NFC Night 5th June 2019

      I seem to start all of the posts about NFC monthly sessions by making excuses and saying that the dice were loaded against us,the odds were stacked,etc etc etc. And then going on to enthuse about what a good night we had. (Well those that attended,anyway. Can't speak for the stay-aways). But once again,that's exactly how it was. 

       Illness reared up and clouted several of us  over the head beforehand,added to which there were some genuine logistical changes we had to make. All in all we started late and ran over a little bit, but I feel I speak for most when I say we had once heck of a time. 

     Mags had been sidelined with a back injury and was unable to help me set up the room beforehand and run the raffle during the interval and afterwards. No Flossy,the shining star of Nunc who makes all the blokes in the room go all soppy whenever she sings. NO JBS to provide us with the usual array of excellent photographs. But although we missed you all terribly (and your absence was noted),we made a damn good fist of things anyway. Come back soon-and Ian Bourne, too who would have been there if he could. Ian, we send good wishes for a swift recovery. 

        Volunteers rallied round and joined forces to fill in the gaps. Gill Gilsenan,Barbara Wyatt and Anne Beeson helped with the raffle. Andy Jones and Ray Buckler (as you can see,here and elsewhere) provided a fine photographic record. Having all three North Warwickshire Folk Clubs there and playing added a real family flavour to the evening. As did the innovative nature of some of the acts. And,it being John Kearney's 57th birthday,some revellers had responded positively to a call to bring in cans of baked beans as surprise gifts for the Human Jukebox. We made a gift of them to Nuneaton Foodbank afterwards. 

          So we started by singing "Happy Birthday" to JK and to Harvey James one of our young Sound technicians,whose birthday it was on the day before. Then a Flossy-free Nunc opened with three numbers, including a rousing version of "Copperhead Road."  I was there only thanks to antibiotics and a key to the private loo' given that a UTI had poleaxed me for 24 hours. The photos suggest that were standing poles apart but actually I was so zonked out I hadn't given any thought to where I was standing.

          Atherstone Folk Club's Resident House Band Finger in The Jar followed. They chose a trio of songs reflecting the D Day 75th Anniversary the following day,including the autobiographical tale of a serviceman of the time, and culminating in a version of "Oo'er The Hills and Far Away." This came complete with an additional verse cleverly fitted in to reflect the situation. It got everyone singing as besides its poignancy,it's a great chorus song.

       Next up we had a totally new and unique experience for NFC audience members, indeed (unless someone knows different), for any English Folk Club audience. Cor Cymraeg were a quintet who sang each song only in Welsh. Andy Jones, well known to NFC audiences,introduced the songs. Sospan Fach of course being a song beloved of Welsh Rugby fans was familiar to many of the audience. Having said that,in the days when Bedworth,Coventry and Nuneaton were dotted with collieries there would have been hundreds of welsh speaking miners living locally. Diolch yn Fawr,Cor Cymraeg.

        Anyone walking in at this point might have been excused for wondering if they had been transported from Nuneaton to Llangollen and had blundered by mistake into the 2019 Eisteddfford. Another nice touch was to invite their Hungarian choir member forward to give us a solo traditional folk song from her home country. Hungarian songs,in an English Folk Club, performed by a Welsh choir. Wow!

           Malc and Gill followed. NFC regulars,they are Bedworth Folk Club's Residents and they too added a D Day slant to the occasion,including a version of "Where Have All The Flowers Gone." Our audience sang along with it very movingly. BFC have now moved permanently to what was previously their temporary accommodation at Trent Valley Working Mens Club. Like our venue,it has a raised stage a bar in the room and as an added bonus the car parking is free and extensive. Next Wednesday's Guests are Will Finn and Rosie Calvert. It's a friendly club,a ten minute step up the road from where we are based,and free admission with a raffle,like ours. Give it your support.

