Career

Stapley started his musical career playing with local bands in Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

 and Sussex

Sussex

Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...

 in the UK. In 1978 he became involved in the London music scene and became a session player and gigging

Gig (musical performance)

Gig is slang for a musical engagement in which musicians are hired. Originally coined in the 1920s by jazz musicians, the term, short for the word "engagement", now refers to any aspect of performing such as assisting with performance and attending musical performance...

 guitarist. He worked alongside various artists and producers on international tours with Roger Waters

Roger Waters

George Roger Waters is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. He was a founding member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd, serving as bassist and co-lead vocalist. Following the departure of bandmate Syd Barrett in 1968, Waters became the band's lyricist, principal songwriter...

 and Mike Oldfield

Mike Oldfield

Michael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...

, the film Withnail and I

Withnail and I

Withnail and I is a British black comedy made in 1986 by HandMade Films. It was written and directed by Bruce Robinson and is based on his life in London in the late 1960s. The main plot follows two unemployed young actors, Withnail and “I” who live in a squalid flat in Camden in 1969 while...

, and on the albums of Suede

Suede (band)

Suede are an English alternative rock band from London, formed in 1989. The group's most prominent early line-up featured singer Brett Anderson, guitarist Bernard Butler, bass player Mat Osman and drummer Simon Gilbert. By 1992, Suede were hailed as "The Best New Band in Britain", and attracted...

, Toyah

Toyah (band)

Toyah is the name of the band fronted by Toyah Willcox between 1977 and 1983. The only other consistent band member throughout this period was Joel Bogen, Willcox's principal co-writer and guitarist.-Background :...

 and Scott Walker

Scott Walker

Scott Walker may refer to:*Scott Walker , Governor of Wisconsin, and former county executive of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin*Scott Walker , boxer...

.

In 1983 while performing live work with Julian Dawson

Julian Dawson

Julian Dawson is a British singer–songwriter, guitarist and author. His style has been compared to Wilco and Ron Sexsmith. He is fluent in German and French...

 in Germany, he met producer Rene Tinner and began working in Tinner's Cologne studio to record guitar tracks for various projects.

Stapley also recorded and toured with Westernhagen, and became his co-producer and musical director.

During the 1990s Stapley recorded four instrumental CDs for WEA Records. In 2008 CD he released his most recent recording, Edge of the World. He specialises in acoustic and instrumental works.

Stapley has worked with Roland Corporation

Roland Corporation

is a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on April 18, 1972, with ¥33 million in capital. In 2005 Roland's headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. Today it has factories in Japan,...

 and Digidesign

Digidesign

Avid Audio is an American digital audio technology company. It was founded in 1984 by Peter Gotcher and Evan Brooks. The company began as a project to raise money for the founders' band, selling EPROM chips for drum machines. It is a subsidiary of Avid Technology, and during 2010 the Digidesign...

, demonstrating guitar equipment for both companies. He built his own studio in London where he produces music CDs, as well as television and film score

Film score

A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...

s. he has taught privately, and became one of the first teachers at the Guitar Institute (now called The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance

The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance

The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance , is an independent, specialist music education provider located in London, UK. They offer courses in guitar, bass, drums, vocals, music business and songwriting...

, ICMP). In 2011 he launched the record label Dammit Music, specialising in unusual music projects and contemporary works with singer/songwriters and acoustic music.

Musical history

1979–Present

• Guitarist/Musical Director/Backing Vocals. Recording sessions and international tours with artists including Roger Waters, Mike Oldfield, Suede, Scott Walker, Slim Whitman, David Allen Coe, Kirsty McColl, David Dundas, Westernhagen, David Mead, Henning Staerk, Toyah Wilcox, Bucks Fizz, Peter Jay, Michael Kamen, etc. Film + TV soundtracks including “Withnail and I”, “How to get Ahead in Advertising”, “Hale and Pace”, “The Duty Men”, etc.

1981–1993

• Whilst working at Roland, Stapley developed and delivered staff training on guitar-based products including guitar synthesizers, samplers, synths, effects processors, sequencers, etc. Developed and delivered product demonstrations of hardware and software at international trade shows.

1986–2005

• During this time Stapley made 7 Platinum Discs , and was co-producer/musician on various CDs for German artist Westernhagen

1991–Present
Westernhagen (Million-selling CDs), Ian Hunt, Wives and Servants, George Frakes, The Cry Baby, Lou Cowell, Pat Orchard, Bill Conlon, Bacardi Europe Cinema Ad, etc.
1996–Present

• Audio Editor/Sound Design non-musical industry sectors.
• Audio editing/recording/sound design for SDL, Teletubbies, PlayStation games (various) CD-ROMs (various) voice-recording for TFL, EDS, Thales Information Systems, Interalia, Information On Hold, BBC, etc.

1997–Present

• Technical Director of Dammit Ltd, responsible for studio management, audio engineering, production, script consultancy, software development.

2010–Present

• Director of Dammit Music, responsible for A&R, production, marketing and artist development.

1991–1995

• At the Guitar Institute Stapley developed elements of syllabus, administered grades, and administered Live Performance Workshops

1993–1997

• Stapley developed and delivered product demonstrations for Digidesign of industry-standard “ProTools” hard-disc recording software at international trade shows.

2004

• At Guitar X Stapley also developed and taught Music Technology course and administered Live Performance Workshops

2008

• At the ICMP (institute of Contemporary Music Performance), London Stapley was teaching Guitar skills, live performance skills, studio technology. Writing Degree-level course materials and teaching at degree-level.