piano hire isle of wight ~ piano technician isle of wight

Ron Bird decided in 1959 to follow his Piano-Maker and Tuner Grandfather into the profession, and enrolled for the course of Piano Technology at the then Technical College for the Furnishing Trades in London, studying under the Tutorship of Bill Roope and Billy Little. He completed the course in 1962, and went on to work as an improver for Danemann Pianos, Fletcher & Newman, then Saville Pianos and finally Goulden & Wind, a music shop in Dover, Kent.

Later, he opened a workshop and showroom in Cornwall, then, in the 1970s, relocated to London. There, he became a regular tuner-technician at many top TV, Recording and Rehearsal Studios, including Odyssey, The Workhouse and Red Bus - and Shepperton Studios, which were sound stages in those days, where the Old Grey Whistle Test was filmed. He was constantly in demand to attend major venues, such as Wembley Arena, The Dominion Theatre, The Albert and Festival Halls, Hammersmith Odeon and Palais, and Fairfield Halls, Croydon, for artists such as The Who, Genesis, Phil Collins, Rod Stewart, Leo Sayer, Gilbert O'Sullivan, Kate Bush, Shaking Stevens, Shakatak, Sad Cafe, Ultravox and countless others.

Ron is a Fellow of the Institute of Musical Instrument Technology ( imit@imit.org.uk), has been a member of its Council since the early 1980s, and was President from 1998 until 2001.He is Editor of the quarterly magazine and newsletter, Soundings, and is an accredited member of the IMIT. He is also a Member of the Pianoforte Tuners' Association (www.pianotuner.org.uk). His son, Simon Bird, is a Graduate of the Institute and a Student of the PTA, and has now joined Music Services, recently having completed the Musical Instrument Technology (Piano) course at the London Metropolitan University.

Alongside his piano business, Ron exploited his musical talents, and toured Europe as a professional musician, playing piano, organ and keyboards with a number of rock, pop and dance bands. Whilst in Guernsey, in the Channel Islands, the embryo Late Night Sound was formed in 1967, with Ian Lockyer, guitar, and Brian Stayt, drums, and the band has evolved from a jazz/cabaret/dance backing trio to its present format as a ten-piece corporate function band.

Ron's wife and business partner, Alana, is the lead vocaliste with the band. Their daughter, Amy, also a professional singer/dancer, is featured with the band from time to time. She was part of The New Bucks Fizz, with Mike Nolan and David van Day, and in 2004 toured Europe with The Rocky Horror Show. Recently, she has performed on the advertisement for How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? and on station idents on Dave Channel. More recently she continues to make appearances in productions at The Gordon Craig Theatre, Stevenage.