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About Darren Johnson

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2024 in Darren’s music blog – the ten most popular posts of the year

Folk music, Glam rock, Hastings music scene, Interviews, Live reviews, Music culture & history, Rock music, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Happy New Year and thanks to everyone who has visited Darren’s music blog during 2024. As usual, we have a nice eclectic mix of musical genres featuring in this year’s top ten most viewed posts: folk-rock, prog rock, glam rock and much more besides. Here’s to 2025! 

1. Live review: Saving Grace with Robert Plant & Suzi Dian, White Rock Theatre, Hastings 23/3/24

Of all the ‘70s rock gods, Robert Plant is perhaps the one who has most has steadfastly refused to be pigeon-holed in the superannuated, stadium heritage rock act persona. It’s meant he’s continued to surprise and delight with new musical ventures. And it’s meant I could stroll along up the road to see him and his band perform an intimate gig in my local theatre.

Read full review here

2. Interview with Fairport Convention’s Simon Nicol

Ahead of Fairport Convention’s 2024 Winter Tour, I caught up with Simon Nicol. We discuss Dave Mattacks’ return to the Fairport fold, the forthcoming tour, this Summer’s Cropredy and why he won’t be retiring any time soon.

Real full interview here

3. Farewell Frank Torpey – the last surviving original member of The Sweet

Frank Torpey’s role in the history of The Sweet was a small one but, nevertheless, an important one. Moreover, as well as continuing to play and record, he was always happy to engage with fans about The Sweet’s very early days. My tribute to Frank, who died in March this year.

Read full obituary here

4. Live review: Fairport’s Cropredy Convention August 2024

As things drew to a close with the familiar rendition of ‘Matty Groves’ prior to ‘Meet On The Ledge’ Simon Nicol confirmed that he’d been given permission by the ‘powers that be’ to throw in his usual ‘same time next year?’ invite, in spite of the festival’s future looking extremely precarious earlier this year. Phew! It will be going ahead in 2025 then. I’ll be there…

Read full review here

5. Bowie backing vocalist to reprise iconic ‘shopgirl’ role on ‘Absolute Beginners’

‘Oh, and I need to find a girl singer who sounds like a shopgirl,’ he said.

‘My sister Janet sings a bit, and she works in Dorothy Perkins,’ I ventured.

‘Great,’ he laughed. ‘Get her in.’

Read full article here

6. Live review: Oysterband & June Tabor, De la Warr Pavilion, Bexhill 5/10/24

It was almost exactly ten years ago when I last saw June Tabor and Oysterband at the De La Warr Pavilion, my first time visiting this stunning piece of 1930s architecture. I wasn’t even living down here yet but a friend had a spare ticket going and I came down for the weekend. So, when Oysterband announced their ‘Long Long Goodbye’ farewell tour with June Tabor, once again, as their very special guest I booked a ticket straight away.

Read full review here

7. Beckenham, Bowie, the Spiders and glam: interview with Suzi Ronson

Suzi was a small-time hairdresser in Beckenham before being swept up in a world which saw her become stylist for David Bowie and the originator of the iconic Ziggy Stardust hairdo as well as falling in love with the late Spiders From Mars guitar icon, Mick Ronson, who she would go on to marry.

Read full interview here

8. Live review: Tubular Bells – the 50th anniversary celebration at White Rock Theatre, Hastings 30/10/24

From the familiar opening bars of part one of Tubular Bells, through every second that followed the who thing was just a magical, mesmerising and utterly unforgettable experience. For something that was so clearly conceived as a studio project, to see it transformed into a live performance piece in this way will stay with me a long time. Hats off to Robin A. Smith for pulling together such a stunning interpretation of one of the all-time classic instrumental albums.

Read full review here

9. Live review: Martin Turner ex Wishbone Ash – White Rock Theatre, Hastings 6/9/24

Performing two hour-long sets with a short half-hour interval in the middle, it’s a superb night packed full of Wishbone classics. I won’t say I haven’t enjoyed Andy Powell’s ‘official’ version of the band when I’ve seen them live but, for me, what gives Turner’s outfit the edge is being able to hear the original voice behind many of Wishbone Ash’s most famous songs live on stage. And his bass-playing is as majestic as ever.

