BLUES MAN, SKIFFLE LOVER, AGNOSTIC, EARTH LOVER, ETERNAL SMILER, YOUR BIG BROVVER, JAM MAKER, FLOWER GROWER, THIS MAN HAS IT ALL...IF THE LEVELLERS WERE EVER CONDENSED INTO A ONE MAN BAND, THEY'D BE COLIN HARTLEY...

Colin Hartley is a ‘musicians’, musician from the UK. When I moved to Cheltenham a number of years ago, he became my ‘go to guy’. He ran a rehearsal room, he knew the gigs to play and where to promote them. He would, literally, help anyone at any time. And yet, he was a shy, almost retiring figure that was simply happy to help and to entertain. And, he was ‘always’ smiling. I went to watch him do a solo acoustic show and it became apparent there was far more to Colin than met the eye. Years have passed, he’s moved to Finland, but his heart (and soul – he doesn’t ‘believe’) is rooted in music. You get the feeling that if music was removed from his life, he would simply keel over and die.

We caught up with him recently to discuss his long and enigmatic career…

How are you?

Am ok thanks!

You’ve been immersed in the music industry all of your life, but who was the catalyst?

As a young child I had access to a piano in both sets of grandparents houses. One side more formal, the other singalong songs like ‘Roll out the barrel’. My paternal grandad was a musician and clown.

I also sang in a church choir aged 6-9, with some instinctive ability to harmonise. I’ve always loved singing but left the choir as I didn’t like church.

When I hit my 20s my main catalyst was Big Andy with whom I formed the Talking Cheeseburgers, later to be The Cheeseburgers, and we busked across France and then back in the UK.

What were the first bands that inspired you?

Aged 8 I loved ABBA and Rod Stewart. Aged 6 I loved Slade, and aged 13 in 1979 I found AC/DC, Ozzy and Sabbath, and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Was there one significant event that made you go out and buy your first guitar?

The first guitar I bought was an electro-acoustic Arbiter for £149 from Aroundaboutsounds in Cheltenham.

It was 1994 as my treat to myself for passing my degree. Before that I owned a ¾ size bass and a classical nylon strung guitar. They were both gifts from either parent.

What are some of your all-time favourite records?

Songs:- Faith Healer by SAHB, Long Train Running – Doobie Brothers, Liberator by Spear of Destiny, Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde – The Damned, Whole lotta Rosie – AC/DC, Mickey Mouse and the Goodbye Man – Grinderman

Albums:- On To Victory – Humble Pie, Slade Alive – Slade, If you want blood – AC/DC, The Wall – Pink Floyd, If 60s were 90s – Beautiful People, Reverence – Faithless, Levelling the Land – The Levellers, Grinderman 2 – Grinderman.

Your music is steeped in the blues, have you tried to sell your soul yet?

Of course, but I’m not religious so don’t believe in a devil nor a god.

I’ve never tried to be commercial but did go on The Voice of Finland in 2022, singing Human by Rag n Bone Man. The chairs turned.

I remember the x-ray that you had for Jagged Edged Bone. Whose collar bone was it?

My friend had a cycling accident and when I saw the x-ray I said “fuck me that’s a jagged edged bone! Fuck me, that’s a great name for a band! Can I use the X-ray for the logo?” My friend Stuart approved!

I don’t tag other people as I choose the spotlight but they may not.

X-Ray – image after I gave the pic to an artist to redo for the band

What was your first gig like?

Smokey! (And I don’t mean the 70s band of that name!) I was 16, bass player in a goth band called Less Than Angels. In 1982 we played our first gig at the school hall and before the curtains opened someone set off the smoke machine. When the curtains opened nobody could see anything. The audience couldn’t see us, we couldn’t see each other and the drummer couldn’t see his kit. We played brilliantly and bad, the kids loved it, the teachers hated it.

How has your music evolved over the years?

