Lofty - The guitarist for The Afterglow

Martin Lofthouse, the awesomely fantastic lead guitarist of The Afterglow and quick-witted front man, is renowned throughout the 'gigging circuit' for his quick fingering guitar work as well as his perfectly spherical head. The round-headed one is from Skipton and a happily married man, yes sorry girls.

Known affectionately as Lofty and Football Head to the rest of the band, this noisy individual just won't shut up.

At practices, (yes we do practice sometimes!) his amp is louder than the rest of the band members put together, and when the practice is over, he just won't shut up talking. His favourite topics being crap jokes, insulting the rest of the band, namely Steve, Dunc and Scott, (but not Col for some reason????) and consistent verbal diarrhoea.

Lofty is a very strong and physical individual. You will notice him carrying all the heavy stuff at gigs, and if you watch him play you will see the size of one of his fingers is larger than one of Dunc's arms.

A joiner and expert shed maker by trade (see the website www.cravensheds.co.uk ), Lofty likes 'getting wood' so much that he has recently returned from India, where he studied the ancient art of the Kama Sutra, and is now talking to the local colleges to see if they are interested in allowing him to do night school classes there. In addition, he has also just completed the text for his North Yorkshire version of the book and is looking for a man with a beard who he can photograph to show those famous positions. Duncan has already ordered his copy. Please reply on the message board if you are interested in the bearded part.

His musical inspirations come from everything that is MOD, but mainly The Jam, The Who, The Vapors, The Chords, The Small Faces, Small World and The Lambrettas to name but a few.

Lofty has played in Bands since 1970, playing with Scott in the Mod Band 'Borrowed Time' in circa 1984, who's last gig at Bradley Village went down in Yorkshire History. He then lost his way disappearing into the Rock wilderness, playing the local pub and club scene with well-known local artists The Strong Beer Band. Despite his strong Mod influences, this period seriously affected his musical roots, with him constantly trying to get the rest of The Afterglow to play Hang on Sloopy at most practices.

Considering all of these facts, Lofty is one of, if not the, most likeable member of the band.

Martin Lofthouse

The songs that Lofty would like to do

Tiger Feet
Blockbuster
Virtually any Mod song
Promised You The World (Penned by Lofty)