Modern Times

“Hulloa! Hulloa there! Whoop!” Scrooge cried,

Lifting up his window and peering

into the snow-encrusted street below

He could hear all the bells of Old London ringing

( He had knocked his head on the sash.)

Seeing a young boy below he shouted

“Hulloa there! You! Yes YOU my fine fellow!

What's the day?”

the young boy looked upward,

his jolly face pinched by a raw December wind

“Get stuffed you old perv!” he retorted gamely,

his lip curling over in a sneer of sheer contempt.

“Ha HA!” beamed the jovial Ebeneezer,

“Fine boy! Splendid Boy! What is The Day?”

“F*ck Me! You on Crystal Meth? It's Christmas day you weirdo!”

“Christmas day?” breathed Scrooge

-Then I'm ALIVE!”

“ Not for much longer you ain't My dad's got a Pit Bull.”

came the spirited reply.

-“ And what's that you have tucked under your arm

there my young rapscallion? “

chuckled Scrooge. “ A fine-necked goose I'll warrant?”

“My dad's got a machete,” cried the urchin. ”He'll shiv you.”

“ Or is is a capon perhaps, newly plucked and dressed?”

“ It's a bottle of JD. I nicked it from down the offie. Wanna buy it?”

“ Ho Ho Ho!” cackled Scrooge gleefully,slamming the window shut

but not before opening the flap in his combinations

and embroidering the word “Noel” in orange moisture on

the snow by the infant in the street below.

Scrooge laughed as he dressed, then left the room

skipping down the stairs two at a time.

“ Christmas Day? Glorious day! Grand day!”

cried he. “I'll just pop down to Mr Anoop's fine supermarket.

I'll buy his last individual Plum Puddings,

Go up to Brick Lane and distribute them there

amongst the Night Sleepers! ”

So saying, he opened his front door

Failing utterly to see a Blood from the 'Hood.

who knocked him out cold with a 16lb turkey.

Before ransacking the flat.

Meanwhile off Old Compton Street

“ Ho Friggin' Ho!” roared Santa merrily,

stumbling out of The Red Lion

adjusting his red trousers and and bumping into Wee Dingus

“See you Jimmy” came the answer,a Stanley knife swiftly drawn

from a crumbling and stained puffer jacket

“Happy Christmas!” Santa echoed,delivering a Gorbals Kiss 

with a speed

belying his 750 years.

And stepping over the prone figure,

he climbed onto his sleigh.

Or rather

He gunned the Mercedes up West.

Bring Back The Spring

Bring Back the Spring            John Richards 

                        Working Joe Music

        I recently got into a discussion with an articulate follower of Folk Music. She had told me about her adventures at Costa Del Folk and her devotion to Cropredy and Fairport Convention. She struck me as someone of great experience. She had travelled a long way that night to see one of her favourite Artistes. When I enthused about John Richards,her eyes clouded. She had not heard of him. Even when I explained to her that Fairport had covered “Honour and Praise,” and that Downes and Beer,Steve Knightley and Robin Dransfield were among those who had also covered his songs,she remained unimpressed.

       Oh well. John has actually had many of his songs covered. “Shine on,” probably the most admired, held a particular significance for me:it is a song of epic proportions. When we lost twin grandsons prematurely in tragic circumstances,”Shine On” brought me comfort and solace. There is light at the end of that tunnel.I know John will never EVER underestimate the effect this song has had on people over the years. Is “ Look in Their Eyes” the new Shine On? Only time will tell. But the portents are good.

          With age comes wisdom. John has been encouraging fellow musicians for years. He is right to have encouraged his daughter Emma to perform alongside him. On tracks like “Hailsands” for example, he generously gives her a free reign on the vocals, and she does not let his immaculate songwriting down. It's a big thing letting go and watching (or listening) to someone else deliver lyrics you have striven and struggled and even (in my case) occasionally wept over. But Emma rewards his faith and trust in her. She also takes the lead on “Never Trouble Trouble.” A heartfelt homage to bluesmen like Buddy Guy or Robert Johnson. Emma's bluesy voice curls deliciously around lyrics like “Never trouble trouble until it troubles you” She's got the Old Man's stamp all right,no doubt about it. A proper chip off the old block .

         I've already had the additional advantage of hearing John deliver some of these songs beforehand, solo or in the company of Jim Sutton. I can tell you that “Yellows and Blues” has audience impact. It has that singalong chorus-verse-to-chorus and back structure that will get a room full of diverse people singing,even if they are only hearing it for the first time. It's a Richards classic In that the imagery can be taken on one of several levels. Is it a song about the Seasons' changes? Or is it about the challenges which ageing brings to some of us as we turn towards the Autumn of our lives? The chorus contains the lyric which gives the album its title. I tend to think it's about longing for change but having a realistic appreciation of what each change potentially brings.

