 Woolley was born in Loughborough, Leicestershire, England on 11 November 1953 and educated at Loughborough Grammar School, where he learned electric guitar.He lived in Shepshed, playing the UK pub and club circuit extensively for some years, before landing his first professional engagement in 1974, with Ivor Kenney's Dance Band at Leicester Palais.After a transfer to Derby Tiffany's, Bruce left for London in 1976 to pursue a career in songwriting, after being offered a publishing contract with Everblue Music, in Piccadilly.