The story so far...

In 1976, with drummer Jon Moss, bassist Steve Voice and guitarist Dave Wight, I formed the punk band London as its lead vocalist ‘Riff Regan’. We were managed by ex-Yardbirds and Marc Bolan manager Simon Napier-Bell and recorded on MCA Records. We supported The Stranglers on their ‘Rattus Norvegicus’ UK tour throughout the summer of 1977 and our singles Everyone’s a Winner, Summer of Love and Animal Games as well as our only album Animal Games were all produced by Napier-Bell at the IBC studios in London.

Following a nationwide tour London broke up after a farewell gig at the Marquee Club in Wardour Street. Jon Moss joined The Damned and then formed Culture Club with Boy George; Colin Wight became a Professor in International Politics; Steve Voice formed The Original Vampires; Simon Napier-Bell went on to manage George Michael and Wham! and I released four more singles on MCA Records: All the Nice Boys and Girls in the World, Japanese Girls, You Call Me Lucky and The Only One before recording Hard Hearts Don’t Cry on CBS Epic.

In 1982 I co-wrote the song Hottest Woman in Town with Andy Miller. Recorded at London’s Trident recording studios by ex-Ozzy Osbourne and Ian Gillan lead guitarist Bernie Torme, it was released as a single and featured on the Metal Killers album.

My first stage play Because of Mr Darrow was produced at the Finborough Theatre in London in 1982. This was followed by Laugh? I Nearly Went to Miami! (1985) which had a London fringe run at the Pentameters Theatre before being produced for the first Liverpool Festival of Comedy.

Translated into many languages, Laugh? I Nearly Went To Miami! has been performed all around the world including Vienna where it was called ...Und Morgen Fliegen Wir Nach Miami. British director Cyril Frankel (Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) and UFO) directed. Published by Samuel French Ltd, the play has been produced in Australia, New Zealand, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Singapore, Malta, USA, South Africa, and South Korea. The Hungarian version Elvis, oltar, Miami opened in Budapest in 2016.

By this time I was writing stage and television material for Frankie Howerd including the TV special Superfrank for Channel 4. I also wrote a stage version of Up Pompeii which received its premiere by Bruce James Productions in a 2011 UK tour starring Damian Williams as Lurcio the slave. It was published by Josef Weinberger Plays and a UK tour by the Baroque Theatre Company followed in 2014 starring Clive Greenwood.

In the mid-1980s, I started writing for the international Walt Disney Magazine creating cartoon stories for Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and other well known Disney characters.

I then created and wrote the BBC1 comedy series Wyatt’s Watchdogs. Produced and directed by Alan J.W. Bell, it starred Brian Wilde (from Porridge and Last of the Summer Wine) and Trevor Bannister (Are You Being Served?). This was followed by writing for the Alomo/BBC TV show Birds of a Feather.

My next stage comedy was It’s Now or Never!, directed by Marina Calderone. It starred Peter Polycarpou (Birds of a Feather) and Tony Roper (Rab C. Nesbitt), Heather Alexander and Leyton Sommers as Elvis. The play is published by Josef Weinberger Plays.

This was followed by the comedy thriller Twist (original title - Getting Away with Murder), directed by Stephen Warden, which had a successful run in Hampstead, London. It received its USA premiere by the Rogue Theatre Company in Massachusetts in 2010, directed by John Beausoleil, and has been produced in Australia, Germany, India, South Africa, Holland, France, USA and Canada.

My experience in working as a tour guide for the Big Bus Company led to writing the theatrical comedy Topless, a one-woman play set on an open-top London sightseeing bus. It ran for two seasons in London and was the first play anywhere in the world to be performed on top of a real sightseeing bus driving through the streets of the capital.

Topless in Philadelphia (2009), Topless in Sydney (2014) and Topless in Las Vegas (2018) followed, as well as a new revised edition of the original Topless retitled Topless in London (2018). I am currently writing Topless in New York.

My novel Fripp was published in 2001.

In 2007, together with Steve Voice, London returned to live gigs after a 30 year absence with new guitarist Hugh O’Donnell and new drummer Colin Watterston. The band released the album Reboot in 2012.

My first solo album Milestones was released in 2015.

In 2018, Twist received its first national UK tour by Baroque Theatre, produced by Claire Bibby and directed by Adam Morley. It starred Clive Greenwood in the lead role of David Woods. A new acting edition of the play was published in 2019 by Josef Weinberger Plays.

In 2019 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the original Up Pompeii TV show, a special audio version of my play was recorded at London’s Shaw Theatre starring David Benson with an all-star cast including Frazer Hines, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Madeline Smith and Cleo Rocos. Adapted by Barnaby Eaton-Jones, Daniel McGachey and Iain McLaughlin, it was produced by Spiteful Puppet and released on CD/download.

London’s rock opera The Hell for Leather Mob, a tale of villains, love and a botched heist in 1960s swinging London, was released in 2020 on Beach Cafe Records. The album is currently being developed as a stage musical.

In August 2023 Topless the Musical, with music and lyrics by Holly Lovelady, opened at the Edinburgh Festival. Directed by Mike Healey and starring Holly Lovelady as tour guide Sandie, the whole show is performed (with its audience) on an open-top sightseeing bus.