I’ve learned to better control my voice rather than just bellow. I’ve learned to play the guitar better, by playing 18 hours a day  for almost all of 1998

I’ve learned to accept mistakes. I’ve learned to keep learning. I’ve learned to care less (about tech errors or getting things wrong) and relax more when on stage.

Can you describe your song writing process?

In the old days I’d smoke weed and play around on the guitar. When I found a nice sequence I’d play it for hours and hours, over and over. Sometimes overnight, the same four chords, or shapes and movements.

Once it was instinctive I’d pick up a pen, put on Pungent Effulgent by Ozric Tentacles, let the mostly instrumental music draw me through words. Usually I’d come up with something which fit the guitar part I’d played over n over.

I’d then practice them together and make any necessary adjustments. I can’t plan a song nor plan to write a song on demand, although I have done with my band Scruffdog’s lyrics.
Most of my original songs are genuinely those that have been written in 10 minutes.

They may have taken hours of practice and rehearse, but the actual writing process, including lyrics, has taken 10 minutes.

What themes or stories do you find yourself exploring in your music?

Socio-political, anti-bullying, travelling, love, lost love, being an underdog, being a ‘weirdikin’ (as nicknamed by the lads in the east end of London pub The Needlegun)

I try to tell a story. All my lyrics are from personal experiences and they all reflect a true event or feeling.

Just this week in. June 2024, the electronics burned out! Luckily I had spare Fishmans set so made some fresh holes in the guitar and added the new set of electronics.

– Ibanez Acoustic- I was given this guitar three times by three friends, each who thought they owned it, in SW France in 2001. The real owner, Martin, had busked with it for 20 years ish, across more miles than beers he’d drank, in at least 10 European countries. When I found him in Spain not long after I’d been ‘given’ it the last time, I offered it back to him but he had an Ovation by then and told me to keep it. I brought it back to the UK as my spare cos it was purely acoustic.

I’d played it mic’d up for 5 years before discovering the hexagonal strap button was also a jack socket and it had a passive pickup! It’s open tuned to C# Ab C# F Ab C#. I’ve got other guitars but they don’t mean as much as these two.

How do you choose your gear to get that authentic blues sound?

I don’t choose gear. I buy the cheapest of what I need cos I’m poor. Buying the cheapest means I can buy one of each of what I need or want… e.g. I just bought a set of IEM relay transmitter/receiver from Temu.

I don’t even know correct terminologies tbh. I did buy a lovely Ibanez amp recently though – an Ibanez Troubadour T30ii with guitar and mic inputs. It’s a great little amp but again price dictated.

Luckily for me my local music instrument shop Tampereen Musiikki, always give me a special price on larger purchases. Top quality shop, top quality experts, top quality products! Had I had more disposable money I may have gone for the next model up, or a Roland Cube. However, I do like this little Ibanez amp so am happy with my lack of funds.

Are there any contemporary (current) blues artists you admire?

That fella Teddy Swims has an awesome voice, his song Lose Control is excellent and I saw a version he did of Tennessee Whiskey that blew me away.

I’ve always loved Gloucestershire blues-rock band Hard Stairs!

Horston Longsail is the dog’s danglies when it comes to raw power and unbridled passionate performance.

What role do you think blues (and skiffle) music plays in today’s cultural landscape?

Seems to be making a bit of a comeback in the UK, if it ever left… especially with high profilers like Seasick Steve and Teddy Swims.

Stuff like Americana and Rockabilly, rock n roll and Psychobilly have always been popular but, I recently watched the Brit Awards 2023 and tbh there was no real connection between the music there and blues/skiffle.

Maybe the musical powers that be haven’t heard the news yet?

I saw you play with your son Jay a few times, must have been great to gig live with him…

It was brilliant cos he was such a natural musician with a great sense of performance, natural rhythm and instinctive harmonies.

We complimented each other so perfectly.

He gave me a real sense of belief in my own songs, something I’d struggled with for years.

What was the emotion like when he sadly passed?

