About

Robert Alexander James Ashton, singer, songwriter, guitarist and Actor. Born and raised in Bolton, Greater Manchester, he attended Liverpool John Moores University as an undergraduate, at the age of 19. He lives and breathes music… Near to completing his Masters in Music at Salford University, Rob is working as a Vocal Coach in Bolton and regularly gigging with his band. He has a younger brother Jordan “PUD” who shares his passion for all things music and rugby. Although a lot of the time they wind each other up (Mostly Puds fault), they are extremely close. Pud lives in York and is studying to be a mad scientist, Rob has two bedrooms in the house, meaning even more room for his 9 guitars and musical equipment. Hardworking and immensely passionate you’ll often find him burning the midnight oil.

After a gig, struggling to sleep, he gets his creative thing going on whilst he’s in the zone… needless to say… he is DEFINITELY NOT a morning person! He often listens to music or artists that connect with him, stuff that resonates, that he can get lost in. Rob asks “Do you ever hear a piece of music and just feel it belongs inside you? A song that you just can’t stop listening to no matter how many times you play it! More than just liking or appreciating it, something that fits you perfectly?” “I hope to write a song like that one day”.

A common theme in most of his music is his relationships. Inspired by the people and places around him, some personal stuff and the rest reflecting his thoughts and feelings at a particular time or in a particular place. “I start with an idea, a riff, a lyric and use the rehearsal or recording process to develop this idea of getting lost in it until a song is formed”. Recently getting his debut single onto iTunes, Spotify (and the rest of them) and after recording it with his band, this is the closest song to his heart he’s written. Shout out to Tom Lim, James Redgate and Seth Yates, “like so many projects, the band has changed a lot since I wrote Memories but here’s thanks to these guys who helped start it all. You are all Legends!” When he manages to prise himself from his beloved guitar, you might just catch Rob enjoying quality time with family and friends, taking over the whole house with his guitars/PA systems/amps. Cooking up a mean steak dinner for the fam, getting cuddles from Barney Boo, his Cockapoo or enjoying his favourite pastime …….. SLEEEEEEEEP! Interestingly, when Rob was younger, he was painfully shy. He found a love for drama and acting at high school and with the safety of the characters he played, found a way of expressing himself. This evolved into a love for performing music and set him on this path… he has NEVER looked back. In his own words… “not that confident with people”, writing and performing music, allows Rob to connect with people in a way that allows his true self out (just a little). Spending a LOT of time on the road, most of his song ideas come to him whilst driving, which is annoying as hell when you have to pull over just to record an idea before it slips away!!! A super geek with a love of all things Marvel (and DISNEY!!! Yessssssss Disney), his musical inspiration comes from growing up listening to a lot of pop rock. The likes of Busted (Man Crush), Ed Sheeran and Blink 182 and he has always connected with Newton Faulkner, George Ezra, James Bay, Ben Howard and Bruno Mars.