A FUNKY pianist who spent his Harpenden childhood dreaming of stardom has finally made it big. Dave Oliver, aged 35, is one of five founding members of the band Mamas Gun, a jazzy pop group who have spent two years writing and recording their debut album,

A FUNKY pianist who spent his Harpenden childhood dreaming of stardom has finally made it big.

Dave Oliver, aged 35, is one of five founding members of the band Mamas Gun, a jazzy pop group who have spent two years writing and recording their debut album, Routes to Riches, which was released earlier this month.

Mamas Gun, a signed band who take inspiration form The Beatles and Stevie Wonder, are also currently on tour with Beverly Knight, an experience which keyboardist Dave said was "a once in a lifetime opportunity."

He added: "Beverley has always been a fan of our music and it was a great honour to be asked to support her tour. Sometimes headliners can be a bit high and mighty, but Beverley is really approachable and has made us all feel welcome. She's an inspiration to work with and I love how soulful her music sounds."

Dave, who went to St George's School in Harpenden, said that the group had sold many copies of their new album whilst on tour: "People in the UK are responding really well to it, although our most ardent fans are definitely the Japanese. We're the most played international act on Japanese radio in 2009 so far and so we're off to Japan in January to play a couple of gigs for the fans."

But Dave, who studied jazz at the University of Middlesex, said that it's been a hard slog to get to where they were now: "We actually recorded all the tracks on our album two years ago but, because of the crazy economic climate, our label at the time had to drop us and it took a while to find someone else. But we got there in the end and I'm hoping that thing's can only get better."

He added: "I love travelling around the country and playing to different audiences but with a wife and two young kids at home it can get pretty tough sometimes. But hopefully my six-year-old and four-year-old will grow up to feel proud of their pop star dad!"

To find out more about Dave and Mamas Gun, visit www.mamasgun.co.uk or www.myspace.com/mamasgun

CHARLOTTE MORGAN