Read full review here

10. Live review: Justin Hayward at De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill 16/10/24

With the death of Mike Pinder earlier this year, none of the original ‘Go Now’ line-up of the Moody Blues are still with us. And only Justin Hayward and John Lodge now remain from the classic ‘prog-era’ post-1967 line-up. But the music they leave remains with us and Justin Hayward does a hugely impressive job in celebrating the band’s legacy with affection, panache and good humour, along with some incredible musicianship on stage beside him.

Read full review here

2023 in Darren’s music blog

2022 in Darren’s music blog

2021 in Darren’s music blog

2020 in Darren’s music blog

2019 in Darren’s music blog

Live review: Mud at the Factory Live, Worthing 20/12/24

Glam rock, Live reviews, Rock music, , , , ,

Thanks to a run of unforgettable festive hits during the period 1973-74, glam rock has been an integral part of the traditional British Christmas ever since. And apart from one year during the Covid pandemic, a trip to see a ‘70s glam rock chart-topper (whether that be Sweet, Slade or, ahem, Gary Glitter) has been an annual Christmas ritual for me pretty much every single year since I was a teenager back in the early ’80s.

But with Andy Scott’s Sweet not touring the south-east year, Dave Hill’s Slade not touring at all and Gary Glitter safely locked away in prison, it almost looked like it being a glam-free Christmas for me this year. But then a friend messaged me with the news that Mud were playing Worthing this year. Featuring the two surviving original members, Rob Davis and Ray Stiles, I would get my glam Christmas gig after all!

Taking the stage at the small but packed-out Factory Live venue, Ray Stiles began by paying tribute to the memories of the two who are no longer with us, Les Gray and Dave Mount. I’d seen Les Gray’s version of Mud back in the 90s, and I’d seen his former backing band doing their own Mud tribute many times over the years, but this would be my first time seeing Stiles and Davis together on stage.

Stiles (who has enjoyed a solid, almost four-decade career as bass player with the Hollies) takes on the frontman role in the rebooted Mud. As well as Davis on guitar, the glam-era connection is further underlined with the Glitter Band’s Pete Phipps on drums; alongside Stiles’ long-time Hollies band-mate, Ian Parker, on keyboards and veteran guitarist, Keith Read, providing additional guitar and vocals.

Ray Stiles

Things get off to a storming start with a rendition of Stiles and Davis self-penned ‘L-L-Lucy’ before we get a blast of Mud’s first three Chinn and Chapman hits: ‘Crazy’, ‘Hipnosis’ and the always-brilliant ‘Dynamite’. There’s no shortage, either, of the glam-themed remakes of those vintage rock and roll standards that Mud became famed for, songs like ‘One Night’ and ‘Oh Boy’. For the latter we are treated to a guest spot from Liquid Gold’s Ellie Hope who reprised her role on the original 1975 single, where she duetted with Les Gray.

As well as delivering his signature pounding beat throughout the set, Pete Phipps also gets his moment in the spotlight when he is invited to deliver the lead vocal on a glamtastic cover of the Glitter Band’s own smash single, ‘Angel Face’.

Mud’s brief dalliance with disco also gets a look-in with a rendition of their 1976 hit, ‘Shake Down’. For the benefit of anyone at all who may have been unaware, this gives Stiles the chance to point to Davis’s post-Mud career as a mega-successful songwriter, writing dance anthems. We get a short blast of Kylie’s ‘Can’t Get You Out of My Head’ over the PA just to prove the point.

Rob Davis

Though less familiar, and clearly nowhere as lucrative, Stiles is also keen to highlight aspects of his own post-Mud career. He introduces his wife Anne on stage to perform a couple of numbers from their corporate covers band days. In fine voice she delivers soulful-sounding covers of ‘Love Is a Battlefield’ and ‘Play That Funky Music’.

Then we’re back to more classic-era Mud with rocking renditions of ‘Cut Across Shorty’, ‘Rocket’ and ‘The Cat Crept In’. We’re coming to the end by now. There’s only time for two more songs. Everyone knows exactly what there going to be and we wouldn’t want it any other way.

