We like to get a Northern perspective from Steve but this time he’s raising some really important issues about hygiene that apply across the country. OK, it’s not a celebration of 2023, but it’s important and without getting too political, it’s all about a general relaxation of standards and lack of enforcement. Here we go:

Now, then. My High Fives list this year is a strange one.

I find that, due to the gigs I tend to go to and the fact that the live music-loving population seems to be getting older on average; or at least those with the disposable to spend on it – you would think that venues would make every attempt not to kill off an ageing clientele for good business reasons quite apart from any moral or humanist imperative.

However, it does seem to me that some are running pretty fast and loose with significant health risks.

Here’s my High Fives for this year.

Glasses that are minging

Please, please, please – do not serve drinks in glasses which haven’t seen the dishwasher. I don’t want to see thumb prints on glass sides, beer going flat with grease within seconds of pouring, or grey, simply dirty glass conveying otherwise pristine beer. It is not the fault of the guy who had the glass before me that he had a burger with his pint – but I do not wish to share it with him, thank you. Alcohol can and does kill a lot of viruses BUT not all and not at the strength of a lot of ‘session’ beer and as for alcohol free for the poor Nominated Driver, a.k.a. Future Patient, well. This is not the sixteenth century, we do not have to drink alcohol to prevent ourselves from dying of some horrible waterborne infection but. Please. If I’m going to pay serious money to buy a drink, please make sure it is in a Clean Glass. It doesn’t seem too much to ask.

Glasses which aren’t glasses

A number of venues I have frequented recently are selling drinks in reusable plastic tumblers. This is an unavoidable fact of life to avoid injury from broken glass in all forms, either on the floor, flying through the air, brandished by a maniac, whatever it might happen to be. BUT. These receptacles are susceptible to getting scratched, especially if stacked twenty high when dirty and these then make them very difficult to wash properly so it is particularly important this happens so that the punter is not inadvertently poisoned by some lurgy-infected crevice in the plastic.

Plastic glasses which aren’t reusable, being re-used

One-use plastic is, rightly I feel, frowned upon now for very real environmental reasons as we slowly wake up to the thought of drowning in our own plastic waste. However, I have, on occasion and in certain live settings, seen what were clearly intended as one-use containers collected in for re-use. This is, frankly, horrible. The plastic of these things is very soft and will not stand up to reuse and ‘washing’. Gorges rise at the very thought. 

The Bogs

A frequent and recurring theme of mine. A great many venues, no names and no pack drill of course, make absolutely every effort to make sure the Facilities do not in themselves constitute a health hazard and we have, in the main, come a long way from balancing over a fetid latrine on a plank. BUT. There are those, all of whom will no doubt fervently deny this, particularly on a busy Saturday night, where things start off with the personal hygiene bar set at ‘Low’ and when the four-hourly inspection comes around, seem to open the door, observe the mayhem and carnage and say yep, ‘pretty much as it was’ in that the urinals are still overflowing and you can’t get a pee without complementary wet socks. 

PLEASE wash your hands

And it’s not all ‘their fault’. A completely unscientific, unofficial and uncorroborated survey found that around 40% of men at a gig do not wash their hands, you know, with actual soap and everything, after a trip to the ablutions. I have no figures relating to women and therefore would not assume anything. This is completely irresponsible and shows a total disregard for your fellow human beings. I don’t want to cringe every time I grab a metal handrail or put my hand on the edge of the bar. I’m tempted to excuse you if it is during the encore but no, the great pestilence has no respect for artistic merit or the set list.

And with all this in mind I wish you a happy, and healthy, New Year.

It’s three days in to the 2023 High Fives and we thought it was time to let Allan off the leash for his first contribution this year. Here are some of his reminiscences on gigs and artists old and new with a few photos as well. As you can tell from Allan’s introduction, every year has its losses as well as gains.

Alan Darby and Steve Jenner

I’m rapidly approaching my fiftieth anniversary of gig-going and 2023 has been a year where the old and the new have frequently crossed paths as I’ve navigated the London gig scene. Before I get on to the positive stuff, there’s one loss we’ve suffered this year that really hurt. My love of live music kicked off when I was a student in Dundee between 1976 and 1980. One of the bands I saw there was the Scottish soul band Cado Belle. Maggie Reilly was an astonishing singer, but I was blown away by guitar player Alan Darby and his astonishing work on the tone poem ‘September’. The band split after one album and Alan did many things (including working on the door of a Covent Garden club managed by a friend of mine) before finally establishing himself as a guitar player and musical director with Lulu, Van Morrison and Les McKeown before going on to work in The Dominion production of ‘We Will Rock You’. A few years ago, courtesy of the wonderful Artie Zaitz, I wangled an invite for myself and my old mate (and Music Riot contributor) Steve Jenner to meet Alan at Chelsea Arts Club after a Guitars Deluxe performance. He was a lovely guy and he lost his battle with cancer earlier this year. Thankfully, we still have his music. Apologies for starting with a sad story, but those memories are as important as the happy ones, which are coming at you in chronological order.

Pin Drop Sessions @Caddy’s Southend (February 2023)

Have you ever been in Southend on a Friday night in February? It’s cold; it’s bloody cold, but I was going to see the brilliant Phil Burdett for the first time in 2023. It was a chance to see a new venue, have a beer or two with Phil and local bass maestro Martin Cutmore and grab a few pictures. So why is it called ‘Pin Drop Sessions’? It’s back to the old school; a small room, no PA and only acoustic instruments. No soundchecks, turn up and play to an audience that wants to hear music and doesn’t want to talk through the performances. You could literally hear a pin drop.

I’ve seen Phil Burdett performing many times over the last ten years as a singer-songwriter, author and poet and he’s always worth watching, never more so than in this intimate setting. It was perfect for Phil’s tales of Essex.

On this night, the new (for me) was Isabel Inkcap, who was totally engaging as she delivered her folk-inspired songs to a rapt audience. She’s a genuine talent who wins over the audience by sheer presence before she even starts to play either guitar or banjo. She also gifted me a great photo opportunity after a lengthy tuning session when it was obvious she was going to react somehow. I couldn’t have hoped for a better reaction.

Frankie Miller’s Full House @The 100 Club 30th May 2023

Ray Minhinnett

In more ways than one, this comes back to Steve Jenner again. The first band that we saw together at Dundee University was Frankie Miller’s Full House. The blend of rock and soul and Frankie’s incredible voice blew us away; live music was never the same after that. Frankie’s band included a guitar player I’d never seen before, who went on to become hugely respected in the music business as a player and a historian; his name’s Ray Minhinnett. Frankie worked with various musicians live and on record before a brain aneurysm in 1994 ended his musical career. He’s doing fairly well now after all the trauma and the beautiful thing is that his legacy is still intact and his fans still want to hear those songs, which is where Steve Jenner comes back into the picture.

