Like many regional theatres in the UK, the events programme for the White Rock In Hastings has been the typical mix of touring tribute shows, musicals and panto with the odd stand-out musical gem thrown. Recently, the theatre saw a change in operator with Trafalgar Theatres (who run many similar venues across the UK), giving way to the Guildhall Trust. The latter are a charity that operate the Portsmouth Guildhall and they came in promising “exciting times ahead” and a “broader programme of entertainment” for the White Rock. Certainly, having Robert Plant on stage sets high bar and is hopefully a foretaste of what’s to come once the new team get their feet well and truly under the table.
In the decades since Led Zeppelin’s demise, Plant has had a consistently fascinating career and some fascinating and highly inventive musical collaborations. I remember braving the mud to witness him with Strange Sensation at Green Man festival in 2007 and, more recently, his superb set with Alison Krauss at Hyde Park when they supported the Eagles two years ago.
His latest band is Saving Grace, composed of Plant, alongside Suzi Dian (vocals), Oli Jefferson (percussion), Tony Kelsey (mandolin, baritone, acoustic guitar), and Matt Worley (banjo, acoustic, baritone guitars, cuatro) have been around for five years now with several UK tours behind them. Somewhat rockier than previous projects they are a perfect amalgam of Plant’s long-standing interests in the realms of hard-rock, traditional folk, bluegrass and blues, offering up a compelling mix of rocked-up interpretations of traditional songs and folkified versions of Led Zep classics.
Again, we see him returning to the male/female duet set-up, that worked so spectacularly when Sandy Denny was recruited to provide co-lead vocals for ‘Battle Of Evermore’ on Led Zeppelin IV back in the day and more recently through the work with Alison Krauss. It’s a format that Plant is clearly comfortable with and this latest pairing is equally well-chosen. Whether she’s harmonising or taking the lead, Suzi Dian’s rich but delicate voice is just the perfect fit alongside Plant’s still instantly-recognisable vocal (albeit with a more restrained delivery these days…) The band behind them deliver powerful and at times almost almost hypnotic rhythms, with Tony Kelsey and Matt Worley working their way through a plethora of stringed instruments, both electric and acoustic, alongside Oli Jefferson’s pounding percussion. The effect is simply mesmerising with every song drawing you in completely.
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.
Frank Torpey, the last surviving original member of The Sweet, has sadly passed away. His family have posted the following message on Facebook.
“Frank passed away in his home surrounded by family at 1AM on Saturday 23rd March 2024. He will be missed and remembered by all his friends and family, rest well xx”
Frank, along with Brian Connolly, Steve Priest and Mick Tucker, was one of the founder members of The Sweet.
Torpey, Connolly and Tucker had previously been part of the Middlesex-based band, Wainright’s Gentlemen. Torpey and Tucker were unceremoniously sacked and an infuriated Connolly decided to quit of his own accord. The three musicians then opted to find themselves a bass-player and form a band of their own. Steve Priest was recruited, the four of them meeting up in the Swan pub in Ruislip in January 1968 to discuss plans for a new band.
Frank Torpey (seated) with myself and other Sweet fans in the very pub where the band was first formed
Rehearsals began and as well as working up their own cover versions of well-known and not so well-known songs, the four also devoted considerable time to coming up with a suitable name, eventually alighting on The Sweetshop. Priest wrote in his autobiography: “There were many bands around at this time that had silly names like Marmalade, Strawberry Jam or Strawberry Alarm Clock, and so we managed to come up with a silly name too. We thought that Sweet Shop would do it.”
Although the band were still only semi-pro at this stage, Frank and the rest of the newly-christened Sweetshop would play their debut gig on 9th March 1968 at the Hemel Hempstead Pavilion. Things appeared to be moving fast as soon after, the band were recording their debut single, ‘Slow Motion’, after impressing producer Phil Wainman.
The release of the single necessitated a shortening of the band’s name to The Sweet after someone else nabbed the name for another release before they got their own single out. It was to be Frank’s only release with the band. Although the four continued gigging throughout 1968 and the first half of 1969, tiring of the quality of the venues and the lack of money coming in, Frank decided to call it a day with the band to be replaced, initially, by Mick Stewart and then, more permanently, by Andy Scott who joined in 1970. Indeed, very permanently, Andy is still at it now!
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.
