It all started back in the seventies as I recall ( yes at my age you can really remember back that far) , my folk’s owned and lived on a boat and on summer nights men with dubious seventies beards and deck shoes and women in smocks would show up with guitars and sing songs on the deck. We would boil a crab and sing its praises.

Enough of this tree hugging hippy crap (I wrapped a newspaper round my head and showed them how to do it right “quote”), along came the Sex Pistols. The “Bollocks” was the first record I ever bought and to be honest I don’t think I ever got over it! I grew up on a hard diet of other stuff too The Clash, Stranglers and The Damned to name but a few.

Whilst this was going on, a certain Ian Kilmister had just parted company with Hawkwind. Motorhead were born……….. Get in! Motorhead were the first band I ever saw and the $@!))&£ last band I ever heard. (This is why the PA is so loud).
Meanwhile a guy down the street had an electric guitar for sale I had to have it. It turned out to be a Bass! I thought what the hell I have it anyway. The guy down the street turned out to be the legendary “Shank” (I later bought my first PA from the same guy).

It wasn’t long before I joined my first band and we were belting out tracks by Motorhead, Hawkwind, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Kiss(yes Kiss!), UFO, Deep Purple and of course Led Zeppelin. This band wasn’t a garage band it was more of a garden shed affair.

Messed about with original material next but it was even harder then to strike a deal than it is now (A&R people have never got to grips that there is a North of Manchester!!!)

For much of the Eighties I was lost in the musical wilderness known as the “Clubs” for which in retrospect I must be grateful as I met many great musicians and good long term friends, I kept my musical sanity by overdosing on Frank Zappa!
One day a spotty teenager knocked on me door and said “do you have a guitar?” turns out to be Andy now our sound engineer! We also worked in club bands together in the mid Eighties and again in the early Nineties; Bands including "Nightshift" and "Scally".

During this period I also messed about with the lead guitar but my enthusiasm was growing for sound, I’d had that many different systems’ couldn’t help it really.
Stopped playing for a while and started PA thing but that’s another storey.
Back in the early Nineties I bumped into old school friend Leigh. Now Leigh was always a canny Drummer like and although we had jammed on occasion many moons ago we had never played in a band together. Leigh was playing in a band with Gaz I went for a gan and I think Radiation was formed. This started a great friendship and was to become part of what is now the Distractions.

Gazzy turned out to be a good tunester and we pursued the elusive deal with Radiation and the mutation Mad Lucas but the A&R people were still stuck in Manchester!

After that I carried on with the PA thing.

It was easy to be tempted to play again with the Distractions now with leadster Fod also reunited with old friends. Its good to play with good friends full of passion and twist……..

Special Fanx (He He)

To my partner and mother of my son ,Lewis; Noz for all her patience, support and endurance, to all the lads in the band and especially all those who come along and support us.