Rich bought a bottom of the range Kay bass for £40 in early 1979, because the new teen garage punk band he was desperate to join had already signed up a guitarist, drummer and singer. In the end, every one who turned up at the first rehearsal tried their hand on at everything - because no-one in XLR8 could play a note, hold or beat or work out a song structure. Several days staring blankly at the first Clash songbook was enough to prove that XLR8 would struggle to get passed the garage doors. 

Rich and Nige from XLR8 (pronounced "ex-cell-er-ate"), one of Exeter's lesser known early punk bands, joined with Tim and Andy to form Metro Youth in the early Spring of 1979. By the end of 1982, when the band agreed to call it a day, Metro Youth had played a respectable smattering of gigs - including support slots with The Bodysnatchers and with Ten Pole Tudor; had released the track 'Brutalised' on Bullshit Detector 2 on Crass records, and had grown to six members. In the Spring of 2000, 'Brutalised' was re-released on the Exeter CD punk compilation Year Zero: The Exeter Punk Scene 1977-2000. In 1983, three of the band started up again as Sanction, sharing a house that doubled as a rehearsal space. Trying to build up a thriving and viable punk culture in deepest rural Devon in 1983-84 was the equivalent of trying to nail jelly to the ceiling, and after playing a single memorable gig with local band Wounded Knee, the band folded in mutual agreement in mid-1984. In the Spring of 2005, the Metro Youth track 'Unknown Soldier' and the Sanction song 'Red Rifles' were released on the 'Anti-War' anarcho-punk compilation CD on Overground Records. 

After taking a short nine year break, Rich joined the Derbyshire based Cheating Hearts (featuring Pointy Boss's Pete on vocals. Rich, Pete and Johnny from Cheating Hearts then formed Channel Stoopid in 1994. 

Channel Stoopid's line-up eventually stabilised in 1995, with Pete on vocals, Rich on half-arsed lead guitar, Bill on drums and Vik on bass. Over the next three years the band played over 30 gigs, mainly around the Midlands and London, and released the CD Just The Right Side of Desperate on a German punk label. 

Rich had by now played bass once again with Pointy Boss' Keith on guitar and one-off-gig Channel Stoopid drummer Simon in the abortive birthday party covers band Grumpy Old Men. Soon after that Keith joined Channel Stoopid as a permanent member. When Channel Stoopid ended in late 1998, Rich returned permanently to the bass guitar in the new and soon to be mighty Pointy Boss, formed by the three remaining members of Channel Stoopid who were astute enough to recruit Nik for drum duties.

Contact: rich@pointyboss.co.uk