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John Curtis - About MeBorn 10-03-52 Bromley Kent England -usual/normal number of arms legs & head facing the right way , sadly brain scrambled from birth. Educated at Sevenoaks & ended up with 10 O-levels & 2 A-levels. Could not/ did not wanna go to University ,instead had dream of earning "loads" money from working in Insurance in the City of London.Well I survived but the dream of "loadsa money" never came true! I Worked for a variety of Lloyds brokers & ,for a time for Lloyds of London itself- held a "substitutes" ticket of entry into the Lloyds building for 28 years working in the community mostly as a broker. Became an "expert" in Professional Indemnity Insurance (this is insurance taken out by Architects Accountants Solicitors & all professional classes against their errors & omissions IE professional mistakes & misjudgments which lead to financial loss / damages sustained by their clients who then make a claim against their adviser) Sadly I was never very adept at "wearing a bowler hat" by which I mean I was never a skilled exponent in the field of office politics which in turn meant that , whilst I certainly held my own in a highly competitive world I was never to rise very high in the ranks. I look back now & see how , compared to some of my contemporaries, my heart was never fully in this career even though I worked bloody hard & survived for 30 years in it & I was the one who finally walked away from it to a better life. In 1996 I married June & it was she who was to turn my life long fascination in pop music (combined with a moderate singing voice & very modest abilities on the guitar) from an absorbing hobby & refuge from daytime stresses into a living & a new way of life. After giving June a series of "concerts" in my car (often to tapes I had made -& still use-of 60s pop tracks & Elvis records) she began to suggest that I should try my hand at serious professional singing. My earliest efforts (once I found the courage to get up & do it) were at local Karaoke competitions & Conservative Clubs where I would persuade the visiting performer to let me sing a song or two. Basically I did well- no one got hurt (!)- & my confidence grew as the showbiz "bug" bit me. By the end of 1997 I had my own PA system & was earning a few pounds singing in clubs & private parties at the weekends. From there we jump to a holiday in the Mountains of Austria in 1999 which was to change our lives. By then I was more bold & persuaded the owner of a big hotel in a skying resort to let me sing in one of his bars. This I did & it led to a contract to work at the hotel for 7 months of the year (3 1/2 in Summer the other half in winter) for the next 2 years. WE sold our house ,resigned from our jobs in the City & went to live & work in one of the most beautiful (& expensive!) places in the world. The problem of how to fill the remainder of the year (& have a home of our own again) was solved by moving to the Costa Blanca in Spain. In this part of the world I could work as an entertainer & we could afford to live well in a lovely area where lifestyle is good but the COST of living is low. We built a house in the Jalon Valley near Calpe on the coast, a decision which proved wise when the Austrian work surprisingly ceased after 2 years. Excluding annual trips to the UK & occasional working trips to other European Countries I am now firmly based in Spain- stating the long process of becoming an official resident in 2007. So this goes on as I approach my 60th year with one wonderful addition which too has fulfilled a long standing ambition. I am now a radio DJ too. This is a great joy to me & I hope to carry on & indeed do more in this field. My colleagues at Bay Radio admire & appreciate my knowledge but I am considered a dynosaur & "retro specialist" among their ranks! Nothing , however, will come between me & my love for the music of the 60s & 70s. So there we are a potted history taking the boy from an average academic background, through an overlong (& certainly in the closing years highly stressful) 29 3/4 years of commuting & daily grind in the City of London, to the Mountains of Austria & latterly the sun kissed shores of Spain & a radio studio. Having lived this I cannot recall too many dull moments & still have dreams that the best still lies ahead of me. Watch this space!!! JOHN CURTIS, Alcalali Spain Feb 2011. |
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