About.
Richard Auger once said, “there are only two types of music, music you like and music you dislike”. After recording two albums that were kind of experimental, this album (Utah Sky) is the first one this UK songwriter has felt is worth putting out there. “My previous attempts were thwarted by a lack of experience and a large dose of naivety”, he reflects. “I honestly thought that the producers could turn my songs into instant hits and make my voice sound like Paul Weller”.
Richard does not consider himself a singer but feels that his songs have good melodies and are lyrically interesting. “I’ve worked hard on my song writing over the years, especially the lyrics. We are so lucky that there are so many ways to express yourself using the English language. You can work for hours and days on a line and the joy is when you finally find the right words and the song flows seamlessly through your narrative”.
Richard’s song writing began as a schoolboy. “I picked up the guitar when I was in primary school and taught myself a few basic cords but soon got bored playing ‘Oh, My Darling Clementine’ and ‘Home on The Range’. I wanted to express myself through music. I can still recall an early song entitled, ‘My Father Must Accept Me’. I’m not sure what I was going through at the time, as my Dad was my hero, but you get the drift of what inspires me to write.”
In the 1970’s he had a spell as ‘The Auger Boys’ playing local venues in High Wycombe with his brother Jimmy, and had a few appearances performing in front of his secondary school assembly. In fact, it was at one of these assemblies that he first played one of his compositions in public. It was a song about a school friend he had a crush on. “I still remember that song, in fact I probably can still sing parts of it now. It was called, ‘She’s Breaking my Heart’, and I can still recall the chatter it generated when the school found out I was singing about Kim. And the answer the next question is, no! I never got to go out with her.”
However, Richard was not destined for a music career. “Looking back, I was always predisposed to protecting people. I remember taking on the school bully after he picked on my little brother, which surprised me that I had an physical ability to look after others and myself”. At 18 years old, Richard joined the Thames Valley Police.
“I really enjoyed my time in the police. I had a varied and wide-ranging career, including three tours on the tactical firearms team, an overseas secondment and eventually retiring as a Commander. My experience as a member of the first Tactical Firearms Team to deploy at Hungerford during the massacre in 1987 will forever be the most traumatic event I dealt with. But I carry many scars, physical, psychological, and emotional. You can’t do 30 years in front line policing and leave without some baggage.”
In his private life, Richard married, had two children, and became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “I was a bit of a ‘work hard, play hard’ type of guy when I first joined the police, but I was not really content with that lifestyle. I had always believed in Jesus Christ and when I joined the Church, I was able to focus on that faith and my family. All that is good in my life was because of my decision to be baptised and commit myself to Christ”.
Since retiring, Richard has returned to public service as a local Councillor, which has freed up time to concentrate on doing something with his music. Married for over 35 years and now a Papa to two grandchildren, he is happy in his skin and more realistic about what can be done with his music. “I certainly will not be embarking on a rock & roll career. I don’t feel I have the talent, charisma or energy, and I’m nearly sixty, for goodness sake! But I do feel there is a modest place for my music, and I know people enjoy the songs. This album, Utah Sky, is a collection of songs spanning over twenty years and I have already started preparing songs for the second album. My producer, Neil Sadler, is a talent and a genius and it is his arrangements that have made all this possible. I hope you enjoy my offerings.”
