Band Bios

Rob Bridgman (keyboards, vocals)

Paul Hancock (guitar)

Ian Howarth (bass, vocals)

Adrian Ogden (drums)

Jane Setter (vocals)

 

 

Rob Bridgman (keyboards, vocals)

I was born in Oxford and was inspired into music by my father and grandad. I learnt classical guitar, piano and percussion. Early musical influences were UK, Pink Floyd, Big Band music,Genesis and Yes.
Gear .....  Keyboards!
Likes .....  UK, Pink Floyd, Arsenal football club, Inspector Morse, Avengers, Yellow Jackets, the Old Grey Whistle Test, Sight and Sound in concert, Pamela Anderson, Christmas Cake, Level 42, Genesis, Yes, Bill Bruford, ELP, Abba, Formula 1, Scotland, live music.
Dislikes .....  Peppers, beetroot!
Influences .....  Eddie Jobson, Russell Ferrantes, Keith Emerson, Dave Stewart ... oh, and Rick Wright.
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Paul Hancock (guitars)

He who always stands on the left of the stage was born at an early age in the seedier part of Manchester, not far from Maine Road. Consequently he hates Manchester United but strangely supports Leeds (though this is becoming increasingly painful!).
Early influences were his Aunt Josephine who introduced him to fishing, Geoffrey Boycott (hero number two) and Russ Conway. Unfortunately he who always stands on the left didn't take to tinkling the ivories but was then influenced by a competition on the back of a cereal packet to win a RED Burns Electric Guitar and set about building his own. At the age of 10 he was not highly successful but later in life acquired a Shaftesbury Les Paul copy ... and you thought it was a Gibson!! ... and religiously practised from Bert Weedon's Play in a Day. Several decades and various proper guitars later, he who always stands on the left now mimics the God Gilmour, who kindly acknowledged that he does indeed play some of the same notes! Ambitions include to score the winning goal in the Burkina Faso FA cup final, get the solo for Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) right, to be able to afford an Aston Martin, and to open a recording studio in the South of France. Does anyone have a spare battery for my fuzz box?
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Ian Howarth (bass, vocals)

Ian was born in St Helens and went to boarding school in the West Riding of Yorkshire.  It was there he first heard the opening riff to Deep Purple's 'Highway Star'.  From that moment he was hooked and would listen to all the great 70's bands including Free, Led Zep, Wishbone Ash, Pink Floyd and Supertramp.
Gear .....  Fender Precision Bass guitar and Fender Jazz Bass (U.S.A.); Trace Elliot 1210 500W Bass Combo; Peavey 150 Watt head with 4x12 Cab; Jetblack custom Bass amp.
Likes .....  Motorcycling, Chelsea football club, The X-Files, Charles Dickens, H.G. Wells and the Brontë sisters, the Old Grey Whistle Test, Sight and Sound in concert, The Beatles, The Dixie Chicks, Foo Fighters, Dusty Springfield, Ian Dury, Squeeze, Keira Knightley, Paddy Consadine, cheesy rock t-shirts.
Dislikes .....  The Spice girls reunion (give me a break!)
Influences .....  Paul McCartney, Guy Pratt, John Paul Jones, Dougie Thompson and, "most importantly, my Dad, for never giving up on me".
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Adrian Ogden (drums)

Astronomer, zoologist, computer programmer, kung fu grand master, jetsetter, commando, novelist, Spiderman ... these were just a few of the things Adrian wanted to be when he grew up. Given that he became a drummer, they still are.
A lifelong denizen of the Reading area (apart from a stint at college in Leeds), Adrian went through youthful flirtations with piano, violin and choral singing before finding his true calling on the drums. He played his first gigs at the age of 20 with local self-proclaimed legends Loose Tourniquet. Since then he has played pop, rock, blues and soul, and been a member of The Briefcase Blues Brothers, and XTC tribute X-sTatiC. He currently plays in Swallow along with Jane.
Influences: Rush, Genesis, Led Zeppelin, The Police, XTC, AC/DC
Likes: Odd time signatures, Doctor Who, Babylon 5, Firefly, Spaced, Terry Pratchett, feeding ducks, birds of prey, tea, pizza, dark chocolate, hugs, Tom Lehrer, the internet, hats.
Dislikes: Scientific Creationism, parsnips.
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Jane Setter (vocals)

I joined the band in March 2007, only intending to stay for one gig. But this isn't a band - it's a way of life! And anyway these guys need someone to organise them ... (Only joking, boys!)
Influences include Kate Bush (a Gilmour protegée), the Abba girls, Deborah Harry, Robert Plant, Ian Gillan, Ronnie James Dio, Freddie Mercury, Annie Lennox, Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel - so being honest I'm a musical slut and I'll have a go at anything.
History ...  I grew up in the no man's land of planet Thanet, and have spent most of my life as far away from there as possible, with stints in York, Japan, Leeds, Hong Kong and now Reading. I've been involved in bands since I was at school and, whilst working in Hong Kong, played the Handover Party at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (Robert Plant was in the audience!!), and the Johnnie Walker Golf Classic in Thailand. I also sing in Swallow, a classic rock covers band, in prog rock originals band Crimson Sky, and can occasionally be seen in my day job, as a Senior Lecturer in phonetics at the University of Reading.
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