          John likes to tell a story sometimes. His live acts and previous albums evidence this. “Young Thomas” is a dramatic example on the new album. It is detailed and thorough both lyrically and instrumentally and particularly finely embellished by the excellent fiddle work of Phil Beer. It is a cautionary tale,cleverly using the double meaning of hair and hare as many older Folk songs have done. As the story unravels,it begins to become clear how it is going to end. Tragically. No spoiler:you'll have listen all the way through to get the resolve. “Billy Shaw” is another lad with a story. He seems disoriented, compromised and confused by the experience of combat. Shades of “Did You Enjoy the Battle Sir” here, with some nice vocal interchange between daughter and son.

      Those of us who have been pestering John for years to record another solo album awaited the final release of this one with bated breath. He's been playing and writing songs for a long time. So he should be good at it by now. And he is. Yet it is typically generous that he chose on such a precious project to co-write a few tracks with someone like Mike Silver. Which (as in the case of “Threadbare Coats”), works impeccably.

       With “Bring Back The Spring” he's hoping for some legacy. Approaching a similar significant milestone in my life I can empathise with that. I'm currently recording a solo album myself. It's a new venture for me. I've recorded with bands before but this is a new and humbling experience. Listening to your own voice delivering your own lyrics exposes all that is right-and wrong-with each “take.” The process helps us to learn. You come to learn much about yourself. Your limitations and your your strengths

        We've all spent ages telling John how much we liked “Polly” or “Roaring Water Bay” and although he hadn't originally intended to do any more recording,he has listened to us and is now fulfilling a genuine ambition to leave something else behind when all we have left of him is memories. It is the nature of songwriting that only the passing of time can tell us if his optimism is justified. Songs are judged by how many other people ask to cover them,or how many request them at gigs. There are other performance indicators of course,but promoting good music is not all about CD sales or ego for someone with the integrity of John Richards.

           Nor does he ever shy away from the awkward issues. Aided by Mike,“ No Blacks No Irish No Dogs,” strips it all back in classic John Richards style. Cards on the table and let's tell it how it is. The song exposes the pointlessness and cruelty of racism. Have we learned nothing over the years? Maybe not.The targets may have changed slightly,but the caustic,irrational spite of the bigots continues to trouble many of us in 2019. Similarly “Ballad of an Ordinary Man,” ruthlessly highlights the fact that we tend to worship “celebrity” and transient fame whilst sometimes overlooking (and celebrating) the worth of ordinary people whose achievements go unsung.

      The production (in Phil Beer's new studio)is breathtaking,but that is only to be expected, given the personnel which John has surrounded himself with. Phil himself,Paul Downes,the inimitable Jim Sutton,Kim Lowings and Mike Silver,Ali Franklin,Chris and Kathie Drinan. What could possibly go wrong?

      Nothing. The photography and artwork is simple but effective:the engineering and mastering is superb, the gate fold jewel case I received is above average quality with plenty of information about production and contributing musicians. There is a brief biopic of John enclosed with much more supplementary information available elsewhere on a website. My only criticism is that with the copy I received there was no word sheet and I get a bit OCD about reading the words as well as listening to them. (Yet I can see and hear JR now,wagging a benign and kindly finger at me and saying “Geoffrey! You're going to have to work at getting every nuance out of my songs!”

       Listen, hands up, I consider John a mate. He's an all round good egg who works tirelessly for generic music causes. Eschewing narcissism,he spends as much time being supportive and encouraging others as he does on his own interests. He offers advice and praise to anyone sensible enough to listen to him. He is gentle and constructive with criticism and in my own experience,shows a great deal of patience when dealing with idiots. Frankly,he could have recorded an album of his dog breaking wind and I'd still have listened to it. Nonetheless,I recommend that you buy this album immediately and give it some thorough scrutiny. We both share some Black Country roots though his ancestors were mostly tradesmen or colliers whereas mine were illiterate Nail Puddlers from Bloxwich. All of them,however I suspect, would have considered this end result “Bostin'”

Bird in The Belly Album Review from Folk Monthly

Now the December issue has been published, for those who cannot get hold of a copy here is the first of two album reviews written by me. BITB are coming to Nuneaton Folk Club in March. Since booking them I've bumped into a few people who are quite excited about this. 

Neighbours and Sisters                                    Bird In The Belly   

GFM Records/Cargo Music

        Down in Sussex there's been a developing Folk scene scene for a few years now,with pockets of talent like Bird In The Belly,Mike Reinstein,Green Ribbons and Hickory Signals among those currently producing some quality music. Occasionally they will venture further north to share this bounty with us-both Reinstein and BITB appear at Nuneaton Folk Club in 2020

        Brighton-based BITB describe themselves as a “collective,” which has quaint echoes of Haight-Ashbury,Greenham Common and Laurel Canyon for those of us over sixty. Neighbours and Sisters was released this October. It follows “The Crowing,” a debut album last year. Thanks to some distinctive and instantly recognisable vocals from Ben 'Jinwoo' Webb and Laura Ward,that release earned them a lot of notice. Anker Folk on Anker Radio nominated “Give Me Back My Heart Again” as one of their top tracks of 2018. Neighbours and Sisters carries the potential to repeat the same magic formula.

