Happy New Year!

            Happy? And then some! What better way to kick 2019  off than with The Queen's Hall rocking? All seats taken,and standing room only with Sir Kevin Dempsey pulling them in.  (O.k. he was overlooked again,by Liz in the New Year Honours List, along with Ralph Mac T  but surely it is only a matter of time?)  Complimented by some quality floor spots and with a spattering (is there such a collective noun?) of Folk Glitterati in the audience,it was an epic night.     

     Jim Park (Paper Circus),Des Patalong (Thrup'nny Bits). Jan Richardson,Brian Phillips and Neil Parker,(both once of Phutnote), Julie and Steve Wigley and Wes Hall,were  audience members on Wednedsay night. All or any could have played the venue (and most have done so previously), but we just could not fit them all in. Nor could we accommodate on stage the legendary Pete Melodeon-aka Pete Grassby. Pete has been a good friend to BPS and  is still the only local Folk Club organiser (Rowington) brave enough to engage  yours truly as a Solo Guest. We'll get him back I promise and we'll give him a spot,because NFC audiences would love him and he's a damn fine musician.   

      People came from Norfolk,from Derbyshire ,from the Lake District and even from as far afield as Hinckley to savour the evening. They were not disappointed and were well rewarded for their journey.  I confess, both Kevin and I were a little apprehensive about settling on this date when we initially re-arranged it,long ago, after a previous unavoidable cancellation. I suspect The Crew Guv'nor Richard Burlingham also had his doubts too. Hangovers? Hogmanay? Lurgies? Would they reduce our numbers? We need not have worried. As the upstairs room filled and queues formed at the bar, it was obvious that we were in for a good night. 

         Nunc kicked us off. Starting the New Year in by making a Folk statement. Resurrecting "Cold Haily Windy Night"  from way back,  All that Americana aside, we can still celebrate our roots you see.It is a song Nunc started doing as a duo,in 2014. (Seems like a long time ago now).  We followed it by "Bring It On Home" which got the audience murmuring rather than hollering the responses. But we got them proper warmed up with John Kearney leading Petula Clark's "Down Town." Quintessential English Folk (!!)  led by our Man of Cork. here's a lovely shot of the band taken by Ray Buckler. John Wright took some stunning black and white shots, of which,,more later. 

           One of The Sons of Treacle Town Ian Bourne followed, with a typical trio of songs demonstrating his admirable vocal range.  By request (obviously) he finished with "Hello Cruel World," which got everyone into party mood,winding up the audience with some decent chorus singing.here is Ian suffering for his art,or maybe just suffering. 

          Malc Gurnham and Gill Gilsennan gave us  acuople of traditional songs along with a very original arrangement of " Where Have All The Flowers Gone?" which they dedicated to those absent friends and relatives who were not able to join in all the fun and festivities each year. Food for thought indeed.  

          Katherine Fear,one third of Daisybell (who are at Beworth Folk Club next week) then added further to the imposing array of Coventry and Warwickshire talent by delivering three of her original compositions. "This Road" in particular is an Anker Folk favourite which we play every Christmas. It's a clever song which can be interpreted on more than one level. Most people there knew it,and sang along cheerily. Katherine also unveiled a new song, another story mined from her family anecdotes about Grandpa Fear. 

        Adam Wilson continues to flourish and he gave us another impressive set with some songs we'd heard before and a new one for him John Martyn's "Bless The Weather." Adam is an affable young man who writes his own material as well as applying his distinctive vocal style to very authentic covers. His version of Neil Young's "Old Man" is already attracting a lot of attention. One of NFC's "discoveries" during 2018. 

          And then, having whipped the audience into a frenzy of anticipation,it was time for Kevin's first set. I always enjoy watching the audience as Kevin whips into his remarkable percussive style,using parts of the guitar others can only dream of exploring at that speed. It's good to see the jaws dropping open,and you tell the guitarists in the audience by the way they shake their head at Kevin's technique. 
        Someone said to me it sounded like he had an extra string, or at times as if two guitars were being played simultaneously. I thought that,too. Coupled with a deceptively easy going singing style,it is an impressive,infectious sound. Having started with a Curtis Mayfield cover,he finished the first set with "All For You." My personal Dempsey favourite, which demonstrates all his outstanding range of talents.

         Boxes of chocolates were handed round during the interval as the audience attempted to get their breath back, We did a brisk trade in raffle tickets,having added one of The Tilting Kettle's excellent themed Christmas cakes into the draw. We had intended to share the Santa stuck in a chimney among the audience but it would have been a Feeding of The Five Thousand Scenario to be honest. I'm delighted to say that our visitors from the Lake District won him-so they had something to eat on the long journey home. Flossy is pictured holding aloft her sister's handiwork below. 

        Nunc opened the second half with "Down Where The Drunkards Roll" and then John Kearney and Flossy MacDougal went solo with a poignant version of "Ae Fond Kiss."  It's Burns Night later in the month so that seemed quite apposite, although a few in the audience failed to get my pun about Jewish Folk music and "enjoying the Rabbi." Oh well. 

         We drew the raffle and then the floor was handed back over to Kevin and he damn near tore it up with a blistering second half punctuated by a few ballads which would break the heart of a hard-hearted man. Notably "Two Constant Lovers," a real tear-jerker, accompanied tenderly by some poignant audience singing. We had Kevin's inimitable version of Postman Pat and just for balance, finished the evening off with a rock and roll standard,"I'm All Shook Up." And we were. 

     Scarecrow,Gerry Colvin,Iota: Dark Horses: the gauntlet for this year is now already laid down. That's one hell of a hard act to follow. However:such is the quality of the 2019 Guest List-I'm confident that we can match this. Fingers crossed! 
       Once again, thanks to Richard Burlingham for making it all happen, when we had no home to go to,and to Tom and Harvey James and their mastery of the mixing desk. And thumbs up to Ben,behind the bar. Filling in for an indsiposed Aaron,he did a wonderful job of slaking all those thirsts.