Ian Roberts

Songwriter, singer, and guitar player who shakes a shaker and bangs a tambourine now and then. 

I grew up in a musical family, my Grandad was a piano player who sang in the old music halls in Scotland, and my Mum had the greatest female vocal I have ever heard, she could touch the hardest of hearts and bring tears to their eyes. So music was always around me, I’m from a Scots/Irish family so weekends at our house were a packed room full of great singers harmonising, drinking and making beautiful sounds. 

I picked up a guitar and taught myself how to play and my journey began, I needed an instrument to write the songs that were bouncing around inside my head, and ooh how time fly’s when you’re enjoining yourself. Next thing I know I’m putting a band together with my lifelong mate Lee Ross, we started off just the two of us and ended up being voted the best unsigned band in the UK by Making Music Magazine who followed us around and put us centrefold in their mag for a good while. And we were a cracking band, Matthieu Hartley from The Cure joined us early on, Jonathan Aris on bass and Dennis Curry on Drums, and we soon found ourselves in the studio with the help of Geoff Travis from Rough Trade. We had a ball, but all good things come to an end and we parted ways, and we’re still good friends. 

Through a mutual friend I then met up with Billy Franks (The Faith Brothers) he loved Sweetlove Butterfly and he invited me to his house, the first thing he said to me was “Ian, teach me Sweetlove Butterfly, it’s the best song I’ve heard in more than ten years” as a massive fan of The Faith Brothers you can but imagine how i felt, I floated on beautiful sun kissed air. Billy then asked me if I’d play guitar and sing backing vocals for him at all of his future gigs, of course I said yes and we became great friends, Billy was one of my favourite songwriters, and oooh what a voice he had. Sadly Billy passed in 2016. 

During that time I met Tristan Ivemy who’s a fantastic Sound Engineer, Producer and musician, he now Produces and manages The Lottery Winners, he really liked my songs so we went into The Church Studios in Crouch End, London and recorded a four track EP called Come Outside and Play, it got lots of attention from lots of people, Marshall Amps gave me artist support, it had great reviews in all the magazines, and all four songs had airplay in many countries around the world. 

So I started gigging on my own playing mostly my own songs and throwing in a few great covers, but I had started writing a load of new songs and I knew that I needed a band to deliver them, these new songs weren’t for solo performances so I started to put together Tinkers Lane, it took me a while to find the right people, I like gentle souls, no egos, brave musicians who don’t just want to be heard but want to be a part of something bigger than themselves. I knew Andy so I asked him if he fancied it, he said yes and since then we have had a fantastic ride of a musical rollercoaster that we never want to get off, the seats next to us have been ever changing wonderful musicians, but we just seem to keep growing bigger and better, and right now we’re lurvin it man… 

I had a never ending dream when I was young that’s continued through my life, I’ve been lucky enough on my musical journey to be onstage with some of my musical hero’s, I’ve sang backing vocals on stage with Martin Stephenson (The Daintees) Martin also mixed a couple of songs for us, I’ve shared stages and opened for great artists like Dodgy, Eddi Reader, Mark Chadwick (The Levellers) Del Bromham (Stray) as well as playing with Billy Franks, Matt Hartley and my old mate Lee Ross (who is one the greatest songwriters I know, and I know a few) 

….but honestly; playing with the guys in Tinkers Lane is the highlight for me, I love bringing a new song to the table, I love what we do with that song, I love it when we rehearse every week, I look forward to it, and I really love being on stage with them all, it’s like a little slice of heaven.