I have a pretty big repertoire covering classic indie rock, acoustic pop, Britpop, folk, singer-songwriters, etc. I also write songs and am always happy to sing them for anyone who wants to listen. You can find all of the studio recordings on Spotify, Apple Music, etc., (links here) or download them for free from my SoundCloud page.
Studio Recordings
Distance To Go (2008)
Six songs recorded in 2008 in Ireland. They feature a full band and superb additional vocals from my friend Maeve Sweeney, who died in 2016. Have a listen to her wonderful performance on the duet Dear Liza.
I’ll Be Around and The Night Before always go down well live. The final track, I’m Not Quite Ready, was written in one evening when I had a difficult choice to make. (I made the right choice!)
Highs and Lows (2013)
Four tracks recorded at a studio in Lausanne in 2013. Just me and my guitar.
This includes If I Take You, a song I wrote for the marriage of my friends Mairéad and Phil. Half-Hearted Love Affair is a sad song about a long distance relationship and Aynsley (I Never Meant To Make You Cry) is about the time I made my friend Aynsley cry. Obviously.
Live at Le Box (2015)
I did a show at Le Box in Carouge in November 2015. This collection features some of the better performances and the only recordings I have of a few songs, like Hopes, Whiskey Road and It Might Be Better.
I really liked it when the audience sang along to My Silver Son, the song I wrote for Declan.
A Perfect Christmas
Released by Mulled in 2014 in Ireland. Still waiting for those royalty cheques to start rolling in.
Wiser Heads
Recorded in February 2019 with Olivier Gauthey (my partner in The Papas) and Yann Emery. Read more about it here.
Various Demos
Go In Peace
“We’re not getting any younger,
We’re not getting on at all…”
Mixtape
Remembering some of the mixtapes I offered and received back in the days of the C60.
Backpedal
A slightly tongue-in-cheek love song: “We’ll backpedal and we’ll work it out…”
Sleepwalking
I wrote this specifically as a kind of call to action, with live performances in mind. It’s designed to grab your attention and perhaps even make you think a little bit…
Wiser Heads (The Ballad of Dave & Gina)
At a charity auction in memory of my friend Iain Twigg, one of the lots on offer was a promise by me to write and record a song to order. The winning bidder, my footballing friend David Powell, asked me to write a “realistic love song” that would describe well his relationship with his then fiancée, now wife, Gina.
Sky Won’t Weep
Probably the first full “proper” song that I wrote. I was in Oslo, in July 2002, playing in a bar six nights a week. I had recently said goodbye to Nadine in Paris, but I knew it wouldn’t be the end. This recording was originally on a Minidisc that I made for her in 2004 when we were still doing the long distance thing, between Geneva and Edinburgh at that stage.
They Didn’t Understand
A normal song about a normal town, with normal people in normal houses.
Countryside
Recorded live in the radio studio when I was interviewed for Azimut FM in Geneva. Maybe 2008 or so.
You Completely Complete Me
This love song goes down well when I sing it live. This recording doesn’t do it justice – I should try to capture a live version sometime.
We Got Geeks
A novelty song written for an open source software festival in Geneva in 2012. It was greatly appreciated by the people involved with that event – it’s a fun little ditty.
First In My Eyes
A song about fatherhood. I wrote this one for my son Robert. (His younger brother has his own song already!) The recording was produced by Mathieu Siegrist at K-yak Studio in Gland. There’s a video for this song here.
Fuss About The Fossa
A rough home recording of a song I wrote in response to a challenge issued by my friends in the zoo community. It definitely falls into the category of novelty songs, but I was pleased with how it turned out. It’s both educational and catchy!