Ant took up the guitar aged around 14 before graduated to playing bass in a couple of bands. He wanted to emulate the heroes who had inspired him, including Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Elvis, Marvin Gaye, The Who, The Beatles, Ted Kingsize Taylor, Derry Wilkie, The Undertakers, and of course, Rory Storm and The Hurricanes. He enjoyed his time jamming and playing in bands, though he was never serious about taking music up as a profession. He still strums on a guitar today, and the love of the music has never left him with him turning his attentions to writing books on the subject.

Ant has always been a lover of history and in particular the history of his home city Liverpool. In 2003 he researched his family history and discovered during the journey that he has deeply embedded Swedish and Irish roots. He often jokes that the Scandanavian connection may just explain those blond eyebrows of his?

He began researching the service of his grandfather who had been killed during WW2 after serving in Malta and Italy. Further research led to him unearthing details about two of his great grandfathers who had both died while serving I the Great War. Both men are buried around the Ypres area of Belgium. Ant went on to research and record the details of a number of men listed upon four different war memorials in his home city, before undertaking the project that would simply stun him with its outcome. He had noticed that the dead of both world wars were the ones who were remembered and recorded, and rightly so, yet there was very little that recalled, or allowed, the relatives of the survivors to tell their stories. So began the Liverpool and Merseyside Remembered website. It became an instant success as people flocked to have their relatives stories included.

The website also featured many stories and details associated to Merseyside and the two world wars. It grew so much that it had managed to have over half a million individual visitors in its first five years. Its popularity drew the interest of the media who contacted Ant to work upon a number of projects for Newspaper, radio, and TV. He took part in the research and filming for the Great War special edition of the Antiques Roadshow. Ant also worked alongside the BBC on the Liverpool episode of the TV programme 'Blitz Cities'. Local and national newspapers and radio have also called upon his expertise to help and advise them on aspects of Liverpool wartime history.

http://liverpoolremembrance.weebly.com/   

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/nostalgia/mums-babies-among-victims-liverpools-3373898

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/calls-tribute-forgotten-hero-who-12444659

‍Ant will tell you that it was all accidental how he came to become an author. It was towards the end of 2013 that he was approached by the publishing company 'Amberley' who had read and been impressed by his wartime website. They asked him if he would consider writing a book based upon a number of stories from the website. As Ant himself says "I almost fell over laughing and was convinced it was all a wind up. I mean, I was no author, I did not write books". However, Amberley were deadly serious and after a few discussions Ant took up the challenge. The result of all this was his first published book 'Merseyside At War' which was released in January of 2015. The book did pretty well for a first time effort, no record breaker, but decent local sales. It also installed the belief in Ant that he could write and he was ready for the next challenge. Of course, he could have now played the safe route and produced a number of wartime publications. However, he already knew where his next book lay and boldly went ahead with this project. In a somewhat dramatic swing, he went from a wartime subject to one of music.

His passion is his city and it was a brilliant local 1960s band that he now turned towards. No, it was not The Beatles that he decided to bring to print, but their friends and contemporaries. Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. A band that Ant had admired and looked up to for most of his life. Also a band that he believed had never been given the credit for what they did. His research began and he tracked down ex members and those who knew them. It became clear that the ex members were in agreement with Ant that so many false stories had been written about the band, and alongside them he worked to put the record straight. The book 'From A Storm To A Hurricane' was released by Amberley in June of 2016. The reaction to it was amazing and left Ant in total shock. It sold out within three months and has become highly acclaimed by fans and critics alike.

By the time of it's release, Ant was already working on what would become his third published book with Amberley, though we will speak about that in a short while for he had also started to dabble into the world of self publishing through kindle. It was more of an experiment for Ant who produced a few small books relating to local history and Everton football club. None of it was taken serious and it was never going to be a road that he was going to persue with a great interest. However, what he did do was write a self biography about himself living for over forty years with undiagnosed OCD titled 'My Life In A Bubble'. He wrote the book in just four days as it hurt him to do so. Of course, he never set it out or corrected errors, so it contained a few when he somewhat afraid submitted it to the kindle platform. He did explain that this was the only way that he could write the book and to excuse him for any mistakes. It proved very popular with people affected by, or from within, mental health. Ant was praised for being so open about his condition and what it has caused for him during his life. His story became so popular that three separate publishers contacted him and asked him whether he would consider expanding on it all and having the book published. As of yet Ant has refused all offers and is unsure if that is the direction he would like to go.

It was now heads down into the research for his third published book. Here, Ant decided to expand through chapters the stories of some of the better known Mersey Beat stars such as Geoff Nugent, Derry Wilkie, Ted Kingsize Taylor, and Johnny Guitar Byrne. He also brought alive the story of the first all-female rock band 'The Liverbirds, as well as giving mention to a number of artists from that era both known and forgotten, while looking at those who have kept the music going to this present day. Then, there is the chapter about the black musicians of Liverpool who inspired not only many of the Mersey Beat musicians, but also a couple of Beatles in John and Paul. Ant brought their importance, which has so often been overlooked, into the limelight and gave credit to a number of people who are widely forgotten, yet vastly substantial to the music story of Liverpool. 'The Beat Makers - The Unsung Heroes Of The Mersey Sound' was released in August 2017. It has been taken well by the reading public and has received a number of acclaimed reviews from around the world. 

Ant is continuing to write about music and is currently working on a number of projects. However, he is keeping them under wraps `for the time being, but rest assured that he will be having his work published again in the near future.

Liverpool Echo May Blitz 1941

Liverpool and Merseyside Remembered website

Liverpool Echo George Rodocanachi Appeal