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It was a real treat to do a one-off gig with my dear friend Lisa Grahame. She’s an amazing Sax player who played for Jools Holland’s Rhythm and Blues Orchestra for nearly 20 years.  Lisa and myself had spent a few days in my studio recording ideas for her new songs. As a result she decided to book a gig herself at her local Village Hall near Henley. We had some amazing players in the band too including Pete Brown on Guitar, Carlos Hercules on drums and Steve Walters on Bass all of whom played for George Michael.

It was a packed hall of enthusiastic new fans for the band. I really hope we get a chance to do it again.

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I’m pleased to say my total hip replacement operation just before Xmas 2025 went very well. However, not being allowed to fly for 6 weeks, meant I had to miss the Dubai gig at the end of January with the Dire Straits Experience. So it was great to be back for our trip to Finland, Sweden and Norway 17th - 23rd March . Yes it was cold and snowy, but a lot of fun. Within a week of getting back, we were then off to my 2nd home, Ireland, for a 4 date tour covering Cork , Killarney, Castlebar and finishing in Dublin at the famous Olympia venue.  As always, great audiences and so appreciative. 

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I was delighted to be asked back to play on a new format of the ‘Luther Live’ show I played last year. It now includes ‘Velvet Voices’ covering repertoire from Alexander O’Neal, Marvin Gaye, Bobby Brown, Freddie Jackson and many more. 

It’s my kind of music and a total pleasure to play. Try staying in your seat for this show, you won’t last long before getting up to dance, thanks to the dulcet tones of Gamal John (from Britain’s Got Talent golden buzzer).

Check the link below for this years UK dates

https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/luther-live-and-velvet-voices/

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It was a pleasure to revisit my 80s Pop roots for the Brit Fest 2024 Festival at Ashely Showground in Chesire on July 6th. I had a fabulous house band to MD (Keys - Steve Power, Guitar - Sam Wilcock, Bass - Andy Carr, Drums - Phil Groyssboeck, Percussion - Shan Chana).

Artists we backed included, Nik Kershaw, Paul Young, The Real Thing , 5-Star , T’Pau and Owen Paul. Whilst the weather could have been a little kinder, the crowds weren’t daunted. Preparations and rehearsals can be tough but it’s always a pleasure to work with these 80s icons. Rumour has it another one is coming up in July 2025 - this time Midge Ure, The Fizz, Cutting Crew, Hue and Cry and Sinitta. Watch this space !

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. Artists we backed included, Nik Kershaw, Paul Young, The Real Thing , 5-Star , T’Pau and Owen Paul. Whilst the weather could have been a little kinder, the crowds weren’t daunted. Preparations and rehearsals can be tough but it’s always a pleasure to work with these 80s icons. Rumour has it another one is coming up in July 2025 - this time Midge Ure, The Fizz, Cutting Crew, Hue and Cry and Sinitta. Watch this space !

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Fun was had by all on Saturday 18th March in Viborg Tinghallen DENMARK. Another slice of 80s Pop history was delivered to our appreciative Danish audience - including Katrina (of the Waves) , Paul Young and Boney M. I was proud to MD the ‘Here and Now’ 5-piece house band as they worked their way through over 20 classic hits. 

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This was a very welcome diversion from the norm for me. Hazel Ross, virtuoso violinist and co-founder of the dynamic violin duo team, ‘Elektra’, asked me to create a medley of Queen songs for the cruise liner shows coming up this year. Not only was it nice to come back to my classical roots arranging for two violins, it was a pleasure to be able to contribute to the entire project as a keyboardist and programmer. If you’d like to know more about this fabulous show, click on the link - https://elektraviolins.com

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Thanks to my good friend and Musical Director, Clive Dunstall, I’ve been helping with the preparation and arranging of orchestral charts for the upcoming Matt Goss UK tour. The 80s pop icon will be having a full swing big band with a complement of string players so the production looks to be a very impressive sounding one. For more information click on the link - https://www.mattgosstour.com

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I was delighted to be asked by pianist Jill Morton to compose and arrange five new Christmas tunes for her December Musical Advent calendar. Having been a while since I’d put pencil to manuscript, I cant deny it was challenging getting those creative cogwheels turning again. But I’m pleased with the end results and honoured that Jill recorded all five pieces for her YouTube channel. You can hear them on the following links below - (sheet music is also available from my ScoreExchange.com page)

All Aboard the Reindeer Express - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mb3n6jinGI

The Naughty Elf from Swaffham - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2s7LoPrvj4&t=95s

The Northern Lights - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bufmldkJY7s

A Winter’s Dawn Over Loch Etive - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnecREEs0Jg

In addition to these four newly composed pieces I also did an arrangement of one of my favourite Christmas tunes by David Foster - 

Grown Up Christmas List - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9404MnwqG0

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It was a pleasure to finally have a mini tour of 4 gigs with The Dire Straits Experience in Israel.  A very welcome October journey to the sun staying in the beautiful Sheraton hotel on the Tel Aviv beach. Understandably no one is taking any chances with the Covid situation which meant no less than 5 separate PCR tests over the space of our visit. But we had wonderfully enthusiastic audiences every night and some amazing food. That’s it now for the band until January when we’ll be visiting Finland. But nice to experience a glimpse of normality after some very tough times for all.