      Only two songs on this album are original writing:one each from Ben and Laura. But all the arrangements are very original. Songs are rooted out from various venerable Folk Song archives then tinkered with and adjusted until they are BITB property. They hunt out and unearth old songs,blow the cobwebs off them and then give them a new identity with new arrangements. There is a Victorian gaslight era feel to some of the tracks and like much Folk Music, the body count is high. There are songs about Ladies of The Night working the streets of Yarmouth,songs about executions,Love affairs gone bad,prisons, workhouses and the dangers of substance abuse. Powerful stuff.

         The melancholy and yearning tone of “Bright Light” lit a spark with me. My Grandad famously married his childhood sweetheart then set off for The Somme with The Royal Warwickshire Regiment after refusing to consummate the marriage. This was because he did not want his new bride instantly widowed and left to bring up any children alone. Having survived Paschendaele he returned intact. The fact that I'm writing this proves that his noble deed ended eventually in the patter of tiny feet.

             BITB also hit another personal family target via the brief track “Bees.” My Mum's Grandad, Albert, kept bees on a smallholding in Wharfedale. He handed down the understanding to us all that if you have a bee colony in your garden you have to keep them informed of events. Deaths,Births,family news etc. (We have. And I still do). BITB also sometimes weave ornithological themes into their music. The band's name is an obvious clue,as was last year's album title. The opening track on Neighbours and Sisters reflects this with “Robin and Starling.” A lovely piece.

       Laura plays flute and sings with husband Adam Ronchetti in Hickory Signals. She does the same on Neighbours and Sisters. Adam adds guitar,shruti and percussion whilst Tom Pryor is a multi-instrumentalist of many genres who leads the rest of the cast through the tracks, employing fiddle,electric guitars,organ,banjo and bass.

The instrumentation lends a slightly quirky feel to songs like “Coal Black Wine,” which despite a fairly jolly rhythm cannot mask the fact that it is about premature death and lives wasted by alcohol abuse. “King Death was a peerless fellow,” warbles Ben cheerfully at the opening, “He sat where no sun can shine. He lifted his hands so yellow and poured out the coal black wine.” Nice image. Ideal listening on a cold dark All Souls Night or alone on Samhain when all the bonfires have stopped glowing. Ditto “Newgate Stone,” which carries an eerie prophetic tone .

         At times there is an element of darkness to the band and their material. Ben's vocals are gaunt and anguished at times and Laura's often have a haunting unearthly feel to them. There can be no more archetypal example of their potent art than “All You Females.” Laura's bleak a cappella opening soon gives way to an almost jaunty,mocking tune and a lyric which describes the exploitation of helpless women trapped in the workhouse.

      It's all slightly gothic and melodramatic: full of cautionary tales,salutary lessons and foreboding and I love it. The production,engineering and mastering is superb. Take a bow,Tom Pryor,Ben Weedon and Paul Adams. The artwork and photography by Adam Ronchetti and Jinwoo respectively sets the scene perfectly.

      Don't be surprised if you hear that BITB have eventually attracted the attention of some t.v. producer of Victorian epics. I can see them eventually contributing soundtrack to the dark foggy sets of something like Ripper Street,Peaky Blinders, Gentlemen Jack or a remake of The Crimson Petal and The White. If and when A Child of The Jago is dramatised for television,don't be surprised to see them on the credits, drafted in by an enlightened Director to help frame the background. You read it here first.

NFC take over Cov

     Thanks to those lovely people at CVFolk, last Sunday we were invited to showcase the NFC wares in my home town at one of their Sunday Afternoon sessions in The Albany Theatre Bar. It's a lovely venue and very friendly. As Drunk Monkey/Nunc we'd played it before and I'd also been there this year as part of The Hawkesbury Trawlermen.

        So how best to fit in a snapshot of what you might see on each First Wednesday up in the Queen's Hall? Those of you who are NFC regulars will know the immense pool of talent we have to draw upon  in the North Warwickshire triangle to drawn upon. Mal,c Phil and I (as respective Club organisers),often marvel at our good fortune in this.

          Pete Willow asked me to compere,so that bit was easy. Jon Harrington  I believe is a CovFolk committee member so he did the paperwork and financial management. Given a couple of hours to fill, we went for Wes Hall to open up,George van Ristell and Neal Pointon to follow,and Dragonhead to close the first half.   All of them are Nuneaton residents so that was entirely appropriate.We even took the NFC banner along to make everyone feel at home. My thanks to John Kearney and Paul Monks for the photographs. 

      ( By request) Drunk Monkey completed the line-up second half ,our second headline gig in five days. Four of the band-the three Johns and Paul (Beatles thing?-live in Nuneaton. Both Flossy and I have family roots there too and collectively (albeit in various formats), we are the NFC Houseband. 

