Steeped in Stevie Wonder - A Good Start

Punchy! the Musical 

 Wow Jack!

I first met Jack Terroni circa 2007; an interesting time in my life where I’d made a decision to invest full-time in a passion, the infant digital sector. To mark the decision, I’d decided to buy myself something and headed to a watch retailer in Brent Cross, West London.

Jack was not only a fan, but also played Stevie's music in his uncle's band since he was a kid.

A lovely young guy came over to serve me, and within minutes we were talking about life and then soul music, brought on by, if I remember correctly, the music playing in the store at the time – Stevie Wonder. We found we shared appreciation for several soul artists but one in particular, a hero of Jack's and definitely in my life soundtrack – the miracle that is Stevie Wonder.

Inspired by Stevie

Turns out that Jack was a full-on creative. Inspired by Stevie, he learnt to play many instruments, composed and wrote, but his part-time gig in retail had presented that moment, the decision.  For many people whose passion lies in the arts, it rarely pays for itself early on and there comes that moment when the decision arises; do you chuck it in and get a full-time job, start on the next chapter of your life; or do you pursue your passion?

An hour later and we were still in deep conversation as we chewed over scenarios that would help his decision making – the ‘On Rails vs Off Road’ journey.  I’d clearly met Jack at a pivotal moment because he had just been offered the role of assistant manager.  

We explored his passions, and he outlined his life plan, where he wants to be, what he wants to do and how satisfied, or not, he was in his job now, let alone in the future. It became apparent that the job was simply the means to an end for Jack, but it could also mark the end of Jack the musician.

His manager Mena joined us, she was selfless, fabulous, and clearly understood both sides of his coin.  She adored Jack and could see why he’d make a great manager.  She also pointed out that he could come back to retail at any time in the future but would forever regret at least not taking a real Shot at music.

Jack and I exchanged contact numbers and went our separate ways. We stayed in touch over the years and, as things would progress musically or career-wise in his life, Jack would occasionally check in for a catch up, and send me new tunes for review and feedback.  

On less-happy days, when Jack wasn't feeling too good, because he is open and honest about his mental health issues, he’d hit me up and ask if we could get together in Wembley. We’d chat and explore some of the issues that he was facing over a coffee. Then we’d go our separate ways again, periodically checking-in.  Last week Jack hit me up with something extraordinary.

‘…a NEW musical I have written and produced is hitting a London theatre for three weeks in November!’

I’d seen how talented Jack was, how dedicated he was to making music, but I had no idea that he had scaled up his efforts so much so that his MUSICAL is debuting in LONDON this week.  

He messaged me and I replied… excited, potty-mouthed, and grammatically all over the place lol.

I’m still buzzing

I’ve watched him invest himself in his passion. He’s added self-belief to resourcefulness, resilience, and drive., his passion will take him places others have told him were beyond his reach.  To music.

So, here's your Shot  

There is so much talk around young people, especially concerning mental health issues and here is a young person who fought through challenges to produce a wonderful piece of creativity, a musical centred on the theme of mental health.   

I’ve 4 free VIP tickets for Sunday, November 7th, 2021, at the Courtyard Theatre, London.  Doors open at 6pm and the show starts at 7pm. Respond in the comments section if you’d like to go and I’ll get back – first come, first serve.

Don’t need to make a song and dance out of it if you miss out on these 4 tickets, Punchy! the Musical runs until 21st November 2021 so there’s still plenty of time to turn talk into action.

Produced by Jack Terroni | Production Consultant Joan Lane (‘The King's Speech’) | Directed by Tiffany King (‘Respect: The Aretha Franklin Songbook’) | Playwright Kevin McMahon (Windsor Fringe Finalist) | Based upon work of Author and Life Coach Richard Barrett (‘What My Soul Told Me’) | Soundtrack Producer Steve Brown (Laura Mvula/Rumer)

Nice one Jack - Take Your Shot mate.  #achangeisgonnacome