SUSSEX SOUNDS: Noon launch for new stars

“Pop folk is really healthy at the moment - there’s some great players around.”

This statement surprises me - I was fully unaware that folk had made such an impression on the district.

“It’s mostly the singer/songwriter stuff - there’s a 13-year-old down the road. I could not believe the voice that came out of this girl. You don’t have to look very far at all for talent here.”

Graham is referring to Lucy Bradley - a Horsham girl who can sing and play the guitar remarkably.

He plays me her rendition of Damian Rice’s ‘Cannonball’ and it blows me away,

“I do record a lot of these folk artists and I also do the acoustic clubs, including my own material.”

To help catapult careers for up-and-coming musicians like Lucy, the 52-year-old will help develop their craft.

“I’d get them to perform at the pub or local theatre, and then we’d make an album, get photos and other publicity done, use social media.

“We could then present them as an artist to a record company and they could take it from there.”

An established songwriter himself, Graham recently launched a publishing company with music legend David Martin, ‘Old Dogs New Trax’, that produces original songs to sell to established artists across the globe.

“It’s essentially a shop window for songs.”

David has written chart-toppers for the likes of Elvis Presley, Barry Manilow and David Essex, just to name a few, and even jammed with legends John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

Graham’s own background in the music industry can be traced back to 1985 when he signed to Warner Brothers with the band ‘Sky West and Crooked’ (featuring the lead singer from Blue Zoo).

“We modelled ourselves on Echo and the Bunnymen,” admits Graham, laughing, as he points to a promo shot of the band in the hey-day of bushy hairdos and shades.

“I spent a lot of my time down at Chris Squires from Yes at his house in Virginia Water and learnt my stuff there.

“Big producers were coming in and I learnt a few tricks off them too.”

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