Shopping Trolley

"I am unashamedly nostalgic" sings Melanie Pappenheim on the luxurious 'Bring back the Mary Hopkin days', one of 10 songs penned by John Miller on Shopping Trolley's eponymous debut album released on Hannibal Records in 1989 (Hannibal HNBC1349). Shopping Trolley was the band Miller led for several years in the 1980s and early 1990s. John Miller's work aches with a nostalgia for a golden age of English and American rock and pop music often of a somewhat off-centre variety. It is the world of the late Sixties/early Seventies and the annus mirabilis was 1971; reflected in the release by CBS of the double album compilation 'Rockbuster'; an event which Miller credits as a life-changing experience. John Miller's work over his entire career, starting with the superb Painswick Tapes in the late 70s/early 80s and continuing right through to the recent release of 'Preference', captures this era in style with a back catalogue of original songs and excellently judged cover versions. Around the age of 2 in Cobham, Surrey, John Miller began listening to records and hitting things. The lack of a drumkit partially diverted his musical inclinations from furniture to the piano, which he started learning formally at the age of 6. Gradually teaching himself to play by ear, he began making his own jazz/blues/pop concoctions and playing for various shows, concerts and plays. He had also become interested in making tape recordings using keyboards, drums, voices and biscuit tins. In 1989 he wrote and produced the 'Shopping Trolley' album for Hannibal Records, and he has created many more albums for his own 'Polenta' label featuring new and archival material. His work based in London has been highly diverse, with solo and group appearances and gigs with Stackridge, Van Morrison, Jacqui Dankworth, Simon Rackham (as 'Ornamental Balustrade') and many others. He is currently collaborating with the drummer Ben Reed in the duo 'Cardboard'.