Welcome to Zapp Royce's world.
Zapp's musical journey started with his first ever instrument being a euphonium, which he tried at primary school whilst living in Wales, but after about three months gave it up, that was really the only time he had any music lessons. His brother started to have piano lessons, so he used his brothers piano tutorials, taught himself to play the piano. He eventually bought a guitar, at the age of about 14 used to sit in his bedroom, listening to Never Mind the Bollocks, by the Sex Pistols thinking that they were the best thing since sliced bread, thrash his guitar knowing only the bar chord and of course the chords to House of the Rising Sun, then he and a few of his mates from school formed a band, called themselves the Migraines. Their first real gig was in Lifton church hall (in Devon) with Josh Joshua McCrae's band Inconvenience, there were fights going on in the back of the hall amongst the local chavs.
Terry Hodge who was in the third band, unfortunately,lost his brother as he made his way home, he was hit by a lorry, for some reason he was walking on the left hand side of the road even though there was a pavement on the right had side of the road. A few years later Josh Joshua McCrae later got a job with Roger Taylor from Queen playing drums for Rogers band The Cross, he is now the main engineer for Queen, and recently finished working on their latest album.
Josh introduced Roger to one of Zapp's best friends Debbie Leng, who was also at the same school.
Queen were making a video hired some model's one of which was Debbie, Josh introduced Debbie to Roger they ended up having three children together. Josh sold Zapp his old drum kit & a very ropey surfboard, which again Zapp only really messed about with, but Zapp's collection of musical instruments was gradually growing, well the band fell apart they all left school went their separate ways. It wasn't until Zapp was 24 when he bought a saxophone, which was when Zapp got back into music again but this time he decided to learn all his scales, so he spent roughly a year practising around five hours a day, he would learn a song and then play it to death in the London underground system, (get chased around by the cops) normally a Charlie Parker tune or Take Five, make a few quid in the process. Well after about a year two friends and Zapp formed a band called The Big E, they went to South East Asia to record the album Mightier Than Mike, which is available on itunes,The Big E on itunes
Mightier Than Mike on Amazon.co.uk & all the other good download sites. The whole experience took around two years from start to finish, they are currently talking to Hollywood about making a film about the story as the whole episode warrants a film being about the whole adventure.
Anyhow eventually the band split up and the three lads went their separate ways. Living in Amsterdam, Zapp carried on playing and learning the saxophone he lived mainly on busking, but did do a couple of theatre performances both of which got write ups in the local press. Eventually he moved back to London. Soon discovered that Norton, Stone had started working together again they managed to get a twenty thousand pound deal with Virgin records although it came to nothing. Soon after Norton set up Trinity Records / S.O.U.R. records Sound of the Underground Records, started producing records like Sour-cream volume one,
S.O.U.R NU SKOOL FLAVA with 1.(Elementz of NOIZE) 2.This Style (DJ Krust Relick) Shy FX. 3. Mid Town Method (level ii) (DJ Trace) 4. Stick Up! (MC DET) 5. Mass Hysteria (Shapeshifter) 6. Hit The Deck (Elementz of Noize) 7. Let Me Be (L. Double mix) (Elizabeth Troy) 8.The Way it Goes Down! (DJ Kane) 10. Funkindem Up! (Shy FX) 11 The Difference(Skyskraper) T Power - the self evident truth of an intuitive mind Intellect 1. Circle 2.square.3 trapezium 4. octogon 5. triangle 6. indigo. 7.silver. 8 turquoise.9.amber One of the most successful was ORIGINAL NUTTAH UK Apachi with Shy FX on SOUR 1994 Stone & Norton eventually went their separate ways, Stone set up Meltdown in Brighton a Drum 'n' Bass club which started of in the Concord and then moved into The Beach.
He now runs Digital in Newcastle and Brighton.
During this time Zapp had been working in mainly sales jobs in London he worked for Stirling Audio System and Syco systems a high end studio supplier where he met Andy Gray who did the music for Big Brother with Paul Oakenfold amongst other things.
Zapp introduced Andy to a good friend called Kirsten Price and he made a few tracks with her which I believe were probably some of her first recordings ZappRoyce on Soundclick Have a listen to "Don't Get Left Behind" (she also did a track with Josh Joshua McCrae with her friend Joanna called "Get out of London" (It's a great track by Josh) this is also on Soundclick which is a kind of SOUND GALLERY for random songs which Zapp recorded or was somehow involved with - with various friends from the past.
Kirsten now has a record deal in America and is doing very well, unfortunately they have lost touch or she just decides to ignore Zapp not sure which but they were great friends & used to hang out in various venues in Camden Town & Islington
After Stirling Audio Systems & Syco Systems Zapp got a job for an American company distributing Audio equipment & soon became the Managing Director.
Soon after resigning from the job, Zapp moved to West Sussex, after about a year or so joined a band called Fat Lounge, they played Acid Jazz at local Venues in Brighton like the Sussex Arts Club, The Freebutt, and Stars 'n' Stripes, they only recorded three songs which are available on itunes Fat Lounge on Itunes
Fat Lounge on Amazon.oc.uk
So after roughly twenty years of meddling with music Zapp continues to record songs in his spare time. In May 2007 Zapp was diagnosed with Non Hodgkins Lymphoma which is cancer of the Lymphatic system & spent four months on intensive Chemotherapy. Roughly two months after Zapp's last Chemo session he got a job with Manpower working for British Telecommunication and was sacked one day before the duration of six months for helping a customer, the story will soon be published on over two hundred social networking site and blogs as the events while he worked there were incredible.