            We had been trying for ages to fit in Tyburn to do us a turn.Hedley Stone,Dave Cook and Jan Richardson. I'd seen them at a few local clubs previously. Jan is no stranger to NFC but to get the trio playing at NFC was a challenge. Dave bless him, is not at all well and could not make the steep steps onto our stage. So the lads miked him up from the floor,and fed his guitar through the P.A. You can see though the photo below that,although not ideal, this worked o.k. We were able to see and hear Dave's fine guitar playing. As someone wrote elsewhere, "Tyburn did, hands down, the best version of "Killing The Blues" I've ever heard, Jan's voice gets better and better, and the interplay between the guitars and fiddle was spellbinding."  Their arrangements certainly showed great thought.

           So having supped already at the table of excellence,what better way to follow Tyburn than our first Guests of a double bill, the unaccompanied vocal harmony trio Thrup'nny Bits.The Bits treated us to a selection of material from their extensive repertoire of published recordings.This Including their latest,featuring songs about the Peterloo Massacre.Initially they tried to carry off Des's remarkable track record of impersonating Billy Gibbons with his trademark shades. 

           Amidst their catalogue of traditional (and venerable) material they also added the cleverly rude "Bold Sir John," and finished with "Breaking Wind Suddenly," A song which includes the classic line "I blamed the dog...but they knew it was me." 

             Time for the interval and the all important Raffle then,as Gill and Barbara weaved among the throng tempting gamblers by inviting them to win a most impressive array of priizes, generously brought along by performers and audience members. As Gill and Ann Beeson were still feverishly folding tickets,Nunc got the second half under way with audience friendly versions of "Knocking On Heavens Door" and "Irish Rover." Both featuring audience-only verses. 

             The draw produced some interesting results. Tyburn had a clean sweep,picking up several prizes.The bottle of Port did not last long:the Malteesers and Dairy Box went early,as did the Prosecco and other bottles of Fizz. Soon all that was left was the classic Nunc style Shirt Of Many Colours donated by John Kearney who has a wardrobe full of them (Me too!) A gasp rippled round the hall as the last winning ticket was revealed as belonging to....(drum roll) John Kearney. 

             Well the audience by now were shattered. Exhausted but pumped up. What better moment to bring on the excellent Rob Halligan to close the evening? Dressed to look the part and with an impressively compact box of tricks at his feet within dabbing distance,he sounded it,too. It's a long time since I've seen a guitar made to work that hard, He must have fingers of steel.

              Rob supports many local good causes and charities. He does an awful lot to support local music. He is an honest and decent man who writes powerful songs of great strength. With a few covers sprinkled in, his set was an energetic,pulsating wall of sound. He engages the audience and works them like another instrument. Those few who had not seen him before were most impressed. No wonder,as he rose to several encores,he had lost that jacket and was down to his shirtsleeves. A cracking way to finish another excellent nightup int The Queen's Hall. 

            So despite the challenges, we surmounted all the logistical problems and continued our record of putting on innovative and eclectic music which crosses many boundaries and covers many genres. Can we raise the bar any further? Well yes we can. July sees us premiering Celtic Folk Rock,with the debut at NFC of Joe O'Donnell's Shykayla. This is a prestigious coup for us. It is something we have never tried before,and we'll need all and every one of our 340 Facebook Friends to come along and support such an adventurous project that night. See you there? 

May 2019 Review

   To my shame,this is the first account of anything musical since reflecting on Iota's brilliant May Day performance at Nuneaton Folk Club. In fairness,I was abroad for 10 days in May and struggling with health issues in between gigs for the rest of it. I have no photos for most of these gigs as either people didn't take them or none were posted up on Social Media. 

Out at The White Horse

      On Saturday 4th, Nunc were the Guest Act  at the White Horse Mini Folk Festival in Seagrave, Leicestershire. A new venue for us, this was at the kind invitation of Dave and Julia Taylor. It's a nice old pub,in a pretty spot,and the weather was unseasonably warm-or so it seemed. Actually we thought we were to close the evening,but as things turned out, we did our Guest spot-and then the singing in the Round continued up to closing time. 

