Defying Gravity

No tale of how I got into songwriting would be complete without mentioning my friend Gary Bridle.

Gary was the first person I met as I walked into the songwriting workshop at Moniack Mhor, seconds after I’d nearly turned away. He took one look at me, and told me to make him a cup of tea. Cheeky bleeder. But also a very kind thing to do - making me feel like we were already friends and giving me something to do other than awkward greetings.

That first week, I had to write one song on my own, with no ability to write music. I had a vocal riff, but no understanding of how to create harmonies with chords. We were going to record the song on the last day, and the pressure was on. And then, with a day to go, I got the news that one of my closest friends, the bassist in my band, Mark, had died that morning. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t write music, either technically or emotionally.

Gary pulls up a seat, and says “talk to me”. I sing him the riff, and he goes - let’s keep it simple. Really simple. One chord. The longer you play the chord, the more tension there will be. And then I asked Francesca Murphy, a songwriter whose voice I adore to sing and develop the vocals with me, and John Alexander, a master blues guitarist, to play along, and we created something from nothing in a day. When my world was falling apart, the songwriters took me in.

The song itself is no classic, but it’s mine. And the recording by Mark Freegard is lovely. I am forever grateful to Gary and everyone else from that week for encouraging me on the way. They’re special people.