HAVING LEFT school with a burning desire to embrace rock music even further, I briefly worked in retail before joining my local newspaper, the Matlock Mercury, as a sales adviser.  Having a slight advantage in securing the post due to a supportive teacher allowing me to contribute basketball reports at school, I’d always had a love of words. Even more so when they appeared in print.

With feet under the table, I soon started reviewing the odd band and pestered my then-editor Ian Amoss to let me fill a page, or the best part of it, with music stuff. Reluctantly, he agreed and Roy’s Rock Page was born. I was filled with pride.

Since then I’ve worked for two other titles, Matlock & Peak Express/Chesterfield Express and the Dales Echo, each one carrying my efforts which as before, appeared fortnightly. Tragically the Dales Echo closed so I then periodically sent stuff to the Derbyshire Times which had their weekly music page, The Number One Page. Expertly compiled by Gay Bolton and latterly taken over by her colleague Phil Bramley, who re-named it Number Two Page, this was the go-to section for any music fan in north Derbyshire. Sadly over time, the Derbyshire Times would no longer run a dedicated music page and decided it should all go online. What a great idea that was!