From left to right: Wayne Booth, Jon Brown, Ian Finney, Andy Starkey.
Thanks so much to Ian for the interview! I wrote about Christopher not so long ago and just a week ago Ian got in touch with me! He was very kind to let me listen to more of the wonderful songs he recorded with Christopher and even better was up to tell me the story of the band on this interview! Hope you all enjoy this!
++ Hi Ian! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? Still making music?
Thanks Roque I’m good, thank you. Yes I’m still making music.
++ Let’s go back in time. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what was your first instrument? How did you learn to play it? What sort of music did you listen at home while growing up?
My first musical memory is of me and my family visiting an aunt when I was about three years old and seeing her upright piano. I went nuts. I’m not sure why but I had to get on it and play. They literally had to drag me off it. A few years later I saw The Osmands performing Crazy Horses on TV and I made a pretend synthesizer out of an old shoe box. When I was fourteen a friend of my sister had an ARP Odyssey (a retro synth) and I spent five minutes on it and was blown away. Despite my interest in keyboards the guitar was my first instrument. When I was thirteen my first girlfriend dumped me while I was sick with a cold so I wrote a song about it and taught myself to play on an old acoustic guitar.
When I was growing up, radio was my main thing and I loved music. It was music typical of that era which was pop, soul, rock, punk, disco, new wave and easy listening. I got turned onto other stuff through my brother’s record collection, like prog and classic rock. When I was teaching myself guitar I’d play along to Rush, Blue Oyster Cult, Santana and Sex Pistols albums.
++ Had you been in other bands before Christopher? If so, how did they sound like? Are there any recordings?
I formed my first band with Lee (Latch) Parker and Simon Deakin when I was fourteen and we were a punk band. I was also in a great band with Jim Free and Barry Cox when I was briefly at college. It was a freeform rock band and we made a few practise tapes. I got expelled from college then got an audition and ended up with a record contract. I was in The Tempest. We were signed to Magnet Records which is now part of Warners but at the time it was the biggest independent label in the UK. I was seventeen years old when I signed the contract and my parents had to co-sign it too because I was legally a minor. The Tempest were an 80’s acoustic pop band, I guess similar to Aztec Camera. I found out we have a kind of cult status in Japan and Spain. Japanese fans go nuts over memorabilia and the vinyl is quite collectible. The unreleased album sells for over a thousand dollars. We made four singles and an album and were produced by Gus Dudgeon who had produced David Bowie’s Space Oddity and all of Elton John’s 70’s classic stuff. Glenn Tilbrook from the band Squeeze produced our album and first three singles and Steve Levine produced our last single. I’m lucky to have worked with some really great producers and musicians and I learned a lot from them, especially in sound production and studio recording.
After I left The Tempest I formed a band called The Snakeskins with some new friends I made at my old college. I didn’t tell anyone I’d previously been signed. We sounded mostly like indie guitar pop but the sound eventually changed into something more like REO Speedwagon and I left. The Snakeskins were together on-and-off for about six years and we made quite a lot of demos but never released anything. We nearly got signed by Island Records and I think we lost out because we didn’t have any management. The MD of Island Records asked us all why should he sign us and we just sat there saying nothing. I left The Snakeskins around December 1989.
++ What about the rest of the band members?
Jon was in a band with the drummer Andy McClure who went on to form the indie band Sleeper with Louise Wener. I’m not sure about the other guys.
++ Where were you from originally?
I was born in an area of Liverpool called Prescot but I was brought up in the town of Widnes in Halton. I’ve lived here all my life.
++ How was the Halton at the time of Christopher? Were there any bands that you liked? Were there any good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?
Halton was thriving musically at that time and we had great nightlife. Everyone was listening to REM, The La’s, The Stone Roses and ‘Madchester’ was going full throttle. The Stone Roses Spike Island gig was a couple of miles away from where I lived. I didn’t go but I heard it. There were at least three indie clubs in Halton – The Cherry Tree in Runcorn and Storeys and Players in Widnes. With the pubs also doing indie music nights you could party from Wednesday to Saturday – four full nights, and we often did. It was crazy. I had some of the best times of my life then.
My favourite band at that time was Jennifer Fever, Jane Weaver’s first band. I’d hang out with Jane in a small cafe and shop called The North. It was kind of idyllic. A couple called Adrian and Nikki ran it and they sold records, tie-die clothing, food and hippy paraphernalia. I spent entire afternoons in there with a coffee talking about music and comic books. At first I had no idea that Jane played or wrote music until there was a gig by her band in the cafe. They were great. I thought she had something good going and asked if I could produce them.
