HOW MARK STREET BECAME MARK PERCY
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As a young student/musician, I was ridiculed and bullied and tormented by my classmates and teenage colleagues for having the surname "Percy".
Percy, being my surname, led to appalling jibes about the male appendage, trains, and any other tools used to twist the knife.
I was convinced to change my name at an early juncture to a more street savvy moniker, commensurate with the youth culture of the day, being the mid-70's.
So I literally used the moniker, and came up with "Mark Street". Juliette Jarzabkowska, my wife from whom I am divorced, who grew up in Barnes, London, SW13, commented on my pragmatic street nature, having come from being a homeless person for four years, into accommodation, full-time employment, then marriage.
Mark Von Strobel, of Strobel & Sons, East Sheen, another local musician to Barnes, SW13, who went on to form "The Name", a band successful in Germany and Europe, said I was good at finding things, and very resourceful, agreed with Juliette, and the pair of them persuaded me into this stage surname.
Many years went by, and I became reacquainted with Michael Syddons Corby, commonly known as Mike Corby, legendary musician of the Babys fame. Upon getting to know Mike more thoroughly, from spending more time with him, I became more impressed with his serious practice regime at the keyboards, and his continuing advancement as a keyboardist, and a writer, and lyricist, and also as a guitarist, capable of the most phenomenal chord stretches, producing astounding voicings, and emotions in his guitar playing, beyond what normal guitarists can do. Michael Corby, is vastly intelligent, and an enormously capable musical, military and political strategist, and an astounding planner and architect of projects and occurrences. Upon his explanations, it dawned on me the vastness of his planning and designs, and profound thinking, from his early formative years, stretching all the way through his career. I began to take his recommendations seriously.
Michael convinced me, that my real name, Percy, was an honorable name, of the Northumberland Percy stock, of which I am, my father being directly descended, but without the Percy inherited wealth.
As with all large families, there is a lot of politics, and some of the family fare less well than other sides of the family. In layman's terms, some of the family get everything, while other members get nothing at all, but are compelled to educate themselves regardless.
Michael convinced me that I should abandon the moniker of Mark Street, under which I had become known as a bass player/lead vocalist, and convert back to my birthright name of Mark Percy.
I didn't realise, that by doing so, that people knowing me as Mark Street, would now not be able to find me, having literally disappeared as Mark Street, converting back to my proper name.
As this change progressed, many contacts disappeared from around the world, due to change of name and phone numbers and addresses. It took some time to realise that I should point this out on the web, so people could find me again from my Mark Street days.
I hope to find many long lost friends who knew me as Mark Street, who will now make the connection and contact me.
Love mark
Please contact: markpercy101@btinternet.com