     We were very well received and made very welcome.  It was a very game effort from the audience gathered upstairs in the loft opposite the main pub.They sang along with all our choruses. The other floor singers covered a most eclectic mix,covering everything from steel guitar blues to poetry.   We managed to raise a lot of money for Rainbows, a very good cause,being a Children's charity dealing with early bereavement. A subject close to my heart.

Earlsdon Festival

     Two days later we were out in the open air,making a return visit to Earlsdon Festival. The streets were rammed and we had a good turn out to see the full six piece giving it some welly. Quite a few people turned up to support us,which was nice. Including The Reutts,with Linda aka Linda Dickson whom many of you will recall fondly from the local Folk Scene before the onset of her illness. The oddest moment to be honest,was being asked by security to remove my hat upon re-entering The City Arms. Never been asked to do that in a Wetherspoon's before. Sort it out,Tim! Top marks to Colin Halliwell, Caroline White and Alchemista for a first class job on the sound mixing.  

Atherstone Tour Package  
On Wednesday the 29th,May we joined in with Bedworth and Atherstone Folk Clubs as part of a Pizza and Folk Night organised by Phil Benson. Other acts on the bill were Finger in The Jar,Pete McPartland, Malc and Gill,David Parr,John & Elaine Meechan and Brian Phillips.  We were asked to close the evening,and as we were among friends who knew all the songs,the choruses were returned robustly! Both Flossy and I were struggling with throat problems so there was much hacking and hawking off mike in between verses!

MotoFest Coventry 2019
    On Saturday 1st June we were hugely excited to play Broadgate,in the packed centre of Coventry. Surrounded by muscle cars,under the Elephant,opposite the balconies of Las Iguanas,Cosy Club and all the other restaurants in what used to be Cathedral Lanes, other than an earlier Godiva Festival,this was for me the largest crowd I'd  yet played to  in my home town, We had a great response and got those Balconies singing to "Knocking On Heaven's Door." 

Another FM Album Review

Are We Having Fun?                 Dan Donnelly

        The title of Dan Donnelly's latest album is rhetorical. Best summed up by the front cover where the question is captioned in ironically cheerful writing beneath a tourist couple happily snapping away at an emerging mushroom cloud.

            “Are we having fun?” is a line from the opening track: “Time of Our Lives.” (No...not that one. That's Green Day). It kind of reflects much of the material within. “I don't Care” is a tongue-in-cheek protest song about protest. Like most of us,there isn't much that Dan isn't sick of. He lists them all here. Politicians and journalists. Elections, Brexit, Austerity and Recession. The Unemployment,Disaffected Youth and food additives. All get cheerfully eviscerated:

         “Blah Blah Blah! Flood warning! Something something, Nuclear War: Rhubarb rhubarb National Debt:Blah blah blah Terrorist Threat,” he rages. Three minutes of noisy,anarchistic grumbling,passionately played and so waspishly delivered that he evidently really does care. ( Me? I rather cared for it. See what I did there?).

        Dan has an impressive pedigree. He honed his art in Ireland and New York before settling in Exeter and then moving to Teeside. As well as solo success he has guested with The Levellers, The Wonder Stuff, Seth Lakeman and The Oysterband.

Recorded at Green Dragon Studios in Stockton by Adam Gilbert and mixed at 811 Studios by King Glover, this album has overall a very strong Country/Greengrass feel to many of the songs. There is impressive instrumentation on most of the tracks, featuring drums,fiddle,banjo,bass, accordion and “everything else.” ( Dan's not kidding either:there's even a mellotron somewhere in there too!)

       Most songs are original compositions except a cover of Suzanne Vega's “Gypsy.” Stripped of a lot of the production bells and whistles,this reveals a sensitive vocal,well articulated. By contrast,his other cover version is of Johnny Mercer's “I'm an Old Cowhand.” Once recorded by Bing Crosby, there is much Yippie Yi Yo-Kayah about it. Barrelhouse piano and a blousy trombone solo add to the good time feel..