It was in February 2022 after Steve Priest’s memorial service that Frank met up with Sweet fans in The Swan in Ruislip, the very pub where the band was formed back in 1968. When I presented him with a signed copy, he was delighted when I told him he got more than just a passing mention in my book The Sweet In The 1970s, even though it primarily focused on the band’s hit-making decade. “Just tell me which chapters I’m in,” he joked. “It’ll save me reading the whole thing!”
Intelligent Music Project, the Bulgarian-based supergroup comprising world-famous rock musicians, is set to launch their much-awaited eighth album, Miracles Beyond, on May 15th.
The band recently released their first single from the album, offering a fascinating preview of the musical journey that awaits. While the album boasts the presence of globally celebrated rock stars, it’s noteworthy that the lead vocalist for the single ‘Shine for You’ is none other than Slavin Slavchev. Serving as the band’s primary vocalist in live performances, Slavchev, also an X-Factor winner, emerges as the driving force behind the track with his exceptional and powerful vocal prowess.
As mentioned, Miracles Beyond features an ensemble of legendary musicians, including Simon Phillips (TOTO, Protocol, The Who, Judas Priest), Joseph Williams (TOTO), John Payne (ex-Asia), and Carl Sentence (Nazareth), each bringing their unique flair to the project. The artwork shared on the band’s Facebook page has already ignited curiosity and excitement, hinting at the magic Miracles Beyond is poised to deliver.
Intelligent Music Project captured attention as Bulgaria’s representative at Eurovision 2022 in Turin, showcasing their versatility on the international stage with their song “Intention”.
Milen Vrabevski, MD, producer, songwriter, founder of the project, and the mastermind behind the band, expressed his joy at the collaboration with top-notch musicians. He shared,“I’m so happy to present our eighth album with yet another magnificent line-up!! So great to have all these musicians on board again. This is Simon Phillips’s 6th album with us, John Payne’s 5th and Joseph Williams’s 4th. Such a star turnout is a special privilege for me, and I hope I truly hope to bring to the audience some delight in those strange times. Enjoy our next world-class product!”
The Miracles Beyond line-up includes also the Grammy Award Nominee Ernest Tibbs and the producer’s favourite Richard Grisman.
Besides the aforementioned musicians, over the years the band has seen a stellar lin-eup, including John Lawton (Uriah Heep, Lucifer’s Friend), Ronnie Romero (Rainbow, Michael Schenker’s Group), Nathan East (Eric Clapton, Michael Jackson, Toto, Stevie Wonder and more), Tim Pierce (Joe Cocker, Bon Jovi, Alice Cooper and more), Bobby Rondinelli (Rainbow, Black Sabbath), and Todd Sucherman (Styx).
‘Shine For You’ available digitally via the following platforms:
Having worked on the PR for the first Lust For LifeTour last year (featuring Clem Burke on drums, Glen Matlock on bass; Katie Puckrik on vocals, Kevin Armstrong on guitar, Luis Correia on second guitar, and Florence Sabeva on keyboards), it was a real privilege, not to mention a huge load of fun, to be asked to do the same again for this year’s tour.
“Tom Wilcox has these amazing concepts of bands that he’d like to see put together. And some of them work and some of them go on to have a bit of a life and other ones just crash into the dust – however good they are. I recall the one we did with Richard Strange, and Lou Reed material, which I thought was very, very good but only a very few people came to sees it. But this one caught fire. Which is good really because it was originally billed, as you know, around Tony Sales – the Tin Machine bass-player and early Iggy bass-player.”
Kevin Armstrong – Photo credit: Carl Allen
Tony Sales wasn’t able to tour in the UK in the event. He was duly replaced by Glen Matlock at the eleventh hour and from then on the whole thing really developed a life of its own. The response was so overwhelmingly enthusiastic, with every venue on the 2023 tour completely sold-out, it was almost inevitable that there’d be a repeat.
The 2024 tour has seen the band playing some larger venues and, as well as some new additions to the set-list there were some other notable changes, too.
Stuart Fiddes, who performs under the name of Fifteen Lions and did support slots for a couple of dates on the previous tour, was now brought in as support for the whole tour. Influenced by the likes of Depeche Mode, Tears for Fears and Orlando Weeks, singer-songwriter Fiddes opened proceedings with songs from his moodily cinematic debut album The Picture House, which was released last year.
Start Fiddes, Fifteen Lions – Photo credit: Carl Allen
But as Stuart’s set was drawing to a close each night, things would take a leftfield turn as he welcomed Waveney Wilcox to perform the last song with him. Combining the earthy swagger of Ian Dury, the punk-era attitude of John Lydon and the debonaire cool of the late Charlie Watts, Waveney entertained the crowds with his debut solo single ‘Sociology’ which he’s just released at the age of 71.
