Projects

Tunnel Trip - the musical

With a cast of over 20 actors, 'Cloudbuster' was perhaps a bit ambitious for a first musical!  So for my next project, I wanted to write something a bit more manageable. 

The result was 'Tunnel Trip' - a musical rom-com requiring only five actors.  It's about the importance of asking questions and challenging authority.

I've received some very encouraging feedback and I hope to find a suitable home for this unique show.

Check out India Button's beautiful harmonies on 'I Got You All Wrong'.

Cloudbuster - the musical

This year I decided to try combining my two passions of songwriting and scriptwriting by writing a musical. 

So 'Cloudbuster' was born.  It's about the short-sightedness of the human race, and the unintended consequences of supposedly great ideas (e.g. fossil fuels, plastic etc.).

The story follows a young woman's attempt to solve the world's climate problems using technology.  She wants to save the planet but will she end up destroying it?

Here are 3 of the songs - Josie was on top form for all of them. 'Down Not Out' reached the semi-finals of the UK Songwriting Contest.

Songwriting

I'm a big fan of instrumental music, but you can't really beat the emotion of a well-controlled human voice. 

So I decided it was time to hunt for a good singer, and get back into songwriting again.  After lots of online searching, I found two superb vocalists in India Button and Josie Soden.

Writing music for real voices is inspiring, and it's been a very productive period. 

I entered the UK Songwriting Contest and a few of the songs reached the semi-finals, including 'Back It Up' and 'We Two Fools'.

Instrumentals

'Blue Steal' is an acknowledgement of the musical debt owed to the black pioneers of the blues.  It's also a celebration of the music they inspired. (Special nods to B.B. King and ZZ Top on this one.)

'Step Too Far' was an experiment where I took an earlier heavy-rock track and 're-imagined' it with piano and strings.