“Docklands.” is another jolly hootenanny celebration,listing the broad canvas of erm...“characters” one might meet on the quaysides or wharves of any disreputable Seaport Town. Canada Water and Mudchute it ain't: there's not a briefcase in sight.

       When Dan does get serious, the results are endearing. “Son On The Horizon” is a charming homage to impending fatherhood. “Things are going to change for you and me,” he predicts. “What If?” features a duet between Dan and Cecillia Donnelly. A daughter I'm guessing who emerged from that same horizon? It's actually rather nice. ”Keep” is a modest tempo song greatly enhanced by some sensitive accordion playing from Gayna Grimshaw.

         “Do It Till You Die”, a noisy encouragement to excess in all things which restores the rowdy and defiant hellraising. “Music is Free” has an intro redolent of “Money” by The Flying Lizards. It's a comedic swipe at the perils of attempting to make a living out of musicianship. Radio Ga Ga meets Dr.Hook. “Everybody's getting paid but me,” he complains.

Dan's music is innovative,angry in places and sprinkled with one or two snippets of industrial language that the aspiring Folk Radio Jock might chose to bleep out. Sometimes bitter,often sarcastic and always thought-provoking, his songs are quite short,which is a godsend for radio presenters. His admirable approach seems to be “if I can't get it said in under 4 minutes it ain't worth saying.”

       The one exception to this is “Happy Ever After.” (which is far from happy).It opens with an ominous melange of distorted radio messages indicating clearly that something untoward is happening. It is Dan's attempt at storytelling. Not a particularly comfortable story as it is the reminiscence of a guy who has shot his partner dead.

         Dan's songs are always interesting and deserve reflection beyond a first hearing. The album comes as a gatefold CD. I looked in vain for a song sheet. Not because I did not understand the songs,but because on subsequent listening I would have liked to have read further and analysed them a bit more deeply.

Feather-a new Album by Edgelarks

(Review as published in May Folk Monthly)
Feather                                         Edgelarks 

 Dragonfly Roots Records         Release date May 17^th 2019

          Edgelarks are a duo comprised of Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin. Winners of the “Best Duo” category in 2014's Radio Two Folk Awards, “Feather” is their fifth studio album. They were nominated in the same category again in 2016 and 2018. Rated (a little improbably?) by Mike Harding as “one of the best duos on the planet,” they are valued highly also by Iain Anderson and The Guv'nor himself, Mark Radcliffe.

        Approaching this new album without having read such accolades and without prejudice, it is still an impressive and thoughtful piece of work:the powerful cumulative result of two musical forces working collaboratively together.

          They are both impeccable musicians. I really enjoyed Henry's solo album released last year, “True North.” So much so, that I rated it ninth in the Anker Folk Top 50 albums of 2018, released and broadcast in 2019. His guitar work is by turns moody and expressive and is always exemplary. On this album, Hannah supplements his work on dobro,steel guitar and harmonica by adding her own virtuosity on banjo and fiddle. But it is the timbre of her voice that is the final, potent ingredient. It is redolent at times of June Tabor or Joni Mitchell. That good-it is an instrument she uses to great effect.

          The album was produced by Mark Tucker and Henry himself. It was recorded as late as last December and during January 2019 at the Green Room in Devon. It was mixed and mastered there and also at ARC studios,Eynsham. (Hope nobody poached their tunes?). Arrangements are by Phillip Henry. All ten songs are original bar an innovative reworking of “Spencer The Rover.”

      “ Wander” fairly rocks along,a foot-tapping homage to travel and exploration. “Oyster” is more maritime than Transport for London,a mysterious piece with some eerie sound effects. Is that percussive background beat the marching feet of Oysters? Or the massed band of ticket collectors snapping hole punches? Do Oysters even have feet? It is a track that poses more questions than answers.

