I thought I’d write a big brassy hook and see where it took me. Turns out; Vienna.

(Without You).

(Slightly edited version on 14 August 2021)

I wrote this song about 30 years ago. The piano part is exactly the same, but I re-wrote the words, as I was 15 years old at the time, and mostly writing about very literal things, like the garden outside, birds, some trees, and maybe going out later.

Hope you like it.

…in the Rear View Mirror.

This is a photo I took of Bixby Bridge near Monterey in California. It has nothing to do with the song apart from it’s the kind of thing you might see in your rear view mirror. If you see this particular view of it in your mirrors, you’ve made a terrible mistake and should prepare to meet your maker.

The song is just about remembering who you were, probably with rose tinted glasses, knowing that time helps you forget the dodgy stuff, and motoring on knowing that the memories will fade away.

Rear View Mirror.

I’ve always loved the song Ice Cream Man on Van Halen’s first album, with David Lee Roth taking on acoustic guitar duties. Then a few years later I discovered Tom Wait’s Closing Time soon after a friend played me ‘The Piano Has Been Drinking’ which made me realise how much fun you could have with music.

I soon started playing ‘Ice Cream Man’ as a staple of nights out with a piano, and it’s been heard by people trying to have a conversation in bars from Chicago to Johannesburg.

For fun, I’ve recorded both songs here, as I wait with optimism for the English summer to turn up, and for the sound of Greensleeves and Popeye the Sailor-man to fill our streets and parks.

On the surface of it, Hold on to your Love sounds like a fairly anodyne sentiment; keep those you love close to you, or be careful to whom you give your love away. It’s actually a bit darker than that, about the kind of oily fuckers that don’t take no for an answer. On this occasion, he gets shot. So, a bit dark, but was fun to write. And hopefully plodding incels will take note and fuck off.

Hold on to your Love.

A breakfast song. With swears.

Good Time, coming to Spotify and other music streaming sites on Good Friday. It’s a collection of songs written and recorded in the last 6 months.Give it a listen.Thanks to Jo Pinate for contributing vocals and lyrics, and to DJ Gabriel Sibiya for the sample on Say Something

My mate Pete is kind enough to invite me and a few mates to his apartment in Chatel for a fine weekend of skiing and a few light drinks every year. I missed last year, and this year is also cancelled, so, in a hope to get us fired up for the next trip, I wrote a song. Pete loves AC/DC, so the intro is inspired by Highway to Hell in the hope that he’ll get on the nearest table and have a tea-time rock-out . After that it kind of goes its own way.