Nothing to Fret About

       Last night was a first for me and (I suspect),for quite a lot of other people. For the first time ever, I was privileged to be invited to a Film Premiere. I'd hooked up with local Film Producer Lee Price, whilst he was still filming Frettin'-his second full length feature film. No spoilers, but it is shot entirely locally and features an exclusively local cast. One or two of whom I already knew to talk to or nod at and a good few more I recognised on my first preview screening.

      Still keeping it local, John Kearney and I were delighted to be invited by Lee to contribute a little music clip to the soundtrack. Which we did. Part of "Adieu Sweet Lovely Nancy," recorded in my living room. No spoilers,but thanks to Catherine Nellany's sumptuous acting,not a dry eye in the house last night as that particular bit of film rolled by.

Lee had also asked me beforehand to rustle him up a Shanty Crew. So,on one hilarious December day the (landlocked) Hawkesbury Trawlermen recorded "Blow The Man Down,"live upstairs at The Lord Hop in Nuneaton. ( Told you I'd make you famous, Barry!).

     The Hawkesbury Trawlermen are exclusively drawn from The Nuneaton and District Elderly Gentlemens' Binge Drinking Society (Folk Club Section). Our monthly meetings are held in The Felix Holt which is now the town's only Wetherspoons. On that afternoon, we had held our annual "works do" previously in another hostelry,and we arrived for the recording at The Hop in (shall we say?) a relaxed state. Suffice to say that at least one Trawlerman fell asleep during part of the recording. 

    Quite how Lee then mixed this up to the very high standard full-blooded soundtrack version broadcast last night, God knows.

       Lee had also persuaded Nunc to provide a half hour of live music before the show. As they are  The Nuneaton Folk Club House Band and The Crown's gaffer had a part in the film,this seemed quite appropriate. Plus, John Kearney lives in Whitestone and Flossy and I being related,had parents, grandparents and other relatives born in the town. Entirely sensible then,with all the local involvement, that the Premiere was held in Nuneaton's Abbey Theatre.

      For me therefore,a little bit of a personal ambition was achieved last night. I'd played the Arts Centre before, long ago, and the Theatre Foyer last November. I'd also seen some of Simon Winterman's excellent productions there. Finally getting on that stage with a big audience in front of us was an ambition fulfilled and a real honour. Make no mistake,The Abbey is an absolute gem of a venue. The sound system is a dream. The lighting is fully professional. The front of House staff are always helpful and pleasant. The bar always has plentiful stocks of Church End Fallen Angel available-surely one of the best Real Ales produced in the area?Inside,The Abbey has a generous stage with a wide apron, and the seats are cleverly tiered. It has been properly designed,and the acoustics are ace.

Nunc at The Abbey Theatre

      Whilst in Black Parrot Seaside, I only ever played a few theatres. Theatre On The Steps in Bridgnorth springs to mind as a memorable gig and I think we once did another one in Lichfield. I've always found them iconic places. Possibly because I read Drama at College,and then taught it for many years. ( Nunc followers may have noticed that, judging me on my stage shirts alone, I always like to make my presence felt when performing. I wore two shirts last night:one under the other. Just to be safe).

      We put quite a bit of planning and rehearsal into this appearance beforehand, concentrating specifically on timing. You cannot muck theatricals about. I am delighted to say that,as planned, we opened on time as the audience began to filter into the auditorium, and we finished bang on time,right on cue, as it were. Leaving a slightly nervous Lee to introduce his Pride and Joy in person, just after we said "Adieu to Sweet Lovely Nancy." As the opening titles rolled I checked my watch. 7.01pm.

      The audience were more than up for it, bless 'em! Perhaps it was the Fallen Angel, but they sang the Choruses gamely,although I bet quite a few hadn't come across that much Folk and Country previously. For the record ( alas,not literally. Not yet anyway).. we did:"Twas On an April Morning", "Weather With You," "When I Get To The Border," "All Gotta Die Someday," "Down Where The Drunkards Roll," "Angel from Montgomery," and " Bring It On Home," before leaving things to Nancy. We had a great time: the Adrenalin was really pumping.

      The film was very clever. (Didn't Frettin'look good on the Big Screen!) I hope Lee won't mind me describing it as a kind of Comedie Noire set in Warwickshire. An unlikely couple are drawn together by tragedy and broken dreams and shadowed by a larger than life irascible rogue, the mysterious Nancy. They endure a sequence of scrapes,some comic,some not so.

