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John’s Diary Chat
John's Diary chat can be read in the current issue of Folk North West
JOHN’S DIARY CHATAs I write, Angela and I are in deep shock and distress at hearing the news that a lovely lady and great friend Judy Hancock, who sang with Dave Hughes in the duo ‘Sad Pig’, and ran Porkies Folk Club at Poynton, has passed away following a short critical illness. Words cannot adequately express how we feel at this time. Judy was such a lovely person, so kind and generous and with such a beautiful singing voice. Whenever we have Judy in our ‘minds eye’ she is always laughing and smiling. We, along with everyone she touched in her life and in the folk world in particular, will miss her greatly. Our thoughts are with Judy’s husband Dave and the family and also Dave Hughes’ and Jean (his wife) and their family. I would like to share with you some of the sentiments expressed by Judy’s friends to Dave Hughes. “The happiness and enjoyment ‘Sad Pig’ have given to people will always be in our/their memories. In this way a little piece of Judy lives on in each of us. There is a line from a poem which says ‘This cannot be goodbye, for I know your smile, your laughter’. I found this to be true. Yes it hurts like hell now, but in time I promise the memory of the smile will warm your heart”. “I have always
thought that music was one of the greatest human
achievements and if we have a soul (I believe we do), then music
speaks directly to it. To
be able to make music and share it with
others is possibly one of the most generous things a person can do.
Judy Hancock always sang with such passion and sincerity that
sometimes you could almost see the workings of her soul.
That
sort of generosity is very special, but then she was a very, very special lady”. ************* As a regular contributor to this magazine each quarter, it is inevitable that at times some of my opinions and views will not be met with approval by certain readers. And so it was, in the last edition of FOLK NORTH WEST. Ah well, you can’t please all of the people all of the time, hey? It appears that in the last edition I quoted a couple of pieces of information that were incorrect, even though the information was communicated to me directly and verbally. Here are my corrections. The excellent young band Last Orders was one of my highlights last year having for the first time seen them at Fylde Festival in September. From the stage it was announced that they were breaking up due to forthcoming university commitments. Apparently that is not the case. Paul Adams (Fellside Records) advises me that the band are in fact arranging bookings in such a way that their respective seats of learning will not get in the way of their performing skills. This is good news indeed. You can hear their talents at - http://www.myspace.com/114140339 I also notice that this Spring they are booked for the following festival - at Loughborough (8th March 2008). They were also booked to appear at Cheltenham Festival in February. I also mentioned that the duo The Marrowbones (Pete Massey and Gordon Morris) were calling it a day after many years together. I have been informed that this is not the case and that the break up will in fact only be a rest period. By the time you read this Gordon will be recovering from a hip operation. Pete is awaiting a date for a similar op in the not too distant future. They both hope to be back together in folk clubs some time in early summer. Again, this is very good news indeed. Pete can be contacted at – The.Massey@talktalk.net The learning in this for me is that in future all the information I publish will have to be relayed to me in print. There is learning in everything isn’t there? Club news