        It's a lovely venue with great facilities. It's one of the few venues I know where original art work for sale is displayed on the corridor walls, and where the prize Objet'd'art in the bar area is a Grand Piano. The Sound is always mixed magnificenlyt there and the staff and volunteers are all really friendly. We've played quite a few Coventry venues this year-Twisted Barrel, MotoFest,Earlsdon Festival etc-so we are known. It was encouraging to see that a few people had popped out to see us.

         Wes Hall is a musician who is gaining in confidence and finally reaching a wider audience. At Warwickshire venues like NFC,Bedduff and Atherstone,or in pubs like The Fox and the Anker Tavern, he's gradually been getting back in the saddle. Honing his skills on the circuit (which I believe he let lie fallow for a few years). Never easy,the dead spot (opening up) he started with "Nobody Knows You." Here he is trying to remember where he put his capo. 

  To his credit this timelessly angry song is a Wes version-he puts his own stamp on the arrangement and the vocal. Cannily he followed with "Times They Are a Changing" a Bob Dylan standard which got the whole room purring. I would like to point out that it was not just all Folk Fogeys in there-some were under 30-but everyone knows the words. Wes finished an accomplished set with an ambitious tilt at Billy Joel's "Piano man." Which got the audience singing yet again. 

          Next we had a proper treat. George van Ristell is a regular at NFC and an all round good egg. But I've never been able to entice him up on that stage at The Queens Hall. A respected session musician,I'd heard lots about him. But finally he agreed,and he did a lovely little set with Neal Pointon. Neal is local but we've not seen him at NFC before. Together they made fine music, with audience feet tapping and audience heads nodding as they coaxed various reels and tunes from a variety of instruments after having started with "Ashokan Farewell." And as the icing on the cake we also heard George sing,too. No excuses now they've broken their NFC duck-they've both promised to play in their home town. Neal is almost as shy and retiring as George. I knew I'd seen him before,but he wasn't letting on. He only used to be in The Fallows!

           Dragonhead closed the first half. Basically Anne and John Harris, they've been promoting and playing Folk,Cajun,Roots and good time music across warwickshire for years. Both from Nuneaton,John was the last person to try to run a Folk venue in the town before NFC started up in October 2014. They've also run Blues and Nostalgia sessions in various local pubs and taken various themed tours out on the road.

            John famously claims to dislike Folk Music. Despite having played Warwick and Moira Folk Festivals this year (and every year?) and doing one of the most rumbustious versions of "South Australia" I've ever heard. Their set also contained Cajun,some blues and well...more folk. " I'll Tell Me Ma?" (That's Reggae then,is it?). What John really means is he knows what he likes and he hasn't much time for Richard Thompson. The co-operative nature of Nuneaton was well demonstrated as our guitarist Paul Moore (known affectionately as Pedro Fivebands)played percussion,virtually throughout their set. And here's the evidence.

            After the break Drunk Monkey at full strength ran through a similar set to the one we did last Wednesday. Both "Landslide" and "Gaudete," new additions, were triumphs. The former a song we've been working on for a while now but which we only aired publicly  for the last time last week. The latter one of the first songs Nunc ever did. Unless I get a chance to do Lighten Up For Christmas" that may be the only festive song I get loose on this year. 

             Fabulous audience singing on "Knocking On Heavens Door," and our Bob Marley segue which we finished with. Other highlights were particularly boisterous versions of "When Love Comes To Town" and "Copperhead Road"  which got a few people dancing. Either that or they were standing on a live cable. Not strictly Folk-but fun!  The next session there is in January. here's a link to their website. Check it out.

 https://www.albanytheatre.co.uk/cvfolk-1

Seventy Up

      When I realised (much earlier in the year)  that that the first Wednesday in December would also be my 70th birthday,I cannily arranged for Drunk Monkey,the resident NFC House band to feature as  Main Spot.   I'm delighted to say that many dressed for the occasion both in terms of it now being December and of it being a significant anniversary. Our usual photographers were alas,indisposed. All these excellent pics have been supplied by Paul Monks,Max Wright,Flossy,Malc Gurnham and a few others. As always...many thanks.

       Earlier in the week  I took what I felt to be some unnecessarily critical and negative flak (via the NFC Facebook Page) about how unfriendly and "cliquey" the club is. At first I was so depressed by this I felt like taking the whole page down. In fact I felt like stepping down completely and seeing if anyone else would be prepared to try running it,voluntarily,unpaid and often out of pocket. On reflection I felt it was important to share with everyone just how some people viewed us. Especially the 200 or so who have requested membership but never EVER come! So I left the dialogue there and as it progressed,that decision increasingly proved justified. 

       The NFC regulars spoke far more eloquently than I ever could have done. As they did by turning out in large numbers,on a cold night, when with the best will in the world,the headline act was not a big name. I was delighted to see that,far from being deterred there were several people there who were visiting for the first time. They stayed to the end,most of them were singing along throughout  and I hope they will come back. 

