HE got his first guitar aged 11, and played his first gig a year later, but Ulverston musician David Mills has finally got round to releasing his debut solo album.

Released under the name David Arthur, ‘Making Legends’ has been described by its creator as ‘Muse crossed with Bryan Adams’.

“I’ve been working on it for a good few years,” he explained, “but we all have to pay the bills – I couldn’t work on it every day.”

As well as a day job in catering, David has been a jobbing musician for years, playing regularly with Bootleggers regulars Afterglow and Within Reason.

He has also had success as a songwriter, having received a nomination at the 2007 LA Music Awards, and even having one of his tracks recorded by Hong Kong star Nichols Tse.

“I’ve always had my own music available online but never a full album,” said David.

“I was helping my friends finish their album as a producer, and I saw how they were doing it on their own – from recording to actually putting it out there.”

Inspired by the DIY ethos and the power of the internet in getting an artist’s voice heard, David recorded ‘Making Legends’ in his own specially-created home studio.

He said: “It’s taken a long time to get the right quality – I’ve gone all out to get the production as professional as humanly possible.

“But first and foremost it’s all about the quality of the songs.”

David did all the instrumentation himself while recording, but the music on the album is designed for a full band and he has promised to weave a few of the tracks into his bands’ upcoming shows.

“Round here you have to be covers-based or you don’t work,” he said, “but I’ve got the guys learning a couple of tracks so hopefully people will get the chance to see them live.”

On the inspiration for the title, David said: “I was re-reading a book called ‘Illusions’ by Richard Bach.

“I was looking for a title for the album and somehow I knew it would be in there – and sure enough the phrase ‘making legends’ jumped out at me.”

The album is available to buy from www.davidarthurmakinglegends.com, and the title track can be heard on YouTube.