I was born in Canterbury, Kent, UK, on 4th April 1960, son of Policeman, Desmond Ladd. We moved around Kent frequently during my youth. My main interest at this time was cricket. My Mother Ann, sadly died in 1990. My sister Jane is a senior lecturer at a major University.

For over twenty years I worked as a chef. I started my "cheffing" life as an apprentice chef at Buckingham Palace, London, in 1977, where I had some very exiting times!! I remained in catering for about 20 years.

In 1983 I married Kim and in 1985 we had our first child, Naomi. My son Jonathan was born in 1988. We moved to Doncaster, South Yorkshire in 1989. I also have a grandson, Cameron. Kim and I are now divorced and I am now living with my partner, Sarah. We have a beautiful baby son, Archie born on 10th November 2005.  And on 30th March 2007, Sarah gave birth to our second child, a lovely daughter Ann Megan.

I started to learn the piano at 11, but didn't start composing until I was 14. My first piece was, 'Lilacs in the Springtime' (cheesy title I know). I often wrote very quickly, and by the time I was 32 I had written 6 Symphonies, 6 String Quartets, 6 Piano Sonatas and many more. However, I did not believe that I had yet achieved maturity as a Composer, so I destroyed all of them in 1992. After which I studied at Doncaster College, under the careful supervision of Andrew Clark.

This previous , first style was very modern and avant-garde, but now I have adopted a more lyrical approach, as I believe that music should be for all and not just for a chosen few. This does not mean that my music is simplistic. My music can, at times, indeed be quite complex and difficult to play. Nevertheless, it is usually accessible, as it is written with an audience in mind. It is really unimportant how virtuosic a piece is, only the quality of the music actually matters. Some of the best pieces are very simple.

In November 2000, a concert was given in York to introduce my music to the public. Arranged by the Flautist Richard Ingamells. Other performers in this concert were Mark Gaultier, Guitar, Nick McNamara, Piano and the Clover String Quartet. This was well received by the audience, as was the second performance of one of the pieces in the same concert, (Flute and Guitar Sonata), this time given in Doncaster, U.K. for the Sprotbrough Music Society. Richard is a very accomplished musician, but for two years now he has lived in New Zealand.

My main musical tastes through the years have been that of the twentieth century, notably Stravinsky, Messiaen, Shostakovich and Hindemith, but my main source of inspiration is from British music, namely that of Britten, Tippett, Vaughan Williams etc. And not forgetting the Germanic influences: J.S.Bach, Mahler, Bruckner and Richard Strauss.