Croll was born in the town of Newcastle-under-Lyme in the county of Staffordshire. At the age of 18, he moved to Liverpool to attend the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA). While attending the institute, he won the national "Songwriter of the Year" award from the Musicians' Benevolent Fund and was one of eight students picked to have a one-to-one with LIPA founder Paul McCartney.