After graduating from the Lanchester Polytechnic Arts Faculty in Coventry, I was back in Birmingham. It was 1973 and I headed straight to Moseley where I knew I would soon find kindred spirits. Before going to Art College I had been at Moseley Art School in the ‘60s, so to me, Moseley seemed the obvious choice. I had been playing lead guitar with my Dad’s band, largely to support myself when I was a student, and I was eager to form a bluesy rock band. Back then, Birmingham had numerous venues, pubs, clubs and university gigs and it was fairly viable to make a living. I soon ended up jamming with all kinds of musicians, and formed bands such as 'The First Band' and the 'Wide Boys' around that time. For a short while, I had a single room in St Albans Road, in Moseley. It was pretty rough there so I often used to eat cheaply in the canteen at Margaret Street Art College in town. I wasn’t a student there, but I had a Hendrix inspired image - afro, flares and beads - so I fitted well into the scene, every day. Back then, most art students looked as if they had just got back from Woodstock. I soon met a few new friends, and we would talk about art and music, and generally all the things enjoyed by hippy types. I remember meeting a very young, clean-cut painting student at the college - Dave Hinds - who years later became the lead singer and founder member of Steel Pulse. He was friendly, but I felt that he was a little wary of me and thought I was some kind of wild man because of my appearance! Strange that might seem, if you look at him now. COMMUNITY
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