Guitar
Maurice started singing in church choirs when he was six. He started playing guitar to accompany his and other peoples singing when he was 12 "because it was a really good way to meet girls". By the time he was 14, Maurice was playing regularly at folk clubs and by the time he was 17 he was playing in his first folk group "Halcyon Dais" which later morphed into "Crises".
By 1976, when he was 21, Maurice was performing and touring folk clubs as a solo act and as one half of a duo with Michael Linden.
Through the 1980's Maurice "went to the dark side" playing in rock band "7 to Midnight". Between 1985 and 1990 the band produced 3 albums and gigged extensively.
Maurice left 7 to Midnight in 1990, having pursued some solo work since 1988.
Throughout the early 90's the solo work in folk clubs continued alongside work in a four piece band "Broken Drum". It was in this period (around 1996) that Maurice formed a partnership with Gillian Tolfrey and they started gigging extensively recording their album "Balanced Books" in 2006.
In 2000 Maurice became guitar tutor at the Folkworks Caedmon evening classes. He worked for Folkworks for in this role for 9 years.
In 2009 Maurice, with colleagues and friends from the old Caedmon programme at the Sage Gateshead, set up Phoenix Folk, which continues to successfully carry the torch for folk music tuition in the North East of England.
Maurice started playing for the Angels in April 2011.
Comments