The Lymm Folk Club 2011-2012 Archive

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The evening started with songs from Stewart and Nelson Peach. Mark's first set was a great mix of humour, pathos, new and old - and we had more in the second half after our pre-raffle-ite Alan Grace!

We had songs and tunes from a record 28 performers, although two trios (Nelson Peach and Kath, Stan & Ruth) kindly offered to limit their spot to just one song, so we had 24 songs and tunes in total...

After the raffle, Gloria introduced Frank Hives and Christine Hanslip as her accomplices (? accompanists?!), and they did a grand job - not too intrusive to drown out Gloria's wonderful voice, but not too far in the background either. The balance was really good, and Gloria's choice of songs was just perfect. We're not going to offer her another Big Spot - next time will be a full guest night!

Tonight's concert started with spots from residents Bernard, Nick & Lin and Nelson Peach, and tonight's 'Pre-Raffle-ite' was Colin Batho. Brian was really on form, and gave us two really well balanced sets of songs and tunes as only he can.

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Nick and Lin opened the concert for us this week, with Nelson Peach and Bernard completing the residents' support (Stewart was at home nursing a cold... aaww! No, it was sadder than that!!). Our Pre-Raffle-ite floor spots was from Brian Roberts.

Bandersnatch provided us with two sets of widely varied material, cashing in on our audience's willingness to sing along! At one point Nick, our landlord, commented that as he was coming up the stairs he thought the Pogues were playing!

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Earlier in the day we had learned of the fire which destroyed our former home, 'The Railway', which was sad news as many of us have happy memories from our time there. However, we didn't let that spoil our fun too much...

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A good attendance this evening for Chris and Siobhan - Nick and Lin opened for us, followed by Richards Peach and Nelson! Bernard took us up to our guests' first set, which was a great mix of traditional and contemporary songs and tunes.

Our 'Pre-Raffle-ite' spot was from Keith Price, and John Condy won yet another raffle prize...!!

Chris and Siobhan finished the evening off in great style - they really do seem to be able to find songs that complement Siobhan's beautiful voice and Chris's instrumental skills!

Tonight sees another of our 'Big Spot' offerings - performers being asked to do an extended spot after the beer break on a Singers' Night.

Ildánach came to a Singers Night last February, and we booked them there and then! Members include ex-Garva members John & Liam Murphy and Kevin Webster. Sadly, Liam emailled me to say that Kevin won't be able to make it after all:

"We had a bit of bad news from Kev the other day. He recently had a scan and his back is a lot worse than we expected. Unfortunately he will not be able to do the gig."

John Murphy is a vocalist and multi instrumentalist, playing uilleann pipes, banjo, mandolin and guitar. Liam Murphy, John's son, is also a gifted uilleann piper and cittern player, who has played with some of the finest pipers at gatherings and festivals around Ireland.

Fiona Mc Conell, who hails from county Cavan, is the band's lead vocalist - her stunning voice is a joy to hear. Added to this is her musical ability on flute and whistle. The band is completed by guitarist Chris Boland, now based in Liverpool, whose knowledge of traditional tunes and songs is almost encyclopaedic.

We had a near-capacity audience, and Ildánach didn't let us down!!

Apparently 'Ildánach' (pronounced eel darn ack) means 'multi-skilled', which they proceeded to justify from the first few notes!

There were songs old and new, predominantly Irish, and people's feet were tapping from start to finish. Father and son gave us a couple of Uilleann Pipe duets in the second set, and there were showcase items from every member of the band. A truly great night!

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Karen, Alyson and Shelley

Tonight, at the start of their Winter World Tour (tonight - Lymm, tomorrow - Westhoughton!), the Bailey Sisters (who aren't sisters, and don't drink Baileys!) will be treating us to a host of their seasonal material - not limited to Christmas! They sing a-capella (unaccompanied!!) and also with guitar, fiddle, bodhran and recorders for accompaniment. Their material is gleaned from a wide variety of sources - mediaeval, traditional folk, contemporary and even self-penned.

Karen, Alyson and Shelley have lots of friends at Lymm Folk Club, so this promises to be something of a party night!

...and a good night was 'ad by all! We had a bigger audience for the Bailey Sisters than we've had for some so-called 'big name' guests (who require us to charge almost twice as much!), and the quality was just as good.

