Piano had been my first instrument. But it was the theme tune to The Old Grey Whistle Test that grabbed me by the ‘orchestras’, inspiring me to pick up the blues harp and make it my own. And without any thought of tutelage, I bought my first Hohner Special 20 and got stuck in. In time I cut through to single note playing and the draw bends necessary to reproduce Stone Fox Chase. It was many years later I found out about the harp player behind Area Code 615… Charlie McCoy.Inevitably I started to perform. I joined a nascent Punk outfit at school called the Innocent Vicars. We played a couple of good gigs. Support to Art Nouveau (later Kajagoogoo) on one occasion.   On a balmy Saturday morning in 1998, I took the stage alone in Ely. I played solo to a panel of judges and an audience of fellow harmonica enthusiasts. They duly elected me British National Harmonica Champion for that year.

Since then I have been privileged to perform at a catalogue of festivals and venues in the UK, mainland Europe and the USA. My harps have entertained in a Nubian village on the Nile, accompanied steel pans in Antigua and entertained air crews mid-Atlantic on the hailing frequency from a Boeing 747 cockpit. I am still on my voyage of discovery. I also still refuse to play Mustang Sally (much as I love Atlantic Soul and Wilson Pickett in particular).To contact Richard please click HERE .  PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU MENTION HARMONICA 411 IN THE SUBJECT LINE OF YOUR EMAIL.