          I had also made a point of trying to involve as many local people as possible. Some were simply not available to perform because they were elsewhere and there were others in the audience-Wes Hall,Lesley Wilson,Andy Jones,Jak Lynch,Jan Richards, Paul Monks for example and many more who would have happily stepped in if asked to. 

        So it was actually Bedworth Folk Club’s Residents Malc Gurnham and Gill Gilsenan and not Nunc who opened proceedings for us on Wednesday. By request they made Shep Woolley's "Down By The Dockyard wall"  their opening gambit:a song which got a larger than usual audience singing straightaway. ( Maybe it was the excellent Church End Reinbeer that was newly tapped and on handpulls which helped.The quality of audience singing throughout the evening was truly excellent). 

      Finger in The Jar followed. They are Atherstone Folk Club’s Resident Band and so immediately a nice friendly aura was forming.  Supplemented on this occasion by Pete McParland, they followed Malc and Gill. I had messed them about a bit beforehand but they kept smiling. It's what friends do. Having started with Pete taking the lead vocal on ”It never rains in California” they sang a couple more together and finished with a very distinguished version of the John Richards song " If you can walk you can dance."  Which in Peter and Steve's case is only just technically correct.

      The entertaining and enterprising Thrup’nny Bits followed,armed with trunks full of CDs to sell and a compliment of seasonal traditional close harmony songs. They got us into a Festive mood. Whilst Gill looked after the ever enthusiastic Spangle who wagged her tail in time.  (Dogs in Folk Clubs?Tsk!  That's not very friendly!)  The TB's finished with one of my favourite TB numbers The Pudding Hunt. (Tally Ho!)

          What could be  more appropriate for a 70th Birthday celebration than our next guest,Adam Wilson finishing his slot by singing (entirely at my request) Neil Young’s “Old Man?” He wasn't being ironic-I'd asked him to.  Another effortless set from Adam including one of his own songs. 

       And this procession of loveliness finished with the modest,amicably friendly Tom Young. We first came across him at The Anker Blues sessions over in Weddington. A mild unassuming young man who specialises in plucking some of the more obscure Country Blues numbers out of the annals of history and breathing new life in them. Magnificent.

           And then it was time for Paul John (no Ringo!),Jon Harp(s) Flossy and Yours Truly to do the first of our two sets. Starting with "All Gotta Die Someday" caused a few laughs given the occasion. Though everyone was dressed appropriately Flossy as usual,went the extra mile and set a few  male hearts a-fluttering with her red hair,red shoes and red-blooded Santa outfit. 

            Her vocals as always did the talking. There was an experimental edge to Drunk Monkey’s first set. We’d never attempted “Landslide” in public before though we’ve been rehearsing it for a few months. Flossy was soon whirling her crimson cloak theatrically,like some Yuletide Stevie Nicks. A beautiful song:we were quite pleased with it as a first effort. I did one of my own,"Di Di The ice Cream man."  I was hoping to get that out on a CD myself before Christmas. Not to be, but it's on its way. Any donations towards copies will be recycled straight back into yet another Charity. (Another selfish gesture?)We finished with "Gaudete" unaccompanied. Another one we used to do. It was unrehearsed and a festive offering which we hadn't performed in public for two years. After a false start it went o.k.  

         Then came the Interval and the raffle. Many wonderful donated prizes,and a tidy sum raised which will be ploughed straight back into running expenses like advertising and publicity. There were bottles of wine,biscuits,chocolates and an entire birthday cake. Along with a set of cut glass whisky glasses and an automatic coin sorter it got a bit like The Generation Game. 

           Drunk Monkey came back and we got the audience singing again with "Bring It On Home," "Knocking on Heaven's Door "and "Three Little Birds/Irish Rover." We had to leave out a good third of the set because we were running late and a few people were well past their bedtime by the time we got on to encores. Incidentally, being political, Marcus Jones is always telling us everything he does for Nuneaton and I didn't see him. Nor did I see the Labour or LibDem candidates. But Keith Kondakor was there as he usually is, since we opened and Michelle. Come to your own conclusions. 

              And so back to that unfriendly tag. The Crew is so unfriendly that the Guv'nor Richard Burlingham,lets us have the room for free including heating and lighting. It is his staff running the bar and the Sound desk. He goes out of his way to  source and provide locally provenanced Real Ale. Some other clubs I visit have no Real Ale on at all and those that do have only mass-produced. He always tries to pop up and see how we are getting on. There is a hospitality room provided for artistes (few want it-it's a FOLK club!-and reserved parking for Guests Acts at the foot of the stairs leading up from the street to the stage. He sometimes even puts free grub on for us. Hardly hostile. 

       NFC is so unfriendly that we have annually raised hundreds of pounds for charities and local causes. Either by going it alone or contributing to events elsewhere. The most recent having been Nuneaton Food Bank ,Cancer research,Dementia U.K. and the George Eliot Hospital. It is so unfriendly that we promote artistes who have recently released CDs and/or merchandise to sell and encourage them to display it in the venue. It is so unfriendly that before the doors are open WE put out fliers and leaflets promoting events elsewhere.        
           We were also accused of being "cliquey." Well admittedly there were a lot of my family there last night.,besides me. Two nieces,my son,my wife, my daughter,and my daughter in law. Isn't that just family life? My niece Sammie donated two cakes she baked herself. One was a raffle prize-the other was one we shared out with the audience. Cliquey? Or just matey? 

