A GREENOCK singer-songwriter who has lived down in Dorset for more than 40 years is returning north of the border to promote his new album and single.

Marco Rossi, 62, was heavily involved in the Inverclyde music scene when he was a teenager playing in local bands.

He continued to follow his passion when he moved down south to study at the Dorset Institute of Higher Education.

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Marco still derives inspiration from his roots, and the first single from his forthcoming album, ‘What Was Lost’, looks back at his Greenock past with a fond and thoughtful eye.

He said: “I wrote the music when I was 18, while I was in my first band Apartment Six, but didn’t write the lyrics for it until I turned 60.

"I used some old 8mm camera footage of my family when I was growing up to make a video accompanying the single, which feels really sweet to me.

“The album is called Since Returning From The Moon. The title just randomly popped into my head, and it’s only now that I understand what it subjectively means.

“I started working on the album during the third lockdown and recorded it in my house. It provided a welcome opportunity go upstairs and basically do something which wasn’t watching the news or doom-scrolling online.

“It felt good to convert all those feelings of political rage and despair into something creative and positive. It was genuinely cathartic.”

Marco also recorded a collection of obscure 1960s sunshine pop covers for fun at the same time and these were released last year by the Fruits De Mer label as an 'accidental album' entitled The Sincerest Form Of Flattery, which has since sold out.

Growing up, Marco was inspired by “the artistic openness” of The Beatles as his brother was a huge fan.

After leaving school, a split-second decision changed Marco's life forever, and he moved to England to study.

He said: “I was meant to go to Glasgow Uni but I was a grade short in one of my A-levels, so I looked at various other places offering the same degree, which is why I ended up where I did.

“I went on to work as a sub-editor and copywriter for various companies and publications, unsurprisingly including music magazines.”

Marco currently plays in a couple of bands and says he is lucky to have a group of ultra-talented musicians contributing to the album including Simon Swarbrick, nephew of Fairport Convention legend Dave Swarbrick, and vibraphonist Roger Beaujolais, who is soon to be touring Japan with Fairground Attraction.

Marco is married to Julie and they have two children, Louis and Tom, and a granddaughter, Celeste and although he has been away for more than 40 years he says his heart lies in Greenock, and he still has family and friends in Inverclyde.

He is playing a gig alongside Billy Reeves, Scorpio Leisure and Quad 90 at the Glasgow University Debating Chamber on April 13.