Stewart's off on his annual visit to Fuerteventura, so support was from Bernard, Nick (without Lin who was unwell) and Nelson Peach - with Nick joining forces with Nelson Peach for one song. Our pre-raffle-ite was Kerry Smith, who gave us an 'Atheist Christmas Carol' followed by Silent Night, so balance was maintained!

Butties and Mince Pies by the trayload... need we say more?!

This will be the third Christmas Party at the Sarries with Bollin - an annual event that everyone looks forward to! Don't forget, the winner of the raffle also gets to choose which charity will be the beneficiary of our raffle takings and collection!

Once again, a truly memorable Singers Christmas Party, as can be seen from the photos...! Club regular Diane won the raffle, and nominated the NSPCC to be the recipient of the £125.00 we raised. After 'Gift Aid', that donation rose to £156.25!!

The annual New Year's Day lunchtime session at the Sarries - did we see you there?

We eventually got going around 1.00pm, and kept going until around 4.30pm with a mix of songs and tunes, and the odd poem - thanks to everyone who sang, played and recited, and we had quite a lot of people who came to listen, too!

Performers included Ted Edwards, Carl Corbet, Chris Muriel, Richard Peach, Jean Finney, Clare Rigby, John Jocys, Alan Grace, Lucy and Lily Taylor, John Condy, Anne Cojeen, Erica Wright, and Bernard.

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Formed from the ashes of Nineties cult band The Tansads, this new eight-piece rootsy folk rock outfit release their debut album in the same manner as the "You know when you've been Tango'd!" ad - surprising, direct and immediately felt. This exciting, no-nonsense approach to music making hits you immediately with a handful of crowd-pleasing anthems, thoughtful topical songs and one or two instantly melodic and memorable pop songs such as One More Day, guaranteed to bring a smile.

With a repertoire that's geared towards live performance, these studio selections have successfully captured that sort of immediacy. Whilst The Crooked Man provides a hard rock edge with a strong message that will no doubt resonate loud and clear in this current diabolical economic climate, Rosanna's Song and The Butcher and the Vegan take us in a different direction altogether with a couple of tender folk songs, the former a touching winter love song and the latter a modern ballad set in the unlikely setting of Burnham-on-Sea, all three songs from the pen of Virginia Kettle (seen at Lymm Folk Club as Virginia Barrett on 22nd May 2008, before she and John married).

Fronted by Virginia's brother-in-law Andrew Kettle whose distinctive voice provides the band with its gritty sound, the siblings-in-law are joined by brothers Bob and John (Virginia's hubby) together with Lee Goulding on keyboards, Tim Howard on guitar, Andrew Dawson on bass and Phill Knight on drums.

(Allan Wilkinson, Northern Sky)

The band certainly lived up to the hype - and to their name! The room was full, we had to bring in extra chairs! A grand evening's entertainment from start to finish - Nelson Peach opened for us, followed by Bernard, and our Pre-Raffle-ite Spot was from Mark Evans (no, not the vet who builds cars on TV's Discovery Channel!!)...

We had the 'acoustic line-up' - Andrew, Virginia, John and Bob Kettle, plus bass player Andrew Dawson, and they had the room bouncing from start to finish - Songs such as 'The Crooked Man' (a comment on the current economic climate!), 'The Butcher and the Vegan' (an unlikely romantic partnership!), the title track of their new CD 'Blink... and you miss it!' - they even dragged Bernard and his iron lung up for an impromptu version of 'English Rover'.

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Tonight saw another of our 'Big Spot' offerings - performers being asked to do an extended spot after the beer break on a Singers' Night.

We had a good turnout of floor singers, and we just got round them all before it was time for the break. Richard then gave us a selection from his vast repertoire of self-penned songs and other material. For me, the highlight of the evening was his  ' Heart of the Matter', a cleverly written and performed argument between a couple showing how a man and a woman see their points of view quite differently!

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What a night! We raised £363.00, some of which was donations from people unable to attend. After Stewart did his sums with the CD sales, the total soared to £390.00! We are delighted to reveal that £70.00 came from Merry Hell, our January guests!

Bernard started us off and Nelson Peach completed the residents' support (get well soon, Lin!). Our pre-raffle-ite was Doreen!

Stewart gave us two great sets of his own songs mixed with those of other songwriters, including our own Kerry Smith! For his encore he gave us Ron Trueman-Border's 'Chocolate', with hilarious Mike Sarne 'Come Outside' style interruptions from Janice!