Paul Reade at Skipton FC tells me that on 8th January (his normal club night) he arrived at his regular venue to find the Royal Oak, Water Street, Skipton all locked up and in darkness with a sign on the door saying that the pub had ‘closed down’. Amazing!! The very good news is that the club is now located at a new venue – The Narrow Boat, 38 Victoria Street, Skipton BD23 1JE (in the town centre off Coach Street). There are two changes though. The club night now is a Monday and not Tuesday and the club calls itself – ‘Skipton Folk Unplugged’. All the very best Paul for the future. We have lost a number of clubs this quarter due to subscription default. So out they go. Replacement folk clubs are always ready to take their places though and I am delighted that we have a familiar name to report – Jean Finney. Yes, the Ring O’Bells, Pit Lane, Farnworth, Widnes has rejoined the magazine. Still every Tuesday night starting at 8-30pm. Welcome back Jean. I love your song “One day daddy” by the way. Further good news is that at long last Lynne Barnes’s club – Dabbers, Welsh Row, Nantwich, CW5 5ET, has joined the Federation. They have recently moved to a new venue at – The Oddfellows Arms, and proceedings commence at 8-30pm on the first Thursday of the month. Lynne is a music agent and has a website at www.amandalynnemusic.com Stewart Lever at Lymm FC is a regular contributor to this column and he informs me that since the change of venue to the Spread Eagle (WA3 0AG) and Lymm Rugby Club (WA3 0AT) a larger venue, things have settle down nicely. Although he wasn’t present, (sunning himself in The Canaries), Stewart was delighted to hear that the very last Garva concert went down a storm, being an absolutely superb night. What Stewart will now be aware of is that Tony Gibbon’s new band is entitled ‘Fir Play’, with ‘Fir’ being Irish for the word ‘Men’. ‘Men play’ – good hey? If you are going to Biddulph Town Hall to see any of Eric Cox’s gigs there, then BYOD (Bring your own drink). 18th April and 28th June are the relevant dates for the next two concerts away from the normal club venue – The Biddulph Arms. Kieron Harley who runs three folk clubs, tells me that the Armoury Folk and Acoustic FC is now held once a month on the last Saturday when only local artists will be booked. The Heaton Mersey club is going quite well and Kieron is thinking of booking local artists for that venue as well – the first Thursday of the month. Christine Jones (Hughie’s wife) tells me that their (Singers) club at the Everyman in Liverpool city centre, Hope Street, is doing fine as well and on 20th May they have a guest performer – Briege Murphy. The punters at the club are well satisfied with the quality of their own residents therefore special guest nights are few and far between. I can vouch for the high quality of singing at this club and with one of the Spinners as the organisers it is bound to be good isn’t it. Gill & Myrna at Carlisle Folk and Blues FC tell me that on 25th April their special guests, Boo Hewerdine and Chris Difford (Squeeze) will take place at the William Howard Centre, Brampton. See www.carlislefolk.org.uk Pat Batty informs me that the Westhoughton FC PA system is up for sale as a complete package. Anyone interested should contact Pat at wfc@folkclub.org.uk or 01257-230508. Open Door FC (March 9th) is hosting another of their Extravaganza days. This time it is number 14, when the principal guests will be – Kimbers Men, Scolds Bridle and Brian Peters. Finally in this section, in the Diary Date pages, the information I have placed against five clubs will not be 100% accurate as I have entered Singers Night or Singaround against all the empty spaces. Some of these dates may in fact be guest nights. I suggest you ring the following clubs - Bacup, Red Bull (Mondays), Frodsham (may onwards) , Bollington and Wrexham (April onwards), for a more accurate update.