      The film has some classic moments which only those born within the Sound of Camp Hill will fully appreciate. There is laughter,there is pain and pathos. There is a lightly optimistic ending which comes as bit of surprise after all the trauma, and leaves it wide open for a sequel. If you like the work of Sean Hughes you'll enjoy this.

      I bet there was a riotous backstage party afterwards, but being proper Rock and Roll,we had already decided to support The Sly Old Dogs in their nomadic quest for a new home. Having carelessly lost The Bell and The Denbigh Arms in Monks Kirby,and the Wood Farm Brewery Tap, their March 2017 session was to be held in the home of The Tump Folk Club at The Humber Hotel in Coventry. A venue,in many guises, we have played many times. I hope, given the SODs recent track record,The Humber is  insured against sudden closure.        

Max Wright takes to the floor

     We proved conclusively that, with a headwind, clear traffic, and entirely within the law, you can travel from Central Nuneaton to downtown Coventry in 15 minutes. So anyone from Cov who has not yet been to Nuneaton (or even Beduff) Folk Clubs just because it's "too far!" or it "takes too long ...well...just...meh!

      We arrived at The Humber just as the first of three halves were ending. Later, replenished with appropriate beverages we sang along with a classic SODs (and Friends) repertoire, endured a slightly above average joke from Tool, and contributed a few songs ourselves. John did "Do Wah Diddy Diddy"( a fine old Traditional Folk Song) and together we did "Di Di The Ice Cream Man," (one of mine) and "Dont Worry/The Wild Rover" (one of his). Paul Kenny led the assembled company in "Whiskey In The Jar" as a fitting finale. The SODs are now off to sample another new kennel, out Brandon way at the end of April. I hope the Club Committee have a back-up plan!    

Nunc at Tump Folk

       Last night(Thursday) Nunc completed a busy week as the featured Guests at The Tump, nowadays based in The Humber Hotel,Coventry. Previously, it was homed in other venues including the original setting in Brinklow ,Warwickshire. (Hence the name). Always a friendly club,wherever it was, with a loyal cohort of regulars and presided over regally by Karen Orgill.  It was an honour and a privilege to play this venue again as the Main Guests. (The first time I did so was with Black Parrot Seaside, many years ago now).

     It had been a busy six days for us, with a set at the (nearby) Twisted Barrel Brewery Tap last Friday, a little cameo from John Kearney and I at the final Sly Old Dogs at Wood Farm on Sunday, and our stint at Nuneaton Folk Club Wednesday night. Frankly, I wouldn't want it any other way. What Nunc are doing is a whole new departure for me,and although we work hard on rehearsals (yes..we do,Karen Orgill!), the end result is an absolute blast for us, and increasingly, audiences seem to like it. This is absolutely no reflection on the various BPS members, but I'm having more fun now than I ever was-and it seems, doing  gigs more regularly too. That's not a criticism-just evolution I guess.  Though we mostly do covers and rearrangements of other people's work nowadays, last night we managed to include one of my songs and one of my sisters. Both well received. 

      The Humber holds lots of memories for me. I grew up in the area and as a kid I played on the park just round the corner. Later, in a brief period working for The Parks Department of Coventry City Council, I mowed all the parks and grass verges in the area-and there were plenty. I spent my last night as a single man drinking in the Humber with workmates. My dad and my Uncle Bill worked across the road in the massive,long since demolished assembly shops and factories of  Stoke Works of The Rootes Group. 

      Nowadays the area is a mix of old artisans houses and newer stock. Many are Student Lets, as Coventry University is just a short walk away. Where steam locos once shunted and assembled goods trains at Gosford Green Depot, the tracks are long gone and a Primary School stands on the site. 
         The Tump in its current home is a lovely club. In recent memory I've seen it absolutely rammed:a big concert room, filled to overflowing:the stage piled high with guitar cases and music stands.  The car park congested and the streets around full of customers' cars. That was for a Rod Felton Memorial Night,when  I had the honour of singing the Great Man's lovely song "Curly",accompanied by BPS and David Parr.

      Last night was a much cosier occasion. I knew all but a few in the room,and even in their previous format,Nunc had already done an extended floor spot here. So it was like a home from home. Very informal with a high standard of banter and heckling. The beer was good, and reasonably priced. The radiators were on,and the bar staff were friendly. The Tump is a little jewel and it deserves more support, more regularly. 

