Randall Stephen Hall Songs.com

My first guitar was small with gut strings. Made in Scandinavia, not expensive
and bought for me in Central Belfast when I was about 13 or 14. My parents
helped me to make a start. I loved the tone of this guitar and I had it for many years.
I grew up with it. My parents did a lot for me.

Beginnings remain with you. Like many folk I began with chords followed by
a simple black and red electric guitar (Burns and Mullen) and a wee 10 watt WEM amp. My friends in my first group, called ESSENCE, called it The Matchbox. Barry Mcilhenney/Vocals, Peter Loughridge/Guitar and Trumpet, Davey McCausland/Bass and Davy Henderson/Drums.

The drummer, Davy Henderson leant me his Four Track reel to reel tape recorder. I began to write songs and multi-track with it one Christmas when I was about 17.

1976-1980. While at Art College, in Belfast, I was in a North Belfast group called SIXTELÉ. We played covers and some originals. Mike Alloway/Lead vocals, David Crilly/Lead Guitar, myself/Guitar and lead, Keiran Doolan/Bass and Marty Toal/Drums. By this point I had an IBANEZ Telecaster copy. We were a loud electric band. Folk songs would come much later.

In 1977 with money from a summer job I bought a real second hand 1973 Telecaster which I still have. I bought it at Harry Bairds on the York Road in Belfast. I bought other second hand amps there. This was my main guitar from 1977-2007 when I began to play acoustic once again.

The next band was MUDSI MUNTU (Moodzi Moon Two). Derek McCullough/Guitar, Julian Fowler/Bass and myself/Guitar and vocals. We wrote and recorded songs. No live gigs as such but from 1980-1983 we produced three albums and put them out on cassette.

I was working as a graphic designer, becoming a freelance full time illustrator in 1988 until 1998. No time for song writing then with work and a young family. I’ve remained an illustrator in some capacity, producing my own books and artworks during all these years.

From 1997 on I began to visit schools as a storyteller, because of my books. This got me back into singing, using a hand drum and songwriting. In 2007, with an acoustic guitar, I began to visit a few OPEN MIC nights at The Hewitt Bar in Belfast with my good friend John McCullough. We both found it challenging. Together, with John, I began to write songs again and produce home recordings with GarageBand.

1n 2010. I sent in a few recordings to THE GERRY ANDERSON SHOW on Radio Foyle/Radio Ulster. He began to play these songs in January 2010 asking me to come in, bring a few friends and play live. This carried on. By September I had self recorded my first album, THE WEE WEE MAN/Songs from the Moon Shed. 21 songs and poems.

From then until now i’ve created five albums, played a gigs with a band and solo. I don’t play that often due to COVID, being mainly focused on writing and recording songs.

You can see and hear my work on my original website randallstephenhall.com, You Tube (two channels), Sound Cloud and two Facebook pages, Randall Stephen Hall and Songs from the Moon Shed.

You can contact me by clicking the link or at randall.stephen.hall@gmail.com