      There are echoes of Ewan MacColl and his Railway ballads, there are May Days and Tors,Standing stones and moorlands, ice creams and holidays-really there is far too much crammed in to describe fairly here. In the nicest possible way,it is like a beach full of flotsam and jetsam:a place where you can pick things out,turn them over and examine them and perhaps keep something for later.

        The album's release pre-empts an 18 date U.K. Tour which begins in Bath on May 16^th and ends at Towcester in June. Refreshingly, Feather is, (as its title suggests),cheerful and upbeat. A welcome break from the stygian gloom of dungeons, collieries, crowded quaysides, prisons and ships' holds featured in the repertoire of so many Folk artistes. The sleeve notes describe the contents as “songs for tired hearts,troubled minds and soulsick wanderers. Songs of Hope.” God knows,in our turbulent world at present, there is a niche for a few more of these?

May Day with IOTA

           Sometimes it just seems I am fortunate to be blessed by being surrounded by beautiful and talented women. A collection of gorgeous,feisty nieces and Great Nieces. A daughter and daughter in law who combine challenging careers with being energetic working mums. An adorable,funny two year old granddaughter who can already count to ten,make up her own songs and identify geometric shapes by name. And my wife,Maggie. My Rock. who has put up with me for nearly 50 years. 

          When I indulge myself in music, like  at Nuneaton Folk Club,last night,she is there beside me.. Expertly running the raffle,keeping me company and offering critical and insightful analysis of the various acts. (Including mine). Also often at my side on stage at NFC is my Niece known affectionately by her stage name as “Flossy.” Founder member of Nunc. She of the glorious voice and full on stage presence. Unable to make it last night.  No doubt about it,I was gutted,and so were the band and the audience.  It’s no secret that her powerful, expressive voice is one of the best on the circuit. 

         Which  is not to demean the craggy,chiseled muscle-toned good looks of all those males who graced the stage last night. They also played their part in making it one of the best evenings we’ve ever had at NFC since we started up at The Crown in October 2014.( Yes, it was that good). In terms of attendance,(standing room only),entertainment and musical virtuosity,it was a Collectors' Item. Here's some evidence-all photos here are courtesy of John B.Smith. 

         It’s not easy running such an enterprise as NFC as a volunteer. A lot of organisation and planning goes ahead well beforehand. Without the total support of Rich Burlingham and his staff (including our youthful Sound Crew), I’d be lost. The Crew rescued Folk and Roots music in Nuneaton when, (aside from a few excellent sessions like those at The Fox on Mondays),  it was on its knees. Now there is a top quality venue in the Town,with facilities most organisers can only dream of,and a Guest List to match. It's the little touches from Rich that add the finishing veneer. Nibbles in bowls on the tables. (At my request) the exquisite and locally provenanced Church End Goat's Milk 

        The scenes before the evening proper begins are always hectic. But we started, miraculously on time. A depleted Nunc hastily re-scribbled a running order at 7.59pm and shoved Paul Moore into the spotlight. He did not disappoint. Kicking off with "Sitting On Top of The World," he followed with his own composition,an NFC debut for "Mr.Moonshine." Holding on to his precious mandolin,we then launched straight into "Copperhead Road." This time John Kearney belted out the lead vocal. 

          Next up was Adam Wilson. We've favoured Adam a few times at NFC. A bright new talent,he has an extensive vocal range and is not afraid to tackle challenging arrangements of old songs. Demonstrated by his starter, a Beatles cover. Followed by a Stereophonics classic "Billy Davey's daughter. And concluded with an ambitious tilt at Foy Vance's magnum opus,"Wild Swans on The Lake." Impressive. 

          Maintaining the quality up popped two thirds of Daisybell,Katherine and Anya. They previewed a song from Katherine's forthcoming Folk Opera and added "This Wheel s Broken," truly a modern protest song. Featuring some epic rotation of Anya's nutsack,which sounds gruesome but is actually a percussive instrument.  

