Early Achievements
Neil Sadler was given his first acoustic guitar at the age of 8 and soon became hooked. Made aware of one particular band - Led Zeppelin, Neil was drawn into the world of playing Rock, Blues and R 'n' B and by the age of 14, with an old Grundig, Neil began a life-long interest in recording; inspiring some early demos whilst writing and playing with bands such as Hazzard and The Moonwalkers. Though, there were no signings of these bands they came pretty close and gained some recognition on the local music scene.
In 1981, Neil had recording success as a pop-charting artist with the band ‘Sleeping Lions’. They were signed to CBS - a major record label at the time, which later became Sony. It is fair to say that Neil became disillusioned with the industry during this decade and working for himself on his own terms was the obvious career direction for him.
In 1987, 'The UK Blues Project' formed out of Neil's musical roots and when Neil set-up his own recording studios ('No Machine Studios') in 1994, one of Neil's first album recordings of himself in his own studios was with 'The UK Blues Project', where he played Lead Guitar on their album 'No Rush', the title track - a guitar-led instrumental track was written by Neil.
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Neil owned No Machine Studios for thirty years (1994 - 2024) and during this time he recorded bands of all abilities and genres. His patience and ability to interpret and hone the desired sound earned him an esteemed reputation.
Collaborations
Around 2000, Neil began recording Larry Miller in his studios. All of Larry's albums from 'Larryocaster' onwards were engineered and co-produced by Neil and from 'Fearless onwards Neil played bass on all of Larry's studio albums. In 2007, Neil briefly toured with Larry as his bass player.
Around the same time that Larry began working with Neil in his studios Blue Touch also began recording with Neil. Not only did Neil engineer and produce all of their albums up to March 2022, Neil played guitars, keyboard, percussion and other instruments as required and made several music videos for them in his studios. Neil joined Blue Touch in 2005 and contributed to their repertoire a song that he wrote - '40 Miles Of Bad Road'. Whilst a member of the band Neil performed at blues festivals and music events as their lead guitarist.
Collaborations
The partnership between Neil and Dennis began in 2007, when Dennis visited No Machine Studios with a bunch of ideas for songs and a prodigious enthusiasm. From those early days of crafting lyrics and tunes together, which showcased Dennis' vocal individuality and Neil's musicianship and studio dexterity as arranger, engineer and producer, three solo albums of ‘Dennis Siggery' were released.
Their partnership continued when they formed the 'Eric Street Band' in 2007. Neil's contribution to the song-writing, the playing of the percussive instruments, guitars and drums on their next ten albums were credited to Neil under various pseudonyms .
The original Eric Street Band's final album 'Across The Board', was recorded in 2016. New projects took Neil in a different direction and so Dennis formed a new Eric Street Band and continued to record in Neil's studios with the new line up.
Dennis and Neil came together for a final time in 2018 and went on to record three albums under their joint names - ‘Dennis Siggery and Neil Sadler’. Same format as before only this time Neil put his name along side Dennis' as co-writer.
Album success
During the pandemic Neil created the album 'The Music of Robert Johnson' before adding some vocals and bass by two members of Blue Touch. The album was released on 01 March 2022 as a Blue Touch album, which became the Independent Blues Broadcasters Association's 'Album Of The Month in April 2022 and reached No. 5 in their chart as well as entering Amazon's Hottest New Releases Chart at No. 2. The original / pre-Blue Touch version of the album has since been reworked and will be available later in 2024 as an alternative release known as 'The Songs of Robert Johnson'.
Further Success
On 10 February 2023, the album 'Testify' was released and reached No.14 in the Independent Blues Broadcasters Associations' chart. It was instantly recognisable as one of Dennis and Neil's - heavily guitar based with ambient atmospherics and a contemporary vibe. Sung by Dennis the lyrics were co-written by Neil who also created the soundscape - played all the instruments on the album that he also engineered, arranged and produced in his studios.
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Upon hearing the album, Tony Corner, presenter of 'Blues Corner' on Blues Radio UK likened Neil's guitar playing to Gary Moore. An excerpt of 'I Paid The Price', showcasing Neil's musicianship was used for a jingle on his show.