Matt Hales: Man of Music

'Strange & Beautiful', the first Aqualung single, was released in the UK in September 2002. The song had more or less released itself, having been the theme of a Volkswagen Beetle TV commercial throughout the summer. As soon as the advert began to air, people had started phoning the TV station, the advertising agency, the car company, the radio stations, their friends and relations, trying to find out who was responsible for this beautiful thirty seconds of music, and asking how they could find more.

This was most people's introduction to Matt Hales, although it was not the first time he had tried to get their attention.

Matt was born in the south of England in January 1972. As far as he was concerned the piano was the biggest toy in the house, and it wasn't long before he could sit up on the seat and play this.

His parents were the encouraging kind who set him up with a one-legged piano teacher, who taught him the rudiments of finger positioning and notation, and also that learning to play other people's music was really hard when you could just make up your own.

In the early eighties, his passions were performing stunts in the front garden and lusting after Bruno's array of synthesisers in The Kids from Fame.

By now he and his brother Ben were regularly writing songs, dealing with themes as diverse as school cleaners ('The Thornden Classroom Cleaning Crew'), christmas presents ('Christmas?'), and world peace ('Come on mankind, let's unite'). They were a regular attraction at family gatherings across the south-east, especially now he had saved up enough from his paper round to buy a home keyboard. No grandparent could fail to be moved by a rendition of their paean to nostalgia, 'Memories'.

When he was fifteen, having procured a Casio CZ230s, Matt put together his first band, known variously as Da Fook Mo a Dib, White Noise and finally Mecano Pig.

In 1989 they made their first album on four tracks, Mecano Pig. This explored themes as diverse as painful breakups ('Morning Blues'), social equality ('To whom it may concern'), gender equality ('Pink and blue'), homosexual lemons ('Juicy Lucy') and teenage confusion ('Waiting for an answer').

With the profits from sales in excess of one hundred of their cassette, they performed a one-off two-hour concert at a local theatre. They had broken Eastleigh and Winchester. The world awaited their next move, which was to split up.

Matt moved to London in autumn 1990 to study music at City University. He was particularly successful on the Composition and Sound Recording courses. His piano and trombone playing, however, were considered laughable. He was not concerned because by now he had a Korg M1 and he and Ben were devising a new band that would go all the way to the top, and they called it Gravel Monsters.

In the summer of 1991 they hired an eight track and recorded a selection of songs that touched on themes as diverse as the non-existence of romantic predestination ('A better way'), late-adolescent confusion
('Sideways' ), and having told someone so ('I told you so').

Armed with this tape, they enlisted youthful music industry veteran Stephen Cousins to play bass and ex-White Noise drummer Matt Vincent-Brown to complete the band, and prepared themselves for world domination.

In the summer of 1992 Gravel Monsters made their first recordings on twenty-four tracks, and began to distribute tapes to record companies. A small independent publisher called Waif Productions took an interest in them. They suggested that the group might consider changing their name, and Gravel Monsters became RUTH, in capitals.

Waif got RUTH involved in an

advertising campaign for British Knights footwear, and the band appeared in a commercial performing a song called Fear of flying which was shown on MTV throughout August 1993.

Not all songs from adverts are hits. Waif were unable to find a record company interested in RUTH so they decided to set one up themselves, the Artist Record Company, ARC.

In 1995 RUTH recorded an album called Harrison. It was concerned with themes as diverse as failing relationships ('Crash' ), terrible relationships ('I wish I hadn't' ), disco murder ('Can't stop myself' ), young-adult confusion ('I don't know' ) and delayed success in the music industry ('Waiting for this' ).

Over the next four years RUTH released numerous singles from the

album with little chart success. Harrison was eventually released in 1999 with even less.

Shortly after this, RUTH decided to leave ARC and give it one last go before they got too old. They changed their name to the 45s, got new management and were signed to Mercury Records in 2001. The 45s released two singles, ('Something Real' and 'Waiting for my heart to break' ) before being dropped in March 2002. They decided to split up.

The following week, Matt got a call from an agent wondering whether he had any songs that could be used for a VW advert. It turned out he did.

The response to the Strange & Beautiful was immediate and overwhelming. Matt was besieged by calls from record companies and radio stations wanting to know where he had come from, who he was signed to and what he was called.

While the record companies fought to sign him, Matt hid in his hallway and quietly made an album touching on themes as diverse as small children ('Everything changed'), grown-up confusion ('Halfway to the bottom') and terribly broken hearts (everything else).

The music made him feel like he was either far out in space or deep under water - somewhere you might need some help with breathing, so he called it Aqualung.

The week after it was finished, he signed to B Unique records. A month later Strange and beautiful was in the UK top ten, and by December 2003 Aqualung's first album had sold over 100,000 copies.

Which goes to show that although dreams can come true, you may sometimes have to wait twenty years for it to happen.