Waveney Wilcox – Photo credit: Carl Allen
Next up each evening was the wonderful Suzi Ronson, wife of the late guitar legend and ex-Spider, Mick Ronson, talking about her evolution from Beckenham hairdresser to Bowie stylist and inventor of the iconic Ziggy hair-do. I knew she’d be hugely entertaining but spoken-word sets are notoriously difficult to pull off at a rock gig. “I’m a bit nervous,” Suzi confided when we did a Zoom ahead of the tour. Would the crowd listen? No fear! From the first night in Colchester you could hear a pin drop and she was brilliantly, brilliantly entertaining. A really inspired choice.
Suzi Ronson – Photo credit: Carl Allen
Then it would be time for the main event: the Lust For Life Band performing Iggy’s Lust For Life album in full, as well as revisiting songs from across the individual band members’ careers with legendary artists including Blondie, David Bowie, Iggy Pop and the Sex Pistols.
One of the real delights of this entire project has been what an off-the-Richter-scale revelation Katie Puckrik has been to all of those who have witnessed her on stage for the first time. As Mick Burgess, reviewing the band’s North Shields gig, puts it:
“Former presenter of TV’s The Word, Katie Puckrik had the unenviable task of covering Pop’s vocals and on paper, seemed the weakest link. Any such doubts were instantly expelled with an absolute whirlwind of flamboyant energy and a seriously impressive vocal performance which suited the songs perfectly. Puckrik simply, stole the show.”
Katie Puckrik – Photo credit: Carl Allen
It’s as if Katie was pre-destined to do this. What a brilliantly unexpected move at this stage in her career and what a stroke of absolute genius by creative director Tom Wilcox who headhunted her to front the Lust For Life band.
Of course, any project that has musicians of the calibre of Glen Matlock, Clem Burke, Kevin Armstrong, Luis Correia and Florence Sabeva in it (not to mention the incredible back catalogue of iconic songs that they bring with them) is bound to result in a hugely-entertaining series of gigs. It was last year, of course, but things ramped up even more this year.
Luis Correia, Glen Matlock and Katie Puckrik – Photo credit: Carl Allen
This year saw the metamorphosis of Lust For Life from a project into a living, breathing bona-fide band, with a unity of purpose and an unstoppable momentum who went on to deliver an outstandingly memorable tour. A brilliant band and an unforgettable run of gigs. And this is borne out in review after review.
Lust For Life Tour – What They Say:
“Whoever had the inspired idea to ask broadcaster Katie Puckrik to take the place of James Newell Osterberg on this tour performing the Detroit fire spirit’s classic second solo album should take a bow.”Gus Ironside, Louder Than War
“Six world-class musicians who have all worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry, rocked Colchester for an unforgettable night of live music.” – Cameron Poole, Colchester Gazette
“The full Lust For Live album is expertly showcased but for many in the venue the highlights were the various covers of songs by Bowie, The Sex Pistols and Blondie.”John Brown, Scottish Music Network
“An absolutely stunning evening of Punk fuelled Rock ‘n’ Roll performed by some genuine legends and exceptional musicians made this a strong contender for gig of the year already.” – Mick Burgess, Metal Express Radio
“Glen, Clem, and the rest of the band looked so at ease playing together. It was a masterclass to watch. Kate was up front and, wow, you can absolutely see why!” – Phil Wright, Wall Of Sound
“Puckrik declaimed in her deep alto range on Tonight and channelled some of Debbie Harry’s irreverent cool on the roistering Success.”Fiona Shepherd, The Scotsman
“Through their musicianship and dedication, the band not only paid homage to a punk legend but also reminded us of the enduring power of live music to unite and inspire. While the night may have ended, the memories and the music will undoubtedly linger on in the hearts of those who were there to witness it.” – Waqas Arain, BNN Breaking
“As ‘tribute’ bands go tonight was by far the greatest I’ve seen and why wouldn’t it be, the pinnacle of punk is still rocking away as good as ever.” – Neil Winward, RGM Press
“Puckrik owned the stage from the first note of ‘Lust for Life,’ her enthusiasm absolutely contagious. The band ripped through the entire album, from the ferocious adrenaline rush of the title track to the garage rock of ‘Fall In Love With Me” – Andy Von Pip, Von Pip Musical Express
“It may seem somewhat excessive to attend both 2024 nights at the Arts Centre, but when the music and musicians on stage are this good you would be foolish to miss even a second of the greatest show on earth.” – Carl Allen, Music Venue Man
“Lust for Life are true to the album that they pay tribute to: a simultaneous blast of fuck-it energy and the cognisant reflection that saying fuck-it can actually be of primal importance.” –Raph Pour-Hashemi, Far Out Magazine
“Albums as iconic as Lust for Life don’t come along too often and it takes some iconic performers to do them justice in this kind of tribute format and the Lust for Life band do exactly that.”Frank Ralph, V13
“As soon as they hit the stage it was clear that we were going to get a couple of hours of some of the most fun and exciting live music around.” – Chris Hillman, Reading Today
“Lust For Life, well, the word Down On The Street, Tonight is we had a Funtime and no one said I’m Bored, an unqualified Success. Seriously, if you get the chance to see them, go do it. ” – John Welsh – Into Creative
“You should start writing a blog,” my brother Sam mentioned to me while we were sitting at a festival one afternoon in the Summer of 2013 discussing the various bands we’d each seen recently.
