Lost youth, fractured memories of the 1970's, pylons across fields, abandoned airfields, endless childhood summers, dappled sunlight through leaves, forgotten England, the romance of the heavens well after closing time, countryside, mornings in May, ruins, faded innocence, post-war Britain, skies of all seasons, trudging coastlines, Super8, Festival of Britain 1951, memories made with a Polaroid Landcam, Henry Moore, overgrown follies, East Anglia, time spent amongst long summer grasses, kissing under motorway bridges, grey English rain filled skies, concrete precincts and tower blocks, suburbia, better days ahead, the sound of children playing faraway, old Ordnance Survey maps, lost airmen, Orford Ness, rustic charm, John Nash, playgrounds of the city, Avebury, icy mornings and clear blue skies, poppy day, a half remembered smile, 1960's artwork by Harry Wingfield, John Berry, Martin Aitchinson, C F Tunnicliffe, Ronald Lampitt, BST, municipal parks at dusk, love, infatuation and loss. Probably nothing more...

1997 - Buy second hand guitar and a few cheap effect pedals, learn a few basic chords

1998 - Listen to Flying Saucer Attack and make some 2-track tape recordings. Sketch out the sound of the skies.

1999 - Summer spent recording tracks to disc. 2000 - Rosin Recordings release the first July Skies 7" At The Height Of Summer.

2001 - 11:18pm on the 31st January 2001, John Peel realises a boys dream while fog drifts across the landscape outside. A year spent recording tracks for an album.

2002 - Debut album Dreaming Of Spires released by Rocket Girl. July Skies live debut at ICA London.

2003 - Recording the second album with a September gig at The Spitz, London…. A midweek summer day with light streaming through the large windows of the old hall at Hatchford Brook Junior School - record Broadcasts for Autumn Term at the beginning of the summer school holiday… September and the second album The English Cold emerges with guitar and bass contributions at its heart from Ben Holton and Rob Glover of epic45. Recording takes place in Wheaton Aston, Staffordshire....afternoons spent recording....evenings spent exploring the abandoned WWII airfield at RAF Wheaton Aston....watching dusk fall across the old runways, strange ruined concrete structures and the firing wall which has for some reason enigmatically drawn us back so many times since.....the freezing cold, sitting amongst the winter crops, observing the inky black skyline waiting for something to happen, mists rolling in, trying to connect with the lost airman of 1942.... returning to the studio, cold, motivated and somehow trying to capture the atmosphere of our explorations on the album.

2004 - Release of the Make Mine Music Flow CD compilation. A US college radio session on WZBC. A summer of two amazing gigs.....the first in a stone circle at Glen Howe Park in Sheffield.....a beautiful warm Saturday afternoon, clouds rolled by overhead, the music drifted across the valley, Hood turned up. The second gig, Aarhus in Denmark as part of the Pop Revo Festival....50 hours without sleep and straight into playing with epic45 on the first night of the tour. Many friends made in a lovely country, great bands - Paddington DC, The Happy Couple, The Radio Dept, Wood Sorrel, Pippas, Action Biker..... Ben, Rob and Matthew Kelly of epic45 play with July Skies on the final night of the Festival. Memories and friends that will never be forgotten. And then, dark days, nights and months…A lost Autumn. The death of John Peel.... Winter, and the release of the second July Skies album The English Cold which was ‘road tested’ at gigs supporting Piano Magic in Birmingham and London. The shows provided an opportunity to play as a full band with three guitars, bass , drums and pastoral samples (Matt epic45), our highlights were a full on Waiting To Land and the cascading new (but now lost) track Now She’s Gone…a further live event took place outside at Glen Howe Country Park once more hosted by the great Ian Boyle with epic45, Portal and Yellow6… Summer into Autumn as The Weather Clock is being completed….

2005 – December and organ part for See Britain By Train is recorded with Michael Oliver from the Stourbridge band Everett.

2006 – Summer and the July Skies collection of unreleased recordings Where The Days Go is released. Our favourite gig to date supporting the Sarah Records band Secret Shine at the Louisiana on a warm summer evening in Bristol UK – Stefan Matanovic behind a Live electronic drum kit and Rodney Chysler on Bass adds a little extra something that has yet to be bettered live.

2007 – Two gigs in Paris at the Meeting People Is Easy Festival…. Summer and find a 1951 BBC Children’s Hour annual in old junk shop in Norfolk – Poem inside written many years ago by a 17 year old girl forms inspiration for the track One Morning In May which is written over the following week. Lovely gig in Nottingham at a tea shop along with the fantastic Exploits of Elaine and epic45. Spend winter working on a new Avrocar album in a dimly lit loft.

2008 – 11th February 2008 The Weather Clock and the associated limited ep released on the MMM website. Album artwork created by Andersen M Studio featured in March edition of Creative Review. Support from Stuart Maconie on BBC6 and the Chiller Cabinet on DAB ChillFM. April sees the new Avrocar album Against the Dying of the Light released which includes July Skies recorded input. Work continues springtime and beyond on the next July Skies release A Day In The Country.