Gregor Macgregor

Early in 2023, Steve saw a reconstituted Full House (led by Ray Minhinnett and fronted by singer Gregor MacGregor). He pointed me in their direction and in May 2023 I got the chance to shoot Full House at The 100 Club. Frankie Miller was a one-off, but Gregor MacGregor has the Scottish voice to tackle Frankie’s songs with restraint and power in equal measure (and he’s a lovely bloke). A good night was had by everyone and the 1970s worked pretty well in the 2020s.

Southside Johnny @Shepherd’s Bush Empire 7th July 2023

It was a “Will he, won’t he” gig. The talk in the pubs around Shepherd’s Bush Green on the day was about whether Bruce Springsteen might make a guest appearance between his two Hyde Park gigs on the 6th and the 8th. He didn’t, but my mate and guitar player extraordinaire, Jim Maving did bump into the E Street Band bass player Garry Tallent at the gig. Bruce or no Bruce, I never miss a Southside show because you never know when the next one will be. I’ve been a Southside fan for nearly fifty years and I’ve been lucky enough to meet and interview him a few times and photograph him loads of times. I got really lucky this time. In the past, I’ve missed a few great photo opportunities because of the house policy of checking in all pro gear backstage after the first three songs – that didn’t apply this time and I got to shoot from the auditorium for the rest of the set and caught some cracking shots.

I’ve written about Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes before and I’m fairly certain I’ll write about them again. There’s a magic that happens when you take eight world-class musicians and give them the opportunity to express themselves within the framework of four-minute songs; you should all take the opportunity experience it.

Folk in the Park Sutton 19th August 2023

Nick Lowe

If you haven’t met Hannah White and Keiron Marshall, you really should. They’re both incredibly talented but they’re the nicest people you could ever wish to meet and they care passionately about music, about the environment and people in general. Hannah’s songwriting is always powerful and sometimes visceral (‘Car Crash’ is a great example) and Keiron shapes the arrangements and production for her songs bringing in all sorts of musicians, including Michelle Stodart to back Hannah live and in the studio.

Iain Matthews

In 2022, they put together a festival in Manor Park, Sutton which was reasonably successful and decided to expand it in 2023 with more well-known and acclaimed and artists. I would have supported the event whoever was on the bill, but Hannah and Keiron excelled themselves, pulling in appearances from the legendary Nick Lowe (who I saw at my first gig when he played with Brinsley Schwarz) and Iain Matthews (whose album, ‘Stealing Home’, I bought in 1980 on blue vinyl and I’ve loved ever since). And they had Del Amitri topping the bill. Oh, and Hannah made an appearance with her band as well.

I’ve followed Hannah’s career for a few years now and it’s been a revelation to see genuine talent being recognised critically and commercially. Bring on 2024.

Stone Foundation 25th Anniversary tour

You’ve already read me rattling on about working with one of my teenage musical heroes; I think Neil Sheasby of Stone Foundation trumps me on this one. Neil was a fan of The Jam from their earliest days and, as Stone Foundation gathered momentum through the 21st century, they picked up a celebrity fan, Paul Weller, who went on to collaborate with them, produce their albums at Black Barn Studios and guest on a few of their gigs.

Forgive me for listing the band members, but Stone Foundation is a team effort and the core of the band has been together now for twenty-five years. Here we go: Neil Jones (vocals/guitar), Neil Sheasby (bass), Phil Ford (drums), Ian Arnold (keys), Rob Newton (percussion), Steve Trigg (trumpet and fluegelhorn), Dave Boraston (trumpet and fluegelhorn) and Anthony Gaylard (saxophone). They’re an incredibly tight soul unit and Neil Jones once told me that having the horn section on stage was like wearing a suit of armour.

I’ve been a fan for over ten years and this year they celebrated their 25th anniversary with a UK tour that wound up with two nights at Islington Assembly Hall. They were supported by the wonderful Emily Capell (check out her album ‘Combat Frock’), DJ Robert Elms and had guest appearances from Mick Talbot, Graham Parker, Laville and Paul Weller over the two nights. If you want a validation of their work, I think that does it.

After almost fifty years of watching live music, it’s fabulous to pick out five gigs that really got the juices flowing. Just keep it coming, everyone.

With the return of Rosko to the Caroline North airwaves and my show sitting in for Paul Brown on the main album channel done and dusted, we had a weekend ‘at large’ to enjoy and spent it irresponsibly at the final, or so we’re told, annual Skegness Rock and Blues festival at Butlins Skeggy. The night before we set off we went to the New Vic in Stoke to catch Paul Jones and Dave Kelly and to be honest, if any of the acts we were due to see and hear over the weekend were on a level playing field with them, I’d have been happy. And happy I was. A Fab weekend, too much to mention, but for me, the three highlights (other views are available but, clearly, they’re all wrong) were…

Full House. Frankie Miller’s old band, still featuring the stunning guitar work of Ray Minhinnett.

I have previous to declare here. Back in early October 1976, at the University Of Dundee, (who were remarkably well disposed, thank the Lord, to taking in English duffers who’d not exactly exceeded expectations in their A-levels) the band booked for freshers week, just before I started my three-year stint as a resident DJ there, was Frankie Miller’s Full House.

And what a ‘Welcome to Scotland’ that was. My mate the celebrated rock snapper Allan McKay and I had one of those moments where we both knew that was it, whatever happens, we’re doing rock ‘n’ roll in some shape or form for the rest of our lives. It was like facing a full-on storm force wind – and it was the first time I’d been to a gig where a band had successfully welded Rock to Soul to the Blues with some damn strong pop tunes as well. To this day on Radio Caroline I use the personal strapline ‘Rock n Soul Radio’; get these two to meet on a stage somewhere, stir in a pinch of the blues and you’ve cracked it.

And to my absolute delight – and Butlins true intent is all for your delight, (it says so, it always did!) they absolutely nailed it. What a line up band leader and guitarist Ray Minhinnett has assembled here! They say the best musicians attract the best musicians and there’s not a duffer or time-server amongst this lot. From the opening bars of ‘Be Good To Yourself’ through an impassioned ‘Fool In Love’ right though to the final tongue in cheek disdain for the singalonga ‘Darlin’ at the end, (Miller hated the song, which he knew he was going to be stuck with forever once it became a massive top ten single hit, even when he returned to play our venue in ’78, and so do the rest of the band even now, but at least they had the honesty not to short change the punters who wanted to hear it and played it straightish) it was like standing in the eye of the storm again, only 47 years removed. Magic.