                   How to maintain that quality level? Simple. Wheel out Craig Sunderland. A popular choice. Great choice of material,great singing voice and one of the finest guitarists you can see locally. With the additional bonus of an inventive version of "Little John Barleycorn," Craig left the stage to deserved applause.

                    Paper Circus arrived to pick up the baton. There were people in the room who had not yet heard Jennian's remarkable singing voice,so I popped out into the auditorium to see how they reacted.(It's always interesting to see jaws dropping). PC will be back at The Queen's Hall in a few weeks. Saturday May 17th to be precise,when they are support to the July Julie Band, as part of the Tribute to Sandy Denny Tour. One not to miss. 

                       The immaculate and amazing Guest Band Iota then delivered a pulsating first set to take us up to the interval. We'd seen Anna Ryder in The Queen's Hall before but this was Marion Fleetwood,Sally Barker and Anna.. Each one individually a musical enigma and a fine vocal talent. Collectively, with some finely crafted arrangements and wonderful harmonies, the trio set out their impressive stall. It was clear from the onset, we were in for a memorable night. No wonder a bit of a Legend,Gordon Giltrap turned up to see them

                After an interval,during which Harvey entertained  startled onlookers by producing a stage ladder and climbing up it with a microphone to check the lighting rig. Nunc warmed the audience back up again with "How Long Blues," "Vigilante Man" and a version of "Knocking On Heaven's Door" which featured the best audience singing an NFC crowd can muster. Racing through the Raffle (thank you for donations) we eagerly sat back to enjoy another powerful set from Iota. Culminating in two emotional and powerful encores"You Don't Know What It's Like," with the audience roaring out the choruses,and a splendidly original arrangement of "Who Knows Where The Time Goes?" 

                Who knows indeed? I had arrived,(as I often do),around 7pm, fraught,tired,depressed, anxious and apprehensive. As we left,shortly before midnight,we were both elated and still buzzing.Well done ladies:that's down to you.

Return of The Spring Hare

      What a pleasure it is to welcome back an artiste of the calibre of Phil Hare to The Queens Hall at The Crew. Making his fourth appearance at Nuneaton Folk Club, he is a man of great integrity,of prodigious musical talent and a writer of extremely incisive,clever songs. Add to this the effort he puts in to working an audience and the brilliance of his onstage improvisation,his sets are the epitome of professionalism. And thoroughly enjoyable. 

       Having previously appeared only at The Cr*wn some of us were greatly looking forward to seeing him in front of a bigger auditorium and using the vastly superior sound system of The Crew. The only disappointment was the number of people who turned out to see him do this. This is no reflection on Phil. The NFC Facebook page has 339 members and 14 additional current requests are pending attention. Where do all these 300+ people go on the First Wednesday of each month? One despairs sometimes, of repeatedly asking this question.

        However we won't dwell on the mystery of absent friends and will celebrate instead the positive aspects of another good evening of music and fun. Nunc had been reduced to a duo,but this was no great hardship for us as it is how we began together in 2014. As always, there was no soundcheck for us-no time-so we went straight up and launched into "T'was on an April Morning."   Nowadays we do this with guitar accompaniment,but without any we had to rely on a battery powered pitch-pipe to get the starting note right(-ish). Trying to get a slightly smaller than usual audience to sing along was always going to be a challenge,but they rallied bravely through "John Ball," and gave us stolid backing on our own specially adapted segue of "When I Get To The Border" and "Soldier Soldier." 

NUNC-and then there were two.

               Bob Brooker followed. That was not always the plan but as we had someone drop out from the original list of Floor Singers,Bob was rapidly coerced from being a simple audience member (and I do mean simple) to becoming a performer. Bob is a master of several instruments. It's not that often you see him away from his banjo or Bazouki, but we were treated to a couple of intricate instrumentals on the mandolin-which is another of his specialisms. Thoroughly entertaining and played with great concentration. The photo below (which like all of those used here is courtesy of John B Smith) captures the essence of Bob's stage presence.  