First, Stiles puts on his best Les-Gray-Does-an-Impression-of-Elvis voice to deliver a glorious sing-along ‘Lonely This Christmas’. How wonderful to be hearing Mud perform this live on the fiftieth anniversary of the very week it was the Christmas number 1 – I felt quite emotional, even with all the daft ventriloquist dummy antics on stage reprising Les Gray’s iconic Top of The Pops appearance.

 Then we are all invited to give a hearty yell of ‘Yaaaaaaaaaaaay’ and it’s time for a barnstorming, rip-roaring rendition of ‘Tiger Feet’, one of the biggest hits of 1974 and one of the best songs of the entire glam era. What a wonderful evening and thank you Ray and Rob for taking us all back to the days of Mud Rock.

Meeting Rob
Meeting Ray
Signed gig poster

Related posts:

Before glam: the debut 60s singles of Bowie, Bolan, Slade, Mud and Sweet

Slade, strikes and the three-day week: the story of the greatest Christmas record ever made

Live review: We Love The 70s at Butlins, Bognor Regis 13-15 September 2024

This week’s featured artist: Church Street Shuffle – debut album ‘The Five Day Weekend’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , , , , , ,

A contemporary Scottish fiddle and guitar duo featuring fiddle player, Neil Ewart, and guitarist, Ali MacQuarrie, the pair came into one another’s orbit through the bustling live music scene in Inverness and the band’s name pays homage to that, where it’s not unknown for in-demand musicians to play up to three venues in one night, shuffling up and down the city’s Church Street as they do so.

Church Street Shuffle: “Recognizing a shared vision, they embarked on a collaborative effort to blend Neil’s multilayered fiddle loops and chops with Ali’s intricate guitar work, bass lines, and beats. Despite their modern approach, they remained steadfast in honouring the timeless traditions of Scottish music, infusing each track with authenticity and reverence.”

The inspiration for the album’s name, meanwhile, harks back to an old expression about a musician’s typical lifestyle during the winter months, where the weekends would extend beyond the conventional working week.

Neil Ewart’s musical journey began at the National Centre for Excellence in Plockton, where he honed his skills before pursuing a degree in Applied Music at Strathclyde University. His innovative and daring compositions are deeply entrenched in the rich heritage of Scotland’s west coast. Echoing the creative spirit of pipers from centuries past who improvised variations on Gaelic airs, Neil breathes new life into the genre by infusing it with contemporary harmonic structures and rhythmic complexities.

Ali MacQuarrie’s masterful guitar playing and infectious grooves, meanwhile, are also a key feature of each track. He continues to refine his craft at the Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow, enriching his musical repertoire with classical training. His reputation as a sought-after guitarist in the Highlands continues to soar, which has seen him share stages with acts such as Calum MacPhail and Cala.

Recording the album, the pair joined up with established recording engineer and producer, Barry Reid, who also plays synths and percussion.

A contemporary and fresh-sounding take on Scottish traditional music, the duo have created an instrumental album that’s both fizzing with innovation yet also feels like the warm embrace a familiar old friend. The Five Day Weekend is an impressive debut.

Released: 17 May 2024

https://www.churchstreetshuffle.com/

Live review: Morgan Fisher at Fiddler’s Elbow, Camden 30/11/24

Glam rock, Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , , , ,

My introduction to Mott the Hoople was via the band’s final two studio albums, Mott and The Hoople, discovered while hunting through the second-hand record racks of Preston’s Action Records as a teenager in the early ‘80s. I was rebelling against the synth-heavy, over-produced music of the era and was on my very own retro-fuelled journey of discovery. Mott I absolutely adored, particularly Ian Hunter’s old-school rock and roll piano, and a few weeks later I also bought The Hoople, with Ariel Bender now on guitar and the one and only Morgan Fisher on keyboards. To me those last two albums, with all of that irresistible keyboard-playing, was the sound of Mott The Hoople and at the time I was completely oblivious to the earlier material featuring Verden Allen’s distinctive Hammond – although I soon came to love that as well.

