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My Life In Music: A Journey from Hoxton Market to the Heart of London's Music Scene

I grew up in Hoxton, London, during the 1950s, sharing a council flat with my parents and six siblings. As you can imagine, things were a bit crowded, but we made do. My earliest memories of music feature the Salvation Army band marching through the streets on Sunday mornings. They were the local "music stars" in their own way, though a bit more formal as you'd expect from a marching band.

When we eventually moved to a house in Camden, I hoped music would play a bigger role in my life. It didn't, at least not at first. At the Catholic grammar school I attended, the only available instruments were the piano and the violin—both lovely, but not quite what I had in mind. So, music remained in the background during those early years.

The swinging '60s were in full swing, but they largely bypassed council estate youths like me. Still, the sounds of Motown and British bands like the Rolling Stones and the Beatles were impossible to ignore. They were everywhere, filling the airwaves with a kind of energy that was both electrifying and just out of reach. My first experience with a live drum kit came during the intermission at a Saturday morning picture show, when a local band played. Watching the drummer made something click inside me.

My first close encounter with a drum kit happened at a school friend's house in Kensington. He let me have a go at it and I was immediately fascinated by the array of sounds I could create just by hitting things. It was like a puzzle with endless possibilities, and from that moment on the idea of drumming took root in my mind.

At 15, after leaving school, I stumbled upon 'Implosion' at The Roundhouse in Camden. This weekly event was a revelation—a place where live bands performed all day long, every Sunday from midday to 11 pm. Immersing myself in this vibrant scene, I spent countless hours soaking in the music and the culture, my eyes glued to the drummers who seemed to effortlessly command the stage. It was a turning point for me. I knew then that I wanted to be part of that world.

After a rather turbulent teenage period, I finally managed to buy my first drum kit at 19. Bringing it home wasn't an option; my family had already endured enough noise. Luckily, my friend guitarist Chris Duffy offered up his place for our jam sessions. We had a great time, but eventually, our "enthusiastic practice" wore out its welcome. The drum kit found a new home at The Winchester youth club nearby, where it could annoy a broader audience.

At 'The Winch' I started jamming with Chris, bass player Paul Francis and guitarist Rene Go, a talented Dutchman I met while working at Twickenham Film Studios. Being around so much music and recording equipment made my passion for drumming even stronger. Rene eventually invited me to join a new music project and asked if I was ready to take drumming seriously. With his support, I threw myself into an intense period of practice. For three years, I balanced working as a hospital porter during the day and practicing for five hours every night. It was exhausting, but it was also the beginning of something much bigger.

This journey grew into the career that unfolds in the pages that follow.