Jay Diggins (born 17 September 1974) is an English singer-songwriter. He is best known for his work with

John Parish John Parish (born 11 April 1959) is an English musician, songwriter, composer and record producer. Parish is best known for his work with singer-songwriter PJ Harvey. He has also worked with such artists as Eels, Aldous Harding, Tracy Chapm ...

Lakin, Nick
"If you fall from grace..."
''

Lancaster Guardian ''The Visitor'' is a weekly paid-for newspaper published in Morecambe, Lancashire, England. It covers Morecambe and the surrounding district including Overton, Middleton, Heysham, Slyne, Hest Bank, Bolton-le-Sands and Carnforth. Until 2014 t ...

'', Lancaster, 14 June 2013. and for turning down an opportunity to appear on the hit

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

show '' The Voice''. Height: 6’2

Early life

Career

He was taught how to perform in a band, by well-known music producer John Parish, in

Yeovil Yeovil () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England. It is close to Somerset's southern border with Dorset, west of London, south of Bristol, west of Sherborne and east of Taunton. The population of the bui ...

, Somerset. He then spent two years learning how to record rock music at Parish's studios along with well-known English musician

PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer-songwriter. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined local band Automat ...

. He won a place on the world's first Popular Music Sound Recording course at Salford University. More than 200 times over-subscribed, the course was tutored by record producer Bill Leader. In 2011, he designed and built Wyrebank Studios. In May 2013 he recorded "Fall From Grace" and "Ain't No", with John Parish at Toybox Studios in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

. The recordings were published online and this led to his music being discovered by BBC programme ''The Voice''. Diggins turned down an offer to appear on the show, however.Plunkett, Sue
"Meet the Scorton based singer/songwriter who turned down Jessie J!"
''

Lancashire Evening Post The ''Lancashire Post'' is a daily newspaper based in Fulwood, a suburb of the city of Preston, Lancashire, England. Until 14 January 2017 it was known as the ''Lancashire Evening Post''. According to the British Library The British Library ...

'', Preston, 30 August 2013. The two tracks received critical acclaim, with independent radio play and numerous full page reviews in the ''

'', '' Garstang Courier'', ''

''. Diggins was special guest and performed a live acoustic set on 94.4 Salford City Radio, before performing on the UK festival circuit. Diggins' debut album ''Searching'' was released on 20 September 2013, with a sold-out album launch at the Grand Theatre, Lancaster.Lakin, Nick
Festival"Band's Debut Album Launch Makes For A Grand Affair"
''Lancaster Guardian'', Lancaster, 12 September 2013. The album was recorded at two separate studios: at ToyBox Studios in

, in May 2013, for the tracks "Fall From Grace" and "Ain't No", featuring Diggins with John Parish and at Wyrebank Studios for tracks "At Your Expense" and "She Longs for Yesterday", on which Diggins played a prototype

Vox Continental The Vox Continental is a transistorised combo organ that was manufactured between 1962 and 1971 by the British musical equipment manufacturer Vox. It was designed for touring musicians and as an alternative to the heavy Hammond organ. It supp ...

organ, the only one known to be still in existence. Diggins used the same Vistalite Drums kit, that Michael Lee had used for the

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician and producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the Rock music, rock band Led Zeppelin. Page began his career as a studio session musician in Lo ...

and

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin from its founding in 1968 until their breakup in 1980. Since then, he has had a successful solo ca ...

reunion tour. The album mastering was by John Dent and Jason Mitchell, who are noted for their work with

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

. Reviewing the album for ''The Lancaster Guardian'', Nick Lakin said, "It is an album greater than the sum of its parts, a rare find these days, and it's perhaps a shame that some of the tracks didn't last longer... Either way it is an accomplished piece of work, with a lot of depth and high production value, the drums, for me, standing out in particular." In 2014 Diggins returned to the Grand Theatre, Lancaster, and also performed at some large theatres supporting

The Beautiful South The Beautiful South were an English pop rock group formed in 1988 by Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway, two former members of the Kingston upon Hull, Hull group the Housemartins, both of whom performed lead and backing vocals. Other members stayin ...

at the Lyceum Theatre in Crewe and with

Bruce Foxton Bruce Douglas Foxton (born 1 September 1955) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Foxton's music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as bassist and backing vocalist of mod revival band the Jam. ...

's From The Jam at Buxton Opera House. During 2015, Diggins toured the UK with Mark Morriss of

The Bluetones The Bluetones are an English indie rock band, formed in Hounslow, Greater London, in 1993. The band's members are Mark Morriss on vocals, Adam Devlin on guitar, Mark's brother Scott Morriss on bass guitar, and Eds Chesters on drums. A fift ...

.Kirby, Daniel
"The Bluetones – The Ritz, Manchester"
''Gig Soup'', Manchester, 9 October 2015

References

External References

*: official website
Jay Diggins
at bbc.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Diggins, Jay 1974 births English male songwriters Living people