ABOUT
THE LANGUAGE OF THE MAZE
“Music is my language—it has always been an essential part of life. I can’t say why; it just calls me.”
Graduating from Salford University in the 90s, the "real world" felt quiet compared to the creative hum of the old Adelphi building. Within that maze of basement recording studios and labyrinthine corridors, Suzy’s path crossed with pivotal collaborators like Tim Allen (K), John Smith, and Alan Lowles (I Am Kloot). It was here the spark was lit; in that intense, subterranean energy, being in a band wasn't a choice—it was an inevitability.
MEGIDDO - ON THE OUTSIDE
Before long, Suzy was navigating the UK folk circuit with the band Megiddo. Their 1996 debut EP, On the Outside, defined a unique sound: two acoustic guitars, a mandolin, and the warm, sliding pull of a fretless bass. From the legendary Band on the Wall to the mud-flecked stages of the Monmouth Music Festival, the band found a loyal following.
Their reach even extended to the silver screen, with music syndicated by a major UK cinema chain and a cult-classic cover of "Georgy Girl" released on vinyl as part of the cult series ‘Themes from the Sixties’ for Future Legend Records.
By 1997, the acoustic landscape evolved. Suzy and Tim Allen formed Trade, a project that dared to fuse traditional folk-rock with the pulse of electronica. Debuting as headliners at Manchester’s iconic Night & Day and later performing under the moniker Starlite, they took their hybrid sound from the grit of Manchester to the open fields of Norfolk’s Eastern Haze Festival.
I was born under a wandering star
Swinging so high, singing at the top of her lungs in her best three-year-old baritone: "I was born under a wandering star."
Every Sunday morning, Suzy’s mother Margaret held a vinyl session in the family home as she cooked her famous Sunday roast. It was here that the soundtrack to Paint Your Wagon first caught young Starlite’s imagination.
An old soul even as a young girl, Suzy’s fascination with music was deeply ingrained—perhaps it was the echoes of her ancestors? After all, her Nana Betty hailed from Wales, the "Land of Song," born in "Ponty" (Pontypridd), the hometown of the mighty Sir Tom Jones.
NUNS, RECORDERS, BALLET & BICYCLES
Whenever young Suzy saw a piano, she was drawn to it; she just had to play. Her grandfather’s piano had been sold before she was born, so every opportunity to touch the keys was a treasured experience.
Then came the harmonica, picking out tunes for Jenny, the family Springer Spaniel, and the neighbor’s dog "Socks" to howl along to.
Suzy’s introduction to the stage began at age four with ballet. A highlight of these early years was a special parents' day celebration where she performed as part of the exclusive "Polka Dot" troupe—a moment of local stardom that was even featured in the local newspaper, The Ross Gazette.
At St. Joseph’s Primary School in Ross-on-Wye, Suzy was also taught the descant and treble recorders by the fearsome Sister "Bertie" Cuthbert. It felt like a scene from The Sound of Music—being taught by nuns at a convent, despite being one of the few non-Catholic families.
Alongside the ballet and school musicals, Suzy was introduced to public performance where her spirit shone at the annual Herefordshire Festival; her second-place award on the treble recorder successfully guaranteed her father Roland's promise of a brand-new bicycle.
