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.
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.
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 Iinterviewed Farner back in 2021he 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
Sadly, I never got to see the Moody Blues live. But thanks to the near-constant stream of top-class visiting legends we seem get down here in Hastings and Bexhill, this is the third time I’ve been lucky enough to see Justin Hayward performing solo in recent years.
Rather than try and replicate every aspect of the full Moody’s set-up, Hayward has devised his own unique approach with an established touring band that comprises Mike Dawes (guitars), Julie Ragins (keyboards) and Karmen Gould (flute).
Dawes is an absolute guitar genius and is hailed as one of the world’s most creative modern fingerstyle guitar performers – so before the main event we are entertained with a solo acoustic set packed full of guitar wizardry and some hilariously deadpan introductions.
After a short break, Hayward and the band hit the stage with a stunning rendition of ‘Tuesday Afternoon’. These Moody Blues classics are so well-written that you can do pretty much what you want with them arrangements-wise but as long as you have the unmistakable sound of Hayward’s vocal and those equally unforgettable flute melodies, you are immediately transported right to the heart of what the Moody Blues were about.
And the band are insanely talented. We’re soon on fabulous journey through a succession of Moodies’ masterpieces (‘Blue World’, Voices in the Sky’, ‘Nights in White Satin’ and many more), along with some well-chosen highlights from Hayward’s solo back catalogue, together with a mesmerising version of ‘Blue Guitar’ (the hit he had with Moody Blues bandmate, John Lodge) and, of course, not forgetting the Jeff Wayne / War of the Worlds classic, ‘Forever Autumn.
Along the way Hayward tells a few nicely self-effacing anecdotes, about growing up with Buddy Holly as his musical hero and finally getting to visit his birthplace, about rehearsing in the presbytery of his local Catholic church and once feeling a presence behind him in the room – but it was just someone wanting to know where the kitchen was…
As we reach the final encore with a stunning rendition of ‘I Know You’re Out There Somewhere’ I can’t help feeling a tinge of sadness that so many chapters on the Moody Blues story have closed in recent years. 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.
Some rock and rollers make for charismatic front-men by dint of being unfeasibly cool, others through virtuoso musicianship and others through seemingly hypnotic personal appeal. With Anvil frontman, Steve ‘Lips’ Kudlow, however, it is simply his sheer, childlike wonder at the privilege of being up on stage performing to people by playing the music he loves.
I first saw the Canadian heavy metallers, Anvil, at Preston Guildhall as a 17-year-old when they were supporting Motorhead on their Another Perfect Day tour back in 1983 (a birthday gift from my father). And even 40 years later, Kudlow’s enthusiasm is as infectious as ever. Of course, Anvil’s profile in the past decade has been helped enormously by the hugely successful ‘Story of Anvil’ film, a tale of perseverance that The Times once deemed “possibly the greatest film yet made about rock and roll”. How much of a material impact the film has ended up having in terms of day to day life on the road for Anvil it’s hard to tell. They are still playing small clubs, like the one here in Hastings tonight, but they are playing them to a deluge of love and affection and, looking around at the audience tonight, while there’s a few of us who may have remembered them from that early Motorhead tour there’s plenty who were clearly not even born when Anvil first came to the UK.
Still with original vocalist/guitarist, Steve Kudlow, and original drummer, Robb Reiner, these days the pair are joined by bass-player, Chris Robertson, whose now been playing with them for a decade. From the moment the trio hit the stage the energy levels remained stratospheric. Kicking off with ‘March of the Crabs’ and ‘666’ there was no shortage of classics from Anvil’s early ’80s heyday, and the band’s Metal On Metal and Forged In Fire albums were well represented in the set-list. But there was also more recent material, too, including the band’s tribute to the Canadian government’s legalisation of cannabis – the title track of their 2020 Legal At Last album, as well as ‘Bitch In The Box’ (about satnavs!) from the excellent Pounding The Pavement album – and a new song ‘Truth Is Dying’ (about online misinformation) from the band’s very latest album.
It’s powerhouse drumming, thunderous bass-lines and monster guitar riffs throughout. The only time they stop for a breather is when Kudlow regales us with anecdotes about touring with Motorhead and (for a Canadian) he doesn’t do a bad Lemmy impersonation either – wonderfully capturing that deadpan, Jack Daniels-soaked, Stoke-on-Trent gruffness.
