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I’m thrilled to announce that renowned composer and performer Jools Scott will be joining me for a special guest appearance in ‘Bike to The Future’, at the Rondo Theatre, Bath on October 29th.

Composer, Pianist, Bon-Viveur…

Jools has a truly impressive track record, both as composer and performer. His Oratorio ‘The Cool Web’ was performed at St Pauls Cathedral in 2018. He has also composed scores for numerous films, games and audio books.

As a performer, Jools was onstage for the National Theatre/Bristol Old Vic production of Jane Eyre in 2015. He has played and recorded extensively with folk sensation Beth Porter, both as part of her ‘Availables’ and as a core member of ‘The Golden Eggs’. And he appears on keys with inimitable indie-folkabilly band ‘The Duckworths’.

Sobering Times

Jools and I have known one another for some time as part of the eclectic music scene in and around Bath. We established a rapport as fellow composers and discovered we had much to share in this capacity. However, meeting – as we generally did – at or after gigs and festivals, we realised we were rarely sober enough to have a sensible conversation. So, we got into the habit of meeting for breakfast (usually before Jools heads off to entertain tourists at The Pump Rooms in Bath).

Full English

Since you asked, we both favour a good Full English with a cappuccino. You didn’t? Well, you know now anyway. Over this hearty meal, it’s great to bounce around ideas and discuss plans. Actually, some of my Fringe shows have benefitted from these exchanges. And I hope that I’ve made some small contribution to Jools’ incredible work too.

Cast of Characters

Jools will be just one of a colourful cast of characters joining me on stage at the Rondo. I’ll share more about them as we approach the event. But, rest assured, this will be an evening to remember. Without giving too much away, this time you will get to hear the songs out loud. And you will be regaled with the stories that inform them. And (for the regulars) yes – there will be a choir!

See you there.

Sing as One

The audience is suddenly thrown into darkness as the song (‘The End’) is cut short. From among the throng, a group of singers has arranged itself in the centre of the space. Using their phone lights, they illuminate music sheets and begin to sing a slowly-evolving, ethereal chant.

Around them, dancers emerge from within the audience. They too light up the space, their torch beams following the movement. Singers and dancers are locked together in overlapping, repeating phrases. These slowly cycle, in and out of phase, until revealing themselves as being strands of one harmony. The text is ‘Come together, Sing as one’.

The underlying message of the show is to make the most of our interactions while we can. We regularly neglect those that mean most to us. And we often miss the opportunity to let those that have inspired or helped us know how we feel about them.

We each have our own independent trajectory. But these interweave with one another, combining in ways that may be abrasive or beautiful. It is up to us all to make the most of our interactions, whether planned or chanced upon. Together, we can make something quite magical.

Back to Start

The End

Now all barriers between me and the audience have been removed. We are all, quite literally, now on the same level. It’s a little difficult to hear the song via the hand-held camera’s microphone, over the audience’s spontaneous clapping. But you can certainly make out the ‘whoo-hoo’s!

After a time, a conga breaks out, audience members clap, sing and generally enjoy the mayhem. Until, suddenly, it’s all over. Or is it?…

 Part 10

Let The Healing Begin

Now, even the cameraman has to pack down his tripod, so we get a slightly disconcerting view of the rapidly deconstructing performance. The audio is also just from the hand-held camera, so we are very much ‘in the room’ with no enhancement…

As a student, I was introduced to theatre by the amazing director Andy Burden. We became close friends and when he moved back to his home city of Bath, I visited him regularly. As well as directing, Andy also wrote and performed songs. Together, we played many of Bath and Bristol’s most popular venues and I realised this was somewhere I would be happy to live.

A few years later, I moved to Bath – together with my wife – and quickly became established within the local creative scene. When we then started a family, some friendships became a little overlooked. As a parent, you inevitably have to re-prioritise and it can be difficult to find time and energy to socialise.

So, even though we now lived within the same city, Andy and I saw less of one another and our gigging together was curtailed. Fast-forward a few years and now we are in the era of social media. One day, Andy posted that a lump had been found on his neck. It was thought to be a benign tumor but turned out to be cancer.

There followed a period of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Andy was hit hard by these but, when I visited him, he still managed to play host, rather than ‘the patient’. Eventually, he posted on social media that the treatment was over: “they’ve cut me, they’ve burned me’ they’ve poisoned me”, he wrote; “Now, let the healing being!”

It struck me that this sounded like one of Andy’s songs. Beneath his post, friends and family had written all sorts of beautiful and moving comments. So, I set about creating a song, in the style of Andy Burden, using both his words and those of his loved ones.

And here it is…

Part 9

Life Begins

Time is pushing on and the sound man is keen to pack down the remaining microphone. The PA and stage  lighting has now gone. The audience is still standing, following ‘Life Begins’ and I continue my story without staging or amplification…

To celebrate my 40th birthday, I gathered friends together for a camping weekend near Bath. This prompted me to contact Fergus Read – who’s was the first friendship I struck up as a student in London. Fergus was an amazing musician and played just about every instrument you could think of.