For most people in situations such as these, the elephant in the room would be that Frankie Miller was such a unique talent. Which was part of the problem, the record company just didn’t seem to know what to do with him. Nobody, and that’s nobody, could lay a glove on him in his pomp so the guy on the mic is on a hiding to nothing, right?  So I was nothing less than astonished to hear the man tasked with bringing the vocal delivery of these songs to life wasn’t just joining up the dots…he was absolutely giving this the best shot you could reasonably expect another human being to give. What a voice has yer man Gregor!  Go See wherever and whenever. They had to play a shorter set than normal and I’ve got to catch them out on the road somewhere else now. Truly the Celtic Soul Vision. If you go around not going to see these you might just as well give your ears away.

And I’d have been happy to go home at that point but…..Dana Gillespie and her band finished the proceeding late on Saturday night in the smallest of the four venues; but with mobile phones etc good news travels fast and by the time she was three songs in they were hanging off the rafters. For the uninitiated, Dana Gillespie was signed to Bowie’s MainMan management group and sang backing vocals on Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust album before releasing the album ‘Weren’t Born A Man’ on RCA records in 1973 which was produced by Bowie and his guitarist Mick Ronson. Since then she’s been largely concentrating on singing and recording the blues alongside her acting work and is a well known and respected member of the Blues fraternity. But all this just falls away when she lets rip with that band of hers, including the astonishing keyboard thumper Dino Baptiste who is just boogie on legs. Her main area of concern in the songs she performs are those highlighting the strange balance between the attraction and the fractiousness which exists between men and women – exclusively from a female perspective and we’re treated to a set of ripe old blues songs which made the walls blush, starting at Bessie Smith and working downwards. Imagine a more glamorous Jo Brand with A Voice belting out the blues in front of a band who are absolutely on fire and you get the gist. When I say the housewives’ favourite, Jimmy Young, had to be quite forcibly dissuaded from playing her version of ‘Ten Inch’ on Radio One back in the day, you probably get the idea. Time – she’s into her 70s now but you wouldn’t know it for the energy and ‘twinkle’ in the performance – has blessed her with a mellowed, husky set of pipes which just so suit the task in hand. Always good to see a ‘survivor’ thriving, but this was much, much more – an object lesson in how to work a room. This isn’t a relic of the wild times relishing last woman standing status; this is overdue recognition of an outstanding talent. That David Bowie, he knew what he was about.

Sunday afternoon and the Chicago Blues Legends Show is on in Reds which is by far and away the best of the ‘big’ venues. The sound in Centre Stage is usually horrible and woolly and the big tent is, well, a big tent. But Reds is crisp, precise and usually a very good listen and so it was on the Sunday afternoon in question. Giles Robson and the aforementioned Dino Baptiste did a sterling job opening for them and on came the first of the Legends, a hand-picked hot Chicago player already doing great things and destined for greater. Jamiah Rogers was the unanimous choice of the old stagers who were due to follow him on the package and it was a brave move as this guy is HOT. We’ve all heard ‘Baby Please Don’t Go’; not like this, you haven’t. And, like all really talented American entertainers, he knows how to grab an audience without seeming to make the effort and in the tradition of the Blues, it tends to be BS-free as well. If you’re rising to the top of a scene as competitive as the Chicago blues scene – at the age of 27 – well…no disrespect but those old lads better be At It, that’s all I’m saying.

 Twice Grammy-nominated, John Primer was part of Willie Dixon’s Chicago All-Stars and led Muddy Waters Band from 1981 onwards. A small figure hunched behind a big red Gibson (I think, I was a long way back. Sunday afternoon, I like a nice sit down then) and promptly brought the fields, the city and the Hard Times right to my table.

I don’t know how they do that. How can a musician bring you that Shakespeare’s catharsis thing right to your table when you’re gently sipping a pint of Guinness and are comfortably at your leisure? And there you are, head down and nodding quietly to yourself while the man plays turbocharged Jeremy Kylesque stories of poverty and misery and extreme deprivation and there you go. You Got The Blues. First Time all weekend I genuinely Got ‘Em. And then on comes Billy Branch. He’s recorded and / or toured with Willie Dixon, Johnny Winter, Lou Rawls, Taj Mahal……and he plays the old gob iron like the living spit of Little Walter. And he played ‘My Babe’ and it was 1955, it was Chicago, and it was January, and cold. And then they all joined together and hollered and stomped and wailed.

And when I stepped outside after that because my head was full it was January, and cold.

And the fourth of my three top choices for the weekend – King Pleasure and The Biscuit Boys. Now you couldn’t get further away on the blues spectrum then these. We felt, myself and the legendary Mrs Jenner, that a bit of a knees-up would be a suitable way to round off proceedings for the weekend and this lot did not disappoint and they’re no mugs either, having been in with BB King amongst others. A sort of turbo swing, Jumping  Jive / Big Jay McNeely / Cab Calloway / Louis Jordan mash-up meets Bill Haley and the Comets, Madness and Lord Rockingham’s Eleven with Eric Morecombe on slap bass. The lead singer chose the purtiest girl in the room to dance with when he went walkabout and so I graciously donated the Legendary Mrs J to the cause, as if I had a choice in the matter and we went to our very clean and comfy billet, I have to say, back to tea and toast and the back end of Match of the Day, utterly convinced of the stupidity of the decision, whatever the politics to make this the last Rock n Blues Festy weekender.

Outright winner? For me, Full House on points. But then again I got reasons!

Steve Jenner @The Cavern

Steve Jenner has been contributing to Music Riot for many years now. He’s a huge fan of all sorts of music and he’s been a radio station manager and presenter for decades. Over the last couple of years, he’s achieved a lifetime ambition by securing regular gigs on Radio Caroline including proper live shows with record decks and everything from the Ross Revenge moored at Blackwater Estuary; there is no such thing as too old. Here’s Steve’s take on having a chance to play new music again on air.

