Album Notes

Graham McCullough, 48 year-old local songwriter from Ryde is a '60's wild child who started out with a fascination of the world of popular music, listening to Radio Luxembourg and landing a job in a guitar shop at fifteen demonstrating guitars for a living – not a bad place for an
aspiring rock god!

He returned to college a year later to ‘do something with his life’ and five years later he had gained a degree in Economics. This life experience coupled with his ongoing love affair of music opened doors and landed him a job with the BBC as a Graphic Assistant in 1984 where he entered the world of live television graphics.

Whilst in his 12th year at the BBC he was offered the position of the Head of the Graphic Design section in the BBC's News & Current Affairs department which led to several accolades and a succession of succession of awards, international recognition, Bafta's, Broadcast Design Association gongs and Royal Television Society awards enjoyed by his department. After 18 years, Graham found his enjoyment of the job had changed and that the fun had gone out of it! The question of ‘what next’ was answered with 'I know I'll become that pop star that I
always wanted to be...'

In 2003, Graham dusted down his trusty guitar and began taking it along to a few 'Open Mic' nights at little pubs in and around London playing covers songs by people such as John Otway, Louden Wainwright III, or occasionally Led Zeppelin until the organisers asked why he didn’t play his own songs? He wrote his first song (She's A Mum) on the train homeward bound to the Isle of Wight from work. Graham nervously performed his first two songs written in the intervening week to an appreciative audience a week later.

“You could hear a pin drop! Afterwards a number of people came up to me and said ‘I know where you are coming from’ so the songs resonated with quite a few people,” Graham Mc-
Cullough.

On the Island, Graham found Quay Arts’ Acoustic Originals to be the only space to perform where there was ‘a nice mix of different abilities and where it’s not too noisy which can be offputting to fledgling songwriters.’

‘Acoustic Originals is a good place to get feedback from other musicians and Mick (Smith) is really good at getting the audience to enjoy a chat between songs but then to give the musician respect and listen whilst they play which gives less confident people the chance to come to the fore. Acoustic Originals was a very good vehicle for me to continue writing and to try out new songs. Pubs on the Island prefer it if you play covers so don’t usually tolerate your own stuff and my music tends to be a too quiet for a Saturday night anyway.’ Graham McCullough.

Graham sold his first 3 track CD at Acoustic Originals to John Waterman, MD of Solent Records for a mere £3. A week later, John contacted Graham and he commenced work on his first album working with fellow musician and friend, Bob Brace. Graham also met Jamie Griffin at Acoustic Originals where he offered to engineer this album at his newly built, Brighstone studio.

John Waterman of Solent Records and album publisher describes this album:

“Here are songs you will grow to love and play often in the future. Graham's direct, intimate and laid back style coupled with mostly sparse, largely acoustic, arrangements bring the emotions and bumps of real life into focus. Most tracks feature the talents of Bob Brace on piano or violin. Here you'll find the love, rejection, rebirth, depression, temptation, satisfaction, happiness and fulfillment most of us experience as we progress through our lives.” - Songs for grown up people!