Songs from a Shed by Pete Bradley

Songs From A Shed is a collection of ten songs written and performed by pete bradley

1. Lonely - This one's not about me. It's a song that was "inspired" - probably the wrong word - by a friend's situation where I can remember he couldn't get over her dumping him and he kept saying he wanted her back. But really she was right to dump him because he didn't give much anyway - can you say things like that about your friends? Not sure if you can, well too late now I've said it. The give away's when he says "there's nothing I won't do" but then says later "forget your foolish pride". Well if you're trying to court a bird or in this case persuade her to come back to you it's not very smart to call her foolish - is it? Don't worry he got over it when another girl came along, what does that tell you? And also it was my attempt at writing a pop song.

2. Lullaby - it was quite a scary time. It was to do with a friend and terminal illness. I was very frightened because it would mean that life wouldn't ever be the same when the worst came to the worst. It made me think of what it might be like to be in a situation like that although I don't believe that if you're not in it you could ever know. Anyway that's what this song is about and it was my way of dealing with it.

3. Valentine Song - I wrote this on the 14th February 2008. Yes that's right Saint Valentine's day. My lovely Jo and I had agreed that we wouldn't be exchanging gifts and I was in the Shed and it just came to me. It's how she makes me feel, I've been very lucky in that respect. So I wrote the words and melody in a few minutes and I've never thought about changing it, it seemed just right. I'm so pleased she's let me share it with you because I gave it to her, it's her song.

4. Truth 'n' Lies - a bit of a downer when I wrote this one I'm afraid. It was to do with all the lies or were they truths in the news media. There's New Labour which gives us Tory stuff in Labour party clothing they put stuff through that Thatcher couldn't get through!!. There was all the stuff about WMDs and that and other things like that scientist who killed himself or did he which you'll never really know about. There was political justification for robbing the poorest of workers of their 10% tax band. It's a bit of a dig at one person's truth is another person's lies and the other way round.

5. Take Your Stuff - a bit of a jazzy feel to this. A difficult story to write this one, because it was really painful. It was after a steaming row with the love of my life and being the fool I am I seethed for too long and thought about telling her to get her stuff and sod off. But the trouble was she was the love of my life and "go is the word so hard to say" and "easy the words stay please stay". So thank god I took the easy way out!

6.Yorky Boy's Dream - It was the Shadows who made me want a guitar and it had to be red and electric. It was both of those things but it wasn't a fender Stratocaster it was a Futurama 2 and it cost twenty five guineas which I paid for by doing a paper round. The next step was to become a pop star. Well me being me I was never a front man, I've always been a supporting player, but I did have dreams about pop stardom and I'll confess it's something that in a small way has stayed with me all my life. So I wrote this song to try and get rid of this ghost, but you know, I failed.

7. Summer Days - Dripping with nostalgia and that's not what it used to be err, sorry! It's just a song about remembering when I was a kid in the tiny mining village of New Sharlston a long time ago. I tried to give the melody that sentimental kind of feel to fit with the words. There's nothing underlying about it it's just as it comes out. But I suppose I must admit to reminiscing quite a bit lately in my quiet times. I suppose it's better to reminisce with a friend then you can both get it wrong.

8. Sittin' Here Thinkin' - A hangover from my blues days. I've always liked that sixteen bar format and the six eight rhythm and this is the only song on here that I wrote many years ago, the late sixties to be truthful. They were heady days and I was trying to do three or four gigs a week all over the north and midlands of England and hold down a real job. Which was like, get in at three or four in the morning and go out to work at seven. Well you can't do that for long and so like any reasonable human being I caved in. Doctors then had no explanation for physical and mental exhaustion so they gave me Valium and something which I think was called Tryptazol or something like that. So the T stuff sent me to sleep and the V stuff woke me up but it didn't make me better it made me worse. In the end my mam came to my rescue and chucked the stuff away then went to a chemist, probably in tears I don't know for sure but having kids myself if one of them was in the state I was in I'd be in tears. Anyway she came back with a "tonic" which the chemist had "made up". It looked like Irn brew and tasted foul but I took it and because my mam had got it for me I believed it'd do me good and eventually I got better. However that was after one morning waking up and my hands wouldn't work so the guitar playing was out the window and maybe not burning the candle at both ends helped a bit too. Anyhow this song is for me mam but I never told her, anyway she would have said, "That's nice luv," and that would have been it. Sad thing is I can't tell her now.

9. Waitin' For You - This is my tribute to the great Rufus Thomas. Why, you ask. Well many years ago in the sixties I used to sing a Rufus Thomas song called Walkin' The Dog and when I did it it kinda tickled my cousin Judy. But I didn't know until many years later and so I decided to write this one which I dedicate to my cousin Judy. As a matter of fact when I wanted to learn Walkin' The Dog all those years ago I can remember quite clearly that Judy and I sat with pencil and paper next to the old record player trying to hear the words and write 'em down. Incidentally it was Judy who taught me to jive but back in those days we called it bopping and then she used to take me to Wakefield Mecca so she'd have somebody to dance with in case there was no one else - funny things that stick with you isn't it.

10. Dance With Me Queen - I just wanted to write a happy song to send you all home with. Well on reflection I thought that the kind of music that makes me feel happy is music that makes me want to move my feet around the floor - dancing music, and there's no better dancing music than that which is a bit of blue beat a bit of ska a bit of reggae. Well this is my attempt at that, I hope you like it.

All songs conceived, written and performed by Pete Bradley

Recorded, mixed and mastered at "The Shed", Nottingham UK

Photography by the "Lovely Jo" Bradley

Art work by MXPress UK Nottingham UK

All songs © Mysty Dgynn Music Ltd.