Gecko Turner

Gecko Turner (Fernando Echave) was born and raised in the San Roque district of Badajoz, Spain, a town about halfway between Madrid and Lisbon, Portugal. As a teenager, he fell in love with The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and The Rolling Stones. The Stones led him back to Elmore James, Leadbelly, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed and other blues greats. He picked up his guitar in his teens and eventually formed a cover band that played an eclectic mix of American and British pop.

In his late teens, Gecko discovered jazz. A true Dizzie Gillespie fan, he hitched across Spain with his best friend, following Gillespie on tour.

He adopted his alias when he moved to London, attracted by the Jazz scene there. His friends in England interpreted his Spanish nickname Keko as Gecko, and adopted Turner moved by his respect for Big Joe Turner and Ike Turner, and his love of Kathleen Turner as a kid.

When his mother died, he returned to Badajoz. He got a job at a bank and got married. After his wife became sick and died, he returned to music. He says that after losing two important people in his life, he came to the conclusion that what you really love in life is what you have to do.