Curious about what Conrad was up to before he began distributing his music online? Get up to speed, by checking out his musical history!
2008 -2014
One Man And A Guitar
There’s nothing more daunting than facing the audience on your own with no band or backing tracks to keep you company. Conrad was up for the challenge and enjoyed occasionally entertaining venues and restaurants with his one man acoustic show. He played mostly covers, but took the opportunity to throw in some acoustic versions of his own songs from time to time. Although produced in the studio, Conrad’s EP ‘All Covered Up’, gives you a taste of his solo set.
2004 – 2014
Tequila
Former Mighty Llamas band mates Jason Irving (bass) and Martin Burrows (vocals) asked Conrad to ‘fill in’ for a few gigs following the departure of their original guitarist. 10 years later, he was still doing it! With Tom Ambrose completing the band on drums and Neill Staff joining later on keyboards, Tequila entertained pubs and clubs with a largely 50’s, 60’s and 70’s Rock’n’Roll set.
1997 – 2002
Bark!
A 4-piece guitar band featuring Conrad and Paul Bradley on vocals and guitars with Dave Jenkins on bass and Mike Ibbitson on Drums. Playing original songs written by Conrad and Paul, you get a taste of Bark! here:
1995 – 1998
Mind The Gap
A live acoustic covers duo comprising James Cowan and Conrad on guitars and vocals. Adept at getting pubs and clubs singing boisterously in mid-nineties Essex at the height of Britpop! Listen to their usual set opener…
1992 – 1997
Johnson & De Souza
Martin ‘Johno’ Johnson and Conrad peeled off from the Mighty Llamas to start their own recording duo focussing predominantly on Conrad’s original material barring Johno’s brilliantly haunting ‘Driving Alone’ . They shared instrumental duties and programming with Conrad on vocals and Johno picking up lead production duties. Here are a few tunes to give you a flavour of their work together.
1990 – 1992
The Mighty Llamas
Fresh out of University and fending off career choices, Conrad joined The Mighty Llamas on guitar with Martin Burrows on vocals, Jason Irving on bass, Martin ‘Johno’ Johnson on guitar and Paul Docherty on Drums. The band wowed club goers with an eclectic mix of original material and covers picked from the 1960’s through to the 1980s. Listen to Emotional Souls which was a joint original composition by the members and a band favourite.
1985 – 1987
4th Of July
Developing out of a duo, 4th of July evolved into a 4-piece guitar band playing mix of original songs and diverse covers from classic 60’s tunes to then current 80’s chart hits. His first ‘proper’ band, Conrad shared guitar and vocal duties with Paul Bradley (and would do so again later in Bark!) adding Jason Irving on bass (also rejoining him later in the Mighty Llamas) and Michael Young on drums. Although there are no studio quality recordings of 4th of July, you can get an idea of their original repertoire from songs Conrad later recorded solo, such as The Hermit, Chapter 33 and The Psychiatrist.
Conrad De Souza 