As you may or may not know, I’m a presenter on Radio Caroline’s two oldies channels, Flashback and Radio Caroline North, which recall the halcyon days of ‘the pirates’ and this year I’ve been given the opportunity to go out to and present shows from their original broadcast boat the Ross Revenge, moored in the Blackwater Estuary just off Essex, and it has just been the most remarkable experience. However! In a year of ‘firsts’ I found myself playing new music on the radio for the first time in years when the organisation asked me to ‘sit in’ temporarily for a number of presenters on Radio Caroline’s main ‘Album Channel’, which features both classic and contemporary album music. Well, it doesn’t so much feature it as scream it out via 4000 watts on 648AM (AM rock, eh? Who thought THAT would be making a full-on reappearance in the broadcast environment at this stage in the game?) as well as all the usual digital armaments (apps, online, phone, Alexa, you name it we’re on it.) So, here’s my High Fives featuring musical airplay delights which have glowed briefly but brightly for me this year…

Todd Rundgren – ‘Puzzle’

This is just gorgeous. Taken from his album ‘Spaceforce’ it is a sumptuous wallow in modern recording techniques allied to great writing from someone who knows how music works and always did. Glass of wine/box of chocs in the bath stuff. It has hooks which positively tear the flesh but do so totally painlessly. Hear it once and you don’t forget it in a hurry. Better digitally online than on AM, I would venture but honestly, if it was being cranked out of the North Sea at stupid o’ clock at night to the accompaniment of crystal set whistle and fade, you’d have to have some.

Bernie Marsden – ‘Na Na Na Na’

This isn’t gorgeous and yes I know I’ve just been banging on about how lovely it is to be playing new music on Radio Caroline’s main channel. BUT it’s a new cover, from an album called Trios released earlier this year by a guy who in rock ‘n’ roll terms is a national treasure to many due to his work with Whitesnake. Bernie Marsden has been hammering out this stuff with customary joy and gusto since Noah floated the Ark and the fact that he’s chosen a sassy, trashy old Cozy Powell hit 45 as an opportunity to revisit the spirit of former glories is alright by me. Very alright by me. A spirited thrash which deserves praise just for having the brass balls to cover the thing in the first place, I so enjoyed playing this even though I knew it wouldn’t be universally met with similar enthusiasm. Sometimes you just gotta!

Tedeschi Trucks Band – ‘Soul Sweet Song’

Photo courtesv of Al Stuart/Redcap Photo

These have been knocking out class music for a while now and it is great to see the increasing evidence that more and more people fitted with ears as standard are realising they’re in the presence of something rather special here. This is by no means their most popular song or in many respects a standout track but boy, does it programme beautifully. The sort of song that Raises The Tone, just by being there on the playlist. And I’m told that they’re That Good live as well. Highly unlikely many who hear this will actively dislike it; and many love it, that much is already clear.

Ricky Ross – ‘I Was The Beatles’

Photo courtesy of Allan McKay

Just the voice, just the song. Just the piano with a bit of a string arrangement dropped on top. Recorded at his house with strings and brass bits added later, ‘Short Stories Volume 2’ appeared on Cooking Vinyl earlier this year. Not much on the face of it, it’s a song which drips loss and longing for a past which remains just out of reach to us all, it positively aches with the weight of lost love and friendship and potential unfulfilled. It has all the haunting quality of Deacon Blue’s cover of ‘What Do You Get When You Fall In Love’ but it’s an original song, even though it is shot through with intentional echoes and reminders. Delightful.

Dr. Feelgood – ‘Damn Right I Do’

In truth I don’t know if this song was ‘A-listed’ by Radio Caroline’s main album channel but I do know that various tracks from this, their latest album and first for ages, have seen considerable airtime on the station with a number of our presenters. I was present at a live showcase of the by the band at their stomping ground of Canvey Island this winter; as chance would have it this was shortly before Wilko died. There are those who say it doesn’t sound like original Feelgood, isn’t the original line–up and all the usual stuff but if you park that for a minute and just listen, this title track in particular in full–on, direct and punchy ‘attack’ mode has juke-box classic stamped all over it. Virtually no such thing now of course in any meaningful sense but certainly grabs the attention as a proper ‘45’ should as it leaps out of the radio at you.

And if you’d like me to leap out of the radio at you and play you some new music, I’m next scheduled to feature on the main Radio Caroline album channel on 648AM and all the smart stuff on New Year’s day at 10AM through until 1PM, as I ‘sit in’ for Phil Meek. I will be both ringing out the old and ringing in the new, the way you do…

Now that the live music scene has come back to something resembling normality, our Man in the North has been getting out to a few gigs again. Here are his thoughts on four gigs in the north of England by George Thorogood, Joe Jackson, From the Jam and Lil’ Jimmy Reed, including a gig at one of Music Riot’s favourite venues, The Picturedrome in Holmfirth.

Cats are supposed to have 9 lives but this cat (in a Keith Richards stylee) enjoyed 4 lives in 9 days (or thereabouts) in various bits of England in amongst a heavy-duty  studio schedule back here in the Staffordshire Moorlands…starting with George Thorogood and the Destroyers at the Nottingham Royal Concert Hall. Nottingham’s love affair with George Thorogood started at Rock City over 40 years ago, and now he’s a Major Rock Star, he’s played the Royal Concert hall a few times.

Bless him, he looks a bit ‘lived in’ now compared to the pumped-up All-American guitar slinger who bust out of Rounder Records at me way back in the seventies, in fact he’s 72 years old so he’s excused, but his arm looks in much better nick than when we last saw him in Manchester a fair few years ago when he was all strapped up and heavily reliant on his second guitarist to do some of the ‘heavy lifting’. He certainly seemed to be shifting around the gee-tar quite comfortably this time, and joy of joys as this cannot be said for many of a certain age, his voice is still a very useful weapon.

The rather ‘cartoon’ ‘Rock Party’ gives way to a spirited romp through Bo Diddley’s ‘Who Do You Love’ and as he correctly surmises…’and we’re away…’ and the middle eight’ of the gig comprises some good ol’ George favourites, ‘Night Time’, ‘I Drink Alone’ and a rapturously received ‘One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer’. Nowt wrong with that. No, Sir. More or less at this point he switches to a beautiful white Epiphone and slide tube, and we get ‘Gear Jammer’, ‘Get A Haircut And Get A Real Job’, and to enjoy the irony of that you have to go back to the days when there was such a thing as a ‘Real Job,’ a crowd-pleasing ‘Bad To The Bone’ and a joyous romp through the Champs ‘Tequila’ and then sprinting home with the title track from ‘Move It On Over’ before an encore of ‘Born To Be Bad’ and a bizarre awarding of a single rose to a lady on the front row whilst the National Anthem played (not the American one). His slide work is still gold standard stuff, The Destroyers, including the old 1970s  originals Billy Blough and Jeff Simon still pound along with enthusiasm and yes, there aren’t the physical pyrotechnics and Chuck Berry ‘duck walks’ anymore and it does look like hard work on occasion, which it assuredly is. But these are card-carrying American musicians. You’ve paid to see a Rock Show in the grand manner, and you’re getting your money’s worth. For how much longer, I wouldn’t like to hazard. But right now, you’re unlikely to see and hear a better set of rocking blues here in the UK.

