Biography

I am a saxophonist with around 20 years of playing experience in both live and studio work. I started to play the sax at the tender age of 6 when my dad bought me my first sax and proceeded to teach me almost everything I know today.

Since then I have been involved in many different bands playing many different types of music including rock & pop, blues, jazz, Latin and contemporary and classical music.


I often get asked who my biggest influences are as a player. Well, here you go. One of the first live gigs that I went to see was saxophonist for the stars, Snake Davis. Since then I have learnt a lot from his soulful, lyrical sound, not to mention his superb technique and vibrant style of playing. Other players that I have learnt an immense amount from include Jr. Walker, Kirk Whalum, the rock 'n' roll king of sax, King Curtis and the beautiful ballads of Kenny G, all of which have contributed in some way to the sound and style that I call 'my own'.

At the moment I am working with various touring bands. The first of these is an Elvis tribute band called 'The Elvis Collection'. This band tours extensively throughout the UK all year round. Details of tour dates can be found in my 'links' section.

The second and most frequent is the Europes's number 1 Pink Floyd tribute band called 'The Spirit of Pink Floyd'. We are currently touring across the UK and Europe with gigs booked in Japan, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden and Norway as well as a large tour planned in Australia and New Zealand early next year. Dates can be found on my 'Gig Dates' page of www.benappleby.co.uk

I am also busy with my own band, 'The Ben Appleby Band'. The Ben Appleby Band is a five piece ensemble made up of vocals, drums, bass, keyboard and an array of saxes ranging from soprano to baritone. It brings together various soulful influences as well as a modern musical background to produce a captivating, original collection of soul, funk and R’n’B classics in an evening of sophisticated, sensuous entertainment.