       Besides the two sets we did, music was also provided by Campbell Mckee, Max Wright, Nigel Ward, Rob Oakey and the wonderful Terry and Jan Wisdom aka "Highly Strung."   Max had brought his banjo and did a few songs including "Putting On The Style. " Campbell was extraordinarily upbeat-I think his overseas trips are doing him the world of good. He did Donovan's "Catch the Wind," and Lal Waterson's "Mole in a Hole." 

     Nigel sang a song and played some lively instrumentals on his fiddle. Rob Oakey too was in lively  mood and good voice. He did "Homeward Bound", a Woody Guthrie number and "The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde."

      Before performing second half,, Terry and Jan proudly handed me their DVD (which I'd been looking forward to playing since they first told me about it). Alas, as yet I have been unable to play it!  I had hoped to feature their work on "Anker Folk" so as to bring their talents to a wider audience.Terry's sparkling guitar work is always complimented by Jan's immaculately timed rhythm guitar and her immaculate pitch. Terry is approaching 80 this year and he's bloody annoyed about it, but it is always lovely to see these two. Long ago once gave up Folk but thankfully were persuaded back into it again. They are  still cutting the mustard and putting some of us younger performers to shame with their energy and enthusiasm.  At my request they did "One Meatball," and also gave us a few other treats including "Rocking hair."

        Thanks to Max Wright we may well be sticking our first effort up on You Tube soon. Over the two sets we sang 18 songs-and still they wanted more. So we finished with our Irish Reggae version of "Dont Worry/Irish Rover."  Making it nineteen at all. We tried to mix it up a little, with some Trad.Arr. some comedy and Flossy's gorgeous rendition of "Ae Fond Kiss" thrown in to stimulate the tear ducts. ( Campbell has been known to break down playing or listening to certain songs-I thought we had him for a moment, but his eyes were only watering because he had trapped his little finger in a ring pull. 

 

Full Set List

First Half:

Twas on an April Morning 
Black Jack David
Downtown
Adieu Sweet Lovely Nancy
After The Goldrush 
The Call 
Albert Balls 
John Ball 
Cold Haily Windy Night 
When I Get To The Border/Soldier Soldier

Second Half;

Down Where The Drunkards Roll

Weather With You 

Ae Fond Kiss

All Gotta Die Some Day 

Angel from Montgomery 

Bring it On Home To me

Perfect 

All The Good Times 

Don't Worry/Irish Rover 

         

March of The Sound Men

Watching Paper Circus.

             Another First Wednesday and another First of the month to mark Nuneaton Folk Club's March session.Our featured guest Kevin Dempsey, is always a welcome visitor and always pulls in a good crowd. As you would expect with an artiste of his calibre the latest  NFC evening at The Crown was another high quality occasion. It would be difficult, given the added bonus of a talented squad of  support acts to go wrong,really. So we didn't. Kevin delivered a typically high quality performance, admirably supplemented by a strong support cast, all of them returning. 

Part of Wednesday's audience 

     After a tricky changeover at the start of the new year, the Sound arrangements are still in flux, but are stabilising now This is largely due to the way in which half a dozen folks have worked co-operatively together to make sure that all our performers are ably supported on Wednesday nights. This entails several of us putting in a shift on Tuesday night,as work commitments are now limiting the amount of time we can spend on a Wednesday evening, before our 8pm start, setting up.  

     I make no apologies for putting our sound team first in this account,as without them, the quality of performance (which our audiences continue to praise and enjoy), would not be the same. So it's thanks to Simon Winterman of Impulse Theatre for allowing us early access to their rehearsal room and to Julian Harkins The Crown's Guv'nor for storing the sound gear securely between Folk nights. And thanks also to three of our own: Matt Mallen Allen, Liam Johnson and our latest incumbent Dave Smart,for their work together beforehand and at the desk on Wednesday. It only needed Tom Veasey and the whole team would have been reunited for one night! 
      Matt 's new career in High Finance has impacted on his degree of input, but he,Dave Smart,Julian,Liam and myself put in time on Tuesday night to ensure that Liam, (who was taking the helm first shift),could conduct the sound checks and get us under way. Dave Smart took over the desk eventually and helped us stow the gear away afterwards. Without all this behind the scenes work, the show literally could not go on.

