Collaborations

Cause For Alarm (I)  - (1977-78)

In the hot summer of 1976,  Ralph was given special project leave from Rose Bruford College in order to appear as Caiaphas in a European Youth tour of Jesus Christ Superstar,  (a role he would later reprise in London).    Shortly after he graduated, Ralph would join forces with Graham Tuffery, the lead guitarist from the tour and Phil Robins, a local bassist to form Cause For Alarm  - a Rock/Punk crossover band.  

Cause For Alarm (II) - (1978-1980)

While Cause For Alarm (I) was comparatively short lived, the second incarnation was a much more agressive beast.  

They even manageed to get a gig behind the proverbial chicken wire where the audience was free to throw bottles at them.

Roger Mee had his own song,  and Ralph's Rod The Ferret character was clealy a musical variation on the comedian. 

On occasion they also also performed as the house band for the "Causes Theatre Company" 

When Ralph created "Roger (A Busker)"  for the Causes Theatre Company,  it was Cause For Alarm Mark II that provided the music.    

The Delegation (1980-1984)

Although only together for a comparatively short period, the band were a unique collaboration.   The core of Andy Snelling (bass), Chris Twigg (lead guitar) and Ralph (rhythm guitar and vocals) appear together in the very rare "In View" .  The footage was recorded by local documentary film maker "Pete the Wiz" and features seminal recordings of "The Journeyman"  and "Starfighters Hit Zero"

During this period,  Ralph received some major music company interest in his songwriting, but their perceptions for his work and career path did not correspond with his own.  

(Master Arts Practitioner - Jeff Merrifield)

Jeff Merrifield and Ken Campbell - The Magicians

It was perhaps invitable that Ralph's adventurous and sometmes deviant approach to the arts would bring him into contact with the legendary Ken Campbell, a man who didn't so much challenge theatrical conventions as tear them down and turn their base metal into gold,   Jeff Merrifield, Ken's long time friend and artistic collaborator was a powerful and innovative force based in the Hermitage in Brentwood when he and Ralph met and worked together as directors on the "Brentwood Spectacular" in the 1990s.

Ralph had found a kindred spirit and when Jeff introduced him to Ken Campbell, he would become party to a special of type of alchemy that would have a profound impact on his future direction.  These experimental and largely improvised sessions confirmed his long held belief that true art exists beyond any barriers or classifications society uses to explain or justify it.  Ken also turned Ralph back to the concepts of  puppetry, and ventriloquism, their deeper connections to our subconscious and and the different ways in which they may be used.    When Ken and more recently Jeff passed, the world lost some magic.   Their influence on Ralph would gain even more clarity when after several decades, he met up with a face from the past.  His name is Edsel Kragg.   

Edsel Kragg, (the man in the mask), at the Quay Theatre, Sudbury, 2012

(The Father of "Highwire Ventriloquism")

Edsel also had his own connection to Ken Campbell and  had, in part, as a consequence,  forged his own creative path and style. 

One day, holding two tickets George Abaris, encouraged Ralph to  attend an alternative comedy show,  featuring an individual covered entirely in cardboard boxes.  

It was something of a surprise, when Ralph discovered the man inside the packages was an old friend,  That night a new direction for both of them began... one that continues ...

It is perhaps fitting that Edsel Kragg should appear as one of the masked protesters in the film "V (for Vendetta).    If people find Ralph's blend of drama, comedy and music an acquired taste, Edsel's performance art takes eccentricity to new heights.  Never seen in public without a disguise and appearing under a whole series of nom de plumes his is one of the strangest stage acts anyone will ever witness.   Johnny Cashbox sometimes occupies the stage with him, and his antics are legendary.   On one occasion,  Edsel asked Johnny to appear in a tuxedo with bow tie in order to accompany a version of "Always My Mind".     When Edsel appeared behind a small lecturn on the stage of the Quay Theatre in Sudbury, he was wearing the largest tuxedo anyone had seen and wearing a Jar Jar Binks mask.   Just as Johnny was playing the introduction to the song, Edsel stopped him, apologised to the audience and asked them if they would mind if he took his jacket off as he was feeling rather hot under the stage lights.  Upon removing his jacket he moved centre stage and the audience could see that he was wearing full diving tanks and flippers on his feet.   This wonderful comic treasure conceives and edits most the videos for the JohnnyCashbox channel. 

