On my return to the UK I found myself in London, doing a similar thing, but there was more money in it. At 20 years old I found myself torn between doing what I loved for a bit of cash, and being a beer salesman, for loads of money and obvious benefits. A gradual decline into amateur alcoholism saw me end up with neither to choose from. In debt, friendless, and very messed up from a bitter and abusive relationship, I returned to Leicester, only to be solitary for months. In spring 2001, I happened upon a band needing a lead guitar player. The singer didn’t like the look of me much, but I forced my way in, and had a good time being able to play in a band again. The driven nature of the rest of the band gave me time to regain my confidence whilst still doing something of worth. Coming to terms with what had been a tough few years (about 21 actually) resulted in a breakdown, and a bad experience with anti-depressants.

3 and a half years, and 400 gigs later, I left the band to form Vitriol I.D. It was not without regret, particularly as our dear friend and bass player passed away shortly afterwards.

Now, fuelled by the experience of these events, I write, sing and play guitar in Vitriol I.D., and am lucky enough to have an awesome set of musicians behind me – kind of a rotating band if you like. A 3 piece ‘rock’ band, I’m able to spit out my venom confident that the rhythm section create a 2 parts noisy / one part melodic accompaniment to the songs.