Former drummer with rock band, Razorlight, Andy Burrows, is now writing soundtracks for films, playing drums for Tom Odell, working with Ricky Gervais and recording his own solo albums.

His latest project was a collaboration with writer Matt Haig on an album called Reasons To Stay Alive. Andy will be stopping off in Marlborough this week to meet his fans and play a couple of songs from the album at CafeThirty8 in Hughenden Yard.

The musicians says that he was coming to the end of a world tour with Tom Odell so he was thinking about doing a solo project.

He had been following Matt Haig on Twitter and wanted to do something personal, but not just looking inside to find angst or drama but still a project with an angle.

Andy admits that he is not a great reader, apart from the BFG, but he did actually read Matt's book, as well as look at the pictures.

The musician said: "Matt says it as he feels it, but in a positive way. I thought him fascinating, irritating and brilliant so I direct messaged him on Twitter about working together and he was keen.''

The first idea was to create some sort of Hansel and Gretel-style musical or animation so they started on a couple of songs. Andy was about to take off for a family holiday in Los Angeles, when Matt suggested a writing project, an album where he wrote the lyrics and Andy the music.

"There was this little room with a piano in the house we were staying in, and each night for a week, after the girls were in bed I worked on music for his lyrics,'' said Andy.

Barcelona, the single from the album, is out now and Andy says is getting a lot of love from BBC Radio 2, and the album, Reasons To Stay Alive is out tomorrow.

The musician and the writer are now working on ways to make the album into a theatrical project either a musical or a play.

Andy says that for a musician growing up with dreams of making it big in the music industry, being a part of rock band such as Razorlight really was overwhelming, a dreamlike few years. Supporting bands such as The Rolling Stones, Queen and The Who, playing all the big festivals such as Reading, The Big Weekend and T in the Park and touring the world, was an experience that Andy says he is incredibly grateful for, but it is not always easy having that amount of fame.

"Be careful of what you wish for,'' said Andy. "It was not an easy place for me, and I knew it was not going to be forever. Some bands make it by being respectful of each other but we were nincompoops, a bit dysfunctional, but the opportunities it gave me were incredible.''

One of those opportunities came from a chance meeting with Ricky Gervais on the Jonathan Ross Show when Razorlight were playing.

"It was a few years later and my family and I had just returned from New York and were staying in Hampstead. I was walking up the street and met Ricky who asked me how I was, so I just waffled at him about my new CD. He was about to reinstate David Brent and wanted to pull a band together. I had been recommended to him by Chris Martin,'' he said.

Andy ended up writing the music for the film David Brent: Life On The Road and making his debut as an actor playing the part of the drummer in the movie.

"I have zero aspiration to become an actor but I have a brilliant relationship with Ricky, and I have just finished working on his Netflix project, After Life, which will be on TV in March,'' said Andy.

The drummer has also worked on music for films such as Friends With Benefits, Arthur with Mark Ronson and the BAFTA nominated The Showman And The Snowdog.

"It is a fascinating process, we saw it as it was being drawn. It was magical,''said Andy.

Andy will be at Sound Knowledge on Saturday, February 2 at 6.30pm to meet fans and sign copies of the album. For more details call 01672 511106 or visit https://www.facebook.com/SoundKnowledgeMarlborough/ - Flicky Harrison