About Glyn

Born in Sheffield, Glyn's first home was in Hillsborough, where his father, a teacher at a local school, gave private piano lessons. It was quite a musical neighbourhood - three doors away lived the Dixons, whose son, Reginald, played the organ in Blackpool! The 'bug' was obviously infectious and it was not many years before Glyn began to practice scales and arpeggios.

He was not a particularly shy child and was performing regularly on stage by the age of six, thanks to a family friend who used to entertain at local Darby and Joan clubs and homes. By the age of ten, Glyn had become a drummer boy in the local Boys' Brigade band and soon was achieving some success in this direction, winning the 'Silver Drumsticks' (a local prize) and, at twelve years old, becoming the youngest boy to win the 'Silver Drum' (all Sheffield) in one year. The drumming continued and, during this part of his musical career, Glyn played with many local brass bands, orchestras, concert and military bands and, of course, school 'pop' groups. In fact, just prior to leaving school, Glyn almost signed up for the band of the Royal Marines!

Glyn discovered the organ during this period - thanks to a Joseph Seal record presented to his Dad following a school dramatic production. He became enthralled by the instrument, taking lessons at the local church, although he never learned to play theatre organ and becoming something of a thorn in the side of the very tolerant manager of the local music shop who he used to pester incessantly for brochures, price lists, posters and anything else to fee his hobby needs. On leaving school, he joined the staff and within four years was managing the music shop.

Shop work doesn't often pay well and, to supplement his wages and to pay for a car, he taught the organ and played in a variety of venues during the evening. Like many young players, Glyn was struggling to get his name noticed on the organ club circuit and, in the mid/late 1970's, he began to play outside Sheffield for the first time.

In 1980, Yamaha (then Kemble Organ Sales Ltd) offered Glyn a job as demonstrator. They were launching a new organ called the D85. Nobody knew it at that time, but that range of instruments was to put Yamaha at the head of the league, ahead of former big names, such as Hammond, Lowrey, Wurlitzer, etc. Glyn says that the following fifteen years were some of the most exciting he could have wished for. His personal dream had become true and he has played on the best (and most expensive) instruments available, travelled the world and worked with some wonderful musicians and made many, many friends.

Now ...Glyn Madden - latest...

Hi everyone, you might be interested to hear what I've been getting up to recently... The good news, (for me at least), is that I'm still alive - and still enjoying making music. Happily I no longer do the mileage I used to, which is great because in 1999 (my last year 'on the road') I covered 47,000 miles on Britain's motorways - but that also means that, because I no longer keep popping up at organ clubs and suchlike around the country, I've lost touch with many of the friends I used to see on my travels. So, thank you for looking me up today.

The Performer:

I still play regularly, although not nearly as much as I used to - and I certainly don't practice as much as I should. I do enjoy keeping my hand in though with about half a dozen public events each year, with the occasional stint at one or other of the keyboard festivals. Mostly though the gigs I choose are nearer to home and, in recent years, I have strayed outside the familiar boundaries of the home organ/keyboard scene.

Years on the road have caused me to miss what great talent we have here in Dronfield where I live. In the past year, for example, I've enjoyed working as an accompanist for a couple of young ladies I've known for several years since they were little schoolgirl friends of my son David. They have terrific voices and working on their gigs has given me a reason to produce new keyboard arrangements (rather than just twiddle for my own amusement!)

My younger son, Matt, is guitarist and lead singer with a young rock band. He introduced me to some of his friends from another up-and-coming band The Bohemian Mods who, can you believe, invited me to record a track with them (on Hammond organ) for their latest demo. Well, they have just won a national 'unsigned bands' competition hosted by Jamie Oliver and now look set to sign with a major record label - so very good luck to them. I don't think I'll be appearing on stage as part of the band though!

My lifelong involvement with Yamaha continues through Yamaha Club Magazine of course - and I was delighted to be invited to present their brand new flagship keyboard, Tyros3, on a promotional DVD which has just been released so if one arrives at your house you might be seeing my cheery little face pop up on your telly. Apologies for that!

The Recording Artist:

I'm still flattered when people write asking for new recordings of my music. I really must get my finger out and put some tracks down but, as I'm not 'out there' as a solo performer very much sales are likely to be pretty small - so I guess I'll be doing it just for the fun of it. The trouble is, I still need to make a living (believe me!) - so it has to take a lower priority - but hopefully I will find the time to produce a new album one day.

New Toys:

In terms of instrumental sounds the Yamaha Tyros3 rules the roost in my book and is an absolute delight to play. The realism of its voicing is truly astonishing and it caters for everything I could want (or need) in this area. I could talk for ever about Tyros but most of what I have to say is already well documented - and, if you're interested, you'll have no trouble finding it all elsewhere. As a player I'm still addicted to the traditional organ at heart though and, with Yamaha no longer filling this need, I've been looking elsewhere for something to bridge the gap.

This is where I go into anorak mode... and, for my 50th, my wife Cath bought me a Hammond XK3 (with two 61 note keyboards, 25 note pedal-board, Leslie speaker - and quite portable). This instrument is in the style of the original drawbar organ I fell in love with as a youngster. It has no pianos, strings, drums or automatics - just a great organ sound that you actually have to play. Unfortunately, I still found it too cumbersome to take out to gigs so it stays in the house...

I have now bought a Nord C1 (with two 61 note keyboards, 13 note pedal-board - and very portable) . Until very recently I'd never even heard of this instrument but what a cracker it is. Basically it's a Hammond clone - and, like the XK3, it is a traditional organ with no frills whatsoever. It does, however, have the best electronic 'Leslie' effect I've come across - so it plugs into my Yamaha speakers and I don't need to lug the Leslie speaker to a gig. Best of all, it weighs just 15Kg - exactly the same as Tyros3, so I can tuck the whole two-keyboard setup under my arm.

Of course, the traditional organ is not an instrument that suits everyone - but, between this and the Tyros3, I have a setup that gives me the best of all worlds and I love it.

The Editor:

Yamaha Club Magazine is now into its 14th year. Initially I set this up with a view to building something that would provide an income when I decided to stop touring. That day came somewhat sooner than intended of course and Cath and I have given our full-time attention to the project ever since.

The Club is still doing well and feedback about the magazine continues to be really good. The percentage of members re-subscribing continues to rise - so we must be doing something right, and this is very encouraging. The level of new memberships, however, has slowed recently and we have seen our first fall in the overall number. Hopefully this is just a 'blip' but the production of a magazine incurs the inevitable costs involved with print and postage and more of our traditional customers are joining the 'online' community - where, although what you find there is sometimes not based too closely in fact, it is immediately available (and free). I think many will agree though that there is still something very attractive about a high quality glossy mag.

If you'd like to know more about Yamaha Club contact Cathy on 01246 290454 - or visit the website by clicking here.

Glyn's Photo Gallery

Glyn's Concert Diary