EARLY YEARS
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From a young age it was clear Marc’s future was in music - having his first guitar at the age of 4. Within a few years Marc would have his first piano & some piano lessons at school. By his 9th birthday Marc could not only read and write music, but had an understanding of why it worked.
“The Beatles played a massive part in my early development in music.” Marc explains, “In the music group at school we would be learning something traditional like ‘Greensleeves’ or ‘William Tell’ but my Mum and Dad had been out and bought me the Beatles music books, meaning I was also playing ‘Let it be’ & 'A day in the life'. We had an old record player with a few Beatles albums but mostly I was learning to play songs without ever previously hearing them so when I got my first CD Beatles album ‘Rubber Soul’ I was obsessed. I wanted every Beatles album I could get hold of, I couldn't believe how one band was capable of what seemed like an endless about of songs. There was a catalogue I ordered them all from, I think it was Britannia & you picked new CD's every month & paid for them weekly... I bought anything from Beatles or their solo work & my pocket money paid for them."
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When it came to career choices, Marc picked Art over Music… “Something I never understood and still don’t is how you can be made to pick between Art, Drama and Music. They are all creative subjects, and all linked in some way. I picked Art and almost immediately regretted not taking music but it was too late - I had to wait until I'd left school to change what I was doing. I'd picked up the guitar properly by that point, teaching myself everything I'd learned on piano & transferring it to guitar. Around that time I'd be going to the park after school with some mates, a couple of guitars and singing whatever was out at the time & of course some Beatles. My Dad even built a shed at the back of our garden were we used to go and rehearse almost every night - we never even played a gig.”
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It was at college when Marc would play his first gig with a band. This was at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, a big step considering it is the venue so closely associated with The Beatles’ rise to fame who he had grown up idolising & would also be the place he started his career. Marc had already been playing at open mic nights in local bars singing his own material but the Cavern gig was a step up to the main stage.
FIRST BREAK
Upon leaving college, Marc continued to attend open mic and jam nights whenever they were on. The gigs started to come in & it was at one of these nights at O'Neills, Liverpool when Marc would have his first break. A manager in the music industry called Martin O’Shea was in the audience, who at the time was managing #1 UK girlband, Atomic Kitten. Marc had recently won a national songwriting competition where Chris Martin (Coldplay), Steve Levine (music producer) and Harvey Goldsmith (promoter) were the competition judges. Martin O’Shea heard about this and decided to check Marc out as he had a vacancy for a lead singer in another project.
“I was shocked to find out what the other project was” Marc says, “it was a band called the Real People who had co-written some Oasis tracks with Noel Gallagher and produced the early Oasis mixes, which got them the deal with Creation Records. The lads were a little older than me & really took me under their wing - I learnt so much from them.”
Gruelling months of rehearsals followed & the band had some headline shows in the capital city for various record labels. Although the elusive deal everyone was working towards never materialised, it gave Marc an incredible insight to what was involved - not only on the stage but also behind the scenes.
THE NEXT BIG THING
After the period of working with “The Real People”, Marc found himself with the decision of whether to continue as a solo artist or form a band. Unbeknown to him, a demo was submitted to a local radio station, Juice FM which had just launched a competition looking for the ‘Next Big Thing’. He got the phone call to say he was in the final & Marc knew he wanted to do it with a band rather than on his own, so set about putting one together (with just one week to go before what would be their first gig). The new band lineup impressed the crowd and judges, walking away with the title as ‘The Next Big Thing’, hopefully a sign of things that were to follow.
COLLABORATIONS
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In early 2009, Marc was asked by some producers and radio dj’s to work on a brand new project ‘Northern Allstars’. “They were dance dj’s - Lee Butler, Steve Cocky & Kenny Hayes and the idea was to write some dance tunes with my vocal fronting it. I'd always stuck to my acoustic singer/songwriter roots so this was a major step out of my comfort zone not just musically but also the performances involved singing in nightclubs & dance events with stage production & dancers. It was something fresh and completely different to anything I’d done previously, so I definitely had some reservations at first but things very quickly took off.” The first track that they wrote and produced was ‘Rock The Dancefloor’. This went on to become a cult underground club track across the North of England, quickly spreading nationwide and was signed to All Around The World Records. Things started moving rapidly for the band and more releases & music videos followed shortly after including a #1 in the Dance charts & #1 Clubland music video.
During this time, Marc was introduced by a mutual friend to another songwriter, Gary Mahoney. “We started work on some old tracks we both thought had potential to develop, but within the first session we'd moved on to writing from scratch. They've continued writing together & now have an extensive catalogue.
Other releases Marc has work on included the collab with dance production outfit Rudedog on the 2017 summer hit "How to save a life" which has amassed over 3 Million streams on Spotify.
PAPERBACK WRITERS
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2016, Marc's musical journey came full circle as he formed a Beatles tribute band - Paperback Writers. The band held a residency in The Cavern Club for many years & are also the Mersey River Cruise band on board Mersey Ferries for their modern river shuffles. One of the many highlights for the band include the 2 rooftop gigs in New Brighton to commemorate the anniversary of the Tower Ballroom performances some 60 years earlier.
TRAVEL
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Over the past few years as the word of Marc’s talent has travelled, he has found himself being invited to do gigs across Europe - including Paris, Milan, Geneva, Sardinia, Sweden, Berlin, Tel Aviv & St Tropez. Further afield Marc has been flown to Moscow for the opening of the Bolshoi Theatre to perform at the after show party, a 3 month stint of China (where he performed an impressive 84 gigs in 93 days) & a trip to perform on the islands of Thailand. Recent trips have included being flown to Guatemala in 2024 to perform at a wedding &
WHAT'S IT LIKE IN LIVERPOOL?
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While in China, Marc penned the song "What's it like in Liverpool?" on a Ukulele & it became the first track Marc independently released. The music video went viral in its first 2 weeks, registering over 250,000 views & receiving an award in recognition from Liverpool International Film Festival. The track was then picked up as the theme music for a new TV series, "Liverpool's of the U.S.A." & used by Qantas Australia to promote Liverpool as a tourist destination. Not bad from a £10 ukulele bought in China!
MK RECORDS
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Marc set up his own record label in 2018 & has over 10 Million streams on their releases. The label continues to search out & help promote talent in the local region. Marc's Youtube channel is now closing in of 50,000 subscribers.
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FEZZY CROSS THE MERSEY
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In 2019 Marc launched the first 6 hour river festival on the River Mersey - Fezzy Cross The Mersey. A 6 hour musical journey up & down the river with some of the best DJ's & acts. Now in its 7th year, tickets are available from Mersey Ferries. Acts this year include Ultrabeat, Kelly Llorenna, Jonny Crane on Sax, Northern Allstars & Steve The Weave of In Demand Radio.
IN DEMAND RADIO
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In 2020, Marc was approached by In Demand Radio to host an Indie Music show which is now in its 5th year as one of the stations longest running shows. The show focuses mainly on indie guitar music, but has a 'Best of local' feature where Marc highlights local independent artists & so far has given over 100 local artists their first radio airplays. In Demand has continued to grow & is now the largest independent stations in the country. You can listen to Marc on Monday nights from 9pm to 11pm & even catch up on previous shows on the In Demand Player.
PRIVATE BOOKINGS
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Marc continues to perform both public & private events & is available for bookings all over the world. Marc is able to bring his vast performing & presenting experience to your party or event with quality sound & lighting equipment with any of the setups he provides. Check out the events page for other upcoming gigs or get in touch via the contact page for bookings & enquiries.