From there to Manchester and the Albert Hall, which is actually a converted Methodist Hall which is over a hundred years old and is perhaps best described as ‘shabby chic’. A medium-sized venue, it has probably the longest walk to the rest rooms outside of a festival setting and significantly more stairs. However, it did, on the face of it, appear to be a charming venue for us to see Joe Jackson go through his paces for the first time since the early 80s.

The local support act were almost inaudible and that should have set the warning bells a-jangling but as they were of the hyper-sensitive acoustic singer songwriter duo I was inclined to put that down to the genre. But Sadly Not. Joe Jackson took to the stage with his band, and as ever the main man cut a dapper figure, almost painfully tall and thin, and straight away we’re in trouble. The opening song is just a muddy mess, ‘One More Time’ completely ruined, Jackson’s voice almost completely drowned. OK, a sighting shot. Come on, mixing desk guy, get it sorted. ‘Big Black Cloud’ is slightly better, but this isn’t saying a great deal. ‘Sunday Papers’ is knowing and brisk, but once again, the cacophony which surrounds him seems to be fighting the voice rather than supporting it.

Jackson’s keyboard work is nothing less than sumptuous, though. ‘Real Men’ is a compromised delight and this leads to tonight’s cover where he wryly observes he usually likes to do one cover in a set from a band he likes….but this time he’ll do one by a band he really doesn’t like, and promptly launches into an extremely well-arranged and thoroughly enjoyable cover of Abba’s ‘Knowing me, Knowing You’.    And then a bit of a break before ‘Blaze of Glory‘ ‘Tomorrow’s World’ and ‘Fool’, and it becomes increasingly apparent that either 1. It is nigh-on impossible to get a decent sound in the venue, OR; 2. The sound guy is clueless. In any case, the drummer plays with a lack of sensitivity and touch which is almost breathtaking. It’s as if he’s employed Animal from the Muppets to ruin the set for him. A couple of songs where Jackson plays and sings solo underlines this. In mine own humble, he’d have been better off touring solo with his keyboard and maybe somebody on a cajon or something. ‘Sing You Sinners,’ a cover of the Tony Bennett standard leads into what for me was the highlight of a frustrating gig, a re-arranged and vocally – led ‘Is She Really Going Out With Him’. And it is apparent, as it has been all night, that his voice is still Right There. ‘Different For Girls’ is played completely straight down the line and is a serious high point and ‘I’m The Man’ is played with an energetic, punky joy which gets them dancing in the aisles. So we’re all warmed up and it looks like He’s The Man and he’s going to pull triumph from the teeth of near – disaster; the assembled knows what’s coming. ‘Stepping Out’, top ten hit both sides of the Atlantic, and they’re ready to celebrate and dance. So the band elect to play it as a slow ballad. Which of course it can be sung as, lyrically that much is clear. But under the circumstances, Why Would You? Classic case of just because you can doesn’t mean you should. F for frustrating. He was good, It could have been soooo much better. Would I go see Joe Jackson again? Probably. Would I go to Manchester Albert Hall again? Probably not.

Ah, well. Sup up your beer and collect your fags. A hop and a skip around the uncharacteristically parched Pennines and here we are in gorgeous Holmfirth, and all dressed up for my favourite music venue in the entire country, the Picturedrome. And a revisit to From The Jam for the first time in a good few years as well.

And they are on top form from the off. Neither of the main men, Bruce Foxton or Russell Hastings are in the first flush of youth and the intersong raps often focus on the effects of statins and the magic of stents but they play with brutal conviction and drive. ‘Broooos’ even manages a couple of eye-watering scissor kicks and I’m speaking as a contemporary here.

We are Having It tonight, it seems.

Early set highlights are a stinging ‘David Watts’ which really underlines the band’s (yes, this one and the ‘previous’ one) links back to the 60s beat boom, but without the corny guitar tricks, angelic harmonies and ersatz American accents which compromised so much of the home-grown, R’n’B based pop music of the time. They go for ‘A Town Called Malice’ early in the set which is, some might say, brave; a nailed – on encore barnstormer all day long, but with a body of work like this I guess you can afford to take a risk or two.

‘Pretty Green’ and ‘Saturday’s Kids’ are just a joy to hear. What great songs they are – and they’re played with power, energy and verve and – the voices work SO well together. Russell Hastings seems very comfortable in his role and it is gratifying that there are almost as many ‘Russell’ shouts as there are shouts for ‘Broooos’.

Bruce himself doesn’t look entirely comfortable at some points in the set or indeed totally happy though goodness knows why, if I was caught up in the middle of that lot I’d spend all my time delighting in the fact that I’d found a way to take these songs out on the road again and put them in front of people in the manner they were intended. ‘That’s Entertainment’ is a full – on pull out the stops electric version and ‘Start’ is pure 60s beat-boom magic. I absolutely delight in The Jam’s Motown and soul covers from way ‘back in the day’ so it is with ‘throw myself about all over the place’ abandon I greet ‘Heatwave’ which even includes the headlong vocal ‘call and response’ stuff towards the end. ‘Strange Town’, ‘In The City’, ‘Eton Rifles’, ‘Going Underground’ (after an EXTREMELY lengthy wait for the band to come out for the encore, apparently due to ‘discussions’ about the encore songs) but by this time the whole place is reduced to a sweaty, heaving dysfunctional mess, the front is in full mosh mode and that magic feeling you only get when a top bunch of musicians have taken the place with them has broken out and pervades the sweat – soaked air.

That’s the way you do it. GO and see them and that’s an order.

Home and a big breakthrough for me – I’ve been asked to do a ‘cover’ shift on the main Radio Caroline album channel, having produced over 200 shows for the Caroline Flashback ‘oldies channel’ and I am totally made up. But before I lock myself away in the studio and start to understand the way all that works, gig number 4, a short drive across the moors through England’s highest village to Buxton and a visit to the charmingly sedate Pavilion Gardens, where Louisiana blues legend Lil’ Jimmy Reed is on the bandstand.

