom we work every week.
I am currently writing a new musical called The Magick inspired by the painting "The Death of Alexandrina" by the Argentine/Brazilian artist Carybé, which is due for performance in December 2000. Other things on the To Do list include going back to Brazil during part of the winters to get away from the cold, covering a waistcoat in mother-of-pearl buttons and developing Balagan Theatre Group.
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