Welcome to my JustGiving page for Rosebud.  In short, Rosebud is an album of original material I did last year to raise some money for two charities, Royal Marines Charity and Balloons. Any donations would be much appreciated by me and these two amazing charities. This is the Balloons page. 

The long version below  comes from the Plymouth Herald. Fame at last!

RICHARD COBB
January is the time for making New Year’s resolutions but how many of those are actually ever followed through?
One resolution, made at the beginning of last year, has resulted in a rather wonderful album called Rosebud. Its creator is Richard Cobb, full-time lawyer and part-time musician:
“Last Christmas we did that family thing of saying that the following year we’d all make handmade gifts for each other,” says Richard, “and it got me thinking that one thing I actually could do – something I’d been meaning to get together for years – was an album of my best songs and collaborations…”
After what he calls a voyage of “discovery, nostalgia and glorious self-indulgence”, the album was completed within twelve months, in time to give as a present to family and friends for Christmas 2017.
But the songs deserve a wider audience and are also generally available on Soundcloud under COBSTER.
Having started out in school bands at Plymouth College in the early eighties, Richard never stopped writing and playing guitar, either in his bedroom or on stage in a variety of bands, most recently originals ensemble Racket Science. So he had plenty of material to choose from.
However the record process was a completely new experience:
“I set up a home studio and taught myself Logic Pro which was quite a challenge,” he confesses. “I was very fortunate in that Simon Heyworth, who worked on Tubular Bells and a host of other seminal recordings, lives in the same village as me. I persuaded him to help with the mastering.”
The finished product, packaged with artwork courtesy of a top graphic designer Alex ……. also a Chagford resident, is a triumphant collection presented in a variety of genres from bluesy/rock and 80s pop to belting ballads and country folk.
“To my mind the best song on the album is Tomorrow which was written in Nashville,” says Richard.
“Years ago, I was staying there in a B&B and the lady who ran it happened to be an amazing vocalist from New York. She helped me out by sending me to meet legendary country songwriter John Ims who lived not far away and had written a number of hit country songs. I went to his house in the hills and he taught me some of the tips of the trade. He showed me how to go from cliché and one dimensional song-writing to widen the lense…”
The lesson obviously resonated as the songs on Rosebud are rounded and well-crafted, with articulate, poignant lyrics.
A couple of tracks deal with a life-changing moment when Richard’s dad died suddenly and Richard hopes that anyone acquiring the album might donate to the charity Balloons who do amazing work with bereaved kids. He also supports the Royal Marines Charity, as a result of one of his mates being killed in action.
“If you can, throw some pennies at either charity via my just-giving pages,” he says. “I didn’t run a marathon but it sure feels like it!”