I was born on a farm in Llanmorlais, on the Gower Peninsular, South Wales in 1944, the youngest of four children.
I come from a theatrical and musical family. My mother produced shows, my aunt was a church organist, and my elder brother was also a church organist, produced shows and performed cabaret acts.
I was taught piano by David Jenkins, late father of the composer, Karl Jenkins of Penclawdd. I was a deputy church organist to my brother.
In my early teens I produced nativity plays and other small playlets for the church, writing the scripts and new songs for these. At 17, I wrote and directed the first of several pantomimes and revues for the local village of Llanmorlais on the Gower peninsular to raise money to build a community hall.
I went to school at Gowerton Boys Grammar School from 1955 to 1963.
After leaving school I worked for 3 years at an architects practice in Swansea, South Wales and also went to technical college 2 days a week to study architecture.
In May 1966, together with a friend, I went to live in London where I stayed for almost 8 years. We lived first in Bayswater and later in Shepherds Bush/Hammersmith.
I worked in two different architects offices for 2 years before tiring of the the career. I took a job with the London Electricity Board for 5 years progressing from Clerical Assistant to a Senior Administrator.
London was a wonderful place to be during these years - flower power, the Beatles, the Hair musical and the Stones in the Park concert were just a few of the memorable times I had.
In August 1973 I moved back to Wales and took over the Waterloo Inn in Station Road Llanelli and kept it for 11 years. Again, some fabulous times and wonderful memories.
It was during spare moments behind the bar that I wrote my first full-length musical "Silas" which I staged at Llanelli Entertainment Centre in October 1983. Many of the cast were also my pub regulars.
I left the pub in December 1984 and did several jobs working in pubs, cafes and restaurants. During this time I wrote and staged my second musical "Genesis" and also two musical revues, "The Meaning of Christmas" and "Days of the Year"
In November 1987 I took the position of Office Manager at Swansea Housing Association where I stayed for 21 years before retiring in 2009.
During this time I wrote and produced 2 shows using staff as the cast for the entertainment of the Associations elderly tenants. The shows were "The Little Housing Association on the Prairie" in 1997 and "A Treasure Island in the South Pacific" in 1998.
I also started to entertain with solo comedy and group acts at our office parties. Over the years I did the village people, Tina Turner, Abba, Teletubbies, Shirley Bassey, The Queen, Freddie Mercury, Cher, Marguerita Pracatan, Ernie the Milkman, Rudolf the red-nosed Reindeer, Dolly Parton, Dame Edna, Max Boyce, Amy Winehouse
To date I have written the lyrics and music for almost 400 songs which range in style from ballads to beat, latin, country, rock and pop.
In my spare time I am a working medium and spiritual healer. I am the Chairman of Llanelli Spiritualist Centre.
I had lapsed from taking an active role in the promotion of my songs. Now I have retired I have a resurgence of energy to ensure that my songs are appreciated by a wider audience.
I have now embarked on a huge programme of recording demonstration records of all my songs in my home-based studio in Llanelli and intend to promote these in an active way.
In particular I am trying to get a professional staging of my musical "Glyndwr: Prince of Wales" which shows Owain Glyndwr, not only as an historical figure, but a person who has influence and is an inspiration to the 21st Century when the Welsh are becoming proud again of their heritage.
I am also still writing with a new musical "Moses and the Promised Land" almost complete and several other musical and writing projects, including, books, a novel and a series of childrens stories.
My retirement is time is full. But still time to take some fabulous holidays. Over the past few years I have been to Brittany, Rome, Venice, Sorrento, Milan, Florence, New York, Dublin, Paris, Barcelona, Egypt, Morroco, Hong Kong, Beijing, India (Delhi, Varanasi, Amritsar, Jaipur and Aggra), Athens, Istanbul, USA (Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Francisco) Spain (Madrid, Granada, Seville), Gibraltar, Lisbon, Rio de Janeiro, Malta, Sicily (Palermo, Catania, Milazzo, Cefalu, Agrigento, Stromboli, Siracuse, Messina)
Life begins at 65! |
