IT was hearing his friend play Yesterday by the Beatles that changed everything for Diz.

The then 16-year-old was all set to join the Army when he fell in love with music one Bonfire Night.

Diz, whose real name is Darren Higham, scrapped his plans to become a soldier on the spot and convinced his friend to sell his guitar for £22.

He said: “It was the driest November 5 I can remember. It was a gorgeous night and we were all sat around this fire with a beer and a spud on the go in Vulcan Close in Padgate.

“My friend came carrying this case and he pulled this guitar out – it was an old K40 acoustic, big jumbo bodied thing in an ashwood colour.

“I had no idea he could play. He started to play Yesterday by the Beatles. It was the first song I heard someone play on a guitar.

“I don’t know what it was. Maybe it was heat, maybe it was the cinders flying into the night sky.

“Something happened and I didn’t go into the Army.”

The self-taught musician then spent the next four years experimenting and learning from scratch.

Fast-forward three decades and now Diz is a guitar, bass and piano teacher as well as a vocal coach for a new generation of Warrington musicians.

And now the 49-year-old is about to launch his new band Darkdaze, influenced by the likes of Queen, Dio and Whitesnake.

The launch gig is at The Auction Rooms in Legh Street on Friday, January 26.

The dad-of-three added: “Piecing this band together has taken nearly three years.

“Some of the material has been written over the past two or three months but some of it is from as far back as 1991.

“I’ve taken some of my original material and revamped it and given it a modern rock sound. I had a 12 year gap to be a family man and I never thought I would be back at this depth in the music scene.”

Diz, a former Oakwood Junior and Boteler Grammar student, is not your typical rocker or ‘metal head’ though.

He is also one half of the acoustic duo The Unholy Winos and a member of Warrington favourites MetroTone.

The band, fronted by Kerry Sheree, do soul and dance versions of classic songs as well as original material.

Diz, a teacher since 2005 and a full time musician since 2010, said: “How this girl has not been talent spotted yet I don’t know. Her voice is so unique.

“I veer towards rock because of the emotion in it and the power of the drums and the bass so getting into that dance/soul sound was a challenge.

“But I don’t want to just be a thrash metal band. I can write thrash metal but all of a sudden I’ll hit you with a ballad that’ll make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.”

Darkdaze will see Diz blend heavy metal with blues and melodic rock and the band are already set to release their debut album, Out In The Cold, in May – to coincide with Diz’s 50th birthday celebrations.

He added: “We’ve got a lot of confidence in the band and we want to take it overseas especially with Sergio being from Portugal where they have a massive metal scene.”

But Diz also wants the group to fit in with Warrington’s music scene which he has always championed.

Diz, whose previous bands include Prophecy, The Accused, Truant and Grenade, said: “There’s a Merseybeat and a Manchester sound but in Warrington there’s an unspoken rule which is just ‘write good music’.

“The standard is ridiculous. Slydigs are doing brilliant, Psyblings and Blast Tyrant are mega rock bands and Amy Bielizna from Selfish Lovers is an incredible singer.”

  • Darkdaze perform at The Auction Rooms in Legh Street with support from Two Girls One Mic on Friday, January 26. Entry is free with the gig starting at around 8.30pm

DAVID MORGAN