New York, NY (Top40 Charts) There is no doubt that to make it as a singer songwriter it takes a lot of hard work and perseverance but for one British man it has taken 40 years to find recognition following a televised concert in his adopted home town of Dubrovnik in Croatia.
Many years ago Nemo James, turned his back on a successful career as a session guitarist in order to concentrate on songwriting and performing solo. The major music website nashvillemusicguide.com recently described his new album "The Minstrel" as "acoustical mastery of a genius music maker " but despite past involvement from some of the heads of major publishing companies like EMI and Acuff Rose, Nemo never quite got the break that everyone expected.
Barrie Tracie, a music critic and journalist who received a lifetime achievement award for services to journalism from NAPA said "I first saw Nemo play 25 years ago and was amazed at his talent as a musician and writer. It was always a mystery to me as to why he never made the big time.
After Nemo settled with his Croatian wife Federika in the idyllic coastal village of Mlini near Dubrovnik he was discovered playing in a local bar by Tilda Bogdanovič, the owner of the Dubrovnik PartneR, the biggest PR Company in Dubrovnik.
"It was so strange to see this world class musician and songwriter playing in such a tiny venue but the moment I heard him I just knew I had to help him become established. When people heard his new album I had no trouble getting support and Dubrovnik Television immediately signed him up for a one hour concert special."
The concert was held at the prestigious "Kaboga Palace" in Dubrovnik on December 3rd to a full house. One of the many musicians in the audience was Damir Milat, the managing director of the Dubrovnik Symphony orchestra who said:
"There is certainly something special about Nemo. I loved the theatrical side of his performance and I am happy to say we will be collaborating with him in the next summer concert season."
Nemo has also had a highly acclaimed autobiography published entitled "Just A Few Seconds." Guillermo Bettocchi , a United Nations high commissioner said "anyone reading his autobiography will be left in now doubt that here is a man that truly deserves to be heard."
His extraordinary career took him from some of the roughest London pubs to private concerts for The Aga Khan and Sheik Yamani; from Ronnie
Scotts jazz club to classical guitar concerts and to backing artists like Tom Jones,
Petula Clark and Cliff Richards. If that wasn't enough he also managed to find time to become a qualified squash coach and karate teacher.
Concert tours of the USA , the UK and Croatia are currently being negotiated. The concert "Finding Nemo James" can be seen at his website www.nemojames.com together with all of the songs from his latest album "The Minstrel."
