From hanging around the London music scene, I got to know one of the junior recording engineers who worked there. The studios encouraged their sound engineers to use the facilities in ‘down-time’ (jargon meaning that the studio was not being used), so that they got more experience with the specific acoustics that you find in Abbey Rd.

So for a while during the summer of 2000 (mainly at night and during the weekends), I was allowed to run riot in Abbey Rd. It was unbelievable to be standing in exactly the same place where The Beatles had recorded all their magic, never mind the countless other incredible artists, who have recorded classic albums there.

I recorded in all the studios there, but the most memorable was in studio 2. This is the iconic studio, where the film about the Beatles, “Let it Be” was recorded.

It’s a sad film because it depicts the break-up of The Beatles, but to be standing there in the same place where all of that happened, was awesome for me.

Abbey Rd was one of the hundreds of studios run by EMI Records. When EMI closed down all its studios around the world, they sent all the recording equipment they owned to Abbey Rd. So, in a room at the back of Abbey Rd, there is an absolute treasure trove of old recording equipment, the likes of that you can’t find anywhere else in the world. The collection of old microphones there is unique. Now, that might not seem so interesting, but old microphones are of a much better quality than anything you can buy these days. So, the ‘mic’ collection there is really something to behold!

Unfortunately, I’m not as musically talented as The Beatles (and I didn’t have George Martin as my producer), so my results from Abbey Rd are not comparable. However, I have some great memories of being in that iconic musicians’ playground. You can hear one of the songs I recorded. 

I’m playing everything and even singing! (The girl’s voice is someone else though)

Anyway, I bet Paul McCartney wouldn’t be able to teach a class full of SGI summer students! So, who is the lucky one???

Errrmm…it’s probably McCartney, isn’t it? Mind you, at least I didn’t marry Heather Mills!!!

By day a mild mannered English teacher, by night a crime fighter and international super-hero…..

…well, not quite. For the last 2 years I have been teaching English here at SGI in the mornings, which leaves my afternoons and evenings free to pursue a career as a documentary film maker.

The Glamour

As a freelancer, I have to produce, direct, edit, market and distribute my own films so unfortunately 90% of my time is not spent behind a camera. Instead, I am stuck behind a desk writing emails and promoting my films.

It’s not all terrible though. Last year I spent two amazing weeks filming in Japan for Crazy Talk. It was an unforgettable experience and gave me a chance to practise the language I had spent so much time studying.

The Films

I have made 3 documentary films so far:

Petra – This is the story of a woman’s fight against terminal cancer. 9 years ago Petra was given 6 months to live but she refuses to give up because her children need their mother.

Superstonic Sound: The Rebel Dread – One man, one city, one love… one sound! This film is about Don Letts and the musical/cultural history of BASS in Britain. Following 3 generations of DJs in the Letts family, this documentary charts the impact of Jamaican BASS and how it changed British music and society forever.

Crazy Talk (Kyogen) – This is the documentary I’m finishing now. Ondrej Hybl dreams of becoming the first foreign actor in traditional Japanese theatre, a closed world within a closed society, but is Japan ready for this intruder?

An Invitation

My latest film Superstonic Sound :The Rebel Dread is having its premiere at London’s famous Institute of Contemporary Arts in Piccadilly on Wednesday 6th October @ 6.30.

I invite you all to come and see the film as well as a Question & Answer session with me and the legendary DJ, Don Letts, the subject of the film.

Tickets: www.ica.org.uk/?lid=25932
Box Office: 0207 930 3647

Old
Nothing makes you feel old like an invitation to a primary school reunion. 27 long years ago I walked into that classroom for the first time and felt lost and alone because I didn’t understand a word. Like many teachers I have quite an international background; the school was in Vienna and the invitation which landed in my email inbox last week was in German.

Memories
Nothing brings back memories like an invitation to a primary school reunion. I remember the freedom of finishing school at lunchtime every day, the long summers, my red and yellow BMX bike, playing football, watching football and wearing the purple football kit of Austria Wien.

Good and Bad
Nothing makes you think about good and bad teachers like an invitation to a primary school reunion. My first teacher was a kind one who helped me through those first months. But she soon went on maternity leave and her substitute was less patient. I don’t have many memories of studying hard and maybe that influenced her attitude towards me. I’ll never forget the day she screamed at me in front of the rest of the class. “You disgusting little boy! How dare you sit there farting!” I went red in the face, not with shame but with a sense of injustice. All I had was a bad case of hiccups which I had been trying to hide!

Inspire
Nothing inspires big decisions like bad memories but I guess I have to thank that teacher all those years ago for making me angry enough to want to become a teacher myself.