Darren and Sam (right) at Fairport’s Cropredy Convention
I told him the thought had vaguely crossed my mind but it was something I could give more thought to the following Spring once my lengthy stint as a local councillor was coming to an end. My evenings would then be freed up, giving me time to start seeing more gigs and, crucially, sharing my thoughts online about what I’d just seen.
I’d always written a lot about politics and current affairs and I’d never exactly shied away from blatant self-publicity, ever since I got the local paper to run a front-page feature about me doing a stand-up gig in the local pub when I was 16. But I’d never really written about my lifelong love of music before.
Although I’d seen tons of bands during my teen years and early 20s, by the time I got into my mid-20s I seemed to have constant overdrafts and less money available to spend on concert tickets. In my 30s and 40s, with my chosen career by now pretty well-established, I found that although I had the money for gigs I no longer really had the time. Once I approached my late 40s, however, I was finally in the lucky position of having both the time and the money. It’s fair to say I went for it…
Darren meets members of Uriah Heep
Looking back atmy first month of combining gig-going with blogging, it was quite a busy one. I reviewed concerts by Uriah Heep on 4th March, the Young ‘uns on 5th March, Fairport Convention on 9th March, Judy Dyble on 16th March, Graham Bonnett on 19th March, The Elizabethan Session on 22nd March, Status Quo on 28th March and Peter Knight’s Gigspanner on 29th March. Phew!
That first month pretty much summed up my approach. I didn’t want to get too hung up on genre. I didn’t want to do a classic rock blog or a folk blog or any other sort of genre-specific blog (although there are some great ones out there). Rather I wanted to write about all of the artists that happened to interest me, whether heavy metal, glam rock or folk. If others enjoyed reading that, then great, but the starting point was about any music that happen to please me.
Over time, I started added album reviews as well as gig reviews, along with interviews, book reviews, music history and discussion of iconic songs.
Fairport Convention’s Simon Nicol is interviewed for Darren’s Music Blog
“I’m a blues guitarist but not necessarily a blues artist,”Joanne Shaw Taylor confides in the De La Warr audience at one point in the set, explaining her desire not to be boxed in too much by the constraints of genre labels. And that pretty much sums up her whole approach on stage tonight. From the pounding rhythm and blues of show-opener ‘In The Mood’ to the heart-wrenching classic blues of the Albert King cover ‘Can’t You See What You’re Doing To Me’, to the polished pop-rock of recent single ‘Wild Love’ to the elongated ‘60s-style freak-out of ‘Watch Em Burn’ to the funky licks of ‘Diamonds In The Dirt’ to the mellow, acoustic beauty of ‘Fade Away’ we get a taste of many things tonight.
Photo credit: Marty Moffatt
At the heart of it all is the incredible talent of Joanne Shaw Taylor, her soulful voice and great song-writing much in evidence, alongside her much-praised guitar wizardry. Discovered and mentored by The Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart at just 16, she has uncanny ability to harness the passion, raw emotion, and sheer exhilaration that great blues guitar-playing can engender and then take that and place it in pretty much any setting.
And the results are spectacular – with a packed-out De La Warr Pavilion showing its appreciation throughout. Shaw Taylor is ably assisted, of course, by a hugely-talented band (Shane Sanders – bass, Joey Spina – second guitar, Eric Savage – drums, and Phil Whitfield – keyboards). Whitfield, in particular is a delight to watch, taking us from lush, exquisite, soulful keys to pounding, energetic honky-tonk piano during the course of tonight’s show.
