I started playing the guitar when I was about 14 years old, inspired by Cliff Richard and The Shadows. I recall going to a concert in about 1962 at the Alhambra Theatre in Cape Town to see them and shortly thereafter I formed my first garage band (shown at right), which due to lack of equipment, not to mention skill, never really went anywhere. Terry McGragh and I were also side drummers in the Christian Brothers' College Pipe Band.
In 1965, whilst still in matric, I joined a semi-profesional local band Shane and the Shantones, led by Shane Ashcroft and fronted by Franky Meneses. We played a number of sessions and matric dances that year. When the band broke up in December 1965 I formed a new garage band that played local parties and the Youth Club in Camps Bay for a while. This somewhat notorious band included Eric Ray (drums), Huey Lindsay (lead guitar), Peter Piccolo (vocals), and Alan Peachy (bass). Sadly, my university studies put an end to my playing in bands but after I graduated in 1974 I gave up on bands and started writing songs instead.
In 1999 I met up with an ex student of mine, Dan Ahern, and we started jamming together and recorded a CD of covers (see The Definitive Takes). I began attending the Jazz Workshop in Cape Town where I took guitar lessons from Alvin Dyers, which continued for six years. Encouraged by Alvin and all the jazz music I was learning, I started writing songs again. I also began building my own home recording studio and collecting guitars.
At the Jazz Workshop I met an up and coming jazz singer, Beverly Rinkwest, and we started jamming together. Both Beverly and I were writing songs and we concentrated on developing our own music. This led to us entering the Old Mutual Jazz Competition in June 2002 and we were invited to play in the Regional Finals. Bolstered by this experience we decided to pool our efforts and record a CD. Our first effort was Shooting The Breeze, recorded by me in my home studio and released in December 2002.
In April 2003 I took Shooting The Breeze to Nashville and played it to one of the vice-presidents at ASCAP (The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers). He said he liked it but recommended that I get it professionally recorded. On my return to SA I contracted a band of professional session musicians and Beverly and I recorded a CD of our own songs called Silent Moments. Shortly after its release, in January 2005 Beverly and the band played a set of our songs at the Standard Bank Jazzathon in the V&A Waterfront.
Silent Moments (and its predecessor It Must Be Friday Night) had been a costly and frustrating business and I decided to focus on writing and recording my own songs in my own studio at home, which I have been doing ever since.
I occasionally do gigs when a suitable opportunity arises. For example, while living in Hermanus in 2014 I teamed up with Judy Miller and we did a few gigs at The Original Deli, playing mostly old classics.
Since 2006, when I went digital, I have recorded nineteen albums of my own music. Apart from writing the songs I play all the
instruments and do all the singing. I'm the first to admit that some of it is rubbish, and
many of them are about heartache and treachery. You can view my albums and
music by clicking on Mo'Music in the main menu.
I have also produced two studio albums with Beverly Rinkwest, using professional musicians to play and
sing our own compositions.
I have also recorded and produced albums for other singers, which you can view here. My most esoteric work has been a sleep meditation with Reinet Stander.
I am a member of the South African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) and some of my music is registered with them.
I have written about my songwriting career in more detail here.
My first band, October 1963
L-R: Huey Lindsay, me, Terry McGragh, Paddy Royles.
Sing-song in Camps Bay, early 70's.
That's me (shirtless) leading a typical sing-song .
Judy and I at The Original Deli, Hermanus, 2014
Tree Road Studio and guitars, circa 2008