Fireworks & Rocktopia

Rocktopia is a website dedicated to serving those involved in melodic rock music and its associated genres, put together by an elite team with extensive talents. A culmination of effort from those involved in the superb melodic rock magazine Fireworks, the premier melodic rock festival Firefest as well as the concert film and music video specialists at Transistor Pictures, Rocktopia hopes to bridge the gap between fans, journalists and musicians by creating a community for all involved in this type of music.

With a team boasting some of the finest web developers, skilled film makers, experienced journalists and talented photographers, Rocktopia houses all anyone with an interest in melodic rock music could ever need. Below you can read about each team member and their experience in their field, and contact them where necessary:

Name: Sort By: SelectLast NameFirst Name Order By: AscendingDescending
Rocktopia Team Members Results 1 - 42 of 42
	Bruce Mee Fireworks & Rocktopia Managing Editor I blame my brother for getting me hooked on rock. I was an avid ABBA fan when he joined the Brittania Music Company around 1978, and one of the first albums he bought was Rainbow 'Rising'. It didn't take long for those majestic vocals and melodies to weave their magic into my soul, and I've been a ... Read More...
	James Gaden Fireworks & Rocktopia Art Editor James Gaden has been into classic rock music even before he was born, thanks to his heavily pregnant mother attending shows by Status Quo and Thin Lizzy. His love for the music was kick started by seeing Queen perform at Wembley - on the telly sadly, but it was still inspiring. Not only did the ... Read More...
	Dave Scott Fireworks & Rocktopia Reviews Editor Music has always been a part of my life. From the moment I was born I was initiated in Rock through the likes of Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, The Rolling Stones and Queen. There was also plenty of sixties music, Folk and Disco to name but a few others that my parents listened to. As I grew older ... Read More...
	Steven Reid Fireworks & Rocktopia Deputy Features / SSSOR Editor Imagine a time of darkened rooms, hushed learned tones and music that mystified and delighted. These were the Friday nights that shaped and formed my love of a whole host of Rock and Metal bands as Tommy Vance shared with his attentive, headbanging masses the sounds that we’d hold dear to our ... Read More...
	Ant Heeks Fireworks & Rocktopia Deputy Reviews Editor For virtually all of the 40 years of my life so far I’ve lived in the uninspiring Staffordshire town of Tamworth, home of Sir Bob Catley and Blaze Bayley & Wolfsbane (and less interestingly Sir Robert Peel, Julian Cope and two runaway pigs). I’m married to Izzy, have two lovely daughters ... Read More...
	Rob McKenzie Fireworks & Rocktopia Books Editor I am an assistant editor for Fireworks Magazine looking after the ´Bookmark´ page which handles reviews of music related books. My role started officially in Issue 62 and I am very pleased with how it has gone so far and love the eye-catching layout produced by James Gaden. I have very quickly ... Read More...
	Sophie Brownlee Fireworks & Rocktopia Assistant Editor Rock music was a part of my life from my first gig of The White Stripes and then Monsters of Rock at the age of twelve. It was here that I saw Alice Cooper for the first time and the world of Motley Crue, glam metal and Buckcherry quickly followed. At first I was heavily influenced by my ... Read More...
	Az Chaudhry Fireworks & Rocktopia Assistant Editor When I was growing up in the early 70s I used to listen to the charts and watch Top of the Pops and loved The Sweet and 10CC. My elder brother was really into Yes, Genesis, ELP, Floyd, Zep, Rainbow and Deep Purple and I could hear their classic albums blasting out from his bedroom and initially ... Read More...
	Dave Crompton Fireworks & Rocktopia Assistant Editor I suppose my first foray into the world of adult music came when I first heard the unmistakeable tones of Marc Bolan and Tyrannosaurus Rex back in the very early 1970’s – I was 12 at the time, an only son with two elder sisters, living in Bolton, Lancashire. Whilst my parents listened to Burt ... Read More...
	Paul Jerome Smith Fireworks & Rocktopia Consultant Well, I suppose I am the oldest member of the team, as I now enjoy travelling around using my Concessionary travel pass and Senior railcard! Travel is certainly one of my greatest pleasures, and reflects upon my interest in the environment (both built and natural) as a Geographer. Indeed, Geography ... Read More...
	Paul 'Woody' Woodward Fireworks & Rocktopia Rocktopia News Editor & Contributing Writer I am from Walsall in The Black Country area of the Midlands, UK. Being a big fan of live music, I love going to loads of gigs! I'm very lucky to live in an area which has quite a few venues of varying sizes, so I do get a good chance to see a lot of bands. A couple of my favourite venues are The ... Read More...
	Steve Price Fireworks & Rocktopia Rocktopia Podcast Host & Producer Along time stalwart of the music business, his first job upon leaving college was for a leading Guitar Amp manufacturer and on his first day at work he was taken to the Frankfurt Music Fair and ‘introduced’ to the social side of the music business (i.e. Hangovers!). Steve started his ... Read More...
