The John Royce Music Experience

Almost 50 years of music, memories and live entertainment

 

My love of music began at primary school, when I was about six years old.

I vividly remember singing Beatles songs to my classmates. At first, it was simply something I loved doing, but my teacher obviously saw something in me and started asking me to sing to the class on a regular basis. Before long, I was being asked to join various school choirs, eventually becoming first lead, and taking part in inter-school competitions.

Those early experiences gave me my first real taste of performing — and, perhaps without realising it at the time, set me on a path that would become a huge part of my life.

 

Finding my voice

 

When I reached my early teens, I started singing with bands.

Growing up in a large working-class family, I wasn't exactly blessed with the easiest start in life. I was also bullied at senior school, and becoming a singer seemed like a way of finding my own identity and, perhaps, escaping some of the labels that came with coming from a fairly humble background.

Looking back now, I realise that music didn't just give me somewhere to escape to.

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It gave me a voice.

 

I've always had a particular love of rock music, especially the great British bands and artists of the 1970s. Uriah Heep, Deep Purple and David Bowie were among the artists who inspired me, and their music helped shape the kind of performer I wanted to become.

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The audition that might have changed everything...

 

In my early twenties, I got the opportunity to audition for a very popular band from my local area.

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The audition was successful.

 

For a young musician, this was potentially the moment I'd been waiting for — the chance to take things to another level and become part of a band that was already making a real name for itself.

Unfortunately, contractual problems meant that I couldn't fulfil the opportunity.

It's one of those moments in life where you sometimes wonder, "What if?"

Interestingly, some of the musicians from that band went on to achieve global success as members of other well-known bands.

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If only...

 

But perhaps the story was never supposed to end there.

 

Nearly 50 years later...

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I'm still doing what I love.

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After almost five decades of performing, the thing that keeps me coming back to the stage isn't simply the music itself — it's the audience.

 

There is still nothing quite like the buzz of performing a song and seeing people react to it. Watching people sing along, dance, smile, remember a time in their lives or simply lose themselves in the music is what live entertainment is all about for me.

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I've never wanted to be just someone who stands on stage and sings songs.

 

I want to entertain.

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I want to create an atmosphere, connect with the audience and make every performance something people genuinely enjoy and remember.

 

That passion is at the heart of The John Royce Music Experience — a celebration of great music from the 1960s and beyond, performed with energy, personality and, most importantly, a genuine love of what I do.

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After all these years, I still get the same buzz.

 

And as long as people want to listen, sing along and have a great time, I'll keep doing it.