         Reverting to the original running order,Wes Hall and Simon Roberts then made their NFC debut as a duo. Wes had appeared with Paul Moore at NFC in the past,but having seen him appearing with Simon elsewhere I was keen to get them on stage at The Queens Hall. They did a nice version of "Adieu Sweet Lovely Nancy" and a couple of instrumentals. Top fiddle playing from Simon and solid vocals from Wes. Try as we might we could not get them to come out from behind those foldbacks so alas,we have no photographic evidence that, (see proof below) both chose to appear naked from the waist down

         Craig Sunderland has quickly won the hearts of NFC audiences (and a few other venues too) So there was a warm welcome for him on another return. He plays well, he sings well and he interprets his song choices with great feeling and sensitivity. And of course it is always nice to see a few younger faces on stage at NFC

              The evening just kept on giving as another great guitarist and raconteur,Brian Phillips gave us two fabulous songs hallmarked by his warm vocals and remarkable finger-picking dexterity.

        Supplemented by some bright comedy and a further rendition of one of his whimsical spoken pieces,Brian continues to do for poetry what William McGonagall did for Iambic Pentameter. He finished his spot by rolling out  an epic reflection on that much neglected topic,Flatulence.The audience soon got wind of what he was up to and responded enthusiastically. Was that just green vapour billowing from the smoke machine or serious method acting from another,nearer source? Hard to tell. Brian looks like a man who has just got rid of something in this picture, doesn't he? 

            How could anyone possibly follow that? Well K.C. Jones aka Colin and Karen, two talented local singers,also attempted to get to the bottom of things. Colin won the audience over immediately by taming an errant mike stand which had been demonstrating erectile dysfunction by spontaneously sagging over during other peoples' performances. Stage gear sorted,they then outgunned Ian Bourne (who was off abroad plying his trade across the county in Stratford). They did  a very strong cover of the Gretchen Peters standard " Hello Cruel World." Ian always makes a good fist of it but somehow it was less eerie and considerably more wholesome, when Karen at the end of a long descending note,sang " I'm a very lucky girl." The couple finished with "Sonny." My fault entirely. I'm a sucker for schmaltz. I requested it. I love it and they hadn't planned to do it. But off they went and the audience loved it too 

          Phil stepped up to complete his first "taster" set,one of two. He had arrived without fuss,despite having been baffled by the mysteries of the Ringway. He sailed through a brief soundcheck (an exemplar for those who take so long agonising over these pre-gig rituals). Whilst not performing, he exchanged banter with the audience. He eschews hiding away in hospitality rooms preferring instead to mix with the hoi paloi. He takes on board the creative work of others and always has time to talk to other musicians. He is that rare thing a Man of The People. Many on the Folk Circuit have pretensions to owning that title-Phil simply delivers.   

          A breathless and joyous first half came to an end. After a quick break then drawing the raffle and awarding prizes,Phil gallantly accepted a challenge to join Nunc on stage for a version of "Jesus on The Main Line."  We'd really like to keep him in the band after this but as he and Stef live in Cambridge,rehearsals could be a problem.

                Having persuaded him to noodle along with us,it was,(happily)  time for him to close the evening with a second set. Phil is a top performer. He makes you chuckle with "Potato Man" or "I got my Country Back"  He makes you ponder with " Everyone's A Hard Man Now." He makes you gasp with instrumentals and fills where harmonics and key changes are flung about in great profusion. He has a great voice with a strong range. The sensitivity of his vocals on " Lady London" or his wonderful interpretation of Glenn Campbell's "Wichita Lineman" were stunning He gave us two encores and I got the feeling that he would have been up for more. A great showman and a top bloke. I hope a few more turn up to see him next time he's appearing locally. 

