Like so many precocious twenty-somethings, I believed that if I played enough gigs with enough brilliant people, I would achieve that 'holy grail' of 'making it,' and bagging that illusive record deal...before being catapulted up to fame, fortune and recognition as one of the great songwriters of my generation. I even gave myself a deadline...either 'make it' by the time I was thirty (positively ancient to those young eyes) or give up music completely.

This was one of the stupidest ideas I've ever had. Because firstly...of course I never 'made it,' because life isn't a fairy tale ('it's a shit business') and playing a few pubs and clubs around Manchester is hardly a ticket to mass adulation (it ended up being something much much better, a way to make life-long friends and cut my teeth as a musician and performer in a variety of venues). And secondly, time came and went, the years flew by and I reached the decrepit age of 30 and....I still wanted to make music, I still wanted to be in a band. If anything, my passion for writing and playing had only grown bigger and bigger.

So, at the ripe old age of 30, I decided to give 'the band thing' one more go. This time it wasn't going to be about 'making it,' it was going to be about enjoying the process.

Over the next three years, I learned what it was to 'front' a band, for better or for worse. For better, because I met some amazing and talented people. In particular, Jo and Stu helped bring my songs to life and make sense of them to me. A lot of the time I would have a rough idea in my head, but then I'd hear Jo's vocal harmonies or Stu's pounding drum beats and think to myself 'oh yeah, THAT'S what the song is supposed to sound like! For worse because I was thrust to the front, with my brutally honest lyrics and my crippling shyness out there in the spotlight for all to see.

Thankfully, not only were each of the 'Suzies' fantastic musicians and arrangers, they championed my songs, and me, through all of my social and performance anxieties and self-destruction. Without them, I never would've had the confidence to play and record these songs. That's not something I take for granted.

So I thank every one of the people listed in the credits below for being a Suzie, believing in my songs and for arranging them with such creativity.

If you were one of our little group of amazing fans back then, or if you are just discovering us now, I hope you enjoy listening back to the songs. They certainly have a special place in my heart.

Suzie Does It were a band from August 2010-October 2013.

The people who made up Suzie Does It were:

Mark 1 (2010) - Kat Hargreaves (Vocals), Tim Lee (Vocals, Guitar), Holly Mathies (Bass) and Stuart Quinn-Harvie (Drums) (with honourable mention to Paul Flieshman who helped out on Bass for our first gig)

Mark 2 (2010) - Jonathan Hargreaves (Bass), Kat Hargreaves (Vocals), Tim Lee (Vocals, Guitar) and Stuart Quinn-Harvie (Drums)

Mark 3 (2010-2011) - Jo Allum (Vocals, Guitar), Kevin Hackett (Bass), Tim Lee (Vocals, Guitar) and Stuart Quinn-Harvie (Drums)

Mark 4 (2012) - Jo Allum (Vocals, Guitar), Nick Bayes (Bass), Dave Culbert (Drums) and Tim Lee (Vocal, Guitar)

Mark 5 (2013) - Jo Allum (Vocals, Guitar), Tim Lee (Vocals, Guitar), John McLoughlin (Drums) and Chris Simmonds (Bass).