Ashley Reaks

I reluctantly left my mum’s womb on a cold winter’s evening in 1966 in Harrogate, a small town in North Yorkshire in England. I attended prep school where I excelled at Latin and was a promising cricketer. From a young age I began to spend a lot of time imagining I was someone else. In 1978 I went to the local all-boys public school, which was to play a crucial part in my lack of emotional development I fell in love with the ‘Do-It-Yourself’ ethos of punk rock, and began to make art and music without any semblance of ability. I found my spiritual home in The Ramones’ world of cretins, geeks, weirdos and pinheads. I borrowed my dad’s bass guitar and formed a band, appropriately called 'No Reality'. I got an admirable 0% in my art exam for ignoring the set questions and tracing the sleeve of the first Ruts album instead. Left school at 16 and practiced being socially inept. Moved to London. Made a valiant attempt at normality, wearing a tie and working for the Civil Service. In 1990 I returned to Harrogate just in time to suffer a breakdown. Whilst convalescing I wrote songs and made collages. I sent my bank manager some of my dark poetry He took me to court. The early part of the 90's was taken up listening to Steely Dan, sleeping, skinning up, playing gigs, eating, breakdancing and talking to Schmen, my cat. In 1994 I somehow ended up joining Francis Dunnery on tour, playing acoustic guitar and performing my surreal poetry to bemused audiences across the world, culminating in a live album 'One Night in Sauchiehall Street'. Spurred on by a short-lived belief in my abilities I formed dark-pop band YY28's, signed a major record deal and thought I could be the new Elvis. One year and one album late we lost the record deal. I returned to Yorkshire to hibernate, get depressed, listen to dub and Steve Reich and mutated into the chief mollusc. There then followed a frenzy of creativity. I produced over 100 collages, which I subsequently dumped at the tip for no apparent reason, I recorded and toured a collection of dark poetry, comic songs and primal noises, ominously called itchy circus odour. At this time I was often to be found performing on various stages in the UK wearing a sheeps mask and making moaning noises. In an attempt to re-capture the innocence of childhood I got together with some old musician friends in 2003 to record Children Rule!, an album of melodic and melancholy pop songs. I run an alternative open mic night in Harrogate called Click Clack and have recently recorded a new album of sprawling poetry/comedy/death rattles called A Conglomeration Of Jockstraps.

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