The idea for Jacobs Ladder Music did not come from me and in fact I always thought that having worked at the biggest and most successful music publisher in the world, I would never try to compete (metaphorically of course) and start my own, but that is not what it is or for. JLM is a small but perfectly-proportioned publishing company primarily for friends, colleagues and for anyone whose music I really like and believe I can help make a material difference to their careers. I am not actively looking or listening for new songs or songwriters but am always open to persuasion.

JLM was created at the suggestion of three people with whom I worked in various ways : Neil Conti, friend and ex-pat drummer of Prefab Sprout and then to the stars, Meredith Cork, wise manager of Garbage and Marcella Detroit, and Craig Armstrong, for me one of the most gifted composers of his generation and a privilege to work with. Having tried to explain to Neil at some length how he could collect his song-writing royalties from releases in Europe he then spoke the immortal words of musicians and songwriters … “yes, but can’t you do it?” So I decided I would and when I mentioned it to Meredith she immediately suggested I name it Jacobs Ladder which I thought was perfect and so I did. Shortly after that Craig introduced me to Swati Natekar with whom he was writing a new piece for his second album “As If To Nothing” and who needed a publisher, and within a month or so “Miracle” became the first JLM copyright.

The company has been running since 2003 and now proudly represents over 600 songs and instrumentals with recordings ranging from UB40 to Slash’s Snakepit to Joss Stone. The worldwide administration was handled by Stage Three Music from the start but following their sale to BMG it felt time to become truly independent again and JLM is now administered by Wixen Music worldwide.

On these pages you will find a little of my history (and a range of amusing haircuts to match) but most importantly the JLM catalogue and a few selected songs which you may not know but which I hope you might like.