Festivals
One of the first festivals this quarter will take place over Easter weekend at Lancaster commencing on Good Friday 21st March and concluding on the Bank Holiday Monday (24th). It is the Glasson Maritime Festival. Artists booked so far are – Stormalong John, Sid Kipper, Hughie Jones, Dick Miles, Bitter End, Andy Kenna and Derek Gifford with more still to be booked. Contact details are 01524-582872 and Vsimpkin@lancaster.gov.uk Graham Dixon at Gregson Lane, is holding a one-day festival at St. Walburge’s in Preston on 31st May. The day will feature many of the residents singers including Trouble at’ Mill, Smithereen, Celtic Fringe and, Ken Kershaw. The evening will see a concert with Anthony John Clarke followed by a grand ceilidh dance with Mooncoyn. Further details can be obtained by visiting www.troubleatmill.com No need to remind you that our own festival, the 4th Wirral Folk on the Coast Festival, (6th, 7th & 8th June), will take place at the beautiful location of the OC Sports and Leisure Centre, 28 Bridle Road, Bromborough, Wirral. We have already sold a load of weekend tickets and the whole weekend is sure to be a complete sell out, with some top acts - like Martin Carthy, Chris While & Julie Matthews, Harvey Andrews, Jez Lowe, Johnny Silvo and the Tom Topping Band topping the bill. We hope that Anthony John Clarke will also be able to be a part of the festival as well. You can take advantage of buying weekend tickets at the discount price provided you purchase before 1st April, 2008. i.e. £45 instead of £49, which includes free weekend camping. Find the advert in this edition for full details of performers or visit www.wirralfolkonthecoast.com Box office telephone number is 0151-652-0734 Droylsden Festival takes place over the weekend of 27th, 28th & 29th June when the principal guest will be Vin Garbutt on 28th. Ring Brenda Judge for tickets at 0161-432-4830. Lymm Festival takes place over a full week throughout the town with the folk element being organised by the aforementioned Stewart Lever. It commences on 26th June until 3rd July. Guests will include Vin Garbutt, Kerfuffle, Harvey Andrews, Steve Tilston, Flossie, Fir Play, Steve Turner and of course Stewart himself. Contact details are – www.stewartlever.co.uk and 07919-270-916 18th to 20th July sees Saddleworth Festival taking place. An exciting group of performers can be found at http://www.safra.org.uk/ Finally, in this festival section I was about to ask you all to sign a petition shouting the cause for Brampton Live Festival 2008 which was, until quite recently, in serious danger of being taken out of the folk festival scene. Carlisle council spending cuts was the problem. However, the good news is that the festival will take place this year and Emerging Music wish to thank everyone who signed the petition. Over 1400 signatures were entered on the e-petition which resulted in the council seeing reason. Ken Bradburn the organiser of the festival says (on the festival website), “It’s gratifying to know that there is such a huge amount of goodwill out there and we look forward to staging what will be the fourteenth festival in July”. Arts Centres and TheatresIf you are intending to support the Friends of Folk organisation then you will need to be aware that Jim Minall’s arrangements mean that a wealth of folk talent appears at various Lancashire venues with the Preston Guild Hall, Darwin Library Theatre, Worden Arts Centre, Leyland and King George’s Hall, Blackburn being the principal locations. Each event this quarter is clearly listed in the centre page calendar. In the programme for Liverpool
Philharmonic Hall can be found bookings for Kate Rusby, and Tim Van Eyken, which
can’t be bad can it? Clannad
also appear, as does Billy Bragg.
Now there is a contrast in styles.
Philharmonic Hall management will feature a concert in the beautiful
concert hall at St George’s Hall, Lime Street. Yes that place where Ringo sang
from the rooftops recently. I
use the word ‘sang’ very loosely of course.
Ali Bain and Phil Cunningham are the special guests.
Now that really is one to visit I feel.
Overall, the Philharmonic has a high quality folk programme this time
