Paul Griggs

Paul Griggs has been a professional musician ever since he gave up his job as an income tax inspector and turned full time professional with his band "OCTOPUS" .He had been singing since the age of twelve when he made his first public performance.

"OCTOPUS" became a very well known working band in England and supported many well known groups including "CREAM" and "YES" and they had one L.P.and several singles released. The band was run by Paul and his brother Nigel. During their professional lives"OCTOPUS" had several members who went on to join world famous groups. MICK TAYLOR, "ROLLING STONES", JOHN COOK and TIM REEVES both joined "MUNGO JERRY" and brother Nigel went on to join top New Zealand band "SPLIT ENZ".

When "OCTOPUS" finally disbanded, Paul went on to join vocal group "GUYS n' DOLLS" and their first single "THERE'S A WHOLE LOT OF LOVING" went straight to number two in the British charts. This was followed by a string of other hits and they went on to success all over the world.

In 1978 they had the honour of supporting "FRANK SINATRA" for a week of concerts at "THE ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL" in London, and in the same year they won top prize in "THE YAMAHA SONG FESTIVAL" in Tokyo.

"GUYS n' DOLLS" spent their last few years in Holland and during that time Paul had several successful solo records and produced records for Dutch artists.

After "GUYS n' DOLLS" disbanded in 1985 he took over as head of "EVERYDAY MUSIC LTD". in England,concentrating on writing,producing and developing his own solo career. In 1986 he was a finalist in "A SONG FOR EUROPE" with his composition "I'M SORRY" and a year later his song "NO MORE TEARS" was runner up in a song contest that was organised and judged by "PAUL McCARTNEY" and he received his award from Paul himself at a dinner in London. Paul has just released a solo C.D. called "MY SONGS" on which he played and composed everything himself,and he recently made a guest appearance on the BBC 2 quiz "NEVER MIND THE BUZZCOCKS".

Paul's song "I DON'T WANNA LOSE YOU" was recorded by his boyhood hero the late "LONNIE DONEGAN" and was featured on Lonnie's album "MULESKINNER BLUES" to celebrate forty years in the business.

Paul has just published a book called "DIARY OF A MUSICIAN" based on diaries he kept from 1960. Seehttp://www.diaryofamusician.com