MUSICIAN Richard Mayes apologises for being tired.

But it's not the wild parties with his friends from M People which have kept him up all night.

Instead it's his seven-month-old son, Joel.

Richard, from Avonhead Close in Horwich, used to sell telephones for a living.

But last summer he took the plunge and started his own company RMM (UK) Ltd - managing bands, launching his own record label - JoelSound - and making music.

His most illustrious assignment to date was playing guitar with M People on the recording of their latest single, Dreaming. "Scary and exciting," is how Richard, 33, described his time with the pop stars.

What about meeting singer Heather?

She turned out to be "very quiet" and a drinker of herb tea.

"She doesn't live the rock 'n roll life, but the rest do," he revealed.

"She's got a great voice - she doesn't need auto tune (to make the voice sound good), put it that way."

The chart-topping band picked Richard after trying other guitarists because they wanted "a different vibe" to the music, he said.

"When you are a musician, you want to do it with the best.

"I like them a lot. "I know them as people first and rock stars second - I don't think of them as huge stars."

M People's way of working at the £400-an-hour studio was "very professional", according to Richard, who started playing guitar at the tender age of five.

Having worked as a semi-professional musician for a long time, the icing on the cake of this assignment was receiving their pay cheque from Coutts, the royal bankers.

Hearing the song on the radio is "cool", too, said Richard, who is married to a "very supportive" Bury Grammar School teacher.

"I like the tune, actually," he said about Dreaming.

"And every time it's played I get money," he added.

Last year, Richard supported Leo Sayer, playing guitar for Miss White, whom he manages.

Simply Red's saxophonist, Ian Kirkham, has also benefited from Richard's expertise when he did some consultancy work for him.

Then there's the Irish folk band he takes care of- "managing a band is like being a professional parent sometimes" - and Jackie Leonard - aka Lorraine Wickes from Eastenders - whom he co-manages. It's "early days" with Jackie, but a record company is interested in one of her tracks, called Talk Ridiculous, and she can really sing, said Richard.

He wouldn't dish any dirt about his star acts, anyway - being a band manager clearly involves being discrete.

Take the little girls' band he co-manages - featuring a couple of ten year olds, a nine year old and an 11 year old. Richard is nurturing this group for success in about two years' time. Until then, he can't say too much about them - apart from that they are "fantastic".

He's also talking to a couple of Brookside stars who want to move into music - but can't give their names.

And then there's a mention of potentially damaging pictures of M People having a good time - which are apparently not suitable for general publication...

"I'm very happy I made the change," said Richard about his career.

"I'm doing what I've always wanted to do."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.