around., At the Brindley Arts Centre in Runcorn you can catch a ‘Bluegrass meets Big Band’ night. This will involve Cheshire Youth Music for Life Big Band meeting up with some dynamic young bluegrass musicians. This event will be a forerunner for a Bluegrass Festival to be held at the Brindley later in the year. I don’t often get anything through from Forum 28 theatre in Barrow however this time I am informed that Davey Arthur and the Fureys will appear there on their 30th Anniversary tour. The date – Thursday 17th April. On 27th April, a Mr Kite Benefits concerts sees Chuck Profet the special guest at Bury Met along with The Mission Express. Artists and PerformersI had a glance at the website of Anthony John Clarke and noticed that his agent is now Jacey Bedford (formerly of Artisan). AJC performed so well down at Cropredy Festival last year that he obtained for himself a support act spot on the winter tour of Fairport Convention, 31 concerts. Well done Anthony John. Julia, AJ’s partner is this summer to embark on a charity bike ride in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care during. She is endeavouring to raise £2,500 as she tackles the 520-kilometre ride in a great cycle challenge entitled Bike the Baltic 2008. In the process she has put together a CD of donated songs from various local artists (including the song ‘This little light of mine’ recorded by Patricia, Sue, my wife Angela and myself, better known as Vocal Point). Some of the other contributors are Scolds Bridle, Jean Finney and Nelson Peach. I understand that 100 CDs were made and almost 85 have already been sold (£10 each). If you would like to purchase a CD then email Julia at AJClarke3@aol.com Very well done Julia and all the best with your ‘adventure’. I mentioned earlier Boo Hewerdine who has teamed up with Chris Difford (from the band Squeeze) and is appearing at a number of locations including Biddulph up in Arms (18th April), Burnley Mechanics (19th April), Acoustic Tearoom at the Masonic (22nd April), Carlisle Folk and Blues (25th April) and The Citadel on 26th April. Other collaborations see Ed McGurk (Bandersnatch) teaming up with Nick Caffrey (Than’tiques Roadshow) and Ivan Drever with Duncan Chisholm (both of Wolfstone fame). You can catch the aforementioned at the Wooden Horse FC and the latter at two venues, Biddulph up in Arms and Four Fools FC. Ruth Fuga and Ken Powell (ex Risky Business) are out and about again and can be seen at Lymm FC with the other third of that band Dave Walmisley solo at Gregson Lane. Richard Simcock, a friend of Pete Rimmer (Bothy) emailed me to publicise a one-off concert on 4th March at Southport Old Links Golf Club, Moss Lane, Churchtown, Southport PR9 7QS. The guest artist is Martin Simpson and the ticket price is £10. It all starts at 8pm and tickets can be obtained from Richard at 07841-842137. Graham Cooper flies in from his home in Portugal for another of his short tours and is performing this quarter at Swinton FC and the Hungry Horse Acoustic FC. A name you may not be familiar with is Beck Sian (Australia) who is the cousin of the former pop star Kate Bush. Beck has a tremendous voice and can be seen at ‘The Hungry’ in April. For those of you close enough to travel to New Brighton, Wirral on a Sunday afternoon, you may be interested to know that at the Fort Perch Rock, between 1pm and 4pm, on the third Sunday of every month, there is a presentation (with music of course) entitled ‘The Merseybeat Story’. Although not strictly folk, I bring this to attention as the first presentation will have been given by Tony Davies (ex-Spinners) on 20th January. Further details can be obtained by ringing Allan Schroeder on 0151-639-8245. Stan Ambrose (Radio Merseyside – Folkscene programme) informs me of some excellent news. The Radio Merseyside website ‘Listen Again’ facility statistics show that Folkscene is listened to via ‘Listen Again’ more than any other Radio Merseyside programme. More even than the Roger Phillips programme, (50% more). Additionally, in terms of the national figures Folkscene is the 6th most listened to programme via ‘Listen Again’. This is great news indeed. I would implore you all to use the ‘Listen Again’ facility when listening to Folkscene. It is particularly useful when you are stuck in front of your computer doing other things. Whilst on the subject of local radio in Liverpool, I am sure that many of you voted for the song ‘A World in one City’ in the ‘Song for Liverpool’ song competition of a few weeks ago, run by Radio City. This song (performed folk-style) was written by local songwriter Steve Connolly from Wirral and recorded by Vocal Point a while back. Steve entered it into the competition and low and behold we were chosen as one of the five finalist songs to be voted for and aired on Radio City by the morning DJ, Kev Seed. There was a deadline given for on-line voting and on the following morning the winning song was announced. Unfortunately, we did not win being beaten by a pop-style song called ‘Pool of Life’. But as they say, ‘It is better to have tried and failed rather than not tried at all’. It certainly created some excitement in our respective households. I am pleased to hear that following his recent heart attack Les Barker is recovering well and at the time of writing was intending to resume gigging in February. Anyway, that is it for this quarter. Many thanks for reading this column. I hope to speak to you again next time. John Owen
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