After a summer spent working as a Butlins redcoat, Snowboy - real name Mark Cotgrove - returned home and spent his bonus on a set of congas.
He spent the next year trying to play them before starting lessons in Afro-Cuban and Brazilian percussion, keen to make the music that he heard in the clubs where he was a DJ.
Growing up in Essex in the 70s, Snowboy got his grounding in Latin music in some of the best jazz funk clubs in the country.
He says: “I was very fortunate to hear the music in some of the best clubs and got into DJing.
“I started wondering what all these interesting and exotic sounds were on my favourite records.
“I loved the music so much that I wanted to do it myself. Like all musicians it started as a hobby, you never think it will be a living, but it did.”
Having turned professional quite quickly he was soon backing artists like Lisa Stansfield and playing with King Salsa and the James Taylor Quartet.
Then he went out with his own band and, in a career spanning 20 years, has released 15 albums and won fans around the world with his fusion of Latin jazz and funk.
He is also listed in the Who’s Who of Latin Music.
“It’s incredible really,” he says. “The world has become such a small place now, information flies around very quickly. You don’t actually have to be born in the environment to play something. You just have to be dedicated and have an inquiring mind.”
His influences are from the old school of Latin jazz - Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria and salsa pianist Eddie Palmieri.
“Overall his music influences my band more than anyone really. It’s very joyous music but it’s also quite serious. That inspires me to make music like that. You want to know how he’s making this music, what’s the thinking behind it.”
Snowboy headlines at the launch of Fairfield’s new music night Stand! The Arnhem Gallery will host the monthly nights, filling a gap in south London's music scene.
He says he is honoured to be playing at the first night, adding: “It’s amazing that south London is finally going to have a place like this. It’s needed a club like this for a long, long time.”
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