About Rob

Born in Southampton, England in February 1979, Rob started learning piano at 4, picked up clarinet, and then found his true calling on bass guitar — joining two teammates' band from his local under-10s football team. The set of three songs grew from there, and Rob soon realised he was more at home in the centre stage than in centre midfield.

His screen career began even earlier. From the age of 3 or 4, Rob was working with household names Ronnie Corbett and Noel Edmonds, later appearing in BBC productions including Grange Hill and Vanity Fair. He also took on a theatre role in Pinkerton at the Mayflower Theatre Southampton and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, along with acting roles in The Bill and The Ruth Rendell Mysteries.

By 9, he was playing in a Jimi Hendrix cover band called The Syndicate — they won a talent competition — and occasionally sitting in with his parents Bob and Honey, touring musicians who'd backed the bands at prestigious venues like Top Rank Ballrooms and Lakeside, sharing the stage with huge artists such as Roy Orbison, Bruce Forsyth, Frankie Valli, Ken Dodd, and American vocal group The Fantastics.

Growing up in the Southampton music scene meant Rob was regularly called up to play alongside local legends — Bob Pearce, Pete Harris, Bob Ames, Bruce Roberts who'd played with Ben E King, Don Shinn, and Roger Pope, the acclaimed session drummer who'd toured with Elton John, Kiki Dee, Rod Stewart and Otis Redding. For a young musician, sharing stages with players of that calibre was a masterclass every single time.

At 14 Rob joined rock covers band Scapegoat, playing student bars and festivals, and at 17 he landed a tour with Canadian Celtic punk band The Stoaters, who'd enjoyed chart success back home. "It was a dream — I quit my job at Toys R Us. We did a 3-month tour across Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark."

After returning from touring, Rob joined his father Bob in Gran Canaria and formed The Bob Gorman Band with Dutch drummer Etienne van Sas. A second Stoaters tour took him to Norway, where he joined 70s/80s glam rock band The Glamour Boyz and original pop/rock band Vein. Vein's debut EP "Another Way" was recorded at West Audio Studios in Stavanger, released in 2003, and picked up global airplay.

After six years in Norway, Rob returned to Gran Canaria to front Purple Haze with Australian guitar legend Lee Spence and Etienne van Sas, becoming the resident band at Hard Rock Cafe for nearly four years. Rob continues to play with Purple Haze, alongside solo shows and various band line ups across Gran Canaria's finest venues. He is also the founder of show-design.co, bringing his years of production and stage experience to the world of show production, design and creative services.

Beyond performing, Rob has worked extensively behind the scenes — as a stage technician for NWOBHM legends Tokyo Blade, bass virtuoso Stanley Clarke, and artists including Chas & Dave, and as a studio technician for internationally acclaimed composer, musician and producer Bjørn WW Jørgensen alongside dance production maestros Braaheim in Norway.

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