How I got into playing the organ and the journey to get where I am today.
This is going to be a real trip down memory lane, but back in 1977 my parents decided that I should learn an instrument. At the time it was the thing to be a drummer and I remember wanting a set of drums, but thanks to my gran having an organ, it was decided for me that the organ was the best instrument for me to play.
Now as a child, the organ was a bit of a no no, as it wasn't cool and was seen as something that you played in church. Even back then as a 5 year old, it seems that the organ wasn't cool as an instrument to learn. Despite my requests for drums, I had an organ bought for me - a Galanti. I remember the bench of the organ being so hard to sit on, as it was just a piece of solid wood on a metal frame. From my research, Galanit was an Italian manufacturer and the sound was very harsh and piercing.
I had lessons in Macclesfield at the now closed Macclesfield Organ Centre - which was run by the Bailey Family of Macclesfield. After 12 months tuition my parents decided that it was time for me to have a new organ and this time I could choose the organ.
Now I know we are going back a few years here, but Macclesfield Organ Centre had an arrangement that if you traded in an instrument that you had bought from them, they would give you the full amount you paid in part exchange against a new organ - amazing, nobody does that nowadays. Anyway I had my heart set on an Elka with a fantastic rhythm unit, but my father had heard the Crumar by Haven which had a leslie speaker built in and that was that - it was delivered within a few days.
Anyway, from there I had many many lessons and moved music teachers 3 times, eventually settling with a private tutor who came to me at home. My music teacher tried to get me to play Strauss waltzes and classical pieces, but up until then I had been playing music like the Carpenters and Beatles, so why would a child of that age want to play classical - I HATED IT!
Anyway, to cut a long story short, my parents changed tutor and I found another teacher who encouraged me. At the age of 10 it had been established that I had perfect pitch which made playing by ear very easy and teachers at school were amazed that I could memorise music after hearing it just once. Music lessons at school really encouraged my musical interest and it was soon time to upgrade my organ again. This time, the organ was chosen for me and I had no idea as to what was being delivered.
My parents had spotted this organ in the window of Macclesfield Organ Centre and had decided that it looked fantastic - which organ was this?
A Rhia Philharmonic - the junior model of that played by the fantastic Brian Sharp.
The Rhia was a nice organ but I just never got on with it, it lacked something and I even now I cannot explain what. The strings were very good and the backings were up to scratch, but there was just something that the organ lacked. One thing that I distinctly remember was the leslie speaker turning on and off each time the fridge turned on. The organ had a touch sensitive bar running under the upper keyboard which would turn the leslie speaker on and off each time it was touched, but for some reason it run on the same frequency as the refrigerator and would turn on and off at any time of day.
I eventually got tired of the organ and by this time I was working at weekends in a music store called Eric Reynolds which was based in Burslem, Stoke on Trent.
At this time i always wanted a keyboard and we had a customer trade in a Roland E76 keyboard which at that time was the rolls royce of keyboards. SO, After persuading my parents, I was allowed to trade the organ in for the keyboard and the rest is history.
During the 30 years I have been playing, I have seen many instruments come and go, and this is the list of instruments that I have owned.
- Galanti organ
- Haven organ
- Rhia Philarmonic organ
- Roland E76 Keyboard
- Technics Grand Piano digital
- Roland E86 Keyboard
- Technics keyboard (cannot remember model name)
- Korg M3 synthesizer
- Yamaha ME35 organ
- Yamaha HE8 Organ
- Yamaha SQ16 keyboard
- Roland G800 keyboard
- Roland G1000 keyboard
- Yamaha PSR 8000 keyboard
- Yamaha PSR 9000 keyboard
- Yamaha EL90 organ
- Roland VA7 keyboard
- Yamaha PSR 9000 Pro Keyboard
- Technics KN7000 keyboard
- Yamaha Tyros 1 Keyboard
- Yamaha Tyros 2 Keyboard
- Yamaha EL90 i organ
- Wersi Atlantis Organ
- Wersi Abacus Duo Deluxe organ (current)