Pete Bell is a good name, isn’t it? A sturdy name you can hang your hat on. And the man himself plays the kind of music you can depend on, too – especially if you like melodic guitar pop that’s got bags of heart.

Pete Bell – originally from a small village on the Northumberland coast, now living in North Tyneside – has played in plenty of bands: bands playing original stuff and bands doing covers. Since the 1990s, however, he’s been writing his own stuff but had never done much with it. Not until, that is, he learned the ins-and-outs of home recording and got to work. And I’m glad he did because his album ‘Sands of Time’ is chockfull of great songs. They range from the exuberant (‘Dance All Night With You’ with its driving, Motown/Northern Soul beat) to the wistful (‘I Want You Here Today’, a beautifully reflective ballad). The songs are arranged around a loose theme concerning relationships, taking in both time passing and a sense of loss, and Bell wrings every ounce of emotion out of them. DP Seek: facebook.com/petebellmusic