Biography:
Alex grew up listening to the likes of the Chi-Lites, Jimmy Ruffin, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations thanks to his parents music collection. The sound of soul caught Alex’s attention and by the time he was 9 or 10, he was obsessed with soul music, avidly collecting records and albums to add to his collection.
At the age of 11, Alex began playing the saxophone with aspirations to become the next Junior Walker or King Curtis. By the time he was 15, he was regularly playing in professional bands, travelling across the South West of England as well as running his own projects.
After studying music throughout school and at University, it was in the winter of 2016 that Alex decided on his future. After contacting several US musicians in Detroit who Alex had met through various sessions, he contacted legendary Motown arranger McKinley Jackson who at the time was working as Musical Director for the Temptations who were about to embark on a UK tour alongside another soul institution, the Four Tops. Jackson graciously agreed to let Alex shadow him at work on a show. Alex was able to analyse and learn from Jackson’s arrangements first-hand as well as watch him conduct the orchestra for the group during rehearsals and watch from the wings as the music legends performed in front of thousands of people.
“That was the moment I thought yep, that’s what I want to do. Duke Fakir, the last original member of the Four Tops came up to me after the show, put his hand on my shoulder and wished me luck in my venture as a writer and arranger. He signed an album to me and that felt like the golden hand shake, and the blessing I needed to think, yeah, I want to do that”. - AL
After that "epiphany" moment, nothing could stop Alex now and he set about writing and arranging for anyone who would hire him. He also studied with and shadowed long-standing musical director of the O’Jays, Dennis ‘Doc’ Williams when the group was working in London in 2018, further cementing Alex’s passion for the music. Throughout this time, Alex worked for a host of different artists both as an arranger and/or a saxophone player. Some of his credits include, the Drifters, the Chairmen of the Board, Detroit Soul Producer Drew Schultz, British Jazz composer Mike Westbrook and members of Motown’s legendary studio band, the Funk Brothers.
It was Alex’s passion for soul music, especially Philadelphia Soul Music which ultimately led to his interest in composing and writing songs.
“When I first heard the music of Philly Soul composer Thom Bell and his work for the likes of the Delfonics, the Spinners and the Stylistics, I was hooked and I knew that was the sort of thing I wanted to do. Because I came from a background as an arranger, I think musically, I knew which instruments I wanted to use before I’d completed the songs and that helped to give the music an identity. I owe a lot to hearing composers such as Burt Bacharach, Thom Bell, Jimmy Webb and their approach to production and composition style" - AL
Alex was constantly writing songs and began pitching them to artists to record. His first recording artist was American Soul singer and former lead singer of the Drifters, Steve V. King, who Alex had seen perform with the group many years previously. After rehearsing and recording in London, the first single was released in December 2018. ‘Nothing Could Stop Me Loving You’ became a hit on UK Soul radio stations as well as the BBC and put Alex on a national platform as a songwriter. Another single followed (‘I’m On My Way’) in January 2019.
“Not only did they mention Steve’s name, they began mentioning mine - and that was a real thrill.” - AL
His next record was recorded by another former Drifter Michael Williams who had been with the group for a decade before finally going solo. Whilst with the group he toured with icons of music including Dionne Warwick, Roberta Flack, Four Tops, Temptations and Gloria Gaynor among others.
“Michael Williams had worked as a background vocalist on the Steve V. King sessions so I knew his voice well before I wrote for him. He had a dynamic tenor voice, different to Steve’s smooth baritone, and this gave me another voice to experiment with” - AL
The Michael Williams sessions, recorded in the winter of 2019 included the single ‘Do We Have to Go (Our Separate Ways)’ which also received extensive airplay across the UK and further cemented Alex as a staple writer in contemporary British Soul Music. In June 2020, an EP called ‘Soul Sessions’ featuring tracks by Steve V. King, Michael Williams, and the Soul Connection Orchestra was released.
In 2021, Alex worked with midlands based soul singer Dayton Grey, who had achieved fame on Saturday night TV shows such as All Together Now and I Can See Your Voice. The first release ‘He Won’t Love You Like I Do’ became an overnight success. Within two days, the single was number 1 on the Amazon R&B Chart, as well as the Amazon R&B Best Sellers Chart. It even slipped into the Amazon Download chart, peaking at 13.
The follow-up single ‘Love Is On The Line’ (released through SoulMusic Records/WarnerX5 Jan 2022) matched the previous single reaching number 1 on Amazon R&B and making the top 20 on the UK Soul Chart. He is also currently writing for UK Soul singer Hayley- Ria Christian and has released 1 single, ‘Between Hello and Goodbye’ which was released April 2022.
