NME blogger Luke Lewis has unearthed some priceless audio files lifted from Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown's aborted music career. We all owe Luke a brief thank you note.

Fans of Brown may already know that what he really wanted to be when he grew up was a musician. Like his mum, in fact. After recording an album of childrens music (with an eye on the lucrative kids market, I wonder?), he created his own label called "Dalliance" and self-produced an album titled Perspective.

Brown then moved to LA to take his music to the next level, teaching at a Beverly Hills prep school to pay the bills while he recorded the self-titled album Dan Brown in 1993. This album included the songs "976 Love" (which would appear to be about using a sex chat-line to get off - well, he was away from home) and "If You Believe in Love" (think Elton, minus Bernie Taupin's lyrics). Miraculously he even recorded a follow-up album titled Angels & Demons that included the religious ballad "All I Believe", and featured similar artwork to his future bestseller (smells like a conspiracy!)

Of course, history tells us that Brown returned to England to teach and started knocking out books instead. Literature's gain was music's loss, as these oh-so-brief snippets reveal, but the real lesson here is, "If at first you don't succeed, give it up and try something else." While I've never read a Brown book, or watched the movies, I can honestly say I admire the man now. As you might say in Australia, he's a battler.

Well done, Dan! Please play us out...














APPEAL: If anyone can find the Dan Brown album covers, I need to see them. Badly. Thank you.