Through Fergus, I got to collaborate with some of London’s finest jazz players. During our time as students, I was lucky enough to play gigs with the likes of Jean-Marie Fagan, Alan Barnes and Malcolm Earle-Smith.  And being accepted into such exulted company went a long way towards helping me overcome some deep-seated self doubt.

Fergus declined the invitation to my party. After I described the planned  children’s games, tai chi, yoga, barbecues and campfire sing-alongs, he declared that I was a f**king hippy and that he would not be attending. He said he would, though, come and visit (together with his wife, Ulfet) me and my family at our home in Bavaria.

And so they did. It transpired they had both become quite serious wine buffs since we last saw them. They arrived in a car laden with everything France had to offer, from fine wines and cheeses to – ahem – fois gras. Every night became a banquet and the proposed one-night stay extended to eight.

After this, our friendship was rekindled. So too our working relationship. Fergus helped provide the expertise for a ‘vintage-jazz’ track I composed for a short animation. On it, he played – with skill and expertise – guitar, piano, trumpet and clarinet. Fergus’s dear pal Malcolm played trombone; tuba was provided by our mutual friend Sarah Waterhouse… and I hit some things.

The following year, Fergus and Ulfet reprised their visit to Bavaria. During that stay, Fergus made me promise I would visit when over in England for an up-coming theatre production. This I did – but, when I got there,  it was clear something wasn’t right. Fergus’s speech was slurred and he revealed he had undergone a biopsy.

Shortly after, Fergus was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He declined quickly and by the time I was next in England was already in a hospice, barely able to communicate. The chemotherapy and radio therapy did give him a reprieve. However, on my next and final visit to see him, he was once again in decline and now in denial about his situation.

So, I never got to tell Fergus what he really meant to me. It is a source of lasting regret that I hadn’t forced myself to say how grateful I was to have known him, both as a friend and fellow musician.  So, of course, I wrote him a song. Actually, I wrote the bulk of it in the departures lounge of Saltzburg Airport, waiting for my flight over to see him. But, of course, he never got to hear it.

 Part 8

Life Begins

As I neared the end of my 30s, the idea of turning 40 felt like a daunting prospect . However, once that milestone was passed, it seemed as though I had a new lease of life. Self-imposed boundaries began to ease and a renewed sense of possibility set in.

It’s now quite a while since the ‘show’ has finished. The venue staff is keen to get everything packed away. The audience is, therefore, asked to stack the chairs at the back of the auditorium. So, the literal deconstruction of the performance environment continues.

And with that comes the further removal of barriers between performer and audience. Now, people are free to move, mingle and dance. They get involved with the song and one group improvises a refrain, along with the guitar riff.

Freed from the constraints of sitting in rows, the public now enjoys a sense of release. But with that comes uncertainty. Now the rules of engagement have been broken: where will this show take them next?

Part 7 

Barry Maunder Day

On a trip back to the UK from Germany, to work on a film project, I visited our old neighbour, Hersey, in Bath. She asked me if I had heard about Barry, who lived across the street. Barry Maunder was transport manager for the Environment Centre in Bath (then’Evolve’). There, he was instrumental in setting up Car-Free Day. This was taken up all over Europe but soon dwindled in the UK.

Hersey explained that funding for Barry’s job at Evolve had been cut. I thought this strange, since he was the Transport Manager, arguably the most vital role within that organisation. Having said that, Barry was not always popular, since he regularly stood-up to local traders, who were often unable to see beyond the bonnets of their customer’s vehicles. So I had my suspicions as to why he, in particular, had been seen as dispensable.

Hersey then explained that Barry had become very ill, after losing his job, and then died. This was, naturally, a huge shock. As far as I had been aware, he was fit and well the last time I had seen him, only a year or so previously.

Barry lived for his work and was a tireless campaigner, during a period in which there was a lot of apathy and indifference towards environmental concerns. Could it be that, now Barry’s purpose had been taken away from him, he had somehow lost the will to live? Or was it just a cruel coincidence?

Whatever the cause and effect, I wondered whether we could reinvigorate car-free day in Barry’s name. This being a time before Social Media, my efforts to whip-up support for the idea, once back in Germany, didn’t get very far. But I did write a song…

Part 6 

Knight in Tiny Armour

So I engaged the boys in play fighting. Which was fine, until Florian saw them apparently attacking his Dad. And he was having none of it. Two years younger and outnumbered as he was, Florian fought off these little thugs, with a look of thunder on his face.

My heart filled with love, admiration and a little relief at Florian’s heroic defense of his old man. And, of course, I wrote a song about it…

 Part 5

To Have or To Be

When you become a parent for the first time, it feels like a tremendous responsibility. It’s also incredibly exciting. Suddenly, you are aware of the enormous potential in life. Your child could grow up to be anyone and do anything. And you will have a key role in shaping that journey.

So, it feels really important to keep on growing yourself. Now, you must face your own prejudices, desires and disappointments. How can you be the best possible role model for your child? Can you maintain your own integrity whilst putting the needs of your family first?

For me, it was an exciting time, personally, when my daughter was born. I was beginning to make connections in the creative world and finding new opportunities. In the midst of all of this, a chance encounter on a train threw everything into sharp relief. And gave me the chord structure for a new song…

Part 4