It's the voice that creates the tingle

Film is powerful. Music is powerful. Silence (insert voiceovery type pause) is powerful.

But it’s the voice that creates the tingle.

Media producers want to cut through the noise and make a real connection with the audience.

So they come to me.

Why? Because I’m an original.

And they want their message to spark something in people’s hearts.

In turn, these people deserve something for their time.

I can give them that something – I mentioned it a moment ago.

I can give them the tingle.

Wow. That was profound.

What's my voice like then?

Natural, friendly, chatty, guy next door
Warm, reassuring, caring, welcoming
Playful, fun, comical, sarcastic
Over the top, quirky, zany
Bright, bubbly, excited
Emotional, heartfelt
Cool, chilled, real
Relaxed, calm, peaceful
Informational, straight, corporate

How I became a voice over actor

This is the longer, less interesting brand story...

I’ve always done creative things - music, photography, writing...

…although it wasn’t until I became a voiceover artist that I managed to turn that creativity into a career.

But let’s rewind a bit.

The first gig I ever went to was at Brixton Academy, seeing Levellers. I still follow them now actually. What? They’re good! They are!! Anyway, after that gig I knew that playing and singing in a band was the life for me. I was going to be a famous rock star!

After all, it’s good to have a plan.

Shortly afterwards, I was at a party. The house had nothing in it. The guy’s wife had left him and taken literally everything. Quite why my mates and I were there, I don’t know. Anyway, I remember telling this jilted man about my musical goal.

Let's just say, what he said in response turned out to be correct, many years later.

For the next 15 years or so, making music was my absolute passion. I was lucky enough to play shows and festivals all over the UK and even had a bit of airplay on Radio 1. Royalties are great!

Being in bands allowed me to try things that otherwise wouldn’t have entered my mind. Like photography.

I always took a camera on the road with us to document where we played and what we got up to. It ended up turning into a pretty keen hobby, trying to capture special moments in time in a single frame.

When I was very young, I used to make radio shows on cassettes (Google it). I would put on an American accent because I thought all DJs were American, even though I listened to the local station at the time.

Anyway, that childhood dream became a reality of sorts because of connections made through music. I was invited to be producer / sidekick on a community radio show dedicated to playing acts from the area. That was great fun and outside of singing, was my first taster of being a “voice”. Although at the time I didn’t think of it like that.

Along with the DJ from that show, I got involved with writing, filming and editing comedy sketches, which were of course hilarious. You’ll just have to take my word for that. This in turn pushed me towards writing and I started to come up with screenplays and short tales with intriguing twists and turns.

All good things come to an end (that’s not true though) and it was around this point I finally decided to veer away from the path towards rock superstardom. So, I needed another creative outlet.

I decided to write jokes. But not just any jokes. Hilarious jokes.

It became a bit of an obsession, writing thousands over a couple of years and producing content for several brand Twitter accounts.

When I was made redundant from my 'proper' job in 2018, I decided it was finally time to do something real with this creativity running through me. Something for myself. But still for others. For money.

Voiceover found me via a Facebook ad.

“Record your own voiceovers from home”, it said.

“Ok”, I said.

My training was with Peter Dickson and Hugh Edwards, two absolute legends of the industry.

I became fascinated with being able to produce so many different and complex emotions with my voice. Up until that point I’d just used it to make stupid noises. Which incidentally, I’ve since been paid to do! Amazing.

Voiceover seemed like it would be a challenge. If it didn’t work, I’d drag myself back to employment.

But it did work. Take that “the man”!

And so ends the tale of my journey into voiceover work.

It took me a while to realise it, but it’s clear that I’ve always loved storytelling and connecting with people. Whether that’s through music, photography or now… my voice.

It’s important to always be striving to improve. Currently I’m having ongoing training with Tanya Rich and Bob Lawrence from Richcraft Voice Training.

And the results are proof that training works: I'm a 2024 One Voice Awards Winner. Apparently my acceptance video was awesome.

If you'd like to join names like Lego, RAF, Mercedes, NHS and BMW, then do get in touch.

You might have something to say, but let me do the talking.

What do I work on?