Music turns life around (From Bicester Advertiser)

Music turns life around

6:00pm Thursday 26th January 2012 in Bicester

When Peter Sanford was left disabled after a fall at the pub he ran, his life spiralled downwards.

In a split second in 2009, Mr Sanford, 44, went from a criminal-chasing landlord to facing the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

Then, as his physical health deteriorated, so did his mental health and Mr Sanford battled depression and eventually had a nervous breakdown.

When he hit rock bottom, Mr Sanford, who used to run the now-closed George and Dragon, in Fritwell, near Bicester, decided to go back to the music career he had given up to run the pub, and used his experiences to write music and song lyrics.

His CD, Beautiful Dream, has sold about 5,000 copies since its release on January 2.

The venture has also opened doors for Mr Sanford. Next month he is due to fly to Los Angeles to promote the CD in the US after it was played on the radio, and in the summer he will be recording with an artist in Nigeria.

Mr Sanford said: “It has been good to have something to take my mind away from what happened. I haven’t found becoming disabled very easy.

“It gave me a route out of this dreadful experience.”

In 2007, Mr Sanford appeared in the Oxford Mail after chasing petrol station robbers up the M40 after a raid at Bayards Green.

Copies of Beautiful Dream are available online at iTunes and Amazon, or Mr Sanford’s website, devoted2talent.com