He attended Lord Wandsworth College in Hampshire, where he was a member of a band called Cirrus with Nick Ryall (guitar and flute) and Ray Coop (bass).

In 1979, he joined up with Pete Byrne to form Neon, whose first single "Making Waves/Me I See in You" was released on their own 3D Music label.

[1] The band later went on to recruit Neil Taylor, Manny Elias, Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal before they finally broke up in December 1981.

They resumed their writing partnership after a five-year break, and some of the songs written during this period appeared on the 2001 Pete Byrne album, The Real Illusion.

2 spot, while the hip hop-inspired "Rise to the Occasion" also cracked the top 10 in the United Kingdom.