
Rosie and I originally performed as a trio with acoustic, rhythm guitar and a double bass. We played as several different bands doing gigs in local pubs and, settled on a line-up with lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass and keyboard, formed the band Savannah.
We made our debut at the North Country Music Festival at Smokey’s music venue and performed at various pubs and clubs across the UK.

About this time we decided to acquire a tour bus to make travelling with four band members plus family members easier and more economical. Originally this was to facilitate an offer of gigs in the North East, but instead we got the bright idea to tour Spain. We bought a 52 seater Ford Duple coach with chrome fluting down each side, very reminiscent of a Greyhound bus. It was about 36 feet long and we converted it from scratch.

First we removed all the 52 seats. We painted it, sign-wrote it, had the windows tinted, had a kitchen and bathroom installed in the rear and converted the rest into sleeping cabins and a lounge area in the front with a corridor down one side much like an old British Rail train. It was also carpeted with curtains -very plush. We did a recce trip to Spain by car with some giveaway CDs and achieved the promise of work from various venues culminating in staying in a fellow country music lover’s ranch up in the mountains behind Benidorm.
Back home we prepared the bus, loaded up all the gear, said goodbye to the UK and set off on a mammoth journey, a bit like Summer Holiday.

Regrettably this was just after 9/11 and every venue where we had set up to perform was completely empty except for local residents due to a total shut down of air travel. We did perform a few gigs and got paid mostly in paella, but in the end we had to “call it Tuesday” (which is another word for a bad day). Our lead guitarist decided to stay on in Spain and I drove the bus back to the UK where eventually it was sold and Rosie and I set out again as a duo as Keep it Country performing country music across the Midlands. Our style was always laid back easy listening because my taste had developed from early stars such as Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, Don Williams, John Denver, Don McClean, Paul Simon etc.
Our next big step was to air freight all the gear to the Canary Islands where we became Spanish residents on Fuerteventura playing various pool bars, pubs etc but finished up with an agent and playing the hotel circuit. We had our youngest son with us but, because the schools and colleges on the island were not very highly rated we made the decision to move back to the UK to give him the higher level of education his talents deserved. We had only been back about two years when he contracted Hodgkins Lymphoma which put a stop to us performing because of all the hospital visits and general disruption it caused to family life.
About this time, also suffering from failing eyesight due to advance glaucoma, I decided to retire from live performances and concentrate on the song writing, although Rosie and I still perform during the summer months as a duo raising funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Visit my website johngibsonmusic.com to listen to samples of the songs which are also available as a download or on vinyl.