Stewart opened the night, followed by Richard and Lesley, aka 'Half-Nelson Peach'! Bernard then took us to the first set from our guests, and everyone was rivetted from the first few notes! It wasn't just the music, though - the lively banter between these two was hilarious! JJ was our pre-raffle-ite (sorry, didn't get a photo), and we had more predominantly traditional songs and tunes to see us through to the end, which came all too soon!

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We opened with Nelson Peach, Nick and Lin, and Bernard, and our Pre-Raffle-ite floor spot was from Don and Heather - a welcome return!

Jean's first set started with an intriguing tale of a tour of Scotland with a surprising twist - five wishes coming true on one memorable night! We heard songs, stories, poems and monologues from her early beginnings as a songwriter, right through to more recent efforts, and the audience was enthralled from start to finish.

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(Oldham Community Radio 99.7fm)

Stewart opened for us this evening, followed by Nelson Peach and Bernard. Our pre-raffle-ite this evening was Kerry Smith... but Lucy definitely stole the show!

What was particularly noticeable about Lucy's performance was the way she held everyone's attention from start to finish - with trad songs such as 'Maids When You're Young', Mike Waterson's 'A Stitch in Time' and her own songs including 'Alice in the Bacon Box'. Lucy will definitely be back!

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Tonight sees another of our 'Big Spot' offerings - performers being asked to do an extended spot after the beer break on a Singers' Night.

This time it's the turn of Janice Bell! And yes, she does have friends!

Janice opened with an 'a-capella' song, and then proceeded to call upon Stewart, Bernard and Pepper Street to aid and abet her performance! The audience were obviously enjoying every minute - and joined in the choruses with gusto!

As you can see from the photos, we had a surprise guest tonight - Elizabeth van de Waal! Quite a few of the audience hadn't seen Anthony John Clarke before, and all the comments were very favourable! We had a few new songs as well as some of the old favourites - 'An Acquaintance of Mine', for example.

Nick and Lin started things off for us, followed by Stewart and Nelson Peach. This evening's pre-raffle-ite was Bernard.

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Singer-songwriter-guitarist extraordinaire Phil returns to Lymm!

Bernard opened for us, followed by Stewart and Nelson Peach. Phil then proceeded to amaze everyone with his guitar playing, which just seems to get better all the time!

Our pre-raffle-ite was Janice Bell, with her backing band Pepper Street! Phil's second set included his now trademark song composed 'on the fly' with ideas suggested by the audience - including a suggestion of Somalian Pirates from Margaret Hornby, who has just returned from a cruise...!

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Nelson Peach need no introduction! Club residents Rick and Lesley Nelson and Richard Peach are a trio who play a variety of instruments and sing songs from English tradition, American Old-Timey, contemporary sources and other genres too numerous to mention! The plan is to launch their new CD, Jack Frightenem, the title track of which is self-penned...

Lin Tysoe took the reins this evening, and ran a very tight ship! Nick & Lin, Stewart, and Bernard opened the evening before Nelson Peach gave us their first set of new material and old favourites - a couple of which were from the new CD.

After the break, our pre-raffle-ites were Gloria and Christine with a couple of songs which delighted everyone, then Nelson Peach gave us their second set, including the self-penned title track 'Jack Frightenem' - and a very atmospheric performance it was, too!

If you were at the Acoustic Concert (Lymm Festival 2011), then Nick and his fiddle acrobatics will be well known to you! If not, now's the time to see for yourself. Nick is part of a trio, and all three will be along to entertain you this evening! Don't miss it, or you'll be sorry!

Richard Peach and Lesley Nelson of Nelson Peach opened the evening, followed by Bernard. Our Pre-Raffle-ite was Rob White, with a self-penned poem about a flatulent elephant as part of his offering!

Folklaw gave us two very lively sets of self penned, traditional and 'covers'. As expected, the furniture had to play its part as support...!

Nick (fiddle, mandolin and guitar), Bryn (guitar) and Gaz (percussion, mostly cajon) didn't let the relatively low turn-out affect their enthusiasm - we are hoping they will join us during Lymm Festival 2013 - probably under a new name still to be announced.

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Ricky Nelson and Richard Peach opened for us, followed by Lin - and they joined her for two songs. Bernard completed the residents support, with Sara and Kieron taking us up to the break with a magical selection of songs and tunes.

Mark Dowding was our 'pre-raffle-ite' after the break, and included Jake Thakray's 'Sister Josephine' and Harry Clifton's original version of 'She Was Very Fond of Dancing' (aka 'Calico Printer's Clerk').