	Sue Ashcroft Fireworks & Rocktopia Staff Writer I was born in the small seaside town of Gourock on the west coast of Scotland. Having been brought up in a household filled with music, it was soon apparent that I would develop the family passion for singing, playing instruments and listening to whatever music was available. In my formative years, ... Read More...
	Dave Bott Fireworks & Rocktopia Staff Writer My love of music started at an early age and I even convinced my dad to take me to see Sweet in concert as a 1974 birthday present. As my tastes developed so did my appreciation for bands who were recognised for rock music and all through secondary school I remember having the names of many bands ... Read More...
	Carl Buxton Fireworks & Rocktopia Staff Writer Bio awaited. Read More...
	Monica Castedo-Lopéz Fireworks & Rocktopia Staff Writer Bio awaited. Read More...
	Alan Holloway Fireworks & Rocktopia Staff Writer Much like Bruce Mee, my brother is to blame for me liking rock music, as his AC/DC fetish made me put away the ABBA albums and get mum to knit me an AC/DC logo jumper (seriously, it was legendary).  As he drifted away into Madonna and shite like that, I decided to stay with the rock and metal, ... Read More...
	Duncan Jamieson Fireworks & Rocktopia Staff Writer It was a pre-pubescent purchase of Rainbow’s ‘Down To Earth’ and a record collection left behind by an uncle who had gone off to Germany with his band that got me into rock music. Amongst the records were classic 70s albums like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Bad Company and 10CC as well as great ... Read More...
	Ian Johnson Fireworks & Rocktopia Staff Writer I’m really part of the Fireworks / Rocktopia team because of one man. His name: Ronnie James Dio. I first heard him sing (way back in 1976) the song ‘Man On A Silver Mountain’ and the rest - as they say - is history. Rock music became my life long passion because of RJD! Before this my ... Read More...
	Gary Marshall Fireworks & Rocktopia Staff Writer As I type this biography I’m looking down the barrel of my 50th Birthday, albeit I’m sure my love of music keeps me younger than those years. In my youth music was all around in the family home with my older siblings listening to the likes of The Carpenters, Simon & Garfunkel and Elton John ... Read More...
	Ray Paul Fireworks & Rocktopia Staff Writer I got my first taste of music as most do from the radio in the seventies, upon getting a record player around 7 years old. I really found my true love in music, when my father gave me a batch of singles and albums he no longer wanted, and I began to spin them every day. For every classic album ... Read More...
	Steve Swift Fireworks & Rocktopia Staff Writer Born in Nottingham and raised at Rock City, Steve has been a Manchester resident since 1986 when he relocated to attend University and the famous Hacienda where he flirted with Funk and has never really lost the love, hence his constant arguments that Purple's ‘Come Taste The Band’ needs ... Read More...
	Mike Ainscoe Fireworks & Rocktopia Contributing Writer My love of music can probably be traced back to the Dave Clark Five’s 1964 single “Bits And Pieces”. Being jigged about to the 2 minute antiphonal (google it) hit whilst a toddler was at the beginning of an ongoing journey of musical discovery. Inevitably, things led to Top Of The Pops and ... Read More...
	Michael Anthony Fireworks & Rocktopia Contributing Writer Michael Anthony is a Cardiff-based rock fan and writer. He is author of the recently published book ‘Words and Music: Excursions in the Art of Rock Fandom’. He also writes for Uber Rock and is a contributor to Prog Magazine. First musical love: Neil Diamond (‘Hot August Night’ – I still ... Read More...
	Mark Ashby Fireworks & Rocktopia Contributing Writer I first got into rock and metal in my early teens, when NWOBHM came onto the scene and bands like Motorhead, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest were appearing on 'Top Of The Pops'. Having trained as a journalist, I first started writing about rock music in 1985 – and haven't looked back since! It ... Read More...
	Bruce E.J. Atkinson Fireworks & Rocktopia Contributing Writer Bruce was raised in an area of Canada noted for its rich history and staunch loyalty to the British Crown. Atlantic Canada is fertile ground for culture, tradition and music and Bruce absorbed all of it, from childhood on, favouring the Arts over Sports. Immersed in these influences, the lad ... Read More...
	Mark Donnelly Fireworks & Rocktopia Contributing Writer I first got into rock music back in 1980 whilst at secondary school, in my hometown of Lincoln. The song that started my journey was Rainbow’s ‘Since You’ve Been Gone’. I subsequently got a cassette of the album ‘Down To Earth’ that I had on continuous rotation throughout that summer. I ... Read More...
	Lara Kisel Fireworks & Rocktopia Contributing Writer Bio awaited. Read More...