We cannot leave this entry without breifly mentioning the performance art for which he most known.

"Highwire Ventriloquism"  employs a complex system of tricks through which the unreal appears real, but,  Just as a magician does not reveal his tricks,  so the Highwire Ventriloquist can be excused for not revealing his, either.

Edsel created the concept,  but Ralph is probably it's best known exponent,  There is a reason for this:

Private Practitioner

The private practitioner keeps their true identity from public view.  As the paragraph above clearly demonstrates, Edsel's identity is not known or seen, by anyone.  The fact is it is only the consistency of his voice and manner of delivery, behind the various masks and other disguises, that gives Edsel Kragg a public identity.    He uses that anonymity in his act to comic advantage. When the show is over, he slides back into the shadows.   He also leaves a very small footprint in the media.

Whilst he is the architect of much of Ralph's audio-visual output, he, himself,  remains enigmatic.

Public Practitioner

In contrast to the private practitioner,  the public practitioner is often a well know character or face.  How then, can  they create the illusion of another reality when their identity is known?   It is actually less of a paradox than it first seems.

Let us take Johnny Cashbox, as an example.   Johnny, is not presented as unreal by Ralph when he appears in public on audio, on film, or in printed format.  Rather, his character is consistently presented as real throughout the whole time he is in public view.  He has an adventurous, complex and stimulating back story, and a certain charm despite his shortfalls,  He has strong links with the sci-fi community and this encourages his audience to enter willingly into the alternative reality that his world/s.    Once in that world, they are happy to experience it for themselves and contribute to it.

If Edsel and Ralph were magicians,  Edsel would perform the greatest of disappearing acts and then vanish into the night, totally,  while Ralph would saw the beautiful lady in half, in full view of the audience, out her back together and would both take a bow,

U.Uka  Sri Lankan poet and lyricist

In 2019, Ralph began an occasional songwriting collaboration with U.Ukwa.   

U's beautiful and romantic poetry has a unique quality that blends two cultures together.  The melodies and arrangements Ralph creates to accompany these wonderful words generally differ in style from the music created for Johnny Cashbox, although they are performed by him.  Many songs, such as, "Unknown You", "Wisdom" and "Love Never Dies" explore love and relationships, but some like "Lamentation"  have a ecological, humanitarian or other social perspective.    Several of the songs, including all of those named above are to be found on the "JohnnyCashbox" youtube channel.  Each feature engaging and expressive videos, conceived and edited by Ralph's friend and long term co-conspirator Edsel Kragg. 

The collaboration of U.Ukwa and Ralph received an injection of energy in January 2026 when Merol Sharp covered   "The Power of Love" as her debut recording and it was presented on the Johnny Cashbox youtube channel.  More information on Merol Sharp below, 

Red Arizona

A character named Red Arizona first appears, briefly, in "Whose Is Leonard Jones?", where he offers assistance, enabling Leonard to produce a rap record that improves the future of the local day centre.

Shortly before the pandemic,  Ralph was approached to write  and perform some songs, in role, for a  folk/blues based drama being created by a professional East Anglia based theatre company.  Sadly,  due to the restrictions placed on live performance, and the attendant financial challenges at the time, it was not possibly to stage the production,

Towards the end of 2023,  Ralph was approached separately, to explore the project  on his own, writing both the stage play and the songs that will form part of the narrative.    This is a format that was  so successful with "Whose Is Leonard Jones?"

As of February 2026, no further funding has been made availbable, and the project remains in draft form.   Nonetheless Red Arizona will continue to  appear as a singer and in videos at the appropriate moment.  As with all of Ralph's occasional characters,  absence from the public arena doesn't mean their demise, rather they are simply waiting for the next entrance.

Left .... Invisible Man ... or Red Arizona?

Carole Morse as Claudia

Colchester Roman Circus Visitor Centre

Colchester's Roman Circus is an ancient Roman sports arena : a chariot racing track with tiered seating, for over 8000 people.  It was probably constructed on the orders of the Emperor, Hadrian, who visited Britain in the year 122 CE.  

