I’m still studying creative writing at Birkbeck University, a journey I began in 2022 after years of organising charity gigs all over london and, for a time, working with Musicians Against Homelessness (MAH). My life has been a wild ride—born in Warrington, I bounced between convents, caravans, and care homes, landing seven custodial sentences by age 22. Homelessness gripped me for over four years, and addiction nearly broke me, but music became my lifeline, pulling me from petty crime to a purpose-driven life.

In 2016, I joined MAH, a charity founded by Emma Rule and Alan McGee, the Creation Records legend who signed Oasis. As London Regional Manager, I poured my 26 years of promoter experience into organising benefit gigs, like the one at Mau Mau Bar featuring Martin from Taurus Trakker. Those events raised vital funds for Crisis, a charity supporting people experiencing homelessness—a cause I know intimately. In 2016 alone, MAH’s 100 UK gigs, with London’s share, raised over £43,000. We didn’t just stage shows; we built a community, giving unsigned bands a platform and hope to those on the streets.

My life’s been an adventure. I hosted parties in Thailand and survived Jamaica’s General Penitentiary, where I played in the prison band Bloom of Light alongside Dennis "Leppo" Lobban, the man who killed Peter Tosh. These stories, plus my battles with addiction, bankruptcy, and redemption in Notting Hill’s music scene, fill my 2019 autobiography, A Nightmare in Jamaica. For over  40 years, I've lived in and around london, near Portobello Road for the last 25 years, managing bands like Pink Cigar, Steve Dior, and Slydigs, and promoting gigs.

Though I no longer work directly with MAH, my creative writing degree lets me channel these experiences into inspiring stories. Music saved me, and through MAH, I helped others find hope. I’m writing the next chapter, using words to keep fighting for those who need it most.