Early influences

1973

I grew up with Jake and Peeler. They were my two older cousins and it was like having two older brothers. Jake, the eldest, was three years older than me and he learned to play guitar and loved guitar bands. Peeler was the same age as me and we were both influenced by the music Jake listened to at that time, which he bought and borrowed

The Beatles - Red and Blue double albums
Paul McCartney & Wings - Band on the Run
Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon
Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy
Deep Purple - Made in Japan

Other bands we listened to - Alice Cooper, Bob Dylan, Black Sabbath, The Byrds, Cat Stevens, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Eagles, Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac, Free, Genesis, Hawkwind, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, Peter Frampton, Roxy Music, Status Quo, The Rolling Stones, Santana, Styx, Uriah Heep

I was still young and liked Sweet, Slade, Wizzard and Suzi Quatro from the charts, but all this heavier music was going in my head and had a deep influence on me. It shaped my life

In 1973 I had a paper round which earned me £1.20 a week for six days' work (20p a day!) which supplemented a bit of pocket money my parents gave me. They didn't have a lot of money in those days and I struggled to buy albums. I listened to what I really liked and I managed to get these:

Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon
















Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy
















Deep Purple - Made in Japan















David Bowie - Aladdin Sane
















Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
















The Sweet














It was 1973 and I was aged 11 !!