I was born in The Wirral, but moved to Manchester when I was 7. I had 2 sisters and 6 girl cousins who we’d meet at Grandma’s house most Sundays. I remember questioning if I was really a boy, but stopped short of thinking I was a girl, which is why I don’t think of myself […]
I had a happy childhood until I was 9. I enjoyed junior school and had a lovely music teacher called Mrs Barton. I was a happy, open child. When I was 9, I was the victim of sexual abuse. This changed me: I became shy and suspicious and developed a stammer, which caused me to […]
I was born and brought up in a small town, Alappuzha in the Southern Indian state of Kerala. Mine was a creative family: My Dad was a writer and my Mum a musician. Memories of my childhood are rather sober, poignant and chaotic. Although I had a lot of friends, I was lone in a […]
I spent my early years exploring on my own. What strongly stands out in my memory from early childhood was the realisation of individuality which I would probably attribute to this time spent alone, wandering through the forest and dirt tracks that were in abundance near to where I grew up in Oxfordshire, giving me […]
Although I come from a large family, I felt lonely for a lot of my childhood. My closest sibling was 14 years older than me, and married and left home when I was 5. My eldest sister had 3 girls by the time I was born. As soon as I left school I […]
How did you start out playing? My mum liked Acker Bilk. At junior school, when I was about 10, I had this teacher Mr. Green, he got everyone on recorder, which I got really into, so my mum got me a clarinet, and made me play Stranger on the Shore every time someone came for […]
I come from a fairly musical family, neither of my parents were full-time musicians but both were musical in different ways and made sure our house was always full of instruments. At some point I found their xylophone and learnt a few nursery rhymes which set me off on a path to studying […]
I was the eldest of 3 daughters (with a much older brother away from home) in what was quite a disrupted family unit. I have wonderful, loving parents but as with many families, a lot of separation and drama unfolded in my youth which left me a deeply nervous, sensitive child. I struggled greatly […]
I was born and grew up in Southampton. Musically, life was really busy until 12 years old. I had private piano lessons from the age of 7; school had provided me with free recorder and flute lessons, and they had a wonderful choir and orchestra which I absolutely loved. We rehearsed every week […]
My mum was pretty much on the run from my dad from the outset! This meant living in Totnes, Hastings and Battle (in a caravan, and then on a farm) before he eventually gained custody of me and brought me up as a single dad from 1970 onwards. We moved to Battersea, Chelsea, Kensington, […]