In the early 1970s I learned my craft playing regularly in a succession of New Zealand covers bands - the Hutt Valley & Country Western Society Band, Leaway and Tracta- we were pub and club regulars, touring and backing artists like Maria Dallas, John Grenell and Steve Gilpin as well as doing our own shows. I worked for UBA in Wellington, as 'drums for hire' and played one-off gigs with many local bands before leaving for the UK. In England, in 1977, I discovered the power of punk and cut my hair. I was the original drummer in Ziro Baby's Tronics and played on the debut single, 'Suzie's Vibrator', before later playing with The Reds and Lost Lovers. After returning to New Zealand in the 1980s, I came to Australia, started Vinyl Solution Records and the OMEN Records label and began playing hard-edged blues with Dangerous Goods. Later, with the three-piece indie band Scrimshaw, I made the album 'The Amazing Adventures Of Mavis And Roy', then released my solo records, 'In The Wake Of A Shadow', and the single 'Pitched Back With Venom'. In 2016 the album 'You Twisted My Mind' was released by OMEN on CD, LP and through streaming outlets, featuring the complete Lost Lovers Hertfordshire recordings, rare BBC sessions from the Reds, solo material from the 1990s and three new tracks, recorded with Tamasha Grin.