++ When and how did the band start? How did you all meet? How was the recruiting process?
I called the local newspaper asking to put out an ad and instead they ran a story on me. I was kind of locally famous a few years before for signing a big recording deal when I was in The Tempest and I guess they remembered me.
A few people contacted me. Jon was already an old school friend and I asked him personally. We found Wayne and Andy through the newspaper. Mark Kinsella was also a member but he left before we started playing live in ’91. Around October 1990 we began the first rehearsals. By December we were ready to gig.
++ Were there any lineup changes?
Later on we recruited Martin Burns from Jennifer Fever but I guess the biggest lineup change was when I left ! The band hung together for a while but eventually split.
++ How was the creative process for you? Where did you usually practice?
With Christopher the songwriting process was pretty much how I’ve written all my life, except that I’m not as lazy or scatter-brained these days. I’d get an idea, some kind of inspiration, and I’d run with it musically. Everything was written in my imagination or on guitar. I’d record ideas on a small tape recorder or a portastudio – a multitrack tape recorder. We practised in a local rehearsal place called Pentagon Studios, run by Ade Sleigh and his father, Stan and it was a great place. One day I walked into the studio and Alan Crookes from the hit band Poacher was sat there with Ian McNabb from The Icicle Works listening to my Christopher demos. Alan showed interest and invited me to record but after he copied my drum patterns from a drum machine he avoided my calls. I never heard from him again. A few years later one of those Christopher riffs from the demo also appeared on an Ian McNabb song. It’s always great to inspire people.
++ What’s the story behind the band’s name?
It was a solo thing for me at first and I didn’t want to use my own name so I settled on using my middle name Christopher instead. Then when I recruited the other guys I just stuck with it. Trying to find a good name for a band that hasn’t already been taken is the hardest thing.
++ And who would you say were influences in the sound of the band?
From my point of view as the songwriter it was everyone who I’d been listening to at that time like REM, The Byrds and The Beatles. I’ve never really been that conventional a songwriter to be honest. I don’t listen to a lot of music, don’t play any covers and I discover new artists very slowly. Popular music at that time also had an effect on my writing, especially the production style. I was also listening to The Bangles album ‘Different Light’ throughout the summer and that guitar sound got into my head. They took the 60’s influence from The Byrds and Beatles and mixed it with west coast sunshine pop vocal harmonies and I loved it. Coincidently a few years later I was briefly in the Coal Porters with Sid Griffin, who had been in a relationship with The Bangles’ Micky Steele and had also shared a house with their drummer Debbie Petersen.
++ As far as I know there were no releases by Christopher, is that right? Why was that?
Well apart from the track on the Idea album, we never got that far. I had a knack back then for giving up easily. I wasn’t ego-driven and I’d get downhearted quickly. We had my brother-in-law managing us and he really helped us out a lot and I’m still grateful for that, but we didn’t have the right breaks when I was in the band. We sent demos out to lots of major companies but heard nothing back. I think we sent around thirty or forty tapes out to every major and big independent label in the UK. I left the band even though I was writing prolifically at the time. Months later I heard from Wayne that the major label Polydor had contacted the band after I’d left and were interested in us but our manager told them I’d left and the band was finished. If he’d called me at the time I would have been straight back in a flash.
++ Was there interest by labels at any point to put your stuff out? Did you consider self-releasing?
As I mentioned, Polydor was interested but it wasn’t followed-up. Self-releasing in those days meant considerable costs,for recording, artwork and pressing. It was an expensive business, not like today where anyone can release something digitally and get it distributed globally for almost nothing.
++ So the song “Touch” appeared on the “What’s the Idea” compilation. How did you end up working with Idea Records?
I got a call from my manager Greg and he said they were putting something together with local artists but we had to move quick as there was a deadline. I went in the studio, recorded the song on my own and then produced Jennifer Fever. The tapes went out and we did some gigs. That was it. My manager handled the business side and we liaised with Dave Wycherley, who was Halton Council’s Arts liaison at the time. I’d later heard that they wanted “the two best artists in Widnes” and they picked me and Jennifer Fever. I remember that this pissed off some people.
++ Idea Records, from what I understand, was put together by the St. Helens Community Arts Team. Who were they? What else did they do for the arts in the area? Were you part of it?
I’m sorry to say I didn’t know much about it, but it was a great idea and hats off to them for making it happen. I wasn’t interesting in those kind of details at the time. I was just a kid intent on writing and performing. Business never interested me.
