The first time Bohemian Rhapsody was played on Radio 1...

Radio 1 - Bohemian Rhapsody - 1975

When 10cc I'm not in love was No.1 in the UK charts...  Recorded on my dad's reel-to-reel tape machine in July 1975.

10cc I'm not in Love - No.1 spot

The Power of Your Love, arranged and produced by Rev Gav, sung by Demara Maybury.

The Power of Your Love

Sung by Rev Gav with the choir of St. Mark's Church, Bermuda.

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

You are holding me

Scars

The Greatest Gift

Back in the early 1990s I bought a rack-mount synthesiser called the Roland JD-990. I was scanning the preset patches and came across one called ‘Thong Shimmer’ (no naughty puns intended!) I loved the sound and came up with this simple tune that harks back to tracks such as ‘The Unknown Man’ by Vangelis (a favourite growing up). Before I sold the synth about ten years ago I must have recorded the bass line as I recently found it on an old hard drive. Unable to get the theme out of my head, I decided to make a recording and add it to an album of piano compositions. The resulting track, ‘Shimmer’ creates within me, feelings of hope and joy and I hope it does for you too.

Shimmer

A wonderful soundscape with a haunting piano melody and underlying groove.

Stars

The 2025 hit Christmas song, "The Greatest Gift" as written and performed by Rev Gav.

Available on all major platforms - Spotify, iTunes, etc.

The worship song Oceans (Where feet may fail) arranged and produced by Rev Gav

Oceans

My first multitrack synth composition was in 1987 using a Casio HT-3000 and a 4-track cassette tape recorder. Each part was played and recorded live. Then, in 1988 I purchased a Roland U110 rack synth and bought my first Atari 1024ST. In 1989 I bought Cubase (MIDI sequencing software) the day it was released and upgraded my Roland U110 to a Roland U20 and one of my first compositions was a dance track called 'Stomp' that I performed in a school concert. One of the sounds on the U20 was patch number 122 called 'Metal' described as a 'responsive erasure-esque metallic synth' and it became the cornerstone of the Stomp bass sound. In 2024, I produced a line-dance version of Stomp called Bermy (Bermuda) Stomp, re-creating the bass sound using Roland's Zenology soft synth. It has great moves!

Bermy Stomp (Radio Edit)

Bermy Stomp (Club Edit)

Adoration

This is the story of Magic Sam, not the American blues musician, but the greatest rock band in the 1990s of which no-one has ever heard.

The story begins in Farnborough, England, when four lads came together to fuse the genres of metal, brit-pop, funk, and punk.

Stu, the drummer was from a metal band, Ian the lead singer was from a punk band, Chris and Jay were guitarists who could play both bass and lead. Chris specialised in funky 1960s bass lines on his Rickenbacker, and Jay enjoyed his searing rock leads. Together, they were pure magic.

I was working in a recording studio in Hampshire when I first heard Magic Sam, and it was a great privilege to record their first album. What set them apart was their incredible songwriting. Songs that would get under your skin and up and dancing.

Magic Sam played the local band scene in venues such as The Tumbledown Dick, and at various London venues. Back then it was all 'pay to play' at The Rock Garden and The Mean Fiddler, with the band desperately wanting to be noticed but not really having a clue how to go about it.

If they had stuck together, or had just the tiniest bit of luck, then I think they would have gone all the way. They worked incredibly hard, and their recordings, today, are a precious piece of local band history.

It is the 30th anniversary of their first recordings, and to pay homage to this incredible band, I have produced and remastered their song called 'Spirit'. Turn up your speakers and let me take you back to a small stage in 1995.


Spirit

Rev Gav

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