Ben Gunstone was born in Upper Wessex during the latter part of the Twentieth Century. He was schooled by the state (and for one day at Winchester College) before adding letters after his name at the universities of Bath and Oxford.
 
A useful inside forward and off-spin bowler, Gunstone has worked for the Ministry of Defence, as a kitchen hand, a shop assistant, a labourer, a gardener, a truck driver, a traffic enumerator, a tour conductor, a poll clerk, a DJ, a stable hand, a teacher, a newspaper boy and an envelope filler.
 
Ben Gunstone writes songs because he has to. Ben writes and sings about what he finds in his heart. Ben’s songs move the listener because he articulates emotions that frame our lives; love, passion, yearning, jealousy, hope, transcendence, disappointment, regret, resignation, despondency, happiness, optimism etc.
 
Ben’s songs reverberate with emotional resonance. They swell towards a lyrical and musical ‘release’, followed by ‘resolution’. As we gain experience, we shed our innocence. Ben feeds on the cusp, looking forward and backwards.
 
Together, Ben's compositions constitute a map of songs: Ben Gunstone’s Wessex. The West Country is a constant presence in Ben Gunstone’s songs, the canvas on which he paints. London, where the rooftops hide the stars, is not the centre of Ben’s world.
 
Ben’s songs convey contrasting states of being, movement, time. His is a very English body of work, bound by The Thames to the north and The Channel to the south, the regional past and a belief in the glory and eminence of love.

In terms of artistic influences, Ben’s are not always easy to pinpoint. He cites Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen as favourites but Kraftwerk, Talk Talk, Nick Drake and Chet Baker also get a mention.

Ben released a single, "Goodnight England", at the age of eighteen. Since then he has completed a clutch of EPs and two solo albums: "Merchant Venturer" and "Songs From The Corner Of A Room". In September 2002, Ben recorded and released a song for and about his beloved Bristol Rovers Football Club. "Tote End Boys" is a hit amongst supporters and is played regularly over the Memorial Stadium PA as the team take to the pitch. Ben has also co-written a number of songs with internationally acclaimed songwriter Alain Whyte, one of which - lyrically reworked - became "Irish Blood, English Heart", Morrissey's 2004 'comeback' single.

Since the release of his first solo album Ben has been accompanied by a wide range of musicians including Charlie Jones and Phil Andrews, previously Page & Plant's sidemen and Boris Williams, formerly of The Cure.