Larbreck Hall

Great gig last night for David and John out at Larbreck Hall Caravan Park. Bob was unavailable so we performed as a duo.

We were going to do an outdoor, but the weather was appalling. The organisers had sorted out an old barn and built a stage with scaffolding, pallets stacked and carpeted over and a backdrop and sides of sheet plastic - pretty good too for such a temporary set-up!

The pallets were very springy though - when we started foot tapping and getting into the faster stuff I thought I was going to be catapulted off stage a couple of times but we survived and dragged Jeannie up to sing backing vocals for The Ronette's song Be My Baby.

Thanks to the holiday makers and residents at the caravan park for such a great reception and your enthusiasm! Thanks too to the very enthusiastic group of girls who screamed and shouted and kept demanding Bob The Builder for some strange reason! John managed to work it into his keyboard solo on Ho Ho Silver Lining - that has to be a world's first...!

A Wet Day at Myerscough

Well we've been playing Myerscough College's open day events for years but yesterday was the wettest one since our very first in 2002!

Despite that a phenomenal number of people braved the weather to come out to see everything that was going on, but understandably not a lot chose to sit on the row of chairs that had been placed in front of our spot! Some brave souls stood and listened, danced, sang and cheered and we thank you for that.

We played The Kink's Sunny Afternoon, but it failed to do the trick and so we resorted to Creedence Clearwater Revival's Have You Ever Seen the Rain which gave us a certain amount of audience participation...

We played it again several hours after the first playing and David related how someone had yelled "Sod off!" as they passed. Then he did a quick "oops!" and apologised for swearing but was then faced by a very indignant 5-year-old who tore him off a strip to the amusement of everyone around us. "There's lots of children here, you know!" she said, hands on hips. I promised to wash his mouth out with soap and she nodded and, with a final stern look, walked off back to her parents who were killing themselves.

The previous night we played out at Heskin Hall for a steam fair in a large marquee. It was good to hear Fran and Jeannie relate that they had heard someone at the entrance saying to his mates "Oh, great! They were here last year and they're fabulous!" A man of taste!

And yes, I know I'm supposed to be taking it easy because of the old ticker, but we cut down the set at Heskin from our usual 4+ hours and David keeps giving me dire threats if I start to set up or carry anything heavy before he's got there to help.

And finally, our thanks to Peter and Shelagh Cooney who came to Myerscough to do a set and give us a bit of a break. I appreciated it as I'd got a huge blister on one finger which burst and needed to dry up a bit before I could carry on. "Can you still play keyboards?" asked David. Relentless...

Wedding Gig

Last night we were out in the beautiful countryside of the Trough of Bowland, playing at the wedding of Lee and Gail in Oakenclough.

We were glad of the SatNav as it would have been a job to find it otherwise! We were playing in a couple of marquees put together in the grounds of a country hotel.

"It'll be in tents tonight..." said David as we glimpsed them from the car. ("intense" - puns don't always work written down...) Then he said it again as we sat in the bar waiting for the speeches to finish. Oh yes, and again over the mic later on. Likes to get his money's worth out of a pun, does David! Ha! "That's what I like about you, John..." he'll say after reading this, "...nothing!"

It was a breezy night - apparently the marquee had had to be re-erected that morning after it blew down the previous night and it was certainly getting up a bit as we say up north! (note to southerners - we don't say oop for up in the northwest!)

We played for a couple of hours, filling the dance floor, then handed over to a disco. Then - disaster - the disco had technical problems. Their amp blew and we had to set back up after having almost broken down completely and we gave them another hour and a half whilst the DJ drove back home to bring another amp. Our amp didn't have enough phono inputs as we use standard jack plugs for everything except the mics.

We were wearing matching white t-shirts with suits instead of our usual black shirts and I thought it looked quite professional too! Anyway the bride, groom and guests were very complimentary about the band's performance and our willingness to step in after the DJs' technical problems. Poor couple, it's every performer's worst nightmare!

Playing to the World's Largest Hot Pot!

Well I don't think we made the telly, but we did speak to Lloyd Grossman, who was fancying a go on the guitar and Granada North West's Fred Talbot was filmed in front of us (but with the camera pointing across instead of at us).

The hot pot was indeed big, though by the time it was ready we were a touch busy. Bob was stuck at work so it was just David and myself, but we were approached by lots of people who were very complimentary - and one who wanted to know what musci had to do with "the countryside" and suggested we should throw our equipment in the river! Well, a very good morning to you as well sir!

In fact the event was nothing to do with the countryside anyway, it was to promote Garstang's forthcoming food festival and everyone was agreeably surprised at just how many people turned up.

Here's the hot pot being cooked with Fred and his cameraman reviewing a scene already filmed in the background.

There was a juggler, lots of local food produce, a magician and the two of us. Lloyd Grossman vied with several local mayors but spoke extremely well and worked in a very humourous story of speaking at a somewhat quieter event.

The Musicians and the Sunflower

This afternoon, once the rain stopped and the sun came out, the two flowerpot men shook off their flowerpots and rocked around the little weed...

It was a birthday garden party but we started out indoors as the rain bounced down and then back up again! It's the third year we have been invited to play at this one and we felt very much part of the family as we were greeted enthusiastically by the guests.