Sara and Kieron's second set was every bit as enjoyable as the first, with choruses to join in on and interesting little anecdotes to explain some of the songs. We'll be inviting them back soon!

Tonight sees another of our 'Big Spot' offerings - performers being asked to do an extended spot after the beer break on a Singers' Night.

Not unsurprisingly, all our singers and musicians were on top form this evening, leaving 'Not Exactly Rocket Salad' a tough challenge!

Alan Williams, Helen Monks and the band rose to the challenge in great style - singing self-penned songs and covers from a variety of genres.

This evening's entertainment was hosted by Rick Nelson of Nelson Peach, who opened the evening for us. Bernard followed, with Nick and Lin close behind!

A good-sized crowd was royally entertained by Nick and Lin - who gaves us a few old favourites, but also included a number of songs we hadn't heard them do before!

Our Pre-Raffle-ite this evening was another club favourite, Richard Gray, and yet another club favourite, Keith Price, joined Nick and Lin on fiddle for a few songs in their second set. All too quickly the evening came to an end, but everyone went on their way singing!!

Stewart opened the proceedings for us, followed by Nick & Lin, then Nelson Peach. Our Pre-Raffle-ites were Pepper Street with Janice Bell - our club is well blessed with talent!

Phil gave us two excellent sets, and our predominantly Singers Night audience were in fine voice to help him along! An interesting comment from Phil - "This is how all folk clubs should be!" Who are we to argue?!

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A man who needs no introduction!

As we've come to expect, the Singers Night part of the evening sees our floor singers giving of their very best, leaving our 'Big Spotter' something pretty hard to follow!

Gray is a migratory Wirral-based singer / songwriter and a regular at Bromborough Folk Club, but is just as likely to turn up in Banbury, Aylesbury or Wolverhampton.

As well as his own distinctive songs, he performs covers of "brilliant songs that nobody else seems to play..."

You can find him on soundclick.com and myspace.com.

Residents' support this evening began with Bernard, Janice, Nick & Lin and Nelson Peach - Stewart was our pre-raffle-ite.

Gray opened his first set with 'Autumn Leaves', and continued with a mix of his own songs and a few from other sources. During the course of the evening he was joined by his son, Trevor, on bass or percussion, with some backing vocals from girlfriend Vikki.

It was good to see a few new faces in the audience - and judging by the way they were singing along, Gray is no stranger to them!!

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Our Lin was in charge tonight, and she made quite sure the evening didn't degenerate into mayhem!! Residents' support began with Nick & Lin, Stewart, Janice and Nelson Peach - and our pre-raffle-ite spot was from Kate Bradbury and Tony Gibbons. We also had a surprise spot from Andy Walpole (above left), singing 'When I'm Sixty-Four'! Thanks, Andy!

Bernard started his first set with a couple of songs he's been singing since his first foray into folk clubs - 'A Mon Like Thee' and 'Seth Davey' (the latter WAS the first song he ever sang). There were songs to sing along with, and a few for listening, tunes on the guitar, accordion and mandolin - concertina and banjo also made an appearance!

The second set ended in uproar with everyone contributing all manner of weird noises to 'Mama Don't Allow No Jug Band Music In Here', and the evening finished with a version of 'Will Ye Go, Lassie, Go' - the Francis McPeake tune, but with the original Robert Tannahill lyrics (The Braes o'Balquitter)...

Sadly, we also learned that Pauline Jones had lost her batte with leukaemia on Sunday 12th August... a fine singer and a lovely friend to all who knew her.

LYMM FOLK CLUB OFFICIAL STAFF PHOTO!

Bernard, Kate, Stewart, Janice, Lin, Nick, Lesley, Bob, Rick and Richard
(Thursday 16th August, Spread Eagle)

Bernard is the Club Organiser, Bob Robinson collects the door money, Kate King sells the raffle tickets, Stewart Lever is Bernard's predecessor and a club 'resident', Janice Bell became a 'resident' during Lymm Festival 2012, Nick and Lin Tysoe are our resident duo, with Rick and Lesley Nelson forming the trio 'Nelson Peach' along with Richard Peach... got all that? Good!!

Nick and Lin opened the evening, followed by Bernard... our pre-raffle-ite was Rob Carroll...

Geoff opened his first set with 'Hullabaloo', a lively sea shanty, with Stanley Accrington's 'Last Train' as a complete contrast.

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