Born in 15 May 1949, York, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom, a drummer-turned-songwriter who hailed originally from York. He started out as a member of Tony Adams & the Viceroys, before forming the Shots, who evolved into the Smoke, a highly underrated mod band that enjoyed a large following in Europe (especially Germany). After the breakup of the Smoke, he became a house musician at Morgan Studios, where he played on records by Fickle Pickle and other Morgan-signed acts. It was during this period, in the early '70s, that he began concentrating principally on songwriting, initially in partnership with ex-Orange Bicycle keyboard player/arranger Will Malone and then with latter-day Smoke member Cliff Wade -- the two had a hit with Heartbreaker, which became a number one single for Pat Benatar, and their work was also covered by Tina Turner, among others.