I was born in Perivale, west London, to a Welsh father and Anglo-Indian mother, and raised in the Indian community of Southall. My dad was a bus driver, my mum a childminder. The comprehensive I went to spawned the likes of The Magic Numbers, footballer Jason Roberts and the bassist for Chesney Hawkes.
Once sent home for getting my head shaved but leaving a forelock like Carter USM's frontman, I later grew long curtains with a grade-0 undercut (inspiration Jason Newsted) – why I’m thankful my youth was pre-cameraphone. I also saved up for a Jackson sharkfin guitar and formed a classmate band whose pinnacle was playing poorly executed Metallica covers at a school fete.
Early jobs included Esso cashier, silver-service waiter and the more masculating site labourer helping build an Uxbridge shopping mall. I studied English at St Mary’s College, based at Horace Walpole’s Castle in Twickenham which later inspired me to start a novel set in its original C18 purlieu. Enrolment on a postgrad NCTJ course, submitting the music articles I’d written for my student mag, led to a news agency gig and my first Record Collector features, interviewing pre-breakdown Craig Nicholls, Gary Numan and boyhood hero Shakin’ Stevens.
Once sent home for getting my head shaved but leaving a forelock like Carter USM's frontman, I later grew long curtains with a grade-0 undercut (inspiration Jason Newsted) – why I’m thankful my youth was pre-cameraphone. I also saved up for a Jackson sharkfin guitar and formed a classmate band whose pinnacle was playing poorly executed Metallica covers at a school fete.
Early jobs included Esso cashier, silver-service waiter and the more masculating site labourer helping build an Uxbridge shopping mall. I studied English at St Mary’s College, based at Horace Walpole’s Castle in Twickenham which later inspired me to start a novel set in its original C18 purlieu. Enrolment on a postgrad NCTJ course, submitting the music articles I’d written for my student mag, led to a news agency gig and my first Record Collector features, interviewing pre-breakdown Craig Nicholls, Gary Numan and boyhood hero Shakin’ Stevens.
Meeting Shaky, Copenhagen, 2004
Made my next break by pitching to my local paper an interview with Aussie snooker ‘bad boy’ Quinten Hann who'd moved to Ealing. He was later charged with and tried for rape not long after, leaving me the only UK journo with an exclusive with the accused. I fielded offers from Aus news channels before deploying it with a TNT rival mag where I then spent three years as Dep Editor interviewing the likes of Natalie Imbruglia & Steve Irwin not long before he snuffed, before the mag did too with the downturn. After a further year writing for city firm C Squared I decided to blow my ISA on a bucket-list world tour.
A freelance since then, more recently for the Indy & BBC as well as Rough Guides , I live in a market town 50 mins from London and half the mortgage cost, after 35 years in the capital. I like playing pub team football, DJing at parties and winning local poker tournaments on instinct not pot odds. I support Shelter & RSPCA by standing order to stem the guilt of passing the homeless and their dogs. I once beat Jimmy White at pool. One day I’ll finish my novel.
A freelance since then, more recently for the Indy & BBC as well as Rough Guides , I live in a market town 50 mins from London and half the mortgage cost, after 35 years in the capital. I like playing pub team football, DJing at parties and winning local poker tournaments on instinct not pot odds. I support Shelter & RSPCA by standing order to stem the guilt of passing the homeless and their dogs. I once beat Jimmy White at pool. One day I’ll finish my novel.