Between them, Blogger and Google seem intent on preventing me from accessing my own Blog. So..whilst they are allowing me access.. what's been going on then, eh?
We are currently pencilled in for The Tump next Thursday. We have another lull in March. Then we're at The Shakespeare (Coventry) 15th April, and Bedworth Folk Club 23rd April. We guest at Nuneaton Town Football Club's Annual Awards night on May 10th (Ticket only!) along with our old mates from Off The Cuff. Atherstone Folk Club have already booked us for their 2014 Christmas Party. You can regularly hear BPS songs or arrangements performed by one or more of us at The Larder (Atherstone) or Sly Old Dogs (Bell Inn, Monks Kirby). Each month. Until they stop inviting us.
OUR WEBSITE is really good. It has photos (archive and up to date). Facts, figures, personnel,background,news..links to other sites and it is regularly updated. A link to it should be highlighted just about here >>>>>>
THE RAILWAY MAGAZINE
Followers from way back will know that we have recorded this song on Vinyl (1978) and CD (2006). It is still a popular part of our set. We know for a fact that a group of Mature ladies in Rochdale use it as part of their Keep Fit routine. The publication which it celebrates ran an excellent Christmas 2013 feature on Railways and Music. Folk ,Blues, Rock, Pop and Country sure does have a rich vein of material to choose from there. What they didn't know was that their own Magazine had a song dedicated to them. But they do now. And they are quite chuffed about it. (See what I did there?) They asked for an MP3 file which I sent. They assured me that this has caused great hilarity in the editorial suite and in the offices. Jolly good. We aim to please.
GENTLEFOLK 2 This is a monthly webcast collated by Norman Wheatley. It features local national and International artistes and it is really professionally presented. Local people featured recently include Pennyroyal,Rod Felton and um...us. Hedgehog Pie, Martin Jenkins and The Dandoes coming soon, I understand. Give it a listen. And let Norman know, if you've enjoyed it. Access it direct from here: http://www.gentlefolk2.co.uk/
NEW SONGS
One of our most popular and successful self-penned songs over time is "The Odeon." So much so that other artistes have recently covered it and audiences often request it. We intended it as an homage to Cosmotheka. Trying to combine a jolly melody with nostalgic images about The (NOT SO) Old Days in The Midlands. Discussing with a few fellow Folkies what makes the song so popular, we think we may have come up with a formula to match it. Called "Down Our Street" it reflects fondly on all the Traders who would knock on our doors or sell us wares from lorries vans and yes..horse and cart, in the 1950's and 1960's. It has a catchy, simple Chorus, a bumpalong notation and a gentle dab of BPS humour-we hope you'll love it.
Following the success of our parodies of Beyoncé and Bryan and Michael, we're currently working on putting our own stamp on a hugely-altered and utterly irreverent version of "Somewhere Only We Know." And out in the BPS workshops, we have a tale of Woe about ambulance chasers called "Injury Squirrels 4U." Those of you who know us well know what to expect. You will not be disappointed.
We continue to add to our repertoire of covered material, doing songs we like and admire. Billy Bragg's "Between The wars" has had a couple of tentative outings, as has "On Raglan Road."
Warwick Folk Festival confirmed last week, that for the 39th consecutive year, Black Parrot Seaside will NOT be appearing at any venue in or near the town during their 3 Day Festival. You'll have to ask them why. Incidentally, for those people who regularly suggest to us that we should contact them and provide details...we do. Annually. ( Perhaps that's what is putting them off!). It's not as if we expect to be sharing a Main Stage with Suzanne Vega or Richard Thompson. No, a little fringe slot in a murky backstreet pub somewhere would do us. Just once. just so that we could add it to our portfolio. Does anyone reading this know of such a venue in Leamington or Warwick where we could play (for free) that weekend? Or is that really asking for trouble? No wait..they might exclude us.....what? eh? oh.
