The British performer Richard Conway-Jones is more than just another chap lugging a guitar case around. Typical of the concept of the modern musician as a kind of Renaissance man, Conway-Jones can write poetry, set it to music, play it on the guitar, create artwork for the recording, make a film about the entire process, and then scoot off to do some volunteer work for the National Trust. His best-known recording is with his band the Marilyn Decade, a self-titled CD that was released in 1996 on the Freek label. Singer Penelope Swales put music to his poem "Lionheart" for her Monkey Comfort album. Conway-Jones received a bachelor with honors degree in filmmaking, then opted to become a full-time professional artist. His first important exhibitions were held in London in the late '80s. While pursuing this career, he traveled extensively in the Far East and became involved not only in poetry and music but fashion design. His lyrics were not an aspect of the Marilyn Decade, which presented his concepts of instrumental music, inspiring this comment from the French magazine Octopus: "Music for traveling in a car that has run out of petrol." ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide