It’s only a few short weeks since I last wrote and already there are lots to tell. I’m fast approaching the third tour with Dave Kelly and the Travelling Gentlemen; in fact this current solo stint started off in London with Dave and I squashed into one of the BBC’s cupboards talking and singing to many local BBC radio stations up and down the country, trying to get more people interested in coming to the shows. It was great fun if a little claustrophobic. It’s a good job we like one another!
Bob was back from his exciting US tour and we both stayed in London for the first three nights of my solo shows, the first of which was in Hereford. Bob wasn’t able to come to this particular gig so I set off mid day-ish to give myself an easy drive … I planned on driving back the same night (over three hundred miles round trip!). It was, as most of September has been, a delightful sunny day which makes driving a pleasure. I love travelling round seeing the seasons merge and change … the dappled sunlight and edgy first leaf colour transforming, only a hint at first but gathering pace as the month progresses. October promises a riot of colour along the way.
So … The Court Yard Theatre in Hereford is a new venue to me and a delightful place it is. Though the performance space is a basic square black box, unlike other rooms of its type this one has a lovely liveliness to it and was a pleasure to sing in.
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I wore a beautiful black dress I’d bought months earlier in a sale – taking advantage of my fading tan - I haven’t worn it since … it’s probably a little over the top really but I did enjoy wearing it this one night. The room felt full and the crowd were particularly up beat … possibly the best ever Dirt in The Ground! They were also the first audience to hear 2 brand new songs I’m airing this autumn, contenders for the next studio album – release date as yet unknown. They are: ‘Lonely by Design’, a song I recently wrote on the Isle of Man with Rob Cross, a young and very talented musician and writer and ‘Queen of Egyptian Water’ a song I started writing last year but only finished in the summer … I’m a slow worker! I’m pleased to say that both were received with generous appreciation. Phew! |
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Hereford on the left... |
...then the middle... |
...and on the right! |
There is a glowing review of the whole show on the web (click the link to read). It wasn’t too late when I set off and I was feeling energised by the performance so the drive back to London didn’t seem so daunting. I got back to the hotel and Bob, just after 1am. Hurrah. I was playing in Crouch End the following night -Friday 8 th- so I had a very easy day before setting off early evening for a sound check around 7pm. The Kalamazoo Club has been going for many years and I’ve played it a fair few times now, it’s an atmospheric room in the basement of the Kings Head pub. The venue’s used most nights and stages by and large, comic events – that’s comedians rather than cartoons.
The organisers were expecting a capacity crowd but for some unknown reason not as many as we’d hoped for turned up; the crowd were no les enthusiastic and certainly made me feel welcome and appreciated. It was a night full of banter and wit … and that was just the audience! The new songs met with similar applause as their first outing and made me feel a little more confident they might grow up to be recorded soon. Hurrah.
There were a number of familiar faces there which always feels great: Azeem and his lovely partner, Chris Howarth, Steve Lima; and several people from America were my very special guests: Bill and Lois Straw, Larry Mason and Tom Norell from Blix Street records is Bill and Lois’s company and they were there to ‘check me out’! Thankfully I made a favourable impression. I’m very excited about the possibility of working with them. Fingers crossed.
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Saturday 9 th I played in Chelmsford but before driving out I took Bob to Kenwood for a special lunch … it was another perfect autumnal afternoon and there was plenty of heat in the sun … we felt very blessed. It was hard leaving the comfort of Kenwood but Chelmsford was calling and off we went. I’ve played the Cramphorn theatre several times now and always enjoy it. This time I was the guest of the Essex Singers club who now have a regular monthly guest at the venue. Miraculously we found the place straight away … I usually get lost round the one-way system.
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A full house and a great sound engineer helped to make this a delightful show and I let the cat out of the bag at the end of the night as to why it was a special day for Bob and they spontaneously burst into song (happy birthday to Bob!).
Ah. Marmalade – one of the enthusiastic discussion board members came up to say hello … hurrah for Marmalade! |
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We drove home towards Newark very excited about another birthday treat organised by Bob’s gorgeous daughter Jo and her equally gorgeous husband Mike the following day. We went to watch Leeds United play Wolverhampton Wanderers at home… wow!
Now for those who don’t know … and possibly don’t care? … Leeds haven’t been doing very well lately but if you’re a fan - and Bob most definitely is - then it’s always an exciting prospect to watch your home team perform.
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It was actually really great fun … I sang all the songs as loudly as possible and if you come to a gig you’ll find out what else occurred!
My next musical outing was Tuesday September 12 th at Cox’s Yard in Stratford-upon-Avon. It was the very first gig of the year too … with DK and the TGs in January! Bob was off to London again doing some exciting thing or other to do with Corinne – what a week she’s just had! But I’m getting ahead of myself … one thing at a time. |
When I arrived in January it was dark and I hadn’t seen the canal properly but this time it was still light and almost warm, a joy to see. Loads of narrow boats and swans all sitting pretty in the early evening sunshine – lovely. Diane and Bryan Ansell came to the show and gave me an after gig party when we got back home later … a glass of champagne was seen to pass my lips!
The gig itself was good if not the most sparkling of events. I remembered it being a similar situation in January. I felt like I had to try harder than usual and mid chorus in Dirt in The Ground I was heard to shout …. Come on you b*****ds! |
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A never before publicly witnessed course of encouragement from myself and a sure sign of my frustration. However at the end of the night I was given a rousing response and felt better for it. Oh we under confident performers egos! The champagne definitely helped! Thanks Diane.X |
On Wednesday September 13 th I headed off towards Biddulph in the Potteries. I’ve been playing this venue for many years and love seeing Eric Cox who runs the club. Tonight was to be the inaugural night of a new music club … in the same venue run by the same promoter but missing from the wording of the club is the term Folk … the ‘F’ word as Eric and I called it that night. The original Folk club still runs but on a different night with different promoters. I felt very special in deed to be the first performer of Eric’s new (big! Ad …) venture. Hurrah.
My good friends Paul and Liz came to the show … it seems to be a yearly event these days. Paul used to be Gregson and Collister’s roadie many moons ago. It was a fab night not least because the audience made it abundantly clear that they were having a good time … phew. Good luck with the rest of the gigs Eric! You’re the best! And John … a very sound sound-man.
The next few days were spent with Bob and I both at home … a rare occurrence lately and an absolute delight! Hurrah. I played in Devon on Friday and drove Bob to London first and stopped off at Dave Kelly’s house to replenish my cd box. It was another sun-filled day and the roads were pretty clear until Stonhenge but even that hiccough smoothed out quicker than expected.
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I’d arranged to meet my friend Terry at the venue – David’s Hall in South Petherton – at around 5pm and just about managed to do it. We hadn’t seen one another for a couple of years, in fact since the last time I played here which is ironic as Terry lives in Australia! She and I met the last time I played in Oz in 1999. It was lovely to see her and to catch up on each other’s news.
It was also lovely to see Linda and Philip Bayliss who looked after me at the hall and Peter who always does a great job on the sound. It was a great gig and I hope I get another opportunity to play one of my favourite places again soon. |
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Bob and I had arranged to meet at his sister Christine’s near Brighton that night and spend the day with her and her husband Ken. So off I went into the night to drive the 149 miles to Port Slade. Bob, Ken and Christine had spent the evening together in London at the filming of a BBC live special of Corinne. We can all see the results on our tv screens in a couple of weeks! Hurrah. They were all still up when I drove into the driveway and we all went to our beds very quickly after.
A delightfully lazy and very warm Sunday was spent in Chris and Ken’s garden; lounging about doing the Times Saturday crossword … which we finished! We drove home that night and on Tuesday back down to London! Bob actually left the house at 4.30am in order to catch a flight to Paris for a day’s promotional work with CBR but was back in London that night via the Chunnel. My day was also exciting … I had a haircut!
On Wednesday I had a rehearsal with Dave Kelly and the travelling Gentlemen … always a pleasure … we have a few new numbers for you this tour. Bob and Corinne were at the Albert Hall all day preparing for the MOBO’s that evening. Corinne was up for 3 awards. I couldn’t watch the ceremonies, as the place we were staying at didn’t have BBC3 I got texts from his Bobness with the fantastic results as they happened she won Best New Artist and Best UK Female! Double hurrahs!!!! I did see them both on the BBC news though … what a thrill!!! Congratulations Corinne and Bob!
Bob was off to Germany the following day and I had my first singing lesson in 2 months. It was lovely seeing Oleg again; I had a fantastic lesson and left feeling great. I then drove to my good friends Martin and Pam’s and spent a delightful evening in their company.
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Pam and Martin are only 20 minutes away from Aldershot and so I had a very relaxing Friday before going to the West End centre in Aldershot for a sound check around 5pm.
I was there in the spring with the band and it was great seeing some cheerful familiar faces.There was an excited air about the place too because they’d just been delivered a whole load of new and very swish leather sofas for the foyer and bar area. The audience that night were given instruction the ‘share’ and let everyone enjoy them!
The room looked full and the sound was fab … due to Julie the sound woman’s diligence and skill! It was a joy to perform and receive such open warmth and appreciation. Thanks Aldershot! Phil and Pat Chappell came back to Martin and Pam’s with me for a post-gig feast, which didn’t finish until 4am! It’s a rock’n’roll lifestyle don’t you know. |
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A big long sleep dealt with the excesses of the previous night and off I went again mid afternoon this time towards Cambridge and another new venue.
I hadn’t played the Acoustic Routes club before but knew it was a small performance space … very small! Bernard … who I wanted to call Adrian for some unknown reason … has run the club almost single-handedly for 5 years and does a great job.
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The show was a sell out and the atmosphere was amazing. Dirt in the Ground was up there with Hereford, they somehow managed a wonderful mix of a strangely manic dirge!
The opening act was also a delight and I’d urge you all to check out Liz Simcock’s work; her songs are beautiful. |
I drove back to Martin and Pam’s that night – no party this time straight to bed and deep sleep. Originally Sunday should have seen me driving like a mad fool towards Bodmin Moor where I was booked to do a spot at an outdoor festival. Can you guess what happened children? Unfortunately the whole Festival was cancelled due to ‘high winds’! I could start to feel slightly nervous about outdoor events given my recent history but I’ll keep an open mind and hope the next one goes off without a hitch.
The good news was that it left me free to pick up Bob from Heathrow and to drive up to Liverpool together before taking the boat to the Isle of Man on Monday morning. I really could get paranoid because the boat we were booked on from Liverpool at 11am was cancelled! We … and many, many others … had to drive to Heysham and squeeze onto the boat there, getting into Douglas 6 hours later than anticipated. Hey ho. We are now on the Island till Thursday doing allsorts of things, including more work on the album trying out new songs and tweaking others – not nearly as painful as you might think! I’ve also just managed to confirm a date on the Island for November 30 th at the Centenary Hall in Peel. Hurrah … I’ll post details up on the date sheet.
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So … just one more solo gig at Basingstoke before the band tour, which I’ll write about in the next instalment.
Thanks for stopping by I hope some of you will come to a gig in the next month or so … please come up and say hello.Thanks as always for your support and see you out there!
Much love
Christine xx |
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