More Than Fifty Years Behind the Microphone: What Has Changed?

More Than Fifty Years Behind the Microphone: What Has Changed?

One musician's journey from singing Beatles songs at school to navigating a very different live music industry.

Part One: It Started with the Beatles

My journey into live entertainment began long before I ever stood on a stage in front of a paying audience.

As a young schoolboy, I would sing Beatles songs to entertain my classmates and teachers. What started as a bit of fun led to me joining the school choir, and music gradually became a bigger part of my life.

As I grew older, I found another way to get involved in the local music scene. I started roadie-ing for older, more experienced local musicians, helping out and spending time around them as they worked.

Looking back, that experience was an education in itself.

Night after night, I watched how these musicians performed, how they handled themselves on stage and, perhaps most importantly, how they interacted with their audiences. I began to understand that being an entertainer involved much more than simply singing the right notes or playing the right songs.

It was about reading the room, connecting with people, knowing when to engage an audience and understanding how to create an atmosphere.

When I eventually joined bands myself, those early experiences proved invaluable. I had already spent countless hours observing performers at work, and I could draw on what I'd learned as I developed my own style and approach to entertaining.

In many ways, I was learning the trade before I even realised it.

Fifty Pence and a Rock Star Feeling

My first paid gig was at a pub called the Black Swan in Guisborough, not far from where I live today.

We didn't receive a fee in the way musicians might expect today. Instead, we collected an entry charge at the door, and I remember my share being around fifty pence.

It wasn't a fortune, by any stretch of the imagination! But the amount of money wasn't really the point.

For the first time, I'd earned money from singing.

I went to school the following day feeling like a rock star. I'd stood up and performed, people had come to hear us, and I'd actually been paid for doing something I loved.

Looking back now, that first little gig seems a long way from the venues, audiences and performances that would follow over the years. But at the time, it felt like the beginning of something rather special.

Auditions, False Starts and the Road Not Taken

There seemed to be an endless parade of bands in those early years. I was trying to find the right musical vehicle for the sort of music I wanted to perform, and that meant plenty of auditions, some more memorable than others.

Three, in particular, have stayed with me for very different reasons.

The first was for a band belonging to a lad I'd known at school. He was an exceptionally talented guitarist who would go on to enjoy a successful recording career. He invited me to audition at his home, which should have been straightforward enough.

It wasn't!

Instead of standing in a rehearsal room with a band, I found myself singing in his family's lounge, with his family watching. I was so nervous that I couldn't find the right key for the song. The verdict? I was told I was "tone-deaf"!

This was despite the fact that I sang in the school choir. It was the only audition I ever failed, and I suspect nerves had rather more to do with it than any lack of musical ability.

The second audition was for a band from nearby Middlesbrough. They asked me to sing "Nights in White Satin" by the Moody Blues, along with another song whose title has escaped me over the years.

When I'd finished, they had a discussion and gave me an explanation I certainly hadn't expected. They were looking for a long-term singer, but felt I would probably move on quite quickly because they thought I was a better singer than they could support.

It was a rather different outcome from being labelled tone-deaf!

Then came the audition that could have changed the direction of my life.

I auditioned for a local rock band called White Spirit, who were looking for a replacement frontman. I passed the audition, and for a moment it looked as though a new chapter might be about to begin.

Unfortunately, the band had just been signed to a record label as an established act, and as I understand it, contractual restrictions meant they couldn't replace their singer.

And that was that.

White Spirit's guitarist, Janick Gers, would go on to play with “The Gillan Band” before eventually joining Iron Maiden. It's impossible to know where I might have ended up had circumstances been different, and I try not to dwell too much on the road not taken.

But it's certainly one of those moments in life that makes you wonder, "What if?"

Looking back, those three auditions taught me something about the unpredictable nature of a life in music. Sometimes you fail because your nerves get the better of you. Sometimes you discover that other people see more ability in you than you realise yourself. And sometimes, even when you get the opportunity you've been looking for, circumstances beyond your control decide the outcome.

The music business doesn't always follow the script you imagine for yourself.

Two Worlds: The Motor Trade and Music

After the White Spirit opportunity fell through, I took a slightly different path for a while.

I'd started working in the motor trade as a car salesman. Cars were another passion of mine, so it was a world I enjoyed, and it gave me a career away from the uncertainty of trying to make a living in music.

But singing never went away.

I met a guy called Terry, a very good local singer and guitarist who was also a comedian. I spent some time helping him as a roadie, and once again I found myself learning by watching an experienced performer at work.

Terry was a reminder that entertaining an audience isn't just about the songs. Personality, timing, humour and the ability to connect with people all play their part. Watching him added to the lessons I'd been picking up since my early days helping local musicians.

At the same time, I was performing with another band myself, so music remained very much part of my life alongside the day job.

Eventually, Terry moved on to a different position, and we lost touch.

For a while, that was where our story ended.

But our paths would cross again.

Back to the Microphone — and a Few Familiar Faces

As the years went by, my working life and my musical life continued to run alongside each other.

At one point, I found myself working as a hospital radio presenter. It was another way of staying close to music, and there were other musicians involved with the station. Before long, we had formed a band together, and the singing started again.

It was also during this period that I met the woman who would become my wife and the mother of my two sons. Life was moving in directions I couldn't have predicted when I first stood in front of my schoolmates singing Beatles songs.

Somewhere along the way, I also began working with John B., who is now the other half of our duo, The 2Js.

John was performing with a comedy and 60s showband, and I went along to see the band at a gig. And who should I find out front as lead singer and guitarist?

None other than Terry!

Remember Terry, the local singer, guitarist and comedian I'd helped as a roadie years earlier? There he was again.

I started helping out with the band as a roadie, picking up yet more experience from the other side of the stage. Eventually, Terry retired from the band. An interim singer came in, but after he left, I stepped in to take over the vocals for the 60s show.

By then, I was also performing as a solo act and working with John in The 2Js.

And that brings us to the present day. I'm still singing, still entertaining audiences, and still finding ways to make music part of my working life.

When I look back, it's remarkable how many times the same people and opportunities have reappeared. What began with a schoolboy singing Beatles songs has led to decades of performing, and a musical partnership that continues today.

The journey hasn't been a straight line, but perhaps that's part of what makes it interesting.

Over the years, I've seen the music business from several different angles: as a young musician learning the trade, as a performer finding my feet, and as someone who has watched the industry change around me.

And it's those changes, particularly in the clubs that once provided the backbone of live entertainment, that deserve a story of their own.

Part Two will look at the clubs, the musicians, the audiences and the changes that have reshaped the world of live entertainment