MJ Kay

Brought up on Wirral Merseyside; during teenage years the Beatles were everything. Took the ferry ‘cross the Mersey to Rushworth’s music store in Liverpool and bought my first acoustic guitar, a cheap Japanese copy of a D18. Also bought a red Rapier 33 from a second-hand store near Birkenhead bus station. Started a band called Purple September. Only had two gigs and we were a total disaster but great fun. Late sixties and early seventies saw 10cc at Cardiff Castle in the rain, Supertramp and Rod Stewart at Nottingham University.

Every picture tells a story. Started work in Geneva, Switzerland where I married my beautiful wife in the St Pierre, Cathedral auditorium, bought a 12 string Framus downtown and realised it was a nightmare to keep in tune. Spent the weekends skiing listening to Foreigner and Bad Company. In Cobham (nr. London) we started a family, met the Queen, no not Freddie, and played in Heywoodstock, probably not heard of it. After that it was Singapore where I bought a Revstar and played to an audience of 500 in my farewell bash then on to Hong Kong, before settling back in the New Forest. Love it.

Lifetime goals include write a book, paint a picture and write a song. First one published in early 2000s. Second one was a wildcard on Landscape Artist of the Year at the Eden Project and now on to the final one. Didn’t know where to start. Played a few cover sessions at a club in Milford on Sea and decided to dive in. Researched studios and found HP studios in Ringwood. Wow what a gem! Went over the plan with them and we started on vocal training then moved on to recording a few cover tracks. Love writing music and lyrics (love the movie too!) so started the journey to becoming a studio based, singer songwriter. Bought a Gibson Songwriter guitar. Wrote I don’t know how many songs, most of which ended up on the cutting room floor, but found 14 that made it through to the first album. What genre you ask. Modern Country is the only option. Must be the early Beatles storytelling, Eleanor Rigby etc that influenced me although, Willie Nelson, Brad Paisley, The Petersens and Mary Spender played their part. Anyway, here we are in June 2025 and the first album, Country Storm, is out there on all the usual channels. Ain’t it crazy what a smile can do. Check out the album and you’ll see what I mean.