         We try to work co-operatively with othe venues and organisations to avoid duplication so that our respective attendances are not damaged or diminished. (This seems pretty friendly to me). Only one local organisation has turned their back on this-Nuneaton Library. They originally asked us to help them promote events there and we did. We put their fliers out on our tables, we put their posters up in the club and on our website. On one occasion,(free of charge) our house Band even played support to the Main Guest there. Unlike us,their activities are Arts Council subsidised or funded from taxpayer's budgets. They seem to have made a point recently of going it alone. On the night after our December 4th Concert they had a ticketed event featuring Tim Causley, a well known act on the Folk circuit. They seemed only too delighted to go ahead and they have done it a few times this year.  We had over a hundred in. (I wonder how they got on?) 

     Several times people have objected to our policy of blocking pasted up adverts for other events and organisations. They think this is hostile. Whilst we are happy to discuss this kind of thing in advance (and often do subsequently work with  others in publicising events elsewhere), like many other Folk Clubs we will not accept "flyposting" i.e. people who have no intention of ever visiting the venue making membership requests and then taking advantage of our good nature by trolling or promoting their own events on our platform. And getting the hump when we ask them to stop it. 
        Thanks once again to the wonderful bar staff and to Harvey who now soldiers on behind the Sound desk on his own. Always smiling:rarely flustered. Nice one,mate. 

        

   

Horseplay at The Queens

           Dark Horses is a bit of a misnomer. There is nothing dark,clandestine or hidden about Keith Donnelly and Flossie Malavialle, who together make up this talented duo. They are just very good. They know it,and only those who have not seen them or heard them before know it. They brought a substantial crowd into NFC's First Wednesday in November, predominantly people who knew all about them and wanted to see even more. That this was achieved on a cold wet night,with the duo appearing in other Warwickshire venues the night before and also on the Thursday, says much about  the pulling power of Dark Horses. And that's only the first of several equine puns. 

        Added to potential local counter-attractions, (and Keith, feel free to use this in your future patter), just down the road,Piero Lounge were celebrating their long-awaited opening night in a rejuvenated premises which had previously housed a Maplins store. A long-anticipated event finally bringing some classy catering into the town. Far be it from me to name and shame those who stayed in there,instead of staggering up to The Crew to enjoy decent music.Thereby sampling the dubious qualities of Bath Ales and having their wallets emptied by an eye wateringly pricey menu instead. 

          I have no doubts whatsoever that some of our audience on Wednesday attended all three local dates on the DH Warwickshire Tour. But our attendance was still gratifying. Perhaps because as well as our magnetic Main Attraction there were other appetising counter attractions from the floor. Or rather,up on the stage. Not least the unique phenomenon of having not one but two gorgeous Flossies. A treat for the few hot blooded men in the room to feast their eyes and ears upon. 

           
      We were all genuinely disappointed to hear that Kate of Greengrass had failed a late fitness test,(so Greengrass fans will have to wait just a little longer to finally see their debut on the Queen's Hall stage).(Get well soon,Kate!).  I tried (unsuccessfully) to recruit a late replacement but as luck would have it, John Wright and his camera turned up just before we started and so we filled the vacancy with minutes to spare by asking him to do a couple of songs. It was a nice touch though,that Lauren,also of Greengrass, turned up in person to run the rule over the venue and enjoy the evening with us. 

        Nunc were at nearly full strength,so we started with "All Gonna Die,"added "Bring It On Home," and finished with "Perfect."   Our home Flossy laid down a few vocal markers for Flossydom everywhere,and we had a rare smile from Paul Moore to add to the list of collector's items. 

          Bob Brooker was next on,with his trusty Bouzouki and he gave us all an opportunity to hear some of his wonderful instrumental work. Being Bob,he couldn't resist advertising a few of his wares including recent albums and some sketches which he is currently selling to raise funds for a charity in memory of his late brother. Here you can see him mistaking the angled mike boom for his trusty tin whistle. ( You'll not get a note out of that Bob!)

            What then followed was another treat. John Wright having travelled all the way down from Scotland,had come along ostensibly to enjoy the artistes and to take some of those great photographs he does so well. The collective noun for great photographers must be a plethora and we were certainly blessed on Wednesday,with John Wright,John B.Smith and Ray Buckler all present and snapping busily away to record the evening. We have all three to thank for the photographs featured here. There are loads more on the NFC Facebook page. 

         At very short notice,John gamely helped us out by filling our vacant slot and  singing  two of his own inimitable interpretations of classic songs:"Nobody Knows You" and "Ride On." The latter accompanied by  Jon Harrington. Invited to play a solo,Jon proved beyond doubt (if anybody had any),what a fine harp player he is.Thanks,gents! Wonderful,emotional audience singing accompanied both these magical songs, too. 

