BEHIND THE MUSIC

Inspiration & Influences

BLACK RIVER

This song was written after a holiday in Kefalonia. The place I was staying was so quiet and peaceful that it seemed to release so much that was unspoken. I had a profound cathartic dream that allowed me to fully greave the loss of my mother. "I was just a boy again". Musically, it began as a very slow song. Van Morrison was a strong musical influence here and I kept thinking of the Moody Blues track, "Nights in White Satin" while I was recording it.

Written some years ago, this was about me coming to terms with my lack of success in the 'music industry'. Re-evaluating, but recognising how hard it was to let go of. My favourite line in the song is "More happy than I could ever be" which sums up the feeling succinctly. Musically, it feels very John Lennon to me. Neil Young is in there too.

EVERYTHING I NEED IS ALL I WANT

It's the antidote to "More". This song came on the back of being diagnosed with an auto-immune disease. Regardless, I felt very lucky to have what I have in my life. Musically I think The Beatles & Tom Petty are the main influences. Recording the vocals with Aaron James made it even more meaningful.

EYES

"Eyes", I regard as one of my best songs; about trying to resolve hurt with someone who is too guarded to do so. This song is deeply personal, about someone from my life, but I know so many people out there will be having similar feelings. Musically I was influenced by "Barges" - Ralph McTell and maybe Pink Floyd's "Is there Anybody out There?"

WALKING OFF THE BLUES

A very old song, which references my time in Memphis as well as London. For me it's very Dylan. It begins with the line "Well I'm your old Hoss Maam" which is influenced by someone I met there who called me "Hoss" a friendly southern term. The walking part, well that's something I used to do when I felt ticked off. The incidents mentioned in the song were based on real events. I've still got those boots by the way!

STEPHEN

A true story of a childhood friend. I was at my parents house, looking out of what used to be my bedroom window. Across the street was the house where Stephen used to live. I remembered the comfort it brought me, to have such a friend as a boy, recalling moments from our past. I think Paul Simon was an an influence, the end section is definitely Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons. Strangely, they were a music group loved by my guitar teacher as a boy. His name was also Stephen.

BACK TO MISSISIPPI

I am a huge fan of the blues. I made a pilgrimage to Mississippi some years ago. This is a song about a dream where I'm a passenger in a car, with my guitar on the back seat. The driver was never revealed to me, I was going back to Mississippi to lose the blues. The dream felt unnerving. At the beginning of the track you can hear a gospel song. This is an unreleased song I wrote called "Oh Men of Joy". Musically I think Canned Heat's "Poor Moon", Charlie Feathers "Stuttering Cindy", T.Rex "Get it On" and Waylon Jennings "Lonesome, Onry and Mean" were all in there, some J.J Cale and some Muddy Waters.

MR BATTY

A real life school teacher who was very tall and imposing to a 13 year old boy. The song came about after a conversation about school life. Like most of my songs, I seemed to have written it in no time. I'm really just having fun here, remembering that frightened boy I was. I'm sure Mr Batty was decent man really. The solo on this was created by accident, leaving another solo attempt on in the mix. Sounded a little southern rock. Musically it was inspired by The Meters, maybe "Doing the Dirt" or "Jungle Man".

LIFE IN A MOTORHOME

I'm a huge fan of Sly and the Family Stone. This song was written after I'd learned that Sly Stone lived in a motorhome. I started to think about his adventures. Of course I had to do the song in a style reminiscent of Sly and the Family Stone. Sadly Sly is no longer with us.

Curated by Simon Peter Cole

I'M JUST NOT STRONG ENOUGH

Truth is, I've been through some real hardships in life. I've got through it each time, the weight can feel too heavy though. The influence here, Bruce Springsteen "Tougher than the Rest", ironically! Also a splash of Al Green. I recorded this song about 4 times, before choosing the original version.

JULIETTE

A song of gratitude, love and respect, written about my wife Juliette. I recorded the song by playing along to my original demo which I'd recorded minutes after writing it. This was so that I could capture the same feeling. The influences here "Suzanne" by Leonard Cohen and "Madame George" by Van Morrison, maybe some Ray LaMontagne too.

ALL OF THE TIME

This song was a message to my son, missing him like crazy. Musically, it was influenced by "You're a Big Girl Now" by Bob Dylan, several Joni Mitchel songs as well as John Martyn. The song references "Grapefruit Moon" by Tom Waits, one of my favourite songs.