Now, Lil’ Jimmy is not actually called Lil’ Jimmy Reed. His real name is Leon Atkins but that’s where the kidding stops. This guy learned his trade playing gigs with the REAL Jimmy Reed, you know, ‘Shame Shame Shame’ and all that, and his peers, so it is not unreasonable to assume our man is knocking on a bit. Indeed, he is the dangerous side of 80 and can reasonably lay claim to being one of the last ‘original’ purveyors of Louisiana Blues.

And what a bunch of ‘sidemen’ he presents to us tonight (or doesn’t, he barely addresses the audience at all apart from through his music). On keyboards, Bob Hall, long-time collaborator with Alexis Korner, and a relatively youthful 80, Hilary Blythe on a U-bass, and the drummer with Ten Years After during the glory years, Ric Lee.

Hang on, let me do that again. This guy has played Woodstock. Yes, THAT Woodstock. He’s not going to waste his time.

And he isn’t.

The band shuffle on, looking like a group of retired schoolteachers albeit in a concession to ‘showbiz’ dressed in cabaret-style glittery stage apparel (with the exception of Ric Lee, he’s clearly having none of that old malarkey).

And promptly proceed to light up the stage with some of the best and most authentic blues you’ll hear this year or probably ever again.

We get ‘Hoochie Coochie Man’, we get ‘Caress Me Baby’, we get ‘How Blue Can You Get’, ‘We Get Big Boss Man’…but it almost doesn’t matter what we get. Reed just glides around his guitar with the assurance of a man who has HAD to play for a living for years and years and years, wherever there was a dollar to be earned and the band just roll with it. There are a few hilarious interludes where Reed, who sure don’t say much, tries to let the band know what key to start in by mouthing it across from one side of the stage to the other. Now, communicated like this there ain’t much difference between A,D,E or G, with, as critics might say, hilarious consequences. I’d be tempted to get different coloured paddles and wave them about at the start of each song but that would probably just lose some of the charm. Nope, he don’t talk much. I think I’d also advise against the audience walkabout with the guitar. He’s so stick thin and frail-looking, I was genuinely worried he’d ‘have a fall’ as people say about elderly folks. But then again you also get the impression that Nobody Tells Him What To Do. After the break, where the merch stand is hammered so much they actually run out of CDs, he disappears to the bar for three songs, which is unusual as he’s doesn’t drink, giving the band opportunity (which it didn’t look like they were expecting!) to do a few of their own songs prior to his re-appearance.

But sing….he opens his mouth and the pain and weariness, struggle, soul and strain of slowly lifting himself out of the shotgun shack in which he was born and raised, all fall out amongst a magical cascade of scattergun electric blues. He plays slide with just his fingers. He uses his hands as percussion. What A Player. What A Voice.

As you might expect with that pedigree, the drums are absolutely rock solid and perfectly in context and in fact all the musicians manage to make a telling contribution to the evening’s events without ever drowning or obscuring the business end of it all, which would have been near-sacrilegious.

Make no mistake, this man is the Real Deal and he might well be able to lay claim to the title Last Man Standing. I left the venue thinking that I probably won’t see anything like that again.  And that doesn’t happen every night.

So, four very different live experiences. You pays your money, you takes your pick. But what I will say with total conviction is it is SO good to be able to get out and enjoy a whole range of live music again. What was once a lifestyle, now feels like a privilege. Whatever it is that floats your boat, GO. Just go.

4 for George Thorogood, 3 for Joe Jackson, 5 for From The Jam, and 5 for Lil’ Jimmy Reed.

Just when we thought this year’s High Fives had run out of steam, this one appears out of the Northern mists from our regular contributor Steve Jenner celebrating ways of not retiring, a subject Allan knows a lot about as well. They were both bitten by the music bug at an early age and the infection seems to be getting worse with each additional year they put on the clock. Here’s Steve’s take on things to celebrate from 2021.

Well, what a weird year and a very personal set of High Fives to match. I must be one of the very few people in the broad and massively varied ‘church’ that is the music ‘industry’ who has done quite nicely out of lockdown, thank you very much. I don’t feel terribly comfortable about saying that knowing how many of my fellows of all ages have had whole futures trashed, but the truth is the truth and I can’t pretend anything else. Without a penny coming my way via the government, I’ve had, paradoxically, the most fulfilling broadcasting year I’ve had for ages. Here’s why/how.

Home broadcast studios. In the right hands, a few hundred quid’s worth of kit which is just about OK to knock out the odd dodgy podcast, can be transformed, with admittedly hours of work on jingles / production components / music sourcing and working on such fascinating subjects as mixer pre-sets, into a right little killing machine. In the space it takes for a school desk, in the corner of the spare bedroom. Do not omit the ‘hours of work’ bit though. With this, you only get out what you put in.

Retirement. Is lovely but isn’t quite so lovely when you can’t go anywhere or do much. And anyway, you don’t ‘retire’ from the ‘music’ ‘business’; if you stop before It’s Your Time, it gets back in touch with you. First part of the ‘memoirs’ have been written and 90% sold, and in recent times through the Radio Caroline bookshop. But the Devil Makes Work For Idle Hands…and the mind starts to wander. ‘So… I wonder how Radio Caroline recruits presenters? It might not be ‘conventional’ but there’s got to be some kind of… way… and lo and behold, after a while, I’m offered a gig on the ‘heritage’ channel of The World’s Most Famous Radio Station. Up till then I’d been doing a few shows for the local community stations and thinking, ‘well, that’s about it, then’.

The Radio Caroline Flashback SOS, 8AM–10AM Sunday mornings. The whole point of Caroline’s ‘Flashback’ channel is it plays oldies from the time before Caroline went to air in early 1964, as much of the stuff they played early doors was pre–‘64 anyway; lots of 50s, lots of pre-Beatles; through to the end of offshore broadcasting in 1990, with the focus on 60s and 70s pop singles so folks who remember and /or enjoy the Caroline ‘glory years’ have a chance to do so once again. The main channel plays both classic and contemporary/new album tracks, as Europe’s ‘first album station’, but that’s not my gig right now. And you kind of have to be a bit careful assaulting the ears of a generally more ‘experienced’ listener base at that time on a Sunday morning with too much ripped straight from Slade’s Greatest Hits et al. So, it takes a degree of subtlety to weave listenable audio textures and remain ‘pop’ whilst still delivering a show which has substance, heart and soul, and still rocks, albeit gently at times. And there’s no point delivering everything as if you’re ‘curating’, as far as I’m concerned; you’re given a great jingle package to play with, and if you set the studio up right with sharp–sounding software you can drive that thing hard, the way it was back in the day. So that’s what I try to do, and it is massively rewarding when it works. Suddenly going from being a local commercial radio presenter to receiving e mails and messages from listeners in over 20 different countries so far is mind-blowing. Far Out, Man, in a truly cosmic 60s way, in fact.