Late-period Mott The Hoople was, therefore, very much my entry-point into what would be a life-long love affair with the band. So when I saw Morgan Fisher announce he was doing a one-off solo gig while he was over from Japan I booked my ticket straight away. I’ve witnessed each of the Mott The Hoople reunions and I’ve seen Ian Hunter perform solo many times but this was going to be unique: Morgan Fisher performing The Hoople album in full in a small sweaty music pub in Camden.

Dapperly dressed, as always, in keyboard-lapelled jacket and glass of red wine in hand, Morgan introduced ‘The Golden Age of Rock ‘n’ Roll’ (track one, side one of the original album) by saying that Ian Hunter had originally planned to play the keyboards himself, but after nailing the keyboards on the first take, Morgan’s Jerry Lee Lewis-inspired pounding is what you hear on the album. And on it goes from there. All of those unforgettable classic tracks, played and sung exclusively for a gloriously-enthusiastic 120-strong audience.

Morgan told us that the backing tape he was playing along to was actually the sound of Dale Griffin’s drums, isolated from the original album. He explained that while AI was a terrible way of creating music it was a great way of separating out certain sounds from music that had already been created. As well as the sound of Buffin’s drums (and a chance to really hear what a superb drummer he was) there were other embellishments along the way: the odd bass-line, certain guitar riffs and some of the album’s most memorable sound effects. For the ‘I’ve got my invite’ line in ‘Roll Away the Stone’, however, Kristy Benjamin (daughter of post-Hunter Mott singer, Nigel Benjamin) stepped up to the mic to do the honours, to huge applause when Morgan introduced her.

That last song, of course, ended both the original album and the first set of the afternoon in spectacular fashion. Then, after a short break, we were back with a mix of other Mott the Hoople classics (‘Foxy Foxy’, ‘Saturday Gigs’, ‘Dudes’) together with a Nigel Benjamin-era Mott song (‘Career’ dedicated, touchingly, to his daughter) as well as some highlights from Morgan’s solo career and other collaborations – plus a bit of Bach! As the second set moved to a close, Morgan reminded us that there was one song from The Hoople that he had not yet played, pointing out that the epic, classically-influenced ‘Through The Looking Glass’ had never been attempted on stage. Until now that is…

Morgan is, deservedly, clearly still proud of his time in Mott The Hoople and praised the quality of Ian Hunter’s sharp, observational song-writing. “He should have been recognised as Britain’s Bob Dylan,” he told us before launching into a poignant, spirited and triumphant rendition of Through The Looking Glass’.

Then it was time for an encore. I’d spotted John Fiddler in the audience at the start and hoped he’d be jumping up on the stage for a couple of numbers. Sure enough, as a special encore treat, he joined Morgan on stage to deliver rousing renditions of two songs the pair had performed together as part of the post-Mott outfit, British Lions, ‘Wild in the Streets’ and ‘One More Chance To Run’. What was equally touching was seeing the very obvious five decades of friendship playing out on stage between the two.

If you’d have told me in my mid-teens that one of the ways I’d be spending my late 50s would be a Saturday afternoon in a packed north London boozer listening to Morgan Fisher pounding out old Mott The Hoople classics, I’d have been very happy with that indeed. A perfect afternoon.

Set-list:

First Set

The Golden Age of Rock ‘n’ Roll

Marionette

Alice

Crash Street Kids

Born Late ’58

Trudi’s Song

Pearl ‘n’ Roy (England)

Roll Away the Stone

Second Set

Career (No Such Thing as Rock ‘n’ Roll)

Prelude in C Major

Rest in Peace

Foxy, Foxy

Moth Poet Hotel

(Do You Remember) The Saturday Gigs

All the Young Dudes

Through the Looking Glass

Wild in the Streets

One More Chance to Run

Related posts:

Live review: Mott The Hoople ’74 at Shepherds Bush Empire 2019

Ian Hunter at Shepherds Bush Empire 2016

Ian Hunter at Shepherds Bush Empire 2014

Ian Hunter at Giants of Rock 2016

Mott The Hoople Fan Convention 2016

Mick Bolton: 1948-2021

Singer-songwriter: album review – Steve Knightley ‘The Winter Yards’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , , ,

In 2023 Phil Beer and Steve Knightley announced a final tour before putting Show of Hands on indefinite hiatus, pledging to “prioritise their well-being, creativity, and longevity above the demands of the road.” There was no suggestion, thankfully, that either of them would be giving up performing altogether and for those feeling a Show-of-Hands-sized gap in their lives the good news is that Steve Knightley is back with a brand-new solo album – his first in seventeen years.

