"Like most spotty teenagers, my first hands-on experience of a musical instrument was a second-hand acoustic guitar bought from the local junk shop. After an otherwise long boring hot summer I knew every chord in the book.

And like most pseudo-musicians of the era, I progressed to a Watkins Rapier, a home-made piddly little amplifier and a myriad of whatever-I-could-get-my-hands-on cheap speakers in a massive cabinet. (How did I carry it around?). And suddenly, I was a rhythm guitarist – aha, a title. Yeah! Over time I upgraded, bit by bit, as you do and played with a number of ‘bands' culminating in an unusually successful band in Germany - ‘The High Spirits'. I even wrote some songs and we made a single. By now I was a lead guitarist. Yeah!

Like most good things, it all fell apart and I ended up back in the UK. By this time the world was full of real guitarists, who collectively humiliated & humbled me into shame by playing lots of notes really fast. So I decided to turn to the bass guitar; only 4 strings and could be played slowly. Aha – fewer bum notes - that's gotta be the answer.

A hundred bands and a thousand years later, I'm still a bass player and, once again attempting to write songs. Yeah. And still enjoying it. Yeah, hallelujah!"

 

 

A small scruffy piece of paper hanging off the board of a well frequented music shop said “Singer Wanted”. Jacquie had just arrived on the South Coast of England, and it was this little advert that introduced her to the wonder that is the Willcox-Man.  At the time Tony was playing in a band called Missing in Acton, and it was they that needed an additional singer – Jacquie became that singer.

Jacquie with Missing In Acton at The Downsview (Tony's on the left)

For a few years the band performed around the local area playing mostly old blues tunes, honky-tonk piano numbers, and even the odd bit of jazz.  It was during this time that Jacquie also briefly joined forces with Gary Jones and stutteringly began writing her own tunes.  After Gary decided he felt the calling of sunnier climes, Tony Willcox stepped in to fill the gap. 

The result:  6 original tunes available for sale through this website.

We hope you enjoy our efforts thus far…