Photo credit: Marty Moffatt
With an eagerly-anticipated new album coming out in June we get a taste of what’s to come via a couple of songs tonight (‘Sweet ‘Lil Lies’ and ‘Wild Love’) alongside more established favourites from her, by now, extensive back catalogue.Heavy Soulwill be Shaw Taylor’s twelfth album since her 2009 debut, White Sugar and tonight’s show is proof as to just how much she’s established herself as blues rock royalty these past fifteen years. An absolute masterclass of a performance.
Heavy Soul is released 7th June 2024. For Joanne Shaw Taylor website visit here
Set-list:
In the Mood
Keep On Lovin’ Me
All My Love
If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody
Can’t You See What You’re Doing to Me
Dyin’ to Know
Wild Love
Won’t Be Fooled Again
Watch ’em Burn
Diamonds in the Dirt
Fade Away
Runaway
Sweet Lil Lies
Bad Blood
Going Home
Connor Selby – support
A shout-out, also, for the young blues-roots, guitarist singer-songwriter, Connor Selby, the one-man support act for this tour. The polite, well-mannered introductions to his songs belie a vocal delivery of real depth and grit, some nifty blues guitar work and some impassioned song-writing. Definitely one to be added to my ones-to-watch list, he entertained with a highly enjoyable set in his allotted 30-minute slot.
‘Sociology’ by Waveney Wilcox: digital release 1 March 2024
At the age of 71, Suffolk-born singer Waveney Wilcox has recruited an all-star line-up of stellar musicians for the release of his debut solo single, ‘Sociology’ on 1st March this year.
Waveney Wilcox: “I wrote this song in the late ‘70s whilst playing in the band Plazma from Halstead, Essex. All these years later, living in the Black Forest in Germany, it has been exciting to remake/remodel it for my first single release.”
‘Sociology’ was inspired by a long conversation with a man Waveney shared a night in a police cell with back in the late 1970s. The man had been in institutions most of his life and claimed to just want to be put in a cell and forgotten about; having no interest or belief in joy, love, and a normal life of societal conventions. The horror of those stark nihilist statements made a deep impression on Waveney – then a father of young children – that has lasted for almost 50 years.
Waveney Wilcox, a complete unknown in the music world, made this record with world class musicians – multi instrumentalist and producer Paul Cuddeford (Ian Hunter, Steve Harley, Bob Geldof) and saxophone player Terry Edwards (PJ Harvey, Gallon Drunk, Yoko Ono) – who volunteered to work on the project on the strength of the song and the vocal delivery.
Waveney will be performing ‘Sociology’ with Fifteen Lions (AKA Stuart Fiddes) on all dates on the Feb/March 2024 Lust For Life Tour: https://www.lustforlifetour.com/
Friday evening saw me make a whistlestop trip to the capital to catch up with my old friends The Pouk Hill Prophetz, who were performing a gig at London’s Water Rats.
Coming together through a shared love of Slade and a determination to celebrate the glam era in their own unique fashion, The Pouk Hill Prophetz have been around for a decade now. Never far away from anything Slade-related and raising a ton of money for various charitable endeavours along the way, they’ve long been a fixture at various Slade conventions (which is where I first caught them back in 2016). They even performed at my own Slade book launch last summer which was a huge load of fun.
The band have built up quite a dedicated following over the last ten years and the venue was nicely packed-out for them, their first gig in the capital with new drummer, James Hannington, who joins established Propheteers Nigel Hart and Martin Brooks.
I’ve seen many glam-inspired tribute acts and numerous glam covers bands over the years, but what really sets Pouk Hill Prophetz apart is that they don’t just restrict themselves to the most obvious foot-stomping big hits. You get a good blast of those, of course. But as far as their love as Slade goes, you can always expect a liberal smattering of obscure B-sides, carefully-chosen album tracks and archive material from the early pre-glam days thrown in as well.
Accordingly, tonight starts with a stomping version of ‘Know Who You Are’ – Slade’s last non-hit single before they struck gold with ‘Get Down and Get With It’. ‘Gudbuy Gudbuy’ from Slade’s classic Slayed album makes an appearance, as does ‘Darling Be Home Soon’ and ‘In Like A Shot From My Gun’ from the much-celebrated Slade Alive album.