++ So it was a tight scene and you even collaborated with other bands, like producing Jennifer Fever. Was there a lot of collaboration between all of you? What other bands were in town that didn’t appear in the compilation that you were friends with?
At that time, I don’t recall other bands apart from Jennifer Fever and The Snakeskins, who I’d previously been with. The main scene I was involved in socially was around 1987-89, when I was with The Snakeskins. There wasn’t that much collaboration but I’ve always been interested in helping out other artists and still do.
++ Back to “Touch”. When and where was it recorded? Were other songs recorded in this session?
It was recorded in Pentagon Studios Widnes around late Spring or Early summer 1990. The band wasn’t ready and the song was under a deadline so I recorded the song by myself and played everything on it in one afternoon. Adrian Sleigh engineered it and I produced.
++ Were there demo tapes by Christopher?
We made two tapes of three songs each. The first was early in ’91 and the second was made later in ’91 after I sold some recording equipment to fund it, which in hindsight was a mistake. We recorded both demos at Bus Stop Studios in Leigh where in fact I met my then-girlfriend, who was a trainee sound engineer. The studio was run by a guy called Herman, who was kind of famous for having thrown up over Queen’s hairdresser backstage at some event.
++ And are there more unreleased songs by the band?
Not the band as such, but there are demos that I’d recorded myself which were intended for the band. I still have boxes full of demo tapes.
++ I think my favourite song, the only one I’ve heard so far!, is “Touch”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?
I was twenty-three years old and my first long-term relationship had ended. I’d started dating another girl but I felt numb. I put what I was feeling into words and I discovered that songwriting could be cathartic and after that I began to start expressing myself with my music more intimately, emotionally. I think it was the first honest song that I wrote.
++ If you were to choose your favorite Christopher song, which one would that be and why?
It has to be Touch. It was very much part of my life at that time and summed up how I was feeling. Writing introspectively like that kind of makes me feel exposed but I like honesty in music.
++ What about gigs? Did you play many?
As Christopher, probably around eight. Pre-Christopher, hundreds.
++ And what were the best gigs you remember? Any anecdotes you can share?
The second gig we ever played, Christmas or new year 1990-91 at Storeys in Widnes was one of the best gigs I’ve ever done. Jane Weaver was there, John Snaykee (of Manbreak and ex-Snakeskins) and Chris Leckie from Adlib Audio was doing the sound. Chris is one of the best live engineers in the world today and he tours with A-List bands. They all loved it. Everything came together just right and it was wonderful gig for everyone.
Anecdotes? Well we played a gig at St. Katherine’s Teacher Training College in Liverpool and it was full of girls in the audience. One of them took off a stocking and threw it onto the stage while we were playing and after the gig there was a serious discussion trying to figure out who it was intended for. It was all scientific stuff – her throwing direction, the intended trajectory, aerodynamics, etc.
++ And were there any bad ones?
We played in St Helens at a pub known for hosting hard rock bands. It looked like it was full of Hell’s Angels and we were an indie band. The atmosphere was menacing and after the gig a barman told us that was a great response because usually the audience threw things at the band.
Another gig was so poorly publicised that only five people turned up. No one knew the gig was on and those that came to see us were only there because they were friends of the band. We just cracked on and did the set.
++ When and why did Christopher stop making music? Were you involved in any other bands afterwards?
It was around summer 1991. I left the band because I’d lost my best friend, a lot of time, money and I’d had enough. The other guys carried on for a month or two and then split up.
I rejoined The Snakeskins for a while. I formed a band called Fiasco with Dave Pichilingi and played a John Peel session with them. I rejoined the Snakeskins again, then they split and me and Andy from the band formed Muddyhead with ex-Fishmonkeyman bassist Terry Lloyd. We were managed by China Crisis’ Eddie Lundon. I was in The Coal Porters (The Long Ryders’ Sid Griffin’s band) very briefly, around two weeks I guess. In the early 2000s I briefly formed a band called Penny Blue, then in 2006 I got an offer from Tommy Marolda to record in Las Vegas and interest from The Killers management, but due to family commitments and my health at the time I couldn’t do it.