With an emphasis on classic traditions brought about by his passion for Music and the iconic production styles of composers such as Thom Bell, Burt Bacharach and Jimmy Webb, Alex creates a classic soul sound for the modern generation and is always working on the next project.
At the age of 11, Alex began playing the saxophone with aspirations to become the next Junior Walker or King Curtis. By the time he was 15, he was regularly playing in professional bands, travelling across the South West of England as well as running his own projects.
After studying music throughout school and at University, it was in the winter of 2016 that Alex decided on his future. After contacting several US musicians in Detroit who Alex had met through various sessions, he contacted legendary Motown arranger McKinley Jackson who at the time was working as Musical Director for the Temptations who were about to embark on a UK tour alongside another soul institution, the Four Tops. Jackson graciously agreed to let Alex shadow him at work on a show. Alex was able to analyse and learn from Jackson’s arrangements first-hand as well as watch him conduct the orchestra for the group during rehearsals and watch from the wings as the music legends performed in front of thousands of people.
“That was the moment I thought yep, that’s what I want to do. Duke Fakir, the last original member of the Four Tops came up to me after the show, put his hand on my shoulder and wished me luck in my venture as a writer and arranger. He signed an album to me and that felt like the golden hand shake, and the blessing I needed to think, yeah, I want to do that”. - AL
After that "epiphany" moment, nothing could stop Alex now and he set about writing and arranging for anyone who would hire him. He also studied with and shadowed long-standing musical director of the O’Jays, Dennis ‘Doc’ Williams when the group was working in London in 2018, further cementing Alex’s passion for the music. Throughout this time, Alex worked for a host of different artists both as an arranger and/or a saxophone player. Some of his credits include, the Drifters, the Chairmen of the Board, Detroit Soul Producer Drew Schultz, British Jazz composer Mike Westbrook and members of Motown’s legendary studio band, the Funk Brothers.
It was Alex’s passion for soul music, especially Philadelphia Soul Music which ultimately led to his interest in composing and writing songs.
“When I first heard the music of Philly Soul composer Thom Bell and his work for the likes of the Delfonics, the Spinners and the Stylistics, I was hooked and I knew that was the sort of thing I wanted to do. Because I came from a background as an arranger, I think musically, I knew which instruments I wanted to use before I’d completed the songs and that helped to give the music an identity. I owe a lot to hearing composers such as Burt Bacharach, Thom Bell, Jimmy Webb and their approach to production and composition style" - AL
Alex was constantly writing songs and began pitching them to artists to record. His first recording artist was American Soul singer and former lead singer of the Drifters, Steve V. King, who Alex had seen perform with the group many years previously. After rehearsing and recording in London, the first single was released in December 2018. ‘Nothing Could Stop Me Loving You’ became a hit on UK Soul radio stations as well as the BBC and put Alex on a national platform as a songwriter. Another single followed (‘I’m On My Way’) in January 2019.
“Not only did they mention Steve’s name, they began mentioning mine - and that was a real thrill.” - AL
His next record was recorded by another former Drifter Michael Williams who had been with the group for a decade before finally going solo. Whilst with the group he toured with icons of music including Dionne Warwick, Roberta Flack, Four Tops, Temptations and Gloria Gaynor among others.
“Michael Williams had worked as a background vocalist on the Steve V. King sessions so I knew his voice well before I wrote for him. He had a dynamic tenor voice, different to Steve’s smooth baritone, and this gave me another voice to experiment with” - AL
The Michael Williams sessions, recorded in the winter of 2019 included the single ‘Do We Have to Go (Our Separate Ways)’ which also received extensive airplay across the UK and further cemented Alex as a staple writer in contemporary British Soul Music. In June 2020, an EP called ‘Soul Sessions’ featuring tracks by Steve V. King, Michael Williams, and the Soul Connection Orchestra was released.
In 2021, Alex worked with midlands based soul singer Dayton Grey, who had achieved fame on Saturday night TV shows such as All Together Now and I Can See Your Voice. The first release ‘He Won’t Love You Like I Do’ became an overnight success. Within two days, the single was number 1 on the Amazon R&B Chart, as well as the Amazon R&B Best Sellers Chart. It even slipped into the Amazon Download chart, peaking at 13.
The follow-up single ‘Love Is On The Line’ (released through SoulMusic Records/WarnerX5 Jan 2022) matched the previous single reaching number 1 on Amazon R&B and making the top 20 on the UK Soul Chart. He is also currently writing for UK Soul singer Hayley- Ria Christian and has released 1 single, ‘Between Hello and Goodbye’ which was released April 2022.
With an emphasis on classic traditions brought about by his passion for Music and the iconic production styles of composers such as Thom Bell, Burt Bacharach and Jimmy Webb, Alex creates a classic soul sound for the modern generation and is always working on the next project.
