Craig delves into his passion for music and how much it can impact us all.
Throughout my whole life, music has been a constant. I’ve played drums since I was eight, been in a constant stream of bands and even recorded a few albums. My memories don’t only contain pictures and words, they also have a soundtrack. All my memories come with a song that has significance to me.
You’ll often hear people say, “That song reminds me of…” and one of those that sticks out to me is ‘In My Life’ by the Beatles (you’ve got to give it a listen). I can remember walking through Albert Docks with my headphones on, thinking how amazing this all was, being in Liverpool, listening to The Beatles and feeling energised about the future. When I listen to this same song now, I’m flooded with memories, thoughts and feelings from the past. When I want to create a different energy within myself, I have certain songs in my mind to help me. As mentioned, this may be The Beatles, or something more energetic like Jesus Jones.
Music is a comforter for me. It’s helped me come to terms with moments in my life and has been a support to me during some difficult situations, with certain songs lifting me up. I love talking to friends and discovering how music has helped them, in their own way.
Music is extremely powerful and is an amazing form of communication, connecting us all at a different level. We can speak totally different languages, come from different cultures and connect over a song. I experienced this first-hand when I went solo to The Police reunion tour in the early 2000s. I can vividly remember sitting in my seat at the arena in Cardiff, next to a couple from Italy. I didn’t speak Italian, they didn’t speak a lot of English, but we bonded over the music. We enjoyed the night, singing together, connecting through the experience we were sharing.
What I find so amazing about music is that you don’t need to be musical to appreciate it. You don’t need to be a musician to make music. You can create music right now with percussion on an item around you. Try tapping your pen on your desk at different rhythms (but be mindful of others’ reactions to this… not everyone appreciates the drums!) You could even sing, whether you think you have a good voice or not, because music isn’t about perfection, it’s about expression and the joy that it brings.
Music can be found everywhere, rooted in the way we communicate. In ancient cultures, news was spread by fire, smoke signals and drumbeats. When the King travels around the world visiting different countries, a lot of the time the cultural greeting will involve music. We celebrate our country by singing our national anthem. We sing because it’s so much more emotive than talking. There are so many examples where music is shown to unite us.
I truly believe that we’re never alone with music. I was reminded of this recently when I went to visit my mum. She likes watching a show called ‘Heartbeat’ (not quite my cup of tea!) and every time a song comes on, she sits there singing and tapping her foot. She loves it and you can tell she really gets into it. Music is such a beautiful thing because it doesn’t matter what your age is, as it brings people together.
What music ignites a memory for you?
P.S. Did you spot that it’s me in the picture playing the drums back in the 80s? I’m actually still playing to this day!