        That scamp Craig Sunderland arrived next, and he chose to represent the angst of many of Nuneaton's waterless population last weekend by doing a song about drought. (Craig makes no secret of the fact that in his spare time,whilst not working as a highly proficient Folk performer and guitarist,he fills in holes for a well known Water Utility). Always entertaining,a fine musician and someone who doesn't take himself too seriously. Some of us older types are amazed by the number of song lyrics  he not only learns,but remembers.

         Next it was time for Malc and Gill.  Gill began by skilfully deconstructing Keith's mike stand:the one he had so carefully positioned and fine-tuned earlier on,as he and Flossie were doing their sound checks. Keith is a bit taller than Gill and so she decided it needed adjusting. This made a few of us wince, as we knew Keith had been wrestling with levels before the gig started and before declaring himself fairly satisfied. I think he was out of the room at the time. But here is an action replay. 

        The Bedworth Folk Club resident duo then went on to perform a newish Kate Wolf song, Alex Campbell's "So Long" (and it was!)  and Dougie McClean's "Caledonia." Malc was evidently having a good time. Or maybe he'd spotted someone he knew in the audience. Or he'd just remembered he was off to Lanzarote the next week.

           Having whipped our audience into a frenzy of anticipation with quality entertainment we then unleashed the Dark Horses. They began at a gallop,Flossie opening with a stunning vocal in the eponymous. "Dark Horses." It was so powerful that after they had finished this opening song, I rushed downstairs to fetch the Guv'nor up to hear her sing. Keith had by his own admission been beset with Gremlins during the sound check,and decided to exchange his guitar for Flossie's as there was still a technical hitch. This settled him down and left a few of us wondering what Flossie's guitar playing might have been like. 

              What followed was a storming finish to the first half,alternating serious and imposing material with excerpts from Keith's considerable comedic portfolio. Always the consummate professional,Keith takes appearance very seriously and is always immaculately turned out on stage. 

            Thanks perhaps to the generosity of those who had donated such ace  raffle prizes, we collected a few bob during the interval. As Mags folded the tickets and prepared for the draw,Nunc returned to warm up for the reappearance of Dark Horses and to conduct the raffle draw. That done, it was time to settle back and enjoy the second half. Watching Flossie's expression as Keith ran through his various routines, each one becoming slightly more manic than the other,was priceless. My,but she's a patient and canny lass. C'est vrai,absolutement. (That's Geordie for honestly, they were dead good,like).

           Time flew by and all too soon it was time to draw the night to a close. Not without two or three encores,however. I really think the audience would have stayed there all night if we'd have let them. As usual,our thanks to Aaron on the bar (Bob Brooker was almost beside himself to find his beloved Doom Bar on) and to Harvey,single handedly at times, driving the Sound Desk. The following night, a Thursday, Dark Horses would do it all again at The Tump in Coventry. Whilst simultaneously, just round the corner and only a five minute walk away, Nunc would be doing their thing at The Twisted Barrel Brewery Tap. And that's Show Business. 

         

Winter Wilson Album Review

Published in November 2019 edition of Folk Monthly magazine

Live and Unconventional                             Winter Wilson

           Winter Wilson were invited to support Fairport Convention on their Winter Tour of 2018. Those of us who know them and have followed their continuing rise to national recognition were not in the least surprised by this. Thereafter, Kip and Dave could be excused for embracing Luvviedom and turning their back on their roots, as some starstruck Folk musicians sometimes do. But they haven't done this. 
     They remain a charming,friendly and approachable couple. This is reflected in their music which remains sincere,warm and sensitive. Dave's versatile and accomplished musicianship remains outstanding. His voice and Kip's work so well together that their harmonies seem effortless. But they are not. It takes hard work, great professionalism and enthusiasm for the genre, mixed in with the pure joy of performance, to reach and then sustain performance at this level.

         This album contains some new material and five re-workings of original content from previous albums. One Sandy Denny song is the only cover. The remaining songs were all composed by Dave Wilson. A talented duo:Dave plays guitar and Banjo whilst the album design,artwork and much of the photography is by Kip herself. (Who besides having a tremendous voice also plays piano accordion and guitar on the album).Its just not fair!

        Unsurprisingly they are also able to summon a formidable array of musicians to supplement the sound. Dave Pegg (bass guitar): Simon Nicol (guitar) Gerry Conway (drums) Rick Sanders(violin) and Chris Leslie(mandolin and whistle) also contribute to various tracks.All recorded,engineered and mixed with the integrity we have come to expect from them. The “Unconventional” part (other than a clever pun on The Fairports) comes,I think from the fact that two “live” tracks were recorded as part of a Sound Check rather than before a live audience.

