Shropshire music man Alex is a star attraction

After leaving the army in 1998, the sound and stage expert landed a job at Shifnal Guitars – now J Davey Custom Guitars – where he encountered Dave Hill at a time when he was looking for a new roadie.

It was a job ideally suited to the Telford-based 39-year-old, and he took the first steps on the road in a career which has led him to brushes with superstars of the stage and screen.

"I got a call from Dave's manager Len Tucker, who was Suzi Quattro's husband. He said, 'Do you know how to tune a guitar? Do you know how to use a wireless? You've got the job'. That was my interview, and that was it, I was off on tour with Slade.

"When you've Slade, Suzi Quattro and Leo Sayer all sitting reminiscing about when they were megastars in the hotel bar, all the caricatures you could imagine are really there.

"It's more glass of rosé and peanuts than JD and cocaine, but considering most are in their sixties, they still have a bit of rock & roll in them."

Through networking with his fellow roadies, Alex, whose nickname in the industry is 'Bomber', found himself landing gigs with pop star Peter Andre, indie outfit The Futureheads and rock icons the Foo Fighters.

Among his highlights are playing Foos singer Dave Grohl's guitar during a soundcheck in the 80,000-seat Wembley stadium, and taking The Futureheads through a session at the BBC's legendary Maida Vale studios.

"You do see some amazing places which ordinary people will never get to see. I've done everything from a punk night at the Haygate in Wellington to headlining a show at Sydney Opera House with the Waterboys in 2012," Alex added.

"I've been to Calcutta in India to do a show in the mountains, been to places in Russia people don't know exist.

"Smokie are massive in Russia. People here think of Living Next Door to Alice, but in Scandinavia, Russia, India and South Korea they are massive. You get on a plane in England and walk through an airport as an ordinary bloke, but get off in Russia and there's fleets of limousines, television cameras and hoards of fans.

"They played at the Kremlin twice for Vladimir Putin as he's a big fan. Being ushered through the kitchens of the Kremlin by enormous security blokes with guns is a mad experience."

He continued: "Dave Grohl is as nice as he comes across on the telly – he is a genuinely lovely bloke. He will spend all the time in the world with you. Playing Wembley with the Foos in 2008 was the pinnacle of my career.

"You imagine some artists being difficult, and they can be, but if they are paying people very well to do a job they see it as their right to have what they want, which isn't unreasonable.

"I did have a situation where the main guy in one band wanted to control what the rest ate, and briefed me that although they were entitled to chocolate and crisps on the rider, he wanted me to remove it all before they arrived as he didn't want them getting fat on tour.

"Madonna was headlining Radio 1's big weekend, and there was another 20 to 30 bands in a big compound, but she insisted on her own compound with Winnebagos, six-foot fences and bouncers everywhere.

"She was flying in, and her helipad was 30 yards from the compound gate. They shut the whole site down, and they had three Mercedes limousines and two 4x4s for her security to take her 30 yards from her helicopter to her Winnebago."

He added: "You hear stories about strange requests – the famous one is Van Halen wanting a big bowl of M&Ms with the brown ones removed – but the reason he did it was to ensure attention to detail.

"If there were brown M&Ms in the bowl he could be pretty certain nobody had read the rider and that would affect the technical side of the show."

Alex also went on tour with reality TV star Pater Andre, who was often accompanied by his then-wife Katie Price, better known as glamour model Jordan.

"Peter Andre's a lovely fella," said Alex. "The first gig I did with him was a small show in Wales as a warm-up for the rest of the tour.

"Afterwards he paid for an Indian restaurant to stay open late and bought us all a curry. I've never had that from any other artist. We were all in it together, and had a great tour.

"A lot is spoken badly of Katie, but in my experience she was as sound as a pound.

"There was a big football match backstage between the crew from Peter Andre and Westlife. The lads tried to get her to play. She asked me to look after Harvey, their son, and went to have a game of footie with the lads."

He added: "The one great thing about what we do is the characters in the business.

"Times have moved on and the music industry has moved with it to be more business oriented, but there's still that little edge of rock & roll."

Now he and his business partner Trevor Wilkins – another roadie who has been on the road with big names such as psychedelic rock outfit King Crimson – have launched their own business, Stage and Studio Services in Jackfield, and online at www.stageandstudioservices.co.uk, which provided the services for Fairport Convention at a recent gig in Broseley.

"My wife Jenny is expecting our first child in July, and I know so many roadies who never see their families as they're away so much, and I don't want that.

"If somebody said do you want to do Madison Square Garden for Elton John, or whatever, you're not going to turn it down as it's in the blood.

"My wife knows that one day I may get a call to do a tour I really want to do, and have her blessing for that."