It’s not just Slade though. They also give us a blast of The Sweet’s ‘Hellraiser’ and T Rex’s ‘20th Century Boy’ and later on a suitably pounding sing-along version of the Bay City Rollers’ ‘Shang-A-Lang’. It’s not even just the glam covers either. We get some great hard-rocking version of ZZ Top’s ‘Tush’ and Billy Idol’s ‘White Wedding’.
Things slow down for an acoustic segment mid-way through, with guitarist Martin Brooks moving on to keyboards for heartfelt renditions of Slade’s ‘Everyday’ and its lesser-known cousin ‘She Did It To Me’ alongside ‘Dapple Rose’ and a highly emotive ‘Old New Borrowed And Blue’. Although taking the title of a Slade album, the latter is not a cover version at all but an original composition cleverly taking fragments of various Slade lyrics from across their career to create a unique and utterly sincere musical love-letter to the famous foursome from Wolverhampton.
A few more raucous classics to round off the evening, including ‘Cum On Feel The Noize’ and ‘Born To Be Wild’ as well as a Slade-inspired vintage rock and roll medley, and then it’s time for me to say some hurried goodbyes and make a swift exit in time to get the last train back to Hastings.
In February and March 2023 an all-star line-up convened to celebrate the forty-fifth anniversary of the release of Iggy Pop’s classic Lust For Life album. Legendary Blondie drummer, Clem Burke, was joined by former Sex Pistol and punk pioneer, Glen Matlock on bass; broadcaster and Pet Shop Boys dancer, Katie Puckrik on vocals; Iggy Pop and David Bowie collaborator, Kevin Armstrong on guitar; Luis Correia, who’s toured internationally with Earl Slick on second guitar together with classical pianist, composer, and touring member of Heaven 17, Florence Sabeva on keyboards.
Lust For Live, recorded live over two exhilaratingly riotous nights at London’s Lexington on 11th and 12th March 2023, sees the band perform Iggy’s Lust For Life album in full, as well as revisiting songs from across the individual band members’ careers with legendary artists including Blondie, David Bowie, Iggy Pop and the Sex Pistols.
Lust For Live is available as a 19-track, limited edition, double-gatefold, live album as well as being released digitally. One disc will be pressed in opaque white with the other in opaque yellow, in a limited-edition pressing of just 1,000 copies.
New album: A Drop Of The Morning Dew: Live At Bacca Pipes Folk Club released 1 March 2024
Distilling both folk and country influences and performing a heartfelt mixture of self-penned and traditional songs on 12-string guitar and banjo, Serious Sam Barrett was raised in the Dales village of Addingham and began performing in and around Leeds in 2004. With the release of his debut album Close To Home in 2009, word began spreading further afield and Sam was soon grabbing the attention of audiences both around the UK and in the US.
Having performed at SXSW in Austin, Texas in 2010, he has toured the US widely, usually in the company of friends and fellow skaters The Pine Hill Haints. Along the way, Sam has shared stages with the likes of Martin Carthy, Dave Burland, Katherine Tickell, Lucero, The Young Un’s, Frank Fairfield, Deer Tick and Karine Polwart, and received airplay and praise plaudits from the BBC’s Bob Harris, Marc Riley, Mark Radcliffe and Mike Harding.
Recorded live at a gig at a celebrated Keighley folk club in January 2023, Sam’s forthcoming album A Drop Of The Morning Dew: Live At Bacca Pipes Folk Club includes eleven self-penned highlights from his career, along with his own arrangements of a further seven traditional songs. A folk club has existed in Keighley in one form or other since the early 60s, adopting the name Bacca Pipes during the early 70s and playing host to a long line of notables such as Mike Harding, Swan Arcade, Julie Felix, Peter Bellamy, Norma Waterson, Martin Carthy and many more. It was a tradition into which Sam Barrett was born.
Serious Sam Barrett:“Folk clubs have always been part of my life. My parents met in one and I was taken to the clubs and festivals from a young age. The clubs have always been a massive source of inspiration for my music. The magic that happens week in and week out is impossible to put into words. Sometimes the experience is almost transcendental. The old pubs, the reverence for the singers, the jokes, the raffle, the stories and the music. There’s nothing like it.”
When I asked for a quote for this piece, Sam came straight back:
“What an honour to be part of Darren’s Music Blog!! Thanks so much I can’t wait! I’m in some very esteemed company there!!! Can’t believe I’m getting to play the world famous Liverpool philharmonic!! What an honour. And it’s all thanks to Mellowtone!!”
Darren's music blog 