As the band draw to a close, and following an immense drum solo from Reiner, Kudlow pays emotional tribute to former Anvil second guitarist, Dave Allison, who died recently and dedicates ‘Jackhammer’ to him. Then it’s almost all over as the trio blast us with their bona fide metal anthem, ‘Metal On Metal’. But it’s not quite over. Kudlow jumps down into the crowd, guitar on his shoulder, soloing and sharing selfies. Neil Diamond’s ‘Sweet Caroline’ blasts from the PA while he continues doing selfies, shaking hands and thanking everyone for coming to the party. What a party it was.
“So, Darren, out of your vast collection what was the first CD you ever bought?”
It’s a question I’ve been asked on numerous occasions and one that often pops up on various CD collectors’ forums on social media. For me it, was actually this one – Read an’ Willin’ by Whitesnake.
I didn’t even own a CD player at the time but I bought it for my dad’s birthday in 1989 when it came out on CD for the first time. We both loved the album when it was first released on vinyl back in 1980 and Whitesnake were one of the first bands I saw when my dad took me to the Monsters of Rock Festival at Donington in 1981.
When my dad died in 2007, I inherited it back again and a number of years later, Whitesnake guitarist Bernie Marsden actually signed it for me. With my dad no longer here and Bernie Marsden no longer here it’s an important memento and an integral part of my collection. I wouldn’t part with it.
The revamp of the White Rock’s downstairs area into a more intimate studio space below the main theatre means the venue is now well-equipped to host two gigs simultaneously on the same night. Upstairs in the main auditorium was the Bob Marley tribute show – Legend, while downstairs in the studio we had a bona fide living legend in the shape of Martin Turner.
Turner was, of course, one of the founding members of Wishbone Ash and its bass-player and lead vocalist from the band’s formation in 1969 until his departure in 1980. Although he had a couple of reconciliations with Andy Powell in the 80s and 90s (the sole remaining original member of Wishbone Ash) for the past two decades Turner has been on the road with his own interpretation of the band’s legacy. I first caught Turner and his band in 2010 performing the classic 1972 Argus album in full at the first High Voltage festival in London and again doing similar at one of the Butlins Giants of Rock Festival a few years later.
For this tour things are fast-forwarded a few years, with a set-list focused around celebrating the Wishbone Ash Live Dates Volume 2 album, released in 1980. It follows a previous tour last year, performing the original 1973 Live Dates album in its entirety.
I’ve never actually owned either of the Live Dates albums and I’m generally a lot more familiar with the band’s early ‘70s studio material than with later releases – so the full set-list won’t all be entirely familiar to me. Nevertheless, it’s a gig I’ve been looking forward to for many months and Turner and his band have never disappointed when I’ve seen them live.
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. Moreover, the twin lead guitar work, courtesy of Danny Wilson and Misha Nikolic who have both been with the band a good number of years, is just absolutely stunning and does the band’s legacy proud.
Wilson also took the lead vocal on a couple of songs that had originally been fronted by Laurie Wisefield and his predecessor Ted Turner back in the day. The line-up is completed by the new boy of the band is drummer, Sonny Flint – son of Blues Band legend, Hughie Flint – who has been with the band since 2022. He gets a special cheer when he’s introduced, not only for his excellent drum-work but also for being one of Hastings’ many resident musos.
Turner is an entertaining and affable frontman, with his between-song patter bringing a touch of old-time music hall to the world of progressive rock, as well as providing some fascinating insights into the inspiration behind a number of the band’s classic songs.
It’s the songs, of course, that made this such a special gig. And there was no shortage of memorable classics, including ‘Doctor’, ‘The Way of The World’, ‘Rock and Roll Widow’ (with lead vocal from Wilson), ‘Time Was’ and, of course, ‘Blowin’ Free’ a song inspired by a love-struck teenage Turner being on Dartmoor with a visiting Swedish girl. Turner told the audience that the rest of the band wanted to keep the track off the Argus album as it didn’t fit the more serious, proggy themes of the rest of the album. Turner responded by going “psychotic” and the song remained. Phew!