But, lovely though it is to do the Sunday morning show, I was only massively made up when I was offered a shot at a new 9PM slot on Friday nights as well, The Caroline Flashback Weekend Warm–Up. Yes please, I’ll have one of those. Because this meant I could play all those huge, thumping great upbeat hits from the years in question in a quick-fire, up and at ‘em Friday night style with pace and directness; just like you had to do when playing 45 singles on a boat at sea and armed only with a few old school cartridge tapes to squirt in amongst the vinyls to give the DJ a chance to breathe. Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition. I get to the end of one of these and I’m absolutely worn out. They need energy, plenty of ‘front’ and in order to keep all the Caroline Flashback shows immediate and fresh-sounding, I record them ‘as live’ in one hour segments, straight through, no VT or other mucking about. And that focuses the mind somewhat.

And then the local commercial radio stations we sold in 2019 sold through again to one of the two major broadcast companies who now control the vast majority of UK commercial radio… who promptly networked them and gave them national branding…..thereby creating demand for a new, local commercial radio station on our ‘old’ patch… and so we set up Peak Sound Radio as an online radio station to carry on from where our old High Peak Radio service left off! And starting in September, I got the Monday breakfast show and the late-night Lovetown slot 6 nights a week, all of which recommences after the New Year Bank Holiday and the schedule changes which Christmas and New Year always brings.

Bring on 2022. Muso comment of the year? ‘Getting an extra hour in bed when the clocks went back this year was like getting a bonus track on a Black Lace album….!’ Push pineapple, shake a tree, pop pickers.

It constantly amazes me that I’m taking pictures of musicians doing their thing on stage. It’s something I love doing and takes precedence over anything else that might be going on in my life. It was a huge blow when lockdown was eventually announced in March 2020. We all knew it was coming, but it took a while to sink in properly. I was lucky in that I got to a few outdoor socially-distanced gigs in 2020 (including a Georgia Crandon gig on the coldest night of the year in December). So when things started to open up again in the summer of 2021, I was desperate to get back into action.

Rebecca Riedtmann @The Sound Lounge 30/06/21

This was a gig that should have happened in December 2020, when Rebecca was heavily pregnant but actually took place on June 30th this year and was her baby daughter’s first gig. There was enforced distancing and mask-wearing but it was still a proper indoor gig at the wonderful Sound Lounge in Sutton. You could sense that everyone in the audience was excited to hear live music again and Daisy Clark (who had played at the G7 summit in Cornwall) played a well-received support set. Rebecca and her band, as ever, looked like they were having a lot of fun. No signs of rustiness and many signs of a group of people who have a solid professional and personal bond doing what they love doing. The response to a storming set was heightened by the anticipation of the audience that had been starved of the live experience for fifteen months. Big shout out as well to Hannah and Keiron at the Sound Lounge for all of the work they put in to keeping venue alive. The shot above was from the soundcheck.

FAERS @The O2 Academy2 Islington 20/08/21 When I told my friend Al Stuart, a great gig photographer, that I’d been shooting at the venue, he asked if the gig was in The Desmond. I was puzzled until I worked out that upstairs at the O2 is known as Academy 2. Bit of a change in the rules for this one – evidence of full vaccination was required, but masks inside weren’t mandatory and no distancing was observed. It was also sold out. Honestly, I was a bit uncomfortable with that. Problem solved – although it’s a fairly small room, it has a pretty wide photo pit to accommodate the one photographer on that night – me. While everyone in the audience got up close and personal, I stayed in the photo pit to shoot ORDERS, Bandit and then the headliners FAERS. As a contrast to Rebecca’s Americana gig, this was a full-on indie rock gig; noisy, sweaty and crammed to the rafters. Great fun to watch from my sanctuary in a spacious photo pit. The night was completed when Stephen Anderson-Howard of FAERS jumped into the pit, climbed up the barrier and leaned over into the crowd creating the shot above this paragraph. Proper gig photography.

Dean Owens & The Southerners @Green Note

The first gig of Dean Owens’ last tour was March 13th 2020 in Edinburgh. The second was almost eighteen months later at Green Note in Camden on September 1st 2021. Again, there were sensible restrictions in place to ensure that Green Note (with a very small team of staff) wasn’t put temporarily out of business by the dreaded COVID ping – fill in an online form, provide proof of vaccination and take a lateral flow test within the twenty-four hours before the gig. I was happy with all of that (although some customers weren’t too chuffed). Dean and his two compadres Jim Maving (guitar and backing vocals) and Tom Collison (keys, electric bass and backing vocals) were totally up for the much-delayed gig and a great night was had by the restricted and socially-distanced audience. If you get a chance to see any of these guys, take it. They’re all great musicians and lovely people. And Dean’s songs are uniformly superb.

Various – Leek Blues and Americana Festival 30/09/21-03/10/21

I have a bit of history with Leek (the one in Staffordshire, not the Netherlands). I worked there for about two years in the mid-1990s and loved the experience. I was an outsider in a small, fairly remote town and I was made to feel very welcome. A few years ago Music Riot’s northern correspondent and very old friend of mine, Steve Jenner, moved to Leek and, in 2018, invited me to this festival. I took the cameras along on the off chance. It worked out because in 2019 I was back there as official guest photographer. If you want to know what that means, it means getting up on a Saturday morning to go and shoot the kids’ matinee performance (which was great fun) among other things. Obviously the 2020 festival didn’t happen but I was raring to go for 2021 and I wasn’t disappointed. The festival is mainly free events in pubs in the town centre (and there are a lot of pubs in Leek town centre) and paid events in The Foxlowe Arts Centre and other performance spaces. The whole thing is put together by volunteers who are, without exception, lovely people and total musicheads. I absolutely love it and always block out the start of October in the calendar every year. This year was quite strange in that I met up with a few people that I know from the London scene, which was all a bit strange, as well as all of the people I now know in Leek. I recommend it to anyone as a great mix of local and international artists. The shot above is the incredible Ian Siegal performing in The Foxlowe as Saturday night joint headliner.

The Black Mamba and Ru @Union Chapel 23/11/21

There were virtually no COVID restrictions by this time (and the ones still in place were being largely ignored). I’m still wearing a mask in enclosed spaces but, towards the end of November, I was in a minority. I was at the gig to photograph Ru, who was doing a short support set for her Portuguese compatriots The Black Mamba, who represented Portugal at Eurovision. Don’t let that put you off; they’re a seriously funky band. Also, I’ll grab any opportunity to shot at Union Chapel; it’s such a lovely venue. The shot above is Ru during her set. It was a special night, but the icing on the cake was guest performances during The Black Mamba set by Bumi Thomas and Omar.

