Brief Biography

Gary Perkins was just eight years old when he obtained his first guitar, not knowing how to tune it, he learned to play out of tune, and subsequently, at the age of fourteen, had to relearn the instrument. His first experience of performing in front of an audience came at the age of eight, when he played harmonica and sang songs in junior school assemblies. During his time at Dinnington comprehensive school Gary was a very keen sports man. He was a school prefect and games captain. He played County rugby and also represented South Yorkshire at the English schools championships in the Triple jump and could run the one hundred metres in 10.9 seconds. Those were the days!

When he left school he served a four year apprenticeship at Rotherham College of Technology in plate fabrication and structural development. He would sub contract to many different companies working in fabrication shops and power stations around the country.

In 1980, at the age of eighteen, Gary was invited by Harry Quinton to sing three songs at one of his shows at the Ivanhoe Hotel in Thurcroft, a South Yorkshire pit village. He says of that debut performance; ‘I remember feeling quite numb, sick, and very nervous, but at the same time I had a feeling of excitement;’ For some time after that, he found work in pubs and clubs, but he wasn’t finding the fulfilment he craved.

In 1991 he became a self employed country singer; he joined Equity and the Musicians Union and got his first walk on part on the TV programme ‘Making Out,’ starring Margi Clark. He played the part of a drunk staggering through a beer garden; he also appeared many times on the ITV programme Peak Practice.

In 1995 he joined up with a Buxton based band called ‘The Breeze’ and although there has been a few band member changes they are still performing theatres and major country music festivals around the country.

During 1999 Gary had a slight change in his musical direction, and to every ones amazement he became a street entertainer working mainly midweek in different towns and cities, this proved to be a very popular and successful venture, and it also enabled him to have weekends free so he could spend precious time with his two sons Tom and Jack.

2007 hopes to be a successful year, Gary has been offered a record and publishing deal with RCB records in Australia. He will keep you informed on is progress through the UC country magazine, plus is new web site. www.garyperkinsmusic.co.uk