Kelvin Allwood
(guitars and bass)
Personal Circumstances...
Married to Frances in 1974; three children Rachel (31), Rebekah (29) and Ruth (24). Employed by a major water company as a Water Quality Advisor. Hobbies include carp fishing, dogs and photography.
Musical Influences...
Jimi Hendrix, Peter Green, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Mark Knopfler, Eddie Van Halen, Jeff Beck, The Jam, The Police, David Gilmour, Snow Patrol, Kings of Leon, Coldplay, Razorlight, Stereophonics, Nickelback, Muse, Foo Fighters, My Chemical Romance etc... to name but a few!
All time favourite Band – Pink Floyd.
Musical Journey – Started with 4 years of piano lessons at the age of 8. In teenage years, I discovered that writing original material is more fun than covers and amplified guitar is louder!
1971: Acquired a Hofner Galaxy guitar, Park amp and Laney 4 x 12 cab. A folk/pseudo rock band JC Revival was born. HMP Stafford and church coffee bars were the main gigging venues.
1974: A move to Staffordshire spawned a hybrid folk/rock band Solid State. The band focussed on safe Christian venues, but failed to break into the secular world.
1978: At last!, Thin Ice a Christian band able to play full-on rock music in proper venues (e.g. Newcastle Poly). A challenging gospel opportunity lay in wait.
1983: The Predators emerged from the meltdown of Thin Ice, and were immediately inspired by the unique writing talents of drummer Fran Johnson and bassist Chris Thompson, not forgetting the direct, no nonsense vocal style of Kev Smith. Add the intricacies of Brian Weston’s Moog driven synthesizer flourishes and my own modest, guitar fireworks and you end up with a powerful formulae that will potentially take the message of Jesus to almost anywhere. And that is precisely what, with God’s help, we did!
1986: Finds me burnt out, weighed down by criticism, feeling guilty about family neglect and wearied by relentless late nights, humping gear and travel. Numbed by the death of my mum, I finally threw in the rock musician’s towel and took a much needed break.
1988 – Perhaps more of a change than a break. I ended up playing guitar in a black gospel choir known as Shiloh. A total change in direction, but wow! these girls can really sing! And the guys play the funkiest tunes!
1989 –Before long a new band Red Alert emerged, uniting gospel vocals, funky R&B and a smattering of rock into a package that was able, once again, to take the Christian message into the clubs and pubs of South Yorkshire and beyond. For nearly a decade, that band worked its rock socks off, and soldiered on through numerous personnel changes and musical permutations, clocking up hundreds of gigs. The sphere of influence may one day surprise us.
2004 – Sometimes there is a place for the ‘social gospel’. CD4 is a registered charity and a band committed to promoting HIV awareness and support for those affected by this disease. I have been glad to contribute to a couple of albums and ‘World Aids Day ‘related concerts
2008 to date. The Predators (Re-united) – The story continues….
Personal Aspirations…
“I’ll praise my maker while I’ve breath…” to quote a much loved phrase from a well known hymn. At the end of the day, I know that God has put something within me that will not be denied, however painful the implications. I know that the love of God is for all men and women, including those for whom the medium of music is the only communication channel that they understand. And I must use what limited abilities I have to reach out with loving arms to the lost in this world.
Aspirations for The Preds …
Clearly this depends on what God has in mind for us. Essentially, rock music is the music of the angry young man – it oozes with rebellion and challenge. Yet it is the only language that many in our society understand. We will take the radical message of Christ and express His love through this format.