Steve Knightley: “I’ve spent much of my career weaving the West Country and English landscapes into my music, seeking to capture the essence of rural life and the stories that define it. But with Show of hands now on sabbatical, I’ve found myself at a crossroads – a moment to pause, reflect and consider new directions.”

“This album marks a significant departure for me, both musically and personally. Inspired more by the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Peter Gabriel, The Winter yards reflects a fresh journey, venturing more into urban and transatlantic landscapes. But while it explores unchartered territory I believe it stays true to the voice I’ve always had, finding new ways to tell stories that matter.”

The Winter Yards is not simply Show of Hands in exile but without the fiddle and the mandolin. Clearly, however, Knightley’s unmistakeable voice, both as a singer and a lyricist, is very much at the heart of the album and there’s plenty here to appeal to long-term fans of the duo.

Lyrically, the album tackles themes as diverse as the Post Office scandal, immigration, the emotional toil when friendships breakdown and youthful, sun-kissed, summer romance. Knightley also revisits a handful of Show of Hands songs, including ‘Requiem’ and ‘Exile’ but one of the few ‘everyday story of country life’ songs that Show of Hands were best known for is one inspired, not by the tribulations of rural life in Devon or Somerset, but rather an anthemic celebration of the village of Wickham in Hampshire, the county Knightley was born in.

Musically, there’s a lush palette of sounds, incorporating keyboards, guitar, drums, dobro, violin and more, and Knightley has pulled in a wealth of talent to perform alongside him on the album. Phil Beer even gets to guest on a couple of tracks.

Poignant, tender, thought-provoking and rousing, in turn, The Winter Yards marks a triumphant return for Steve Knightley as a solo artist.

Released: 4th October 2024

Visit Steve Knightley’s website here

Related posts:

Folk: album review – Show Of Hands ‘Roots 2: The Best Of Show Of Hands’

Live review: Show Of Hands at St Mary in the Castle 4/5/18

Live review: Hawklords at The Carlisle, Hastings 9/11/24

Hastings music scene, Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , , , , ,

Hawklords was originally a late 1970s spin-off project from the space rock legends, Hawkwind, during a time the main band was on a brief hiatus. Fast-forward to 2008 and the name was resurrected as the name for a new band featuring a handful (of the many!) former members of Hawkwind. Just like Hawkwind itself, there have been numerous changes in personnel since then but former Hawkwind members have always been a strong presence in each iteration.

Currently, Hawklords is composed of Jerry Richards on guitar and vocals, who was part of Hawkwind in the late 90s-early 00s; Mr Dibs on bass, who did an 11-year stint in Hawkwind until 2018; and Dave Pearce on drums, who was never part of Hawkwind but was a member of psychedelic-rockers, The Bevis Frond.

While most spin-off projects from veteran rock acts tend to make very liberal use of their parent band’s back catalogue, with set-lists composed mostly or entirely of a compendium of classic cuts, this is very much not the case with Hawklords. They certainly capture the sound, spirit and ethos of classic-era Hawkwind but the focus these days is very much on performing new, original material.

The band are currently promoting a brand-new album, Relativity, and there is a heavy focus on material from that on this current tour. But, as the publicity blurb aptly spells out:

“Sounding, at times, as if the music has fallen through a worm-hole from the classic 1970s era of space-rock and psychedelia, the new release explores themes including Artificial Intelligence, ‘machine learning’ and how Humanity can, in part, come to terms with all that entails.”

This is manna from heaven for any space rock devotee and fans of 70s era Hawkwind will find the key ingredients all present and correct at a Hawklords gig: the light show, the sound effects, the spoken word interludes, the hypnotic riffs, the whole shebang – but, crucially, all with captivating new songs, addressing contemporary themes relevant to the modern age.

