At last! The mystery is over. "Mark" has revealed himself. He has a P.A. System that doesn't work, a girlfriend called Louise and, most important of all - a surname. Say hello to Mark Saunders.

We meet in The Fountain after work. It's been a wet day and by the time I reach the pub, I'm soaked through. Fortunately, I'm greeted by a couple of friendly faces: Mark and Louise are here and all is well with the world.

(No Longer) In the City:

Mark Saunders moved to the Forest of Dean in July last year from London. In London, he was, for a time in three bands: "an indie band, my own band and a metal band - well, it was more grunge, really", Mark explains.

Since his move to the Forest, he has been getting to grips with some newly acquired music software, recording new and old songs through his computer. The result is quite an accomplishment. His songs are beautiful, lyrical pieces with a beautiful orchestration that really does sound like the instruments he is imitating.

One Man Band:

He's looking to start up his own band soon, but in the meantime, his computer enhanced recordings are more than enough to help provide an idea of Mark's talents for song writing.

"That's what I love most about music," he explains. "At first I wanted to be Jimmi Hendrix, but then I realised that in order to play the guitar like that, you would have to practice none stop. What I became more interested in was the song writing.

"That's why I don't want to join somebody else's band. I've done that before and it didn't work. I need to write my own stuff, and that doesn't work so well if you're joining someone else's group."

Songs in the Key of Mark's Life:

Regarding the songs themselves, Mark tells me that he likes to write about people he knows. Either that, or they are autobiographical pieces. "With 'California Rain', I started off writing a story about someone, but by the time I got to the chorus, I realised it was about me," he explains. "I get inspiration from all kinds of things. With 'California Rain', I thought that was a good phrase and it all sprang from there."

Other songs fit the autobiographical tag well. During the interview, Mark hands me a CD with two more songs on it: 'Wait Watchers' and 'Dissociator'. The first "was meant to be a song about losing weight," Mark confesses. I suggest he doesn't look that fat. "Well, I put some weight on over Christmas and I'm still trying to get rid of it," he replies, patting his stomach.

"But I thought, I can't write a song just about losing weight. And it was then that I realised that it was all about a metaphor for putting on years."

Dreams:

This points to another theme in Mark's lyrics: the idea of dreams unfulfilled. They pervade his output from the regret of 'Wait Watchers' to the lament of 'Ring': "Look around this one sheep town/it's only lack of thought that makes it small". Is this a deliberate intent within his music?

"No, not really, but I suppose the fact that I still haven't made it, influences the music," he replies. "I think the main problem is that I've always been more interested in the music side of things than the promoting side."

Begby, Finland and the Strange Egg Dish:

"That and you've had a run of bad managers," Louise adds. It's true. Mark then recalls a manager "who knew nothing about the music business" and "was just like Begby in Trainspotting - only ginger." It was this manager who got Mark and one of his previous bands to go on a tour of Finland.

Finland? Yes. "He was really keen on doing an exchange scheme with other bands in Europe. So we got to go over to Finland. It was quite strange. We got to play in youth clubs, trendy bars and a Pizza Hut. And all of the men out there had moustaches."

"We were doing an exchange with a comedy metal act. They weren't meant to be funny. But they were. They were very nice though. One morning a man we were staying with offered to make us breakfast. We said ok, and he came back with fried eggs with grated carrot on top. We thought it was some kind of Finnish delicacy. But the band we were with told us it wasn't. This bloke was just mad."

Plans...

So what's next for our International man of ex-mystery? "I'd like to do some more open mike sessions soon, but I'd also like to get a band together so that I can get the music performed. I'm going to be sending demos off as well."

No doubt, this persistence will pay off. Already, Louise is dubbing herself a music widow, thanks to Mark spending hours hidden away making music on the computer. What is it that keeps you going? I ask him. "Just the need to do it. I'll always be making music. It's just something I need to do."

23/05/04 - First published on www.bbc.co.uk/gloucestershire on this link