        'Merciful Father' and 'I'd rather be Ashes Than Dust' are both from the 2016 album Ashes and Dust. 'Ghost', 'Grateful For The Rain' and 'Far Off On The Horizon' have previously featured on the 2018 album of the same name. Of the newer stuff, 'Storm Around Tumbledown' is a Dave Wilson song first recorded by Vin Garbutt. 'I wish I could turn back time' is a reflective song about our lost Mining Industry and closed Collieries. 'Tried and Tested' is a bluesy homage to Bonnie Raitt with a funny intro by Kip. 'Orange Trees and Dusty Roads' is an evocative nod to The Grapes of Wrath and Tom Joad. 'Still Life In The Old Dog Yet' ( like 'It'll Take a Long Time' ) features the full Fairport line-up and is another Wilson reflection on the wasted resources and frittered away years brought on by redundancies and the crushing of our manufacturing base, At times it sounds uncannily like a John Richards song.( Which given his connection with Fairport is not that surprising!)

          All tracks are of a playable length and nicely compact. All are shorter than six minutes and a couple are under four. If I had a penny for every band who make the mistake of slipping into the temptation of recording extended versions of their set list songs on “Live” albums then I would have-well One Shilling and sixpence in old money.

        The CD is beautifully presented. A gate fold case has ample credits and sleeve notes included plus inside is a lyric booklet and in the copy I had was also a Winter Wilson Coaster. ( Us tegestologists would call that a beer mat-but it's a very clever touch!).

      One of the best releases of 2019,it has already won fulsome praise via published reviews and will definitely feature in The Anker Folk Album of The Year Show. Winter Wilson are in constant demand for tours and club nights,so you can see them virtually anywhere over the next 12 months. Including Nuneaton Folk Club where we are delighted to welcome them back in 2020. It is a major coup for us that they have agreed to appear there.

Dave Taylor Album review

Published in November 2019 edition of Folk Monthly Magazine. 

Losing Battles        Dave Taylor        Acorn Records

          I have no idea when this was released, as it is undated. Presentation and packaging-wise,and right at the other end of the spectrum of the lavishly packaged and presented albums received for review by Winter Wilson and Show of Hands in September,out of a plain brown envelope also dropped this contribution from Dave Taylor.

         Dave is a prolific Singer-Songwriter from Leicestershire. With his wife Julia they appear occasionally together as a duo, singing tastefully arranged traditional songs with great passion. Dave also chucks a few of his own self-penned numbers into their public performances. (This is often by audience request,as some of them are quite popular!). By contrast to the kind of material he and Julia usually cover ,the majority of his own songs are waspish,angry,hard-hitting and occasionally,quite rude.

        ' Losing Battles' arrived on my desk in a plain PVC sleeve. The cover was hand drawn and a single piece of white paper inside detailed album credits. There was also a brief synopsis of why Dave chose this working title. Best summarised in the final sentence 'Some are personal battles connected with advancing years,some battles against the powers that be who always seem to want to take everything good and replace it with crap.'

        I've known Dave for a few years on the circuit. He burns with a quietly controlled rage and you could argue that all or any of his songs are about fighting battles. I'll lay my cards on the table:I like his material. I admire his honesty,his candour and his conviction. His albums are not all that sophisticated in terms of production and his lyrics are not the kind you have to pore over all night puzzling over the hidden meanings. They come right out and smack you in the face and as such the majority are mostly a kind of 21^st Century protest song. Though Dave also writes songs of great tenderness,you tend to remember more vividly the ones on previous albums like “White Boots” a visceral flaying of t.v talent shows,or the immensely enjoyable parody:“Leonard Cohen's Shantymen”

        Once Dave got his pen in hand over this one there was little that escaped the treatment. One of his strengths is in parody. “Kick In The Proverbials” deservedly mocks the cumbersome Pink Floyd epic 'Brick in The Wall.' “The Devils Man” is loosely based on a Charlie Daniels hit. He takes a poke at Oasis and the cult of recording a Magnum Opus with “Three Minute Limit.” His version of the Gallagher vocal whine is something only a personal hearing can fully describe.

         “Grown Up Now” and “Journey Song” are more reflective than Dave's stronger satirical muse and he laments his own advancing restrictions wistfully with “Wishful Thinking.” It's a much gentler song than we usually expect from Dave and contains some fine Kazoo work. He tilts a lance at Graffitti artists with “Kilroy,” and leaves us in no doubt where his feelings are over the Keep Fit Industry with “On Me Exercise Bike,” and “Roly Poly Army.” More historical (albeit recent memory) observation comes with “Writing on The Wall,” and “Old Clothes.” “Goosepastures” and “The Recruited Eric” also consider historical issues, whereas the target of “Menopausal Men with Expensive Guitars” needs no further definition.

         Guest musicians are Julia Taylor,Sarah Brookman,Steve Cartwright Steve White and Martin Tabraham and the album was mixed and mastered by Greg Tempest at Gregs Music Room. . The production belies the simple layout and artwork-it is competent and clever without being over complicated. Keep Fighting those battles,Dave!