THE STORY BEHIND RAW84

I grew up in a working-class part of Rotherham, in a place called Thurnscoe — a forgotten village wedged between Barnsley and Doncaster. I once joked on national television that it was only known to the Devil and the police, which probably gives you some idea of the area’s reputation.

When I was 14, my dad surprised me with an electric guitar for Christmas. It was a gift that would change my life, and I’ve barely put it down since. More than guitarists, I was always fascinated by great songwriters. My heroes were Noel Gallagher, The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen and Kurt Cobain. From the moment I picked up a guitar, I started writing songs. Admittedly, those early efforts weren’t particularly good, but everyone has to start somewhere.

RAW84 comes from my initials — Richard Andrew William — combined with my birth year, 1984. During my teenage years, I idolised punk-rock bands with numbers in their names, such as Sum 41 and Blink-182. When the idea for RAW84 came to me, it immediately felt right. It has a certain simplicity to it and, importantly, it rolls off the tongue.

My Approach to Songwriting

In this section you can listen to a selection of my rough early demos — raw first versions of songs as they began to take shape, before the final production brings them fully to life

Every song I write begins with either a guitar or a keyboard. That has been the foundation of my songwriting since I first picked up a guitar at 14 years old.

I have always been drawn to songwriters who understand the power of simplicity, honesty and melody — artists like Elton John, Noel Gallagher, Kurt Cobain and Johnny Cash. To me, some of the greatest songs ever written are built on those qualities. They do not need to hide behind clever production or passing trends. They connect because they feel real.

Modern songwriting often feels driven by the search for the strangest sound, the quickest 15-second hook, or the best way to grab people’s shrinking attention spans. My own writing is a nod back to a time when the chorus was king, the bridge mattered, and songs were built to be remembered.

That does not mean I am afraid to experiment. I love blending genres and exploring different sounds, but at the heart of everything I write is still the same belief: a strong structure, an honest lyric, and a chorus people can sing along to.

Every song I write the melody, structure and lyrics are all written and crafted entirely by me

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John Robison’s latest album ‘Moonshine In My Heart’ released in January, see what the Digital Journal had to say about the album. Overall, John Robison is back with a strong new album, ‘Moonshine In My Heart’. With a record of this caliber, it is only a matter of time before he gets inducted into the prestigious Country

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