Matt and Liam look on as Dave Smart contemplates the sliders. 

        Nunc began with   " When I get to The Border" and "Weather With You" and the cheerfully philosophic Kasey Chambers anthem, "We're all gonna die some day." The audience were obviously already in a good singing voice , as they returned each of the  choruses right merrily.  

Nunc are heading to The Border. 

           Then we put Matt Mallen Allen (literally) on the spot.  Matt arrived in time for us to Pressgang him into giving us a turn on stage.  With characteristicl unfazed cool, he have us a couple of songs including a very fast tempo cover of "Down Under"- a hit for Men at Work. The audience enjoyed that too  which was a portent of things to come. They sang all the choruses and parts of the verses with enthusiasm. We could have been in a back street bar in Melbourne.

                                                      Man at Work:   MMA-style Cool.
           Paper Circus captivated the  audience with their unique style. They blew us away on their first appearance at NFC and repeated that feat again this time. Great musicianship from the boys laying down the perfect canvas for Jennian's gorgeously textured vocals. One of the nicest things about an NFC crowd is that they will sing like a choir of angels when requested to but when someone of Jennian's timre sings "She Moved Through The Fair" you could  hear a pin drop. Well done you lovely people-that's so appreciated by performers, getting such respect for what they do.

 Paper Circus

       Brian Phillips was visibly disappointed to find that his recent William McGonagall Prize  for Services to Poetry was a virtual one only.  However he  was still persuaded to air a brief rhyme about a misunderstanding in a Bedding Department before treating us to three songs and an update on The Worst Ever Lurgy known to mankind. Classic.

Bri is just a Rambling man. or is he just Ramblin'?

      The assembled company then enjoyed  three songs  from Wilson Wright.  John Wright, (who took most of these magnificent photographs and many more), was not 100% unlurgied himself. However,he  declared himself well enough to perform  after a late fitness test. Accompanied by Hilary Wilson, in a magnificent pair of lace up boots, (obviously she wore other stuff as well-but those boots were made for stompin'). Wilson Wright took us through a dreamy sequence of images and melodies.Their version of "Ride On" was once again particularly memorable, with choruses again thundered back enthusiastically by the audience.

Wilson Wright. Maybe Wright and Wilson?

      Jan and  Campbell Perry had the unenviable task of following Wilson Wright  and of softening us up further before Sir Kevin strolled on for his first set. They opened with a lament about long-gone shipping lines and followed it up with one of their own, the delightful "When Billie Sang The Blues."  Sensibly, they harnessed that Audience roar again in their final number, and unleashed  "Rolling Home" : a drinking song which seemed somehow kind of apt in one of the Town's CAMRA Flagships. 

Jan and Campbell

                Kevin Dempsey then came on for a brief cameo,giving us a taster  of what his  second half stint would bring us in more depth. After an Interval and a Raffle Draw, Nunc returned to the stage to perform " Angel from Montgomery." They were then  joined by Kevin on a version of " Bring It On Home" which unsurprisingly featured not one, but two instrumental verses. (Rude not to). This was, obviously, a pinnacle in a long and illustrious career. Kevin has always wanted to appear with the three piece version of Nunc and now that ambition can finally be crossed off his bucket list.

A  dream fulfilled for Kevin Dempsey, as he joins Nunc

        Kevin was then left alone, to melt under the spotlights, as  he  took the audience through a delightful selection of his repertoire. Culminating in the usual pyrotechnical version of " All for You."  As the whoopin' and hollerin' and cries for "More" rang through the building, we knew it wasn't the end really. As an encore, Kevin treated us to memorable versions of "All Shook Up " and " Postman Pat."  ( Very canny, as he knew an audience singing like this lot had been, couldn't resist joining him). 

The Maestro at work

      Kevin's natural modesty belies the fact that he is an immensely talented musician, a vocalist with a style and projection that is instantly identifiable, and just an all-round good egg. He underplays the earlier work he did in Dando Shaft and Whippersnapper, but it should not ever be forgotten or underestimated. His recording background puts the rest of local artistes in the shade. Maybe a few have eclipsed him in record sales, but the sheer depth and range of material he has contributed to,  on around 53 different albums speaks for itself,and is virtually unbeatable. When The Specials or The Enemy or King or The Primitives have notched up that many album credits, they can claim to be on a par with him.  Until then, regardless of genre, they will walk in his shadow.