As well as their usual Saturday night fare of free hard rock, heavy metal and punk gigs, Hastings infamous seafront rock pub, The Carlisle, has also been putting on a slew of great ticketed gigs of late. This week it was the turn of acclaimed blues rock band, The Cold Stares – all the way from Indiana, USA. Kicking in Denmark the previous week, Hastings is the first date on the UK leg of a European tour.
Support is in the shape of the excellent AK & The Red Kites, the new power trio formed by songwriter/guitarist, Andrew Knightley, who are well worth keeping an eye out for and have recently released their debut EP, Proverbial Storm.
Andrew Knightley of AK & The Red Kites
They got the crowd nicely warmed-up for the main event and a short while later The Cold Stares launched straight into ‘Horse to Water’, the recent single from their brand-new album, The Southern, which is officially released on 6th September. Described as a homage to Southern rock, it combines the riff-laden muscularity of bands like Humble Pie with that special Southern sweetness of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Another great song from the new album, also is given an airing tonight, is ‘Third Degree’, a punchy rocker that morphed into an extended, hard-rocking instrumental work-out.
The Cold Stares have the songs, the sound and the attitude that is just tailor-made for the power trio format. But it’s only relatively late on in their career that they’ve embraced such a set-up, with guitarist/vocalist Chris Tapp and drummer Brian Mullins being joined by bassist Bryce Klueh in time for the release of their sixth album (and their first trio album)Voices in 2023.
Chris Tapp of The Cold Stares
With quite an extensive back catalogue to draw on, there is no shortage of older material though, including a nice, rootsy rendition of ‘In The Night Time’ dedicated to the sunset on Hastings beach earlier in the evening and the raw, guttural blues of ‘Prosecution Blues’, complete with spellbinding guitar.
Giving us a good hour-and-half set of gutsy, energy-packed, hard rock and blues, and some mellower moments where Tapp dons his steel guitar, the trio draw things to a close with some obvious crowd-pleasers. ‘Two Keys and a Good Book’ elicits plenty of cheers when it’s introduced as an encore and the full-on freak-out of ‘Head Bent’ rounds off the evening in brilliantly OTT fashion.
If you’ve a chance to catch The Cold Stares on the remainder of this tour, do take it up. You won’t be disappointed.
I’ve been responsible for herding a fluid and evolving group of friends, family members and friends of friends to attend Fairport’s Cropredy Convention for some fourteen years now. Looking for somewhere to rendezvous that very first time back in 2010 (in order that we could all drive in together and camp next to one another) we happened across a layby in Banbury. Now, every year without fail in the days leading up to Cropredy I start getting text messages from various people in various parts of the country asking me where the layby is. I can never remember so every year without fail I end up visiting a dogging website to get the name, postcode and exact location so people can programme it into their satnavs.
So it was that this year (after numerous texts and checking out the dogging website once again) three cars, a caravan and a campervan all assembled punctually in said layby ready to enjoy another Cropredy weekend of fun, friendship and fantastic music.
Our Cropredy camping group this year – Photo credit: a friendly Cropredy punter
Day one: Thursday
As is now traditional, Fairport Convention opened proceedings with a short acoustic set. It still seems slightly unreal not seeing Gerry Conway’s beaming face alongside the rest of the band. Even though he’s been succeeded by long-time Fairport legend, Dave Mattacks, my years of following the band live had all been in the Gerry era so his retirement in 2022 and tragic death in March this year came as a real shock. He will be greatly missed.
Feast of Fiddles followed, always a great festival folk band and always a delight. Much as I wanted to see Kathryn Tickell and the Darkening, however, a combination of rain, cider and lack of sleep sent me back to the campsite for a snooze so I could be match-fit ready for Rick Wakeman’s set. What turned out to be an extended snooze meant I missed all of Tony Christe’s set, too, but I’m told he went down really well.
Rick Wakeman, on the other hand, I certainly did not want to miss. Performing the whole of his 1974 concept album, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, based on Jules Verne’s 1864 science fiction novel, it’s a masterclass in showing that while prog can be bombastic, over the top and full of itself, with Rick Wakeman at the helm it need ever, ever, ever be boring. It was brilliantly entertaining and something of a family affair for retro rock, with Wakeman’s own son, Adam, on keyboards, the son of Fairport’s Dave Pegg, Matt Pegg, on bass, and the daughter of Humble Pie’s Steve Marriott, Mollie Marriott, as one of the two female lead vocalists. Wonderful stuff and one of the real highlights of the weekend for me.
