Tony was born in the suburbs of Birmingham in the year that Grace Kelly married Prince Rainer, Berthe Morrisots’ painting ‘Jour d’ete’ was stolen from the Tate Gallery and Elvis Presley first entered the British charts with a song called Heartbreak Hotel.
He spent his childhood playing on the wasteland behind the Hatchford Brook Youth Centre (locally known as the Brook), building dens, go-karts and bonfires. He developed an early interest in Pop Music being a member of the Troggs Fanclub and forming his first band the Two Fits with best friend Robert Fairbotham when he was eight years old.
He survived school for twelve years, leaving with just one O’level in Art. His greatest scholarly achievements were being commended for looking out of the window, passing his Cycling Proficiency Test and cultivating a tonal deafness to avoid singing in the school choir. In 1972, he went to Foundation Art College and embarked on a journey of self discovery. Majoring in Cow Art, he developed an obsessional interest in Francis Bacon, Richard Hamilton, Fellini, Marlene Dietrich, the Marx Brothers, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, Hollywood Musicals and tasteless clothes. In 1974 he went to Leeds Polytechnic to study Fine Art and get over exclusive use of cow motifs, worked in a variety of media : sculpture, video, print, painting, events etc, received a BA Hons 2:1.
On leaving college, he worked in various factories and building sites . He then went on to work as both a surface pattern & graphic designer finally ending up in education, teaching art, sound recording, photography, design, video, DTP and basic skills in a variety of Further & Higher Education Colleges. In 1984, he became runner up in the Cosmopolitan Bachelor of the Year competition, only winning a part share in a cheap plastic Kodak Disc Camera instead of the first prize of a holiday for two in Florida.
Tony has continued to work on various art-based projects and has exhibited in a range of Northern Art Galleries : Cow Art, How to make Modern Art, Several Images (Thesis 1), Towards Anonymity 1980 (Thesis 1 & 2), Propaganda Unlimited, Sitting Pretty, Challenging Perceptions in Photography, The Slightly Surreal Saturday Matinee and the Parallel Elvis Universe multi-media event. Formed Dream Stealers with Paul Staniforth (his lifetime collaborator), produced art karaoke , an audio visual album mixing sound and moving images to create a 55 minute moving painting (shown at Leeds Fringe Photography Festival, Evolution , Cabaret Heaven, York College and as a remix at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London). Currently working on an exhibition of prints & paintings inspired by Art Karaoke and has produced and directed Mekons Leeds (video), a documentary and live music DVD of the legendary Leeds band the Mekons filmed on their 30th Anniversary tour.
Since the Two Fits, he has formed a variety of bands : Household Name – post punk atonal funksters / Johnny Jumps the Bandwagon (video) – tongue in cheek cabaret country & western art band / yahoo family – urban country blues / Loved Ones (video) – melodic angst rockers / the Art Cowboys (featuring fellow Arts & Media staff, Claire Thacker, Kevin O’Hare, Maria Allen & Joe Mills)– country, blues , rock with sweet harmonies / The Jack Shites (video) – lofi noisy stuff (featuring his son Jack) / also working on his solo project, Only Child.
Tony is currently into Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Neil Young, The Heavy, Black Cat, White Cat, Amelie, Tommy Cooper, Reeves & Mortimer, Fish and icons of Elvis Presley .He enjoys talking about the meaning of life, playing guitar and washing up
He is married with 3 children, and a dog. Lives in Leeds.
Also see
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd3wDmIs5Go
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNbLpgH2d8c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-J6nAVovCw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXKl05XzYzk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhy3I9b0CBQ