I have always been a huge music fan and thanks to my parents I was brought up on a diet of Rock n Roll giants such as Buddy Holly, Elvis, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

The Edge – my reason for starting to play the guitar

I got my first guitar at the age of 17 – I was a huge U2 fan and the main reason I wanted to learn and play the guitar at that time was because of The Edge. I saw U2 live in Sheffield a few years ago, and whilst I am not a big fan of their new material, to be able to see my guitar hero playing old classics such as New Years Day was amazing.

Led Zeppelin

After I got my guitar I started to go back in rock history and I discovered artists such as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Jimi Hendrix. This in turn took me back to the old orginal Blues Men such as Robert Johnson, Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters.

The great Chuck Berry

In terms of guitarists, my biggest influences include Chuck Berry (whom I have had tickets to see live twice…and twice he cancelled!), Keith Richards, Jimmy Page, Ritchie Blackmore and Mick Ronson (if you haven’t seen the last Spiders from Mars gig with Bowie I highly recommend you try and find a copy!). John Squire was also a massive influence and although I missed out on Spike Island, I eventually did see him and The Stone Roses live at one of the three Heaton Park gigs in 2012.

Johnny Marr

The Black Keys, The Kings of Leon and Jack White are keeping the old blues traditions alive but appealing to a 21st century audience
. Of course music evolves and I still enjoy discovering new artists. I have attended (or been “made” to attend) several gigs with my girlfriend and I have come back a convert to several of these artists including Glasvegas, The Raveonettes and most recently, Johnny Marr.

The one and only Robert Johnson