Stand Up Drummer

Our neighbour’s daughter is looking sad. I take my drum and over the garden wall,…

David Bowie puts his head around the door of Studio One, “I need one of…

Cancer. Thirteen. I get ‘shielded from the pain’ and don’t get to say goodbye to…

Amy. She’s blind, deaf and four years old. To be honest I’m not qualified for…

Shattered glass is flying across The Camden Palace foyer in London. Grimacing bouncers have me…

I’m losing it with a boy in today’s school drumming session. It’s most unprofessional of…

Someone just asked what’s my favourite birthday present ever? It’s 2006. Two friends are driving…

I reach for my drum. It all seems too formal. We’re a predominantly white group…

Andy Warhol. Our handshake is ice cold. This isn’t a metaphor, his eyes are warm…

Eric Clapton turns up at Prince’s after-party at The Kensington Roof Gardens. I’ve never quite…

Elvis Costello comes over to our table, “Pete. We’re on.” Pete Thomas and I were…

Boy George says, “It’s easy to talk to you now we’ve danced together. I used…

Lee Mack is headlining tonight. “Let’s hear it for Tom Morley” says the MC as…

Annie Lennox adjusts her pillow, closes her eyes and says, “I’m so glad we can…

Green insists I go to the library and look up Marcel Duchamp. “Now”.  For months,…

Private jets are bad right? Paris gigs are best reached by Eurostar but this particular…

Craig Revel Horwood praises my songwriting. “Janine got a standing ovation Tom, did you know?…

Because of the way I look I’m crying. My tears are flowing for deeply personal…

Jeremy Gilley from ‘Peace One Day’ jumps out of his black cab looking as stylish…

Emma Thompson asks, “How will you get everyone up and moving Tom?” We’re backstage at…

Podcast person. “So, how did you two get together?” I was one of 25 people…

I love doing this and seeing what insights I wake up with. I’m about to…

Jacqueline the Hypnotist: So, you have enormous earning potential but you’re always broke. What’s that…

A frowning child is insisting I pay to get in, even though this is MY…

It’s tempting to define us by the way we dress, the music we listen to…

My 88th Birthday. July 23rd 2042. Our friends and family are visiting us at ‘Ubuntu…

Getting dressed for our date she found herself choosing the outfit that she thought I’d…

Tom: Once I’ve got them singing I’ll invite some of them on stage to dance.…

I’m smiling, they’re laughing. Fifteen of us.  “You see these drums, hats, cloaks and shades?…

“Yes! Robert the unbeaten champion. Better luck next time Tom!” It’s 1993 and I’m working…

“Tutti Frutti” As we move from being an indie rock band to a mainstream pop…

So, let’s have a bit of a recap. David Bowie is trying to keep my…

Sunrise champagne is being passed between us on Waterloo Bridge. We’ve been up all night…

Hit everything. Create chaos. Promote pandemonium.  At a kids’ drumming party I invite the Birthday…

Gareth Malone, The Bishop of St Albans and Tom Morley walk into a bar. Barman:…

It’s Spring 2019 and a friend of mine has just come back from a half…

“Shhh, not here… ” I say as the dancer I’ve booked shows me her spangly…

Getting dressed for our date she found herself choosing the outfit that she thought I’d…

The lights hit me on stage in Birmingham, I’ve been invited to speak at a…

I really miss Green. You don’t know what it’s like. When you grow up with…

Green, Niall and I are bringing the walls down. It’s 1978 and we’ve been rehearsing…

It’s February 2008 and I’m crashing while the economy crashes around me. These days they…