I was born, at a very young age, near Oxford, in England. I had a radiantly happy childhood, for which I will never forgive my parents. Why couldn't they saddle me with that miserable, angst-ridden youth which is the essential pre-requisite for the artistic life?
When I was seven, my parents, who had noticed that I enjoyed music, arranged for me to have piano lessons. I gave the lessons up after only 6 weeks - it made my brain hurt to have to do something with my left hand which was different to what I was doing with my right. It physically made my head ache! When I was fourteen, I bought my first guitar, because I had noticed that girls liked guitar players. Strangely, I had no problem doing different things with each hand on the guitar!
With the guitar always within easy reach, I started playing regularly in folk-clubs and wine-bars, and under the influence of artists like Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Paul Simon, and Joni Mitchell, I started writing my own songs. After a spell performing weekly on BBC radio (where one of my songs was a Pick of the Week), I embarked upon a career which took me to Paris, New York and Switzerland.
I finally settled in France, arriving with the new century, and began work on 'The Still Centre', a collection of nocturnes for piano and orchestra. This album was soon followed by more CDs of songs. After renovating my rustic farmhouse, I resumed giving concerts.
In 2008 I co-founded the Cahors Folk Club. I give concerts either solo, or in duet with the talented harmonica player Frenchie Dègre.
You can contact me via my website - http://www.michelgriffin.com/