The vintage material isn’t neglected entirely and the band give us a blast of ‘Brainstorm’ from the Space ritual album. Nick Saloman of The Bevis Frond is also invited up on stage as tonight’s guest to give us an additional blast of guitar, serving to make it an even more memorable evening. I was completely transfixed from start to finish. I also picked up a copy of the new album, Relativity, at the gig. Really well-produced it’s already had repeated plays since the weekend.

https://www.facebook.com/TheHawklords

Related posts:

Book review: ‘On Track: Hawkwind – every album, every song’ by Duncan Harris

Hawkwind at The Old Market, Hove 2014

Live review: The Blockheads at White Rock Theatre, Hastings 7/11/24

Hastings music scene, Live reviews, Rock music, , , ,

I’ve found the way I choose which gigs to go to has really changed during the time I’ve been living in Hastings. When I lived in London, my approach was very must based on keeping an eye on what all my favourite bands were up to, checking out their UK tour schedules and working out which was the best venue to get to. 

My approach has now changed completely. I tend to look at what’s coming up in the two main venues closest to me (Hasting White Rock Theatre and Bexhill De La Warr Pavilion) as well as a selection of nearby smaller venues and choose accordingly. Because we are so well catered for in terms of live music on this small section of the East Sussex coast, it means I rarely travel further than a three-mile radius to get to gigs these days. However, it’s also meant I’ve tended to see a broader selection of artists, bands for whom I might be completely unfamiliar with but just fancy seeing or bands where I own just a single best-of compilation rather than their entire back catalogue. The Blockheads very much fit into that latter category. Although I ‘d seen and enjoyed them before, back when I first moved down here in 2016, I’ve still not progressed beyond that one compilation CD but I was hugely impressed with what I saw last time and keen to see them again.

There have been some changes since then, however. Derek ‘The Draw’ Hussey, the Blockheads’ frontman following the death of Ian Dury back in 2000, sadly passed away himself in 2022 and has been replaced by Mike Bennett. Veteran bass-player Norman Watt-Roy also stepped away in 2022 and Nathan King (brother of Level 42’s Mark) now does the honours. The first I knew about, the second came as something of a surprise. However, Chaz Jankel (keyboards, guitar and co-songwriter) is very much still part of the band, as is John Turnbull (guitar) and Mick Gallagher (keyboards) from the Dury-led glory years.

As Turnbull told the audience at one point the band’s main job, nay only job these days, is keeping these songs alive. And a great job they do, too. New frontman, Mike Bennett, adopts a somewhat more conventional interpretation of Dury’s songs (if anything Dury-related can ever be termed conventional) than the eccentric, larger-than-life persona of his predecessor, Derek the Draw, but his approach works well and he has an engaging stage presence. Musically, the band are as strong as ever. While I missed the charismatic presence of Norman Watt-Ray, his replacement ably delivers those funky bass licks and Chaz Jankel, John Turnbull and Mick Gallagher are clearly in their element. You can see how much joy it’s giving them still performing these songs.

As for the songs, those classics come thick and fast: ‘What a Waste’, ‘There Ain’t Half Been Some Clever Bastards’, ‘Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll’, ‘I Want to Be Straight’, ‘Billericay Dickie’, ‘Sweet Gene Vincent’, ‘Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3’ and, of course, ‘Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick’. There’s a few I’m less familiar with and Turnbull even tells us they’ve been in the studio recording a couple of new tracks in time for Christmas. They encore with a riotous ‘Blockheads’ and a poignant ‘Lullaby for Franci/es’ with each member of the band exiting the stage one by one on the final number. A stand-out performance that celebrates the Blockheads’ back-catalogue in style and does Dury’s legacy proud.

https://www.theblockheads.com/

Related post:

The Blockheads at Hastings 2016

This week’s featured artist: singer-songwriter Jon Budworth – new album ‘In Sight of Home’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , , ,

Born and raised in Leigh in Lancashire and now living in Otley, Yorkshire, Jon Budworth started playing guitar at the age of 11 and has been honing his skills, diversifying his repertoire and experimenting with various genres ever since, with rock, blues, folk, and jazz all featuring on his musical horizons.

