I coulda been a contender...

Since people have said nice things about the song I Dropped in the Box the other day, I thought I’d share some more.

Unlike certain other ’Spillers, my musical career never really got as far as the starting blocks. The story goes like this. I recorded a demo when I was 18, which I sent off to half a dozen record companies. One of those was Jeepster Records, then home to Belle & Sebastian and no one else. Their manager, Mark Jones, phoned up to say how much he liked it, and that he wanted to meet me.

Unfortunately, I’d just gone to Australia for six months on a slightly pointless gap year. I did meet him when I got back – on the guest list at a sold-out B&S gig, I’ll have you know – but by that time he’d signed a band called Snow Patrol. (Feel free to imagine a parallel universe for a moment… I have, many times.) I went off to university. And that’s about it. A couple of cheaply self-financed recordings, sent half-heartedly to the odd record company. Very occasional gigs in bars. Two excellent reviews in the unsigned bands section of the Salisbury Journal. But if I’m honest, I’m too much of a dilettante to pursue a career in the music industry. That, and I never met the right band.

One of these days, I’m going to buy some decent software, record a load of songs, put them online and become a word-of-mouth sensation (right after I’ve finished my novel...). In the meantime, here’s a few tunes I do have. The first four were recorded in someone’s basement studio in 1998(?). The other four I recorded myself the following summer, then got someone to remaster. There are some bum notes, and my voice can drift excruciatingly into the mid-Atlantic at times. But hey, hope you like them. Any comments/recording contracts gratefully received.

Justine Sees The Sun Go Down
Fake The Ecstatic Again
Song In October
After Lucy Died

Land of Cockaigne
Swan Song
Snatch At The Sun
French Horn