In the 1980s Alan was guitarist and songwriter in Newcastle bands Loud Guitars and White Heat – who signed to Virgin records and recorded one album.

For the past 10 years he has toured as a session musician with American singer-songwriter Jesse Terry. He has also produced a number of recordings as The Attention Seekers.

‘The Attention Seekers were formed around 1999, our first album was released in 2002 since then we have released six albums and a seventh is in the final stages.’

‘I am very fortunate in the fact that over the years I have built up a relationship with a number of radio stations in the UK, and USA. I measure the success of my releases by the number of plays they attract. It’s always a thrill to hear one of my songs on the radio like Seven Bridges, The Prudhoe Song, The Girl With The Jukebox Mind and Sweet Anna Brown.’

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The Attention Seekers – Sweet Anna Brown – YouTube

In the 1970s Subbuteo teams and pop singles was what I spent my pocket money on. The first singles I bought were Elected and Hello Hurray by Alice Cooper plus Sweet and Slade who were always on Top of the Pops.

‘Good choices. I was a big fan of Alice Cooper. I discovered them on Old Grey Whistle Test performing Under My Wheels. The album ‘Killer’ is a classic. Slade finally won me over with How Does it Feel – a brilliant song.’

‘Examples of perfect pop singles would be All The Young Dudes – Mott The Hoople, When You Are a King – White Plains, Virginia Plain – Roxy Music, Fire – The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown and Waterloo Sunset – The Kinks. My first single was Woodstock by Mathew’s Southern Comfort. To this day it still sounds perfectly crafted.’

‘In my opinion the three minute pop song is the ultimate art form. This feeds directly into the way I write and record. The flexibility of The Attention Seekers is the perfect vehicle for me to explore this concept. In the studio the song will dictate the line up.’

‘My ‘go to’ musicians include Trevor Brewis, Tony Davis, Sam Blewitt, Jesse Terry, Romaana Shakir, and Niles Krieger. I would definitely feel compromised if I had to use a conventional ‘rigid’ band line up.’

What have you got planned for this year?

‘I am presently in the final stages of completing a new Attention Seekers album, I have recording sessions booked for the end of April. Tony Davis’s Cluny Studio is my studio of choice. I am also working with ’The City Of Newcastle Male Voice Choir’ developing a choral version of ’Seven Bridges’.

‘Recently the choir invited me to play a guest spot at one of their concerts. I enjoyed the challenge of performing ’stripped back’ versions of my songs, and the impact of the choir adding their voices to the choruses was an experience I’m keen to repeat.’

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Alikivi   April 2026