It's become a bit of a cliché to say a musician has 'paid his dues', but that's what has happened to PAUL POULTON. James Attlee reports.

Paul Poulton

At any time over the past few years you might have run into Paul Poulton playing in an R&B band in the college circuit, working as a session guitarist in a studio, or doing a jazz gig in a local club. It was while playing jazz one lunchtime that Paul became convinced he must lay aside all other musical commitments, and concentrate on performing his own material.

"I was playing these tunes, and God seemed to speak to me very strongly and say 'this isn't the place you ought to be - anybody can play this jazz gig, but not everybody can write the songs you can write, because not everybody's been through the experience I've taken you through'." Within days, Paul had recorded the first two songs of what was to be his self-produced and financed debut album 'I Think I'm Being Followed'. The album title gives a clue to a theme running through much of Paul's writing.

Throughout my life since I left school I've realised I've been a man who's been set apart - God's hand has been upon me, and somehow when I've wanted to move away from God, I've found it impossible - Francis Thompson wrote a poem called 'The Hound of Heaven', about the same thing - he tried his utmost to get away from God, but he couldn't." It's not unlike Paul to drop a literary reference into a discussion of his song writing - other songs draw on the works of C S Lewis and G K Chesterton. Mix these diverse influences together with a shot of rhythm and blues, a laid-back Tom Petty-like vocal style, and a large dash of the Unique Paul Poulton sense of humour and you get somewhere near the flavour of the man's recorded work.

Perhaps it would be true to say that the album doesn't quite overcome the usual problems first albums are prone top, mostly brought on by limited time, in a 16-track studio. Nonetheless it's an effective showcase for the songs, and the songs are what's important. Sample these lyrics from the track "Strange People" - written from the point of view of a man who's just acquired some very odd new neighbours.

"What am I to do, they are so peculiar/they walk around saying Hallelujah/there must be a shortage of beds, that's why they say they are free/ They carry little black books that do up with a zip/its obvious to me they're in somebody's grip/but they're courting disaster if they keep on smiling at me." But perhaps it's chiefly in the area of live performance that paying all those dues has proved to be such a good investment. Paul favours the intimacy and directness offered by the one-man-and-his-guitar solo appearance. 'I've been in so many bands and seen so many performers communicate - for my set-up I tried to pick the most effective way of communicating. God loves people, and I love playing to people, whether they're Christians or non-Christians, I'll go and play in a pub or a church, wherever?

"A tour of pubs organised by the church Army proved a challenging experience, with plenty of opportunity for speaking with members of the audience after the set. There's so much misunderstanding about who Christ is, that people do have a lot of questions. I had questions when I was young, things I didn't understand. I remember asking this lady what heaven was like and she said 'Oh heaven . . . heaven is a land flowing with milk and honey.' I thought 'sounds soggy - when we die we'll need Wellington boots!'

While I was out with the Church Army people had loads of question, and quite a lot of people became Christians while I was working with them. I was able to talk to people. One lady came up to me and said, 'is that your own hair?' (God has been generous to Paul in this department.) And from that I was into a conversation - and the lady assured me she was that night going to commit her life to Christ, and that she was going to start attending a local Pentecostal church not far from where she lived. "Some people are open and some aren't, but it doesn't take too much wisdom to know who doesn't want to talk to you - and I want to be there for people who do want to enquire?"

Despite his penchant for taking his music and the gospel message into less traditional venues, Paul has no problem with playing in churches. "I know some people think we're in a little Christian ghetto, but I think God's called me to play to people. I will play to them, whoever they are, because even if we're Christians we need encouragement, we need to hear what God's saying to us today." With the first album selling respectably on cassette (a CD. version will be available soon) and more gigs and local radio appearances scheduled for the early part of the year, I wondered about Paul's plans for the future.

"It's scary to say I've got loads of plans. I heard someone say the other day 'the quickest way to make God laugh is to tell him all your future plans'. I've got a general direction, but I must be led by His Spirit?" A wise answer. I, for one, will be making every effort to catch Paul live in the coming months, and await developments in his career with interest.

You're right Paul - you're being followed!