Rick Wakeman and son Adam. Photo Credit: Simon Putman
Day two: Friday
As the sun shone down for the start of a very hot afternoon, things kicked off on the Friday with folk punk outfit Black Water County. Not a band I had seen before but I’m pretty familiar with the genre, having seen the likes of Ferocious Dog and legendary local band here in Hastings, Matilda’s Scoundrels, who they very much reminded me of. Highly entertaining, I’ll definitely be up for seeing them again if they ever play down my way.
Cropredy village – Photo Credit: Simon Putman
The rest of the afternoon’s line-up looked very tempting indeed for a fan of folk rock and classic rock like myself. But I’d already agreed to have a wander around the village with one of our party and then check out Cream of the Crop, the boutique festival in the field next door which these days runs parallel to the main Cropredy event every August. We arrived just in time to catch the last part of the set from my old friends, Parkbridge, including a storming cover of Neil Young’s ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’.
Parkbridge at Cream of the Crop. Photo Credit: Simon Putman
It was then back to the main stage in time for Swedish banjo trio, Baskery and bluesy Americana singer-songwriter, Elles Bailey, both of whom went down well. Then it was back to the campsite for pot noodles, some chill time and putting on some warmer clothes ready for a late night with Richard Thompson. We arrived back at the main stage just in time to see Spooky Men’s Chorale, a sprawling choral ensemble I’d heard lots of people speak very favourably of but who I knew next to nothing about. I’m not sure I’d sit at home listening to one of their albums (they are now on to their sixth apparently) but they make for a superb festival act with a mix of deadpan humour, melancholy ballads and anthemic covers.
Elles Bailey up on the big screen. Photo Credit: Simon Putman
Richard Thompson, on the other hand, I knew exactly what to expect and he didn’t disappoint. Launching straight into a plethora of RT classics, just him and his acoustic guitar and some mind-blowingly stupendous finger-work, it was precisely what I’d been looking forward to all day. Around two-thirds of the way through his slot, sundry Fairporters joined him on stage for an electric set and he dazzled us all over again.
I did, however, start to see a lot of people leaving during Richard Thompson’s set. I don’t think this was any reflection on the performance whatsoever. Indeed, I suspect many of those leaving were actually long-term Richard Thompson fans. I believe it’s got far more to do with the timing. Given an aging demographic among long-term Fairport devotees, and given even second and third generation attendees may have young kids or grandkids to put to bed, it may be time for the organisers to think about putting the headliners in the penultimate slot, when they can be guaranteed maximum attendance, and having an inexpensive late-night party band in the final slot for the remaining revellers to party the night away. I’ve seen other festivals do this and it works a treat.
Richard Thompson. Photo Credit: Darren Johnson
Day three: Saturday
Following a fascinating talk by legendary 60s producer and the man who discovered Fairport, Joe Boyd, folk-singer-cum-funnyman and inciter of mass outbreaks of Morris dancing, Richard Digance once again formally opened proceedings on the Saturday. Sometimes I find his songs a little bit twee and sentimental and the nostalgia is certainly laid on with a trowel – but I wouldn’t miss the now-infamous communal hanky-waving routine for the world.
Richard Digance and a mass Morris Dance. Photo credit: Simon Putman
Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage, Zac Schulz Gang and Ranagri all put in sterling performances. Focus was one of the bands I’d been really looking forward to seeing on the Cropredy stage, however. I’d seen them before at classic rock festivals and will admit to approaching them slightly tongue-in-cheek, gleefully dancing around like an idiot to ‘Hocus Pocus’, channeling my inner Neil from the Young Ones persona and not taking them entirely seriously. Here, the atmosphere was markedly different and the audience really seemed to get Focus and really absorb the band’s extended prog masterpieces. As keyboardist, vocalist, flautist and founder member, Thijs van Leer, said at the end, the band felt “truly at home here in this beautiful field.” Perfect.