Budworth’s  debut EP as a singer-songwriter, Time Machine, was released back in 2013 which was followed up by a second EP, Trees Turn To Fire, in 2014 which I was asked to review for the Bright Young Folk website. I remember being impressed by the release, writing at the time:

“Budworth’s bright, fresh sounding vocals and lovely melancholic guitar work extremely well. Budworth’s music definitely deserves a wider audience.”

What I wrote must have struck a chord because, ten years later, reading the publicity blurb for his latest album, I find that sentence staring back at me. In the intervening years, Budworth released his well-received debut full-length album, We all Share the Same Sky, back in 2020, with the excellent follow-up, In Sight of Home, coming out in June this year.

Jon Budworth: “The seed for In Sight of Home was sewn in 2019 after watching an incredibly moving BBC documentary commemorating the one hundredth anniversary of the Iolaire Disaster. I was immediately inspired to write a song and decided there and then it would become the title track on a new album.”

“It wasn’t until a certain pandemic hit that I had the time and space to continue writing. Shadow of the Chevin is a love song to my wonderful home-town of Otley. I’m originally from Leigh in Lancashire, but in 2017 I traded in my Lancashire passport, moved over the border, and became an honorary Yorkshireman! All is Quiet was written after taking a stroll around Otley on a beautiful April evening during the first lockdown – the normally bustling market town was eerily quiet and still. I wrote December on a dark and misty winter’s night as I found myself contemplating growing older and how quickly life passes by.”

“After covid, my normally hectic existence resumed and I wrote several songs dealing with the everyday stresses and strains of real life. In This Moment is about finding those rare moments of peace and tranquillity, a situation very often aided by a glass or two of wine! I Don’t Need Tomorrow is a song dedicated to anyone, who for whatever reason, is not looking forward to what tomorrow might bring. 1000 Faces is a song about fate and not taking anything for granted. Never deals with the thought of being forced to move away from a place you love.”

“Two of the songs are observations on modern life. Flatlining addresses first world problems  and many peoples need to live their lives through social media. I wrote Holyhead after visiting the town and seeing a homeless girl set against a backdrop of opulent cruise ships in the harbour. Ghost of a Girl was written after discovering a ghostly statue of Alice in Wonderland in a garden behind York Minster. She looked lost, alone and frozen in time on that grey and damp February afternoon.”

Most of the instruments on the album are played by Budworth himself, including drums, bass and guitar, but he’s also enlisted the assistance of several highly talented local musicians, as well as the as well as the highly acclaimed singer-songwriter, Edwina Hayes, who shares lead vocals on the title track.

With thought-provoking yet easily relatable lyrics, appealing melodies, impressive guitar-work and vocals that are still as fresh-sounding as ever, Budworth has come up with an extremely likeable album here which is well worth checking out, as is the rest of his back catalogue.

In Sight of Home was released by Flying Folkie Recording Co. on 7th June 2024

For Jon Budworth’s website visit here

Live review: Tubular Bells – the 50th anniversary celebration at White Rock Theatre, Hastings 30/10/24

Hastings music scene, Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , , ,

Mike Oldfield was just 17 years old when he started composing the music for Tubular Bells. Trying to find a record company to take it on proved something of a challenge but eventually Richard Branson took an interest in Oldfield’s demos and in 1973 Tubular Bells was the first release on the newly-founded Virgin Records. Still only 19 at the time, Oldfield played virtually all of the instruments on the album. It gained worldwide recognition when the opening theme was used for the soundtrack of The Exorcist and went on to become the highest-selling instrumental album of all time.

My own introduction to Mike Oldfield really came via an episode of Blue Peter, which showed Oldfield at work in the studio creating what turned out to be a new version of the theme music for the show. As a 13-year-old (probably a bit old for a kids’ show like Blue Peter by then) I was, nevertheless, absolutely fascinated by what I saw and rushed out to buy Oldfield’s version of the Blue Peter theme when it was released as a single.

