As a 10 year old child prodigy he performed a Shostakovitch piano concerto to an audience of 1200 at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall. Having answered an ad in Melody Maker at 17, he entered the world of pop, and by 21 had performed to over 5,000 at the Royal Albert Hall. In 2002, Q Magazine described his music as “beautiful and delicate”, while The Independent on Sunday added “sweeping and epic”. Yet just two years ago, London born pianist-composer Neil Cowley was locked in a damp dark room with a few keyboards and an apple mac...