Ben Taylor: I didn’t want to follow my family into music

Oct 13 2009 by Jade Wright, Liverpool Daily Post

BEN TAYLOR may be the result of a romance between Carly Simon and James Taylor, but he didn’t always want to be a musician.

”I wanted to be anything but – I’d have done anything not to follow my family into music.

“I wanted to make my own mark, and I’ve always loved being outside, working with animals,” says Ben, 32.

“But the music got me in the end. There were always instruments around the house when I was a kid, and we’d have all these amazing friends of my parents round.”

Ben’s sister, Sally Taylor, is also a musician, and was the inspiration for the song Sarah Maria, on their dad’s 1975 album, Gorilla.

“She’s the one who actually got all the talent, even though she’s never realised it,” he chuckles.

“I do as much performing with my family as I can. As far as I can tell, I don’t have any family members on either side who can’t throw it down when it comes right down to it. I was so inundated by talent, I never even started accepting my own musicality until I was a teenager. It took me even longer to start singing and writing songs.”

Ben’s impressive heritage can be heard in his music, but he’s no copycat. As a singer-songwriter, he has his own distinctive sound. But it’s hard to ignore his lineage.

“I believe a person’s music, or art for that matter, martial or otherwise, is made up of everything they do, every hero they look up to, the music that moves them and any of the elements they model the spirits of their practice after. I guess it’s a nice way of poking fun at myself for appreciating what I do.”

BEN TAYLOR plays the 02 Academy on Wednesday, details at www.o2academyliverpool.co.uk