Words by Dylan Bryant

Music fascinates me. How does an accumulation of dots on a page have the power to bring total strangers together and move someone to tears?

Obviously, ‘music’ is a massively popular phenomenon and most people subscribe to specific genres and artists that they listen to which contributes to their self-image and identity. However, I believe that my passion for music and its importance in my life might actually be genetic! 

Music has always been in my life and lately, I have begun to wonder if this stems from my family and their involvement in the music industry. 

My parents met when they worked together at a radio station. My dad still works in radio today and the radio was actually on when I was born! I have very early memories of him bringing home promotional CDs from the likes of ‘The Stone Roses’ and ‘The Strokes’ and I’d listen to them on my sister’s ‘hand-me-down’ Sony Walkman, feeling super cool. Our house was never silent and there were radios in every room. As I got older, my mum encouraged me to learn to play an instrument. I started with drums, then progressed to guitar and piano, which ultimately led to hours of wasted GCSE revision time.

A group of people posing for a photo

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As well as my parents, my Grandad worked in the music industry as a producer and artist manager. After landing a job as a plugger for EMI records in 1966, he worked for Dick James Records where he met Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Together they recorded Elton’s first album, Empty Sky, in 1969. My grandad stayed with Elton as his music coordinator and he worked with many other artists including Kiki Dee and Ralph McTell.

From one brother to another – my mum’s uncle Pete was also in the music industry and worked with Queen in the early days.

Categories: Arts The Burrow

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