There are a couple more honourable mentions as well. The second High Tide Festival in Twickenham, organised and curated by Eel Pie Records (big shouts out to Phil, Kevin and Lucy). The weather was perfect and there was a great selection of artists on the main stage and in various locations around the town centre. A great day out. There was also a lovely night curated by Success Express (thank you Lorraine Solomons) at Servant Jazz Quarters in Dalston. Five very different artists played short but powerful sets on the night. Si Connelly, KT Wild, Russell Jamie Johnson and Lina Stalyte were wonderful but the night belonged to Cloudy Galvez who made her first live appearance since a long COVID diagnosis in 2020. It’s great to see her back on stage again. And it’s always good to end on a high note.

Photo by Pauline Felstead

Time for an apology here. Things have been so busy here at The Riot House that we misplaced this review for a couple of weeks. Steve Jenner went along to the traditional closing gig of the Leek Blues & Americana Festival and sent us this review of The Achievers and Greg Brice at The Foxlowe. And thanks also to Pauline Felstead for the shot of The Achievers and to JR Mountford and Dave Swarbrook for finding the photo at really short notice. When you read the first paragraph review you’ll see that it’s appropriate that it’s been published the day after the Lord Mayor’s Show. We’re looking forward to October 2022 already. Over to Steve:

It was last night of the proms for the Leek Blues and Americana Festival. It had also been a busy week in radioland; and not really feeling much like it in all honesty I headed for central Leek more in hope than in expectation. The main event had been a couple of weekends back and the town certainly had a feel of ‘After The Lord Mayor’s Show’ about it. However, the Festival had been a triumph over considerable adversity and the gig certainly deserved a show of support at the very least.

Which just goes to show, sometimes when you really can’t be…sometimes you should force yourself out. Just occasionally it pays and this was just such a gig.

Firstly, Greg Brice. Looking like a cross between a primary school teacher and Manfred Mann, an unassuming presence with vocals in the upper range and an absolutely lovely guitar sound, very mellow and ‘rounded’ but also with occasional sharp and genuine stabs of the blues in there. Very slick slide playing once he’d found the tube, and some of his own songs which stood up well. Definitely a class above what I could reasonably expect at this time of night.

And so to The Achievers. Radio 2 like them. Blues and Americana radio jocks are playing their records all over the place. A mixed bag in terms of presentation, they come from Stroud in deepest Gloucestershire and they look a bit like it. However, off we go and it is instantly promising, a situation helped by an absolutely crystalline sound, well done you knob twiddlers. Bit more volume needed for the excellent lead guitar picker for me, he’s good, don’t hide him away – but they sounded great. Really great, and that’s not always the case in small-to-medium venues.

Anybody who writes a song where the central premise is ‘everybody loves you when you’re dead’ is alright by me. The easy charm and twinkling humour of their frontman and lead singer Steve Ferbrache soon wins over the battle-weary and we’re definitely off and running.

And what a vibe they have. It just rolls. Rhythm section is light and tight and they keep lobbing in sub-Motown fills here and there which are delightful to observe. Songs about unrequited groupies and what it is that gets you out of bed. Tea, apparently, in Leek, according to a significant percentage of the assembled. A few songs are lobbed in taken from their latest album ‘The Lost Arc’. They’re funny amusing, and also a great dance band, which is a trick and a half to pull off.

But is it the Blues? Nope, by their own admission. Does it matter? Nope, this is the closer for the Leek Blues and Americana Festival. But is it Americana, then? Well, in bits. There’s the aforementioned Motown tricks and occasional Gospel-style (I kid you not) outbursts and twangy great country slices here and there and a harp blower of considerable elegance, and Lindisfarne keep bursting through the door accompanied by Little Feat and Jonathan Richman but really, this is a classic slice of Britishana rather than anybody else’s ana. Despite the originality of their songs you keep hearing snatches and throwbacks from all over the place; was that the ghost of ‘Back In The USSR’ I heard somewhere in there…and why do I keep referencing Janis Ian part-way through another of their originals?

Had they been ‘around’ in the seventies, they would no doubt have had half a dozen hit singles along with a few top 50 albums and all the rest of it. And in fairness, in the context of a music industry that barely exists any more in conventional terms, they are, well…Achievers. And they are a bloody good night out. So good they kept me away from the wonderful Reefy Blunt and the Biftas who were playing across the road until very late in their set, who on the evidence of a brief visit before taxi time were brilliant fun, which is always the problem you are presented with as a punter during the Festival ‘proper’ but isn’t that a lovely problem to have? So, a brave and unusual way for the Leek Blues and Americana Festival to go out on for 2021. And if the organisers can make such a decent fist of it in this godforsaken year, then this time next year, Rodney…!  

Ian Siegal at the Foxlowe Arts Centre, Leek. Photo by Allan McKay (@allan_mainlygigpics)

Some time in the early nineties our Northern correspondent, Steve Jenner, was working in local radio in Nottingham. He interviewed a young blues guitar player and singer named Ian Siegal shortly before Ian set off for London as the next step in his career while Steve built up a local radio empire in Derbyshire and the Peak District. Flash forward nearly thirty years to the Foxlowe Arts Centre in Leek (Staffordshire, not the Netherlands) and the two are in front of a microphone again before Ian plays a Saturday night headline gig at the Leek Blues and Americana Festival.

So, what’s Ian been up to during that time? No spoilers, you’ll have to listen to the interview to find out. Let’s just say that Ian has a story or two to tell:

Steve Jenner and Ian Siegal at Foxlowe Arts Centre, 02/10/21

This interview was originally published in late 2019. Since then, we’ve all seen a few changes. We’ve given the site a bit of a spring clean and everyone and their sibling’s sharing archive material. We thought it would be a great opportunity to dust off some of our highlights and see how they’re looking (and sounding) now.

We’re kicking off with our first ever audio interview which we grabbed with Graham Parker before his gig at The Foxlowe Centre in Leek on a tour celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the release of his classic album “Squeezing Out Sparks”.

Allan McKay and Steve Jenner grabbed thirty minutes with Graham just after soundcheck and, as always, he was good value for his opinions and insights. The interview was edited for various local radio stations in the north-west but this is the full, uncut version. Just a warning, there’s one mild swear-word at about 9 minutes 15 seconds:

Allan and Steve meet Graham Parker