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Who is Dene Bebbington, and why is he reviewing music?
I was born in 1966 in the north west
of England
to unsuspecting parents who didn't know what they were letting themselves in
for! I was quite shy when young, but also had a cheeky and mischievous streak
that led to me getting up to no good (and sometimes in trouble) on my own or
with friends. Early in life I had an interest in reading which has stayed with
me so that I now have a fair amount of books taking up space in my house. My
personality is rather like a coin: on one side is the "intellectual"
who enjoys reading and serious subjects, and on the other is a flippant cheeky
person who is far from serious.
After going through a phase of messing around at school and
doing poorly in exams I finally bucked up academically and eventually went on
to get a good degree in Computer Science at University in Wales.
Computers had been a hobby in my teens but studying it so much took away most
of the interest. Since graduating I've worked in IT as a programmer/designer
but definitely work to live rather than live to work. Adult life has been
somewhat disappointing for me due to personal issues, and has been made harder
by a few medical problems which can circumscribe my activities. However, in
recent years my life has improved significantly, and for that I have several
people to thank.
Even though I was raised in the north west I've lived in the south for many
years or so, I now reside in a small town in the Cotswolds. When not writing
music reviews I enjoy spending time with my fiancee, walking (on my own or with
friends), seeing friends, writing articles, reading, going on holiday, and of
course listening to music.
It's now appalling for me to remember that as a young kid I
apparently liked Tom Jones! Fortunately I grew out of that affliction. My
introduction to electronic music was around the age of ten when I heard and was
captivated by the likes of Jarre's Oxygene and The Magic Fly by Space. In my
teens the interest in electronic music continued when I bought records by Gary
Numan, OMD, Ultravox, and others. It was around this time that music started to
become important to me, and once I reached my twenties it has been unusual for
me not to listen to some music each day - even if only in the car whilst
driving. I also began to realise that my taste in music is relatively uncommon,
having endured a fair amount of derogatory comments by friends about my taste
in music.
Artists such as J.M.Jarre, Vangelis, Tangerine Dream, and
Kitaro made up my early forays into the electronic instrumental world. For a
long time my music collection grew slowly, but in recent years I've discovered
many new artists and have greatly increased my collection. During this time my taste
has also changed to include a lot of ambient and spacemusic. I first started
reviewing in 2001 for Wind & Wire after some correspondence with Bill
Binkleman, at first he was unsure about using other reviewers but was impressed
with a sample review I sent him. I already had an interest in writing, and
reviewing seemed like an excellent way to combine that with my love of music. I
answered Michael Foster's call for reviewers in 2002, and so here I am!
If you would like to contact me, my email address is: dene@melliflua.com
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