An appreciative Cropredy crowd for Focus. Photo Credit: Darren Johnson
I can’t do a full twelve-hour shift in the main field without some chill-time back at the tent before returning for the evening headliners. Normally, it’s fairly easy. I find someone I’m not too bothered about (or ideally someone I really can’t stand at all) who’s on the bill around teatime and time my break for then. This year it was an impossible choice. I wanted to see everyone. Unfortunately, Eddie Reader got the short straw. I love her music and have seen her live several times but I really didn’t want to miss Focus and I didn’t want to miss the special guest slot just in case I missed someone really… special.
There had been quite a bit of speculation within our camping group about the identity of the ‘Special Surprise Guest’. It would have to be someone who was mates with the band and was willing to perform for free, it would have to be someone who was reasonably well-known and it would have to be someone who was still alive. That narrowed it down quite a bit and we were left with a potential shortlist of Robert Plant, Jasper Carrott or Ralph McTell.
After our little break back at the campsite we headed back to the main arena. I was hoping for Robert Plant but expecting Jasper Carrot. I wasn’t wrong. I have huge admiration for him performing gratis as a way of helping ensure Cropredy’s financial viability at an increasingly fraught time for the festival sector. But his humour seemed very dated and his routine was not exactly up to the minute: jokes about Covid and the US presidential election which would have hit the spot when Biden was still in the race but made little sense now Kamala Harris is running. I should have trusted my instincts and stayed for Eddie Reader and given Carrott a miss.
Fairport’s Chris Leslie. Photo Credit: Simon Putman
It was wonderful to see Fairport Convention take the stage to round off another successful Cropredy though. My one niggle is that there did seem rather a lot of Chris Leslie-penned songs in the set-list and not nearly enough by Richard Thompson, Dave Swarbrick or Sandy Denny songs. We did get some wonderful Ralph McTell material though, including stunning renditions of ‘The Hiring Fair’ and ‘Red and Gold’, the latter performed by the man himself with some wonderful accompaniment from Anna Ryder, Hannah Sanders, Michelle Plum and Ed Whitcombe. 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…
Fairport Convention at Cropredy. Photo Credit: Simon Putman
To coincide with the release of their latest album, Miracles Beyond, this week, Bulgarian-based supergroup Intelligent Music Project have released a new single and video. ‘Days Rollin’ features lead vocals from Toto’s Joseph Williams, alongside Simon Phillips (drums), Ernest Tibbs (bass), Biser Ivanov (guitars) and Ivo Stefanov (keyboards).
The band have also released a video with Simon Phillips ((Toto, The Who, Judas Priest), John Payne (ex-Asia) and Ernest Tibbs discussing the making of the Miracles Beyond album and their work with Intelligent Music Project.
John Payne: “The songs are great, it’s an interesting album. There is some pretty rocky stuff on this one and I see influences from bands like Queen, progressive music, pop music and really deep meaningful songs.”
Milen Vrabevski, MD, producer, songwriter and founder of the project, “The album’s dedicated to free spirits – the driving force of the progress of humanity. It’s a testament to the spirit of collaboration and the power of music to transcend boundaries. Musically, we offer a good example of what a super-group product should sound like. It’s 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, which again shows that we have another world-class product!”
About Intelligent Music Project
Intelligent Music Project is a Bulgarian supergroup with an exceptionally international line-up, created in 2011 by Bulgarian businessman, philanthropist, and arts patron Dr. Milen Vrabevski, who is not only the project’s producer but also the composer of the band’s music and lyrics.
Intelligent Music Project is a creative mix of melodic, hard-rock songs with progressive hooks, driven by catchy guitar riffs and keyboards, often combined with interesting symphonic textures and complex musical arrangements. The lyrics of Intelligent Music Project’s songs carry a positive and motivating message, with an emphasis on themes from everyday life, through which the author offers key advice about success based on his personal experience and vision. Through the language of music, Dr. Vrabevski aims to bring to the forefront basic values that can serve as a solid foundation for young people on their path to becoming mature adults leading meaningful lives.
Prior to Miracles Beyond, the band released seven albums – The Power of Mind, My Kind O’Lovin’, Touching the Divine, Sorcery Inside, Life Motion, The Creation, and Unconditioned. Intelligent Music Project was the Bulgarian representative to the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy, with the song Intention.
Besides the aforementioned musicians, over the years, the band has seen a stellar lineup, 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).
