BIOGRAPHY
I was born in Southampton on the 22nd of July 1961, at Southampton General hospital. As a Kid I lived in Lymington, Milford and Finally New Milton. Growing up there was something of warzone at home, due to aggro between my mother and father. This was further compounded by my being dyslexic which lead to being targeted by the teachers, which encouraged the school yard bullies to do the same. Though I tried to make the best of it, there's only so much you can take and by the time I reached 11 I was ready to kick back. I cropped my hair, got a pair of boots and braces and became a skinhead.
By the time I was 15 I had the reputation of a troublemaker and was barred from going to school. I guess you could say me and school never saw eye to eye. Anyway I spent a year working as a bricklayers labourer, then was packed off to London to live with the family of an ex-girlfriend of mine. I adapted to city life quite readily and started going to punk and reggae gigs the two scenes were quite big at the time. When the Job folded I returned to the Southcoast and after a period of unemployment, joined the Army.
that lasted nearly two years, I was at the time a football holigan and on leave I was the leader of a gang of skinheads in Bournemouth, pro-active on the terraces and streets of the town. Life was exciting a lot of fun, if a bit painful at times. I met a girl whilst at a Last Resort concert on the old kent road. She came down to Bournemouth and we got married 6 months later. That was to last eight years and see three boys born over the years.
At that time I was living on the Ferrier estate in South East London, and hanging around with the skinheads there. After splitting with the wife I met an Italian girl and was with her for five years. During this time I had a number of opportunities to get involved on the music scenes of Punk and Ska. As well as holding down a job as an overground train driver based at Charring Cross station. In my time I have been a DJ, Promotor, Merchandiser, stage security, roadie, photographer, album compilier, ideas man, Archive cataloguer, journalist, music editor and novelist. I also appeared on Television and in Cinema films and was co-recipiant of a british arts council prize, for a book called "Voices of the Ferrier"..
When the job came to an abrupt end (Burn out), I moved back to the South Coast and New Milton.
I spent five years in education and realised a degree in Television and video production. I had a script called "England belongs to me" (Based on my first novel) touted about before it was pipped by "This is England" to be the first skinhead movie that featured a balanced view of the skinhead cult. Rather than the soley fascist angle the industry had been touting up until then.
Whether or not "England belongs to me" had an influence on Shane Meadows, its good to see a film feature, non-racist and black skinheads. If you get a chance see - "This is England" - its well worth a look.