Since then I’ve been working on various projects, producing music for computer games and writing orchestral pieces for documentaries and The History Channel. When Glenn Tilbrook played in my home town we met before the gig and he asked me if I wanted to perform one of my new songs onstage. I was nervous as hell but I did it and it gave me the confidence to play live again. I’d been having problems with agoraphobia and leaving the house and it was a big help in getting me interested in playing live music again. After that I formed The Coralaines and recorded a Rock and Roll album because it was something I always wanted to do. I used all the right period equipment and production methods to get an authentic sound and it was great fun. We played a few great gigs thanks to Mike Badger (from the La’s). We performed at the Jacaranda club’s anniversary which was a big deal as it was one of The Beatles’ first venues. Travelling and rehearsing was really tough for me and it took about two years to play two gigs but it was worth it. The band split at the end of last year so I started working on new songs for myself. I’ve done some remote guitar sessions over lockdown and I’m currently working on my solo music. I have lots of plans.
++ What about the rest of the band, had they been in other bands afterwards?
Wayne and Andy went separate ways and did their own thing, I think it was mainly cover bands. Jon was writing his own music and Martin moved to the states.
++ Has there been any reunion gigs?
No, I never really considered it. I’d never say never though, to any of my previous bands.
++ Did you get much attention from the radio?
We got interviewed on a BBC Radio show called Hit The North which was hosted by Mark Radcliffe who is a BBC DJ legend. He loved ‘Touch’ and said with the right backing it could be a hit. Coming from him, it was a great compliment.
++ What about TV? Made any promo videos?
Not with Christopher. I made one with The Tempest and I’m making new ones for my upcoming music. Film-making is a growing interest for me.
++ What about the press? Did they give you any attention?
Yes, the local press was great but we never got any national coverage.
++ What about from fanzines?
We weren’t approached, though there were a few around at that time. I honestly think we weren’t around long enough to make an impression.
++ Looking back in retrospective, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?
Being on the IDEA album and definitely the second gig at Storeys at Christmas 1990-91.
++ Aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?
Strictly-speaking music isn’t a hobby for me as I work in it professionally, but I do love composing orchestral pieces. I taught myself orchestration about twenty years ago and it’s the purest form of musical expression I know. Apart from music, I have plenty of interests and hobbies. Art, particularly impressionism, art deco and art nouveau. I trained in Art before I was expelled and I’ve always been fascinated by it. I was a huge Salvador Dali fan when I was a kid and tried to paint like him. Alphonse Mucha and Edward Hopper are other favourites. I love film, all film, classic fantasy and horror, certainly the classic Hollywood movies and all French cinema. I adore nature and animals. I like photography and gaming, especially RPGs -both computer games and pen paper and dice RPGs – and I’ve been a comic book geek since I was a kid. I love the work of Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Jim Steranko and Alex Ross. Alan Moore is phenomenal. Kurt Busiek’s Astro City is a recent discovery and I think it knocks the ball out of the park. I’m not a TV person, but I’m nuts about classic 60’s and 70’s TV like The Avengers, Batman, Doctor Who and all of Gerry Anderson’s work. I’m also heavily into French 1960’s pop music. It combines two of my favourite things, 60’s music and France. I tend to slowly discover music that I’ve found on my own. It’s great when that happens. There’s a universe of music out there that I’ve never heard and I think that’s amazing.
I also get lost in the internet and often wander down rabbit-holes of weirdness that sometimes yields good things. I find the internet inspirational, crazy, terrible and fascinating. I’m also fascinated with Paris at the end of the nineteenth century during the Belle Epoch and 1950s America.
I have tons of interests and I never get bored. The only problem is time. There’s never enough of it.
++ Never been to the Halton or the St. Helens area. So I will ask for some recommendations. If I was to visit your city what shouldn’t I miss? What are your favourite sights? And any particular food or drinks that you think one shouldn’t miss?
Generally Halton is a quiet place and it’s not a tourist haven. There are old places around Halton like Norton Priory, and Farnworth Church which was built before 1066 and we have an historically great tradition of Rugby.
I spent my younger years in Crow Wood Park and Sunny Bank, The Bongs (an area of open hilly land nearby) and later Pex Hill. As a kid or teen I’d ramble around with friends, walking or running everywhere. I still love walking in Victoria park. It’s an old Victorian park and it can be a magical place. It also has a great ice cream shop.
I haven’t been into town for food in ages, but Marie Barrows Fish & Chip Shop is legendary. Donatello’s in nearby Warrington makes the best pizzas I’ve ever had in my life and Eureka, the Greek restaurant just out of town is amazing.
++ Anything else you’d like to add?
I played guitar on some remote sessions during lockdown recently for an old friend and Joe Walsh from the Eagles said he loved my guitar style. That was such an amazing thing to hear. You can’t buy compliments like that.
I’m also recording new music – please keep an eye out for that.
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Listen
Christopher – Touch