All In Good Time by Dave Taylor

              Whilst appearing alongside his charming wife,Julia, Dave Taylor's public performances are relatively restrained. The Leicestershire duo do some nice harmonies together, they cover some lovely ballads very sensitively and do some of their own material. Off the leash and solo, Dave's kindly appearance is shed. He belies that calm exterior revealing a vicious tongue,a gift for mimicry,a fine-tuned ear for parody and a real understanding of how to employ irony in songwriting.

         “All In Good Time,” is the latest of several solo issues by Dave.He describes it as “fourteen tracks over quite a spectrum of serious and frivolous.” And he's not joking (although more often than not he is). He actually uses the word “tacks” rather than “tracks” here....leaving you wondering.. Is that a typo or a pun? You never really know with Dave.

The CD is worth having just for the immortal “Leonard Cohen's Shantymen” alone. A work of pure genius which has got many a large Folk Club audience cackling and struggling to join in with the choruses simply because they could not stop laughing. I've not yet seen a live audience who weren't tickled by this. Trust me. It's brilliant.

          But there's more. When Dave's laying into the objects of his considerable ire,he's at his best. Lyrics written in ink refined from pure acid flow from his quill pen. Words, delivery and production on this album combine to emphasise the satire. Alone,Dave pulls no punches. Rather he swings haymakers at the objects of his wrath. He sprinkles his songs with expletives and examples of Anglo Saxon vernacular. His songs are by turns angry,waspish and at times almost cruel in their imagery. ( A man after my own heart). But they are always funny. A sort of folk version of Sleaford Mods,in “Greedy Bastards All” he epitomises this attack: via a really cross condemnation of Privilege.It matches in vehemence anything Billy Bragg or Dick Gaughan has ever angrily spat out into an auditorium.

          “Blue-Arsed Fly” takes a tilt at Health and Safety whilst “ White Boots” is another classic about Talent Show Wannabees. It is delivered in a mocking vocal style somewhere between Benny Hill John Otway and Charlie Drake A three minute assassination of the cry babies and the tone deaf who employ sob stories to win votes when lack of musical ability cannot gather any. If only our hero had worn his white boots for the audition...the rest might have been history.

         “There's an Alien Taken Over My Brain” celebrates Insomnia whilst “Range Rover” is in Dave's sleeve notes,“for those whose definition of “off-roading is parking on the pavement.”

It's not all a bundle of laughs. “Haunted” is a protest about childrens' role in warfare and “ Harbour Lights,” is an affectionate homage to Weymouth. And Dave is capable of writing heavier songs. “Glow Worm” is no laughing matter:It has nothing in it to smile about. A long ballad, half sung,half spoken it is a Magnum Opus about an epic confrontation between a Royal Navy Destroyer and a German Battlecruiser. off the Norwegian coast in 1940. At over nine minutes long it emphasise what he can do with well-researched material when he's being serious. Dave is also a very good guitarist. (Did I mention that?) He also plays mandola,theremin(I think I take those for high blood pressure) accordion and bass.

         But it's not long before he's sharpened his plectrum and got his kicking boots out again with “Eighties Song,” you can guess what he's on about here. Backed by swirling synths ,beeping moogs and God knows what,Dave lays into Eighties Pop Music. With the fence-sitting anguished refrain of “How Long Can This Turgid Crap Go On?” he's not really a fan..

          Elsewhere,in “Rose Scented Glasses,” there is more clever wordplay. Dave laments our “high expectorations” and mercilessly pans the fifty years or so of Hurt exemplified by the underachieving England Football Team. With more tonsil bending enunciation,Dave weighs into them all. The players. The pundits. The press. The Referees. The opponents. No-one is safe. It makes Green Street look like a picnic.

        “No matter how you interpretate it 

          you can't make sense

        of the total demolishment our defence,”

-the anonymous observer laments,adding bitterly:

         “The World will be our Lobster 

       we'll still get taken to the cleaners

         or go out on penalties 

           to Spain or Argentina."

So..There's now a new England Song. Eat your hearts out Baddiel and Skinner.