Getting a copy of Tubular Bells itself took a while longer but, even so, the music was everywhere and it’s an album I play frequently to this day. Therefore, when I saw that the Tubular Bells 50th Anniversary Tour was coming to Hastings, getting a ticket was a no-brainer.

The tour is the brainchild of arranger, composer and conductor, Robin A. Smith, who collaborated with Oldfield on Tubular Bells 2 and 3 and for the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics. Although Oldfield is not directly involved in performing on the tour it has his full blessing support. Moreover, Smith has put together a hugely-talented group of musicians to re-imagine Tubular Bells as a stunning live performance piece.

In addition to Robin A Smith (keyboards/piano/musical director), he’s joined by Jay Stapley (guitar), Maxime Obideau (guitar and mandolin), Lisa Featherston (bass), Kwesi Edman (cello), Daisy Bevan (vocals) and Will Miles and Jack Davies (percussion).

Before we get to the performance of Tubular Bells itself, the first half is taken up with performances of other highlights from Oldfield’s back catalogue, including ‘To France’, Summit Day’, ‘Family Man’ and a wonderfully exhilarating version of ‘Moonlight Shadow’ with Lisa Featherston on vocals, as well as Smith’s own composition, ‘The Gem’. The sound just filled the auditorium, particularly the thunderous-sounding percussion, the stunning guitar work and exquisite pieces on the grand piano. It felt like there could have been at least three times as many musicians up there on stage. However, the best was yet to come.

After a short break we’re back for the main event. From the familiar opening bars of part one of Tubular Bells, through every second that followed the who thing was just a magical, mesmerising and utterly unforgettable experience. For something that was so clearly conceived as a studio project, to see it transformed into a live performance piece in this way will stay with me a long time. Hats off to Robin A. Smith for pulling together such a stunning interpretation of one of the all-time classic instrumental albums.

Robin A. Smith website Mike Oldfield website

Set-list:

First part:
Theme from Tubular Bells ll
Theme from Ommadawn
Theme from Return to Ommadawn
To France
Summit Day
Moonlight Shadow
Family Man
The Gem

Second part:
Tubular Bells, Part One
Tubular Bells, Part Two
Sailor’s Hornpipe

Closer To My Home – new album from Grand Funk founding legend, Mark Farner

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Closer to My Home is the long-awaited new album from the legendary guitarist/singer-songwriter and founding member of Grand Funk Railroad, Mark Farner.

Celebrating the 55th anniversary of the iconic hit ‘(I’m Your Captain) Closer To My Home’, Farner revisits the song with a brand-new recording for the the album.

Mark Farner: “These songs are honest and from my heart,” Farner said. “The collaboration with Jim (Peterik) and Mark (Slaughter) came from a place of trust and that makes the whole experience so much more rewarding as songwriters. The audience can feel that, and these songs reflect those very human moments that you can’t find creating a song from a computer. Closer to My Home comes from the idea that love is at the heart of all that I do, and music is my home.”

As one of the founding members, lead singer and lead guitarist, Farner wrote the vast majority of Grand Funk Railroad’s back-catalogue and his soulful voice,  powerful riffs, great songwriting and energetic stage presence, combined to ensure Grand Funk Railroad were a great American success story.

Farner remains proud of his humble beginnings and a blue-collar outlook and this has been a defining element in his music. Over five decades later Farner commands the stage with the same intensity performing epic hits that defined a generation – ‘I’m Your Captain (Closer to Home)’, ‘Bad Time’, ‘Some Kind of Wonderful’, ‘Foot Stompin’ Music’, ‘Heartbreaker’, “Rock & Roll Soul’, ‘Locomotion’, ‘Mean Mistreater’ and ‘We’re An American Band’.

Performing with Mark Farner’s American Band, Farner’s songs continue to resonate with audiences. When I interviewed Farner back in 2021 he emphasised the importance of that connection with audiences through his music, which was there from the very start:

“I think people appreciated the heart behind it. There was always a sincerity because I meant what I said. And when I… walk on that stage, I am who my songs say I am.”

Closer to My Home is released on November 8th on Righteous Rock Records and is available via vinyl and CD.

Interview:

You can read my full-length interview with Mark Farner here