How my Musical tastes and experiences shaped the Musician I was then and became today .

My mum Joyce had a love of Classical music and Opera , this she inherited from her Dad , my Grandad Fred Selman .

He had a wonderful tenor voice and was never trained but loved Opera and had a big collection of 78 records and would tell me the stories behind the Opera

One of my first recordings i heard aged 7 was the Parlophone recordings of Maria Callas singing Casta Diva , i was completely in awe .

I had a old Record player that i kept under my bed and i played old recordings of the great singers , orchestras and conductors

Peter and the Wolf and Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra

I went to my first ballet the Frederick Ashton production from the Tales of Beatrix Potter at the Royal Opera House aged five !!!!!,

One of my fav things was Christmas carols from York Minster which i had on cassette.

My dad loved the Beatles , and other great 60s artists and he became a big supporter of Joe Brown and went to many of his concerts

My sister had a love of pop music so i was immersed in top of the pops

i later discovered Rock music and loved Pink Floyd , Led Zepplin , Alice Cooper and AC/DC

I also admired Hazel o connor and the Dead Kennedys

So please drop a comment and let me know ,who and what inspired your musical Journey