The first Jagged Edged Bone gig was about three weeks after Jay died from an unexpected pulmonary embolism. Being there on stage was like being in a state of psychosis… it was a most powerful performance, our dep drummer didn’t know what the fuck was happening. It was raw. It was pure. We exploded onto that stage and the audience felt it. They knew something unusual was happening but didn’t know why or what.

But I was blocked unless I played with other musicians. I couldn’t play solo, I couldn’t play certain songs. I just broke down. Scruffdog had a lot of rehearsals at the time too, and JEB went out busking. Without the friends in both bands I think I’d have given up music and self destructed. Playing, singing, driving out the demons, helped me cope. But I’ll never get to sing with Jay again. That’s painful and always will be.

As you got your HGV licence, I guess you do all the driving?

Actually I don’t. The bass player in JEB, Lauri, does most of the driving but his van requires a C licence so I do sit in for him sometimes cos the others in the band only have B. In Scruffdog our drummer is teetotal and is a bus driver, so he gets lumbered while we get drunk. (Most paid gigs get free beer backstage too)

Have you collaborated with other musicians or bands? If so, how was the experience?

To be honest, it’s the times people didn’t collaborate which I felt more strongly. In the UK I heard ‘we should definitely work together’ from so many musicians but nothing ever came of it. I discovered it was partly due to folks thinking they’d be stepping on Jay’s toes if they played with me. (apparently). There was one particular time where a load of local musicians got together and recorded a song and video to support the England footie team, and I wasn’t asked to participate. I felt quite left out to be honest.

Over here I’m in three bands which means I’m currently playing with 14 amazing musicians as well as solo. Ive mentioned Jagged Edged Bone and Scruffdog, but I’m also in a band covering the Levellers. We’re called Levelling the Land after the album of that name. We recently had our first gig which was extremely well received. We’re a 7 piece including two fiddle players….its amazing to be part of the project! I was also very privileged to record some backing vocals for a Hard Stairs song called ‘Bury Me’. That made my day!! It’s a great song and it’s fabulous to have been asked!

I wanted to be in Hard Stairs since I first saw them, and I’ve loved Dan as a player and friend since we met about a week after he moved to Gloucestershire. I also record vocals for an Australian songwriter producer but he pays me a fee so the recordings don’t have my name on them. It’s nice to be asked as he chooses me based on my voice textures and tones.

Who would be your dream artist to collaborate with?

I count myself incredibly lucky to collaborate with amazing musicians already, in ScruffDog, Jagged Edge Bone and Levelling the Land. I’ve also been lucky to have played live with a lot of great musicians in the UK, France, Italy and Spain. We’ve just never recorded anything! So maybe dream artists would be Nick Cave, PJ Harvey, Kirk Brandon, Jello Biafra, and if I could bring her back to life, to sing a duet with Janis Joplin would be incredible!

Are there any unreleased songs or projects that you’re excited about?

Loopy Pro! It’s a looping app for iPad and iPhone…better than all hardware loop stations… I’m learning it using a 22i/o interface with 4 mics and 5 instruments…The mics are for vox, various percussion, tin whistle, jaws harp, and harmonicas, the lined-in instruments are 3 differently tuned acoustic guitars, a bass and an electric guitar through a Marshall combo. It’s early days but it turns out one expert in the functionality of the app lives just up the road and he’s agreed to pop over to my studio and help me set up. The plan is to develop an engaging solo loop project of mostly original songs.

It’ll be about 6 months to a year before it’s ready though. (I was preparing the same thing with a single stomp loop pedal, but this new app has expanded the versatility, dynamics and controllability, but it takes time to tailor it to my exact needs for each song). And for the rest of 2024 and 2025 I’ll be recording with Jagged Edged Bone and ScruffDog, releasing new songs, albums and etc. there are so many to get done…but now we’re in the flow. Plus I have a load of solo songs to get recorded, songs which don’t really suit the bands but I still need to record for posterity – and so I can leave them to my wife and daughter when I pop me clogs.