	Julien Marbaix Fireworks & Rocktopia Contributing Writer Bonjour!   Let me introduce myself with a slight French accent and the sun of south west of France. My name is Julien and I come from Toulouse, where I am doing academic research in chemistry. Originally coming from Paris where I grew up, I have the chance to have a big brother really into ... Read More...
	Tony Marshall Fireworks & Rocktopia Contributing Writer A guitarist, singer, father, otter sexer and all round bloke. Played in more bands than I care to remember, probably the most famous being Vaughn and one show for Tyketto. I like all sorts of genres of rock and am annoyingly opinionated about it. I'm rarely wrong (though often mistaken) so will ... Read More...
	Alexandra Mrozowska Fireworks & Rocktopia Contributing Writer Born in 1991 in Bydgoszcz, Poland, I discovered Rock music as early as at the age of 9. My first exposure to it, however, was when I was about five. It was when Queen released Freddie Mercury's post-mortem album 'Made In Heaven'. Recorded on a cheap cassette that was owned by my mother, this album ... Read More...
	Enrico Navella Fireworks & Rocktopia Contributing Writer My name is Enrico Navella, an Italian guy living in London who's devoted his own life to rock music since he was a little kid. I was on, behind, beside, in front of the stage. Been a singer, bouncer, bartender, tour manager, rock club PR, events & concerts coordinator, press office manager, ... Read More...
	Dawn Osborne Fireworks & Rocktopia Contributing Writer Dawn has been in love with rock n roll since she saw Sweet, Slade, T Rex and the Glitter band on Top of The Pops in the early seventies. Her father reignited that love when he gave her 7 inch vinyls of ‘You Really Got Me’ by The Kinks and a number of early Stones singles. Meeting boys on the ... Read More...
	Helen Bradley Owers Fireworks & Rocktopia Contributing Writer I was born in Cheltenham but moved to the New Forest when I was very young. I knew from an early age my musical taste was 'different' to other girls at school, while they were all listening to the Osmonds and David Cassidy I was listening to Cream, Zep and Purple, I just about managed to avoid ... Read More...
	Jack Press Fireworks & Rocktopia Contributing Writer I spent a lot of my childhood playing American sports video-games, particularly anything with the letters 'WWE' or 'NHL' slapped across the cover. Through these games I discovered several bands who triggered a series of events I'll never forget. Falling first in love with Three Days Grace, Rise ... Read More...
	Simon Ramsay Fireworks & Rocktopia Contributing Writer Call me a deviant, devotee or debauched geek, but if it ever becomes legally acceptable to marry my guitar I'll waltz that curvy beauty down the aisle quicker than you can scream "Holy Hendrix!" Standing opposite my gleaming Les Paul, I'll happily promise to love, honour and obey - before whisking ... Read More...
	Brent Rusche Fireworks & Rocktopia Contributing Writer One innocent day after school in 5th grade forever ossified my bond with music after hearing Iron Maiden's 'Live After Death' and Metallica's 'Master Of Puppets.' While the opener, 'Battery' from the latter album was a bit too much for my virgin ears, Maiden's 'Aces High' made an immediate impact ... Read More...
	Paul Sabin Fireworks & Rocktopia Contributing Writer I was born in Eastbourne, Sussex just as the 60's were drawing to a close. Music always featured heavily around the house although in my formative years it was my fathers tastes which flowed into this young lads ears in the shape of big bands, Wurlitzer organs and ABBA! The radio, and in particular ... Read More...
	Malcolm Smith Fireworks & Rocktopia Contributing Writer My musical journey started at a very early age with me hearing my parents playing the Soundtrack albums of old Doris Day films and the crooners of the day such as Frank Ifield and Cliff Richard. Later on my older brother introduced me to the delights of The Beatles and The Moody Blues, but that was ... Read More...
	Fabiana Spinelli Fireworks & Rocktopia Contributing Writer Born in 1983, pledged by Metallica, bewitched by Helloween and infected by Mercyful Fate's and Alice Cooper's smooth poison. A growing and unstoppable love and curiosity for all kind of Rock and Metal music, I love AOR and Thrash Metal, Hard Rock and Death, Progressive Rock and Stoner Rock: whoever ... Read More...
	Bernhard Kellerer Fireworks & Rocktopia Guardian of Rocktopia and Owner of Transistor Pictures Berny is a founding member of Rocktopia Ltd. He directed and edited all Firefest concert films released under the "Transistor Pictures" brand. Berny graduated from the London Film School and received his diploma with distinction in 2001. He founded iMagic Films the same year and StratoVox - a ... Read More...
	Central Electronic Brain Fireworks & Rocktopia Rocktopia Mainframe Released in 1981 by Sinclair Research, I am the follow-up to the Sinclair ZX80. My distinctive appearance was the work of industrial designer Rick Dickinson, whose work include case designs for the Sinclair QL, the Sinclair TV80 and the Gizmondo handheld console. Running at a clock rate of a ... Read More...