Chapter 9 !992 to 2023 High Wycombe
In 1991 I met Gill from High Wycombe at a New Year’s Eve party, fell in love, moved to High Wycombe and we got married in 1996. I did some research on Wycombe Wanderers football club, known as “The Blues”, and wrote Swinging The Blues, which I recorded at Les Payne’s studio in High Wycombe, along with I’ve Only Got One Heart, I’m A Loving Man, and the Butterfly Song, which features Pip on violin.
In 1998, Gill and I had a baby boy, Jamie, the delight of our lives. He was a Special Boy. At the age of 3 he was diagnosed with autism – a terrific shock.
In 2002 Jamie went to Hillingdon Manor School, where he started to talk, but not in a conversational way. Jamie’s first word came when the children were going through a doorway. When the teacher said “Open the . . . .” Jamie said “Door!”, and this got him lots of praise. He was very pleased with himself.
I went back to Les Payne’s recording studio, and recorded ‘Hidden Treasure’, a double CD album of some of my songs. It included a few songs about Jamie: Ordinary Boy, Jamie Boy, Special Boy and a track called Jamie In Person featuring his voice at the age of 5, with snippets of things he was learning to say such as ‘Happy Birthday’, ‘Trampoline’ and ‘Up and down’. He liked water and wanted to jump in the pond in Les Payne’s garden. You can hear him on the microphone saying what sounds like ‘Back to the pond’. The CD had some other songs like Crazy Cat, Rainbow Song, Put Your Long Johns On, Happy Birthay Jesus, Just A Matter Of Time, Say No and the one Jamie liked to play in the car: Wake Me Up When The Sun Comes Up. It also had 3 spoof bedtime stories accompanied by flute and harp: Bedtime Stories.
I’m not much good on computers. It’s a digital world and I’m an analogue person. Gill got used to computers at work, and used Word and Excel. I had an occasional tap on the keyboard or mouse, but I was always mis-clicking. Eventually I got a laptop, and had a tutor to set up and manage a website, notjustasongbook.com, for my songs. I managed to get cassette recordings on to the DVD recorder which we still use for Jamie, and my tutor, Alex, converted them to mp3’s. I also found someone locally to convert some reel to reel tape recordings to mp3. I don’t do much songwriting now that I’m getting on a bit, and Parkinson’s disease makes the guitar difficult.
In November 2022, I entered 3 songs in a songwriting competition – King of Charleston, Cry my Beloved Country and Rolling Along. They didn’t win, but they got some quite good comments, as follows:
SongDoor 2022 International Songwriting Competition
Entry Evaluation for: Peter Bradford
Scoring: Each item is assessed on a scale from 1-10, with 1 being a strong “no,” 5 being average and 10 being “absolutely yes!” (Note that a score of 10 is reserved for true excellence and is rarely given.)
(King of Charleston got 10 for the lyrics, which they described as “insane” – their comments are below, and on the A-Z of songs – scroll down to “King of Charleston”)
The comments are
the combined opinions of multiple judges. We always try to be constructive; we don’t presume to know
everything or be right 100% of the time. Opinions are, by their nature, subjective. 🙂
Song: Cry My Beloved Country
Comments: A fine rallying-cry type of song in the grand folk tradition – this is most
definitely not a country song and belongs in Soft Rock. Good storytelling that is evocative and emotional. The metaphors are noble and lofty, and well-suited to the subject matter.
The melodies, however, are a little predictable, as if we’d heard them before—but they are well-woven together with smooth transitions between them. We’re not sure what you’d like to do with your music, but if you’re interested in generating revenue, this will be a little difficult because the song is so specific and the time for it has passed (because Mandela has). It’s a touching, thought-provoking and emotional tribute but the time for it was years ago. It might work in a period piece about South Africa back in the day. Thank you for using the SongDoor Evaluation Service!
Song: Rolling Along (Continental Dragon)
There is a strong intro that grabs the listener.
There is a memorable hook that makes you want to hear the song again and again.
The theme/idea is fresh and unique, even if it’s a take on an old theme (“love lost”). (Not sure what they mean by ‘love lost’)
The song tells a story that evokes an emotion (love-struck, sad, lonely, joyful, wistful, etc.)
The song isn’t overly personal; it’s something the general public can relate to.
There is a different melody for the verse, chorus and bridge (if there is a bridge).
The lyrics are original, interesting and avoid clichés.
The melodies are original and support the mood of the lyrics.
The transitions between song parts are smooth and pull the song together.
Overall, is this a well-written song with actual commercial potential.
Song: King of Charleston
I haven’t got this evaluation to hand, but you can see it by clicking on ‘King of Charleston’ in the A-Z of songs – scroll down to the SongDoor evaluation. They say a score of 10 is reserved for true excellence, and gave the lyrics a score of 10 describing them as insanely clever. (I’ve now found it! Here it is ….)
Scores & Comments:
The theme/idea is fresh and unique. 9.
The song tells a story that evokes an emotion (lovestruck, joyful, lonely, wistful etc.) 8+
The song isn’t overly personal; it’s something the general public can relate to. 6.
There is a different melody for the verse, chorus and bridge. 7.
The lyrics are original, interesting and avoid cliches. 10.
The melodies are original and support the mood of the lyrics. 7.
The transitions between song parts are smooth and pull the song together. 8.
Overall this is a well-written song with actual commercial potential. 5.
Love the title – very intriguing – and it’s a very whimsical song concept. The lyrics are insanely clever, the structure is solid; the movement is logical and each song part resolves well. It’s got great energy and the production is fantastic. The melodies are a little derivative, but that’s almost necessary to convey the feel of the era.
Placement-wise, this is difficult because the song is so esoteric. It’s not an album/artist cut; for it to land a sync licence in film/TV there would have to be a period piece in which it would fit. Theatre? Yes, but same dilemma. If you’re just writing for yourself, it doesn’t matter. It’s wildly creative and entertaining and you did a wonderful job from that perspective.
P.S. We’re also attaching a lyric sheet formatting guide so you know what industry folks expect. Thank you for using the SongDoor evaluation service!
It’s now 2023 and I’ve reached the grand old age of 80. I might have another go at a song competition. Any ideas which songs to enter?
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