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Some
say Paul was drafted into Jurassic Rock simply to
reduce the average age. Others claim it was to give the band
much sought after “Boy Band” appeal to excite the screaming
Jurassic Rockettes, whilst in certain quarters it is
believed that this was the first stage in Tony’s master plan to
nurture the perfect follow-up to the Partridge Family and the
Osmonds. Whatever the speculation, it is undeniable that
Paul received a vintage bass guitar as his 18th birthday present - and so the legend began!
Paul's musical
roots are varied and a testament to his will to succeed in the face
of adversity and setbacks. Attempts to
learn the violin at Felsted Preparatory School from the age of 9 did
not meet with spectacular (to be honest, any) success, but Paul
discovered his love of playing with
other musicians whilst studying for his violin grades, which fell
lower with each exam, reaching a pinnacle of ineptitude when he failed grade 3. In
mitigation, it should
be noted that Paul's lack of inclination to practice was received with
some enthusiasm by his parents who were unable to find any
similarity between Paul's caterwauling and the soaring tones of Stephane Grappelli
or Yehudi Menhuin. (Paul
didn't couldn't even blame his violin as the instrument was a family
heirloom.)
In his teens, Paul's passion for the Five Star girls diminished and, having given his
much played Kids From Fame
Again tape to his younger sister, the likes of Bon Jovi,
Europe and, much to his friends and family’s bewilderment,
Marillion, inspired him
to experiment
with air guitar (a passion he shares with the band's tambourine
player). This love of alternative rock music,
which remains with him
to this day, was influenced by his regular attendance at the
summer rock festivals such as Reading, Glastonbury and V.
Having sent his
dad mad learning the
12 bar blues, Paul bought an amplifier and went to Sheffield to
become a rock god and bass monster (studying for an International
Business Degree being nothing more than an a means to fulfilling
this much greater, and far more profound, ambition).
Opportunity knocked in very short time: two fellow students invited Paul to bring along his bass and
amp to perform in the sparsely populated Totley Campus Student Union
bar. After emptying the bar with his 2 minute 12 bar blues in E, the
other two musicians gallantly took over from Paul before quietly
asking him not to play with them again (but could they borrow the
amplifier?). And so initial success
was quick in coming, but painfully short lived.
Undeterred, Paul kept his bass
with him whilst at university in both Sheffield and
Paris, always hoping that someone may require his "skills".
Gomez laid down tracks in Sheffield during this period and
inexplicably managed to achieve fame, even winning the Mercury Music prize, without
any aid whatsoever from Paul. Even a brief meeting at the Leadmill
with Jarvis Cocker of Pulp failed to get Paul a guest
roll on the number one smash album Different Class.
Nonetheless, there was a vacant place in his Dad’s band where 12 bar
blues was much appreciated and Paul became the bass player
when he returned home after graduating.
In
the summer of 2005 Paul extended his music horizons when he joined a local
Cambridge band Head On, soon to be renamed The
Lock Up Cycling Club. The self-made, lo-fi noises created
by
L.U.C.C. are inflicted on the patrons of the pubs and clubs in
Cambridge and Paul manages to hold down positions in both bands
whilst earning beer money running his house hunting business,
Relocation East Anglia.
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