From 1971 to 2023 Philip Crummy was the principal Archaeologist of the trust, (CAT). and lead the team that discovered the circus.   The site remains the home base of the current CAT team that continue to make incredible discoveries.

The Visitor Centre, located ar Roman Circus Walk, Colchester, features a beautiful operational reconstruction of a Roman chariot, a highly detailed model of the city as it was rebuilt after the great fire, and a equally intricate model of the Roman circus as it would have functioned during the period of the races themselves.  The centre houses photographic and written evidence of the role the circus played as an institution in everyday life.  The building also houses a variety of artefacts.

Carole has been a student of Roman history all her life, and her knowledge deep and extensive.  In 2025, she became a volunteer at the Centre bringing history to life not just with words but with her fabulous costumes and appearances as Claudia.   Under the direction of Samantha Rowley, the team of volunteers make a visit to the Roman Circus Centre a really informative and engaging experience,

Why is this a collaboration ?   -  Well,  as many visitors to Colchester have discovered,  the Emperor Claudius appears at various events on the Calendar.... he just happens to look suspiciously like someone we might know,

Rose Bruford College - The Graduation Class of 1977 - 50th Anniversary Reunion

(Picture by 1977 alumnus David Bale)

The academic year 2024/25 marked the 50th Aniversary of the arrival at Rose Bruford College of forty talented young people who would embark on a three year acting and teaching course that would, in one form or another, help to shape the rest of their lives.  This cohort would have one additional element to it,  that the fresh faced students were not aware of; they would be the last class to complete the original course created by Rose Bruford in the 1950s. In 1976, new degree courses were offered and the these have increased in number and scope over the intervening years.  The Graduation  Class of 1977 holds a very significant place in this history of the College and has inspired the Legacy Project, a series of interviews that aims to document the feelings, memories and thoughts of this unique group.  The Legacy Project should provide a wealth of information that will help to inform the studies not only of Rose Bruford students, but other academic institutions, drama schools, theatre practitioners and individuals.  1977 Class Alumni,  Penny O'Connor, Martin Ransley, Kay Stonham, and College Librarian Frank Trew worked tirelessly to bring the Legacy Project to fruition and results are going to assist generations.    On Saturday 14th June, 2025 members of Graduation Class of 1977 came together for a special celebratory luncheon and preview of the interviews.   

A World War II Fairy Tale - The Making of Michael Mann's 

"The Keep"

When in the early 1980's Ralph took a short break to visit a close friend in Rhyl, he had no idea that this would result in his involvement in one of the great lost masterpieces of modern horror Michael Mann's the Keep.

In 2016 Ralph was contacted by Stewart Buck,  a highly-gifted documentary film-maker and interviewed about his role as a Wehrmacht soldier for a project that would encompass every aspect of this extraordinary movie.   Over a hundred interviews were conducted with participants from every aspect of film-making.   On 15th November 2025,  the documentary was released as part of a wonderful boxed-set including film, poster, booklet, the documentary and various images of the cast and locations from the movie.   Additionally there is a separate release of the documentary interviews that relate to one specific aspect of filming -  "Into the Darkness" : On Location in North Wales - Filming the Keep (2025).  At the time of making of "The Keep",  Ralph wrote a song documenting his feelings and the sensations of filming.  A version of "A Song To Keep" performed by Ralph accompanies the end credits.     The incredible depth and scope of this project and the phenomenal efforts of Stewart Buck and his team have created a remarkable historical record.  Ralph is humbled and privileged to be a small part of it.

Merol Sharp

In January, 2026,  George Abaris Internet Management (G.A.I.M.) announced the arrival of a new artist to their fold; Merol Sharp.  This was an understandable surprise as G.A.I.M. have a very small number of artists, and furthermore were not believed to be expanding.  All we know, at present, about Merol is that she is of Irish/Indian parentage and her Christian name is a derivitive of her given Irish name Meriel.  She adopted Merol after being introduced to the music of the Dutch singer and actress, Merel Balde, who also uses the Merol form of the name.

Her first performance is the U.Ukwa & Ralph.G. Morse song, "The Power of Love."   Written in 2020, the song has remained dormant, requiring a special voice to allow it to fly.   With Merol Sharp, the song has grown wings.  Johnny Cashbox features in the song on youtube