Adam & the Ants and their Kings of the Wild Frontier album, sparked more than just a fleeting interest in music for me—it was the beginning of a lifelong passion. From that point on, I’ve (unintentionally) spent the majority of my adult working life in post production and tape archives, notably PolyGram, Decca and UMG. My adulthood has also revolved around an unhealthy love of spending time, and money, in record shops, following bands around, both home and abroad.
Best described as varied, my musical tastes went from Glenn Miller to David Soul to classical to Leo Sayer. That's not to say the late 70's totally passed me by, The Stranglers, Boomtown Rats, Blondie and more notably Tubeway Army. I also adored Jean-Michel Jarre's Equinoxe. .
However, Adam Ant’s distinctive style and "Antmusic" caught my 13-year-old attention. Flaky teenage loyalty soon gave way to an enthusiasm for synthesizer-driven music after hearing "European Son" by Japan. OMD, The Human League, Depeche Mode, Fad Gadget, and Kraftwerk followed, and became my musical world.
My habits haven't really changed—I still visit London on Fridays for new releases. While the initial thrill has subdued, the core excitement remains. Live music is still vital to me, even if ticket prices have soared. Discovering new artists has grown in significance, especially with my fortnightly Mixcloud show. Post-lockdown, I experimented with electronic music, humorously dubbed "twiddling knobs" by my wife, leading to two (so far) album releases under the name Experiments & Observations on Electricity.
Life is good—not perfect, but far from bad. There’s also Cult Image, another venture I've been involved with, though that story is separate and can be read about here.