"You look younger this year!" said one discerning lady of excellent taste and 20/20 vision. Not sure why Fran and Jeannie collapsed in giggles at that moment but anyway, moving right along...

The rain stopped after we had sampled our hosts' delicious food - ahhh, that trifle! So it was unplug, decamp and we met up with the biggest sunflower in the garden!

For the past two years we've been promising to learn Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" for Gran so this year we were almost as good as our word - which means we hadn't learned it but we did it anyway! "Sounded really good," Fran and Jeannie decided, "you should keep it in!"

New Album Release Close

I've been doing some work on the album over the last couple of weeks and last night David and Jeannie came round so whilst the ladies went off to a craft fair, David and I put some vocals down and we now have all 16 songs for the album.

We now need to get Bob over to put bass on several tracks and then think of a name and get some design work done for the album cover, take photos and - hey hey!

I know there have been people asking about this for ages (years...!) and we're finally getting there.

I think we are going to start immediately on the next one too, to try to ensure we can have one to come out a year after this!

A lot of people ask where we record, as the quality of the recording surprises some people. But it's all done in my front room on the computer, as seen here.

Larbreck Hall Caravan Park

Last night David and I played at Larbreck Hall Caravan Park. Bob had a prior engagement with The Old School Band but we gave them a good night of music and they got up and filled the dance floor!

We have played there several years - the first one at Larbreck was for the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002 - and we usually do an outdoor gig. The weather looked a little suspect yesterday so we were inside a huge barn and with a few pallets, boarded over for a stage and a couple of caravans as a backdrop, we added a few lights and it made for a good atmosphere!

We had the barn to ourselves for a while before the gig and worked out a version of Ronan Keating's "When You Say Nothing At All".

June's Music Track at billyfury.com

The online Sounds Special feature at http://www.billyfury.com has changed a couple of days early this month as the site administrator is taking a well-earned break!

Our track for June is from our 2003 "Kites" album and is an updated version of Del Shannon's "Runaway". Expect a touch of fuzz from my guitar! No more fuzz than usual from David's voice though...!

The web site commemorates 1960s British pop idol, Billy Fury. Every month the site features the work of artists from both the UK and further afield in its "Sounds Special" feature. Fans of Billy Fury will also find lots of original sound and video files available to download as well as a thriving community of fans and enthusiasts of all ages.

Many thanks to the good people at http://www.billyfury.com for continuing to allow us to contribute!

Witton Park Gig Report

Well the weather forecast was anything but good, but in the event it was quite kind to us!

We took up our usual spot in one of the outbuildings around the courtyard at Witton and were soon joined by an enthusiastic crowd of people as we went through a country set, then folk and Irish before moving onto a few 1960s numbers.

Lunchtime came and it was still fine and most of the crowd stayed put whilst we took a break and came back to let Bob play his mandolin to John's keyboard to get everyone tapping their feet to "Bluebell Polka".

We went back to do a few more country hits then started on the 1960s with the bit between our teeth. "The Young Ones" (our signature tune for obvious reasons!) then "Halfway to Paradise", "I'm a Believer", "The Wonder of You" (gives the audience a chance to go "Whoa-oh-oh-ohhh!"), "Please Please Me", "When You Walk In The Room" and onwards through the afternoon to "The Wanderer", "Johnny B Goode", "That'll Be The Day" before finishing with "The Night Has 1000 Eyes".

Fran and Jeannie were kept busy giving out cards and seling the odd CD although Jeannie found time to wrap a couple of snakes around her neck, perhaps getting a little mixed up? No dear - it was a "feather boa" you were after!

If you were there, then thanks for the support - the rain caught up with us later on in the afternoon but it wasn't going to deter the hardy folk who were sitting listening to us and umbrellas came out, hoods went up and feet kept tapping!

Thanks also to the organisers, to Blackburn Council and Myerscough College, who were instrumental (sorry about the pun!) in getting us there and who were showing some of the animals and other resources used by them in their courses that are held at Witton.

Our next public appearance is another Myerscough Open Day on Sunday 3 June from 10:30 to around 4:00pm, this time at their main campus at Myerscough Hall, St Michael's Road, Bilsborrow, just north of Preston.

Sha-la-la-la-la-la-lee!

A bit of a rushed rehearsal last night as we set out with the best intentions but then all got held up a little!

We finally congregated at John's house and set up to run through a few of the newer songs we have added to the set. "Sha-la-la-la-lee", originally by the Small Faces needed some rearrangement of words - verses and middle 8s may not necessarily be as originally intended but it does now sound quite splendid!

Bob recorded three bass tracks for the album's "Last Night Was Made For Love" and now John has to pick the best one and cut and paste any weak notes or fret noise from the other two then that will be the first track totally finished.

David was struggling a little bit and sounding rather throaty. We had recorded a second main vocal for Westlife's "The Rose" but you could hear his throat a little so that's been scrapped until he gets back to full health! With three old gimmers like us, that can take a while! This throat bug has been passing between John and David for months!

Mr Bassman

This afternoon Bob came round to run through some of our newer stuff as a rehearsal and also to put a bass track on a couple of the album tracks.

We all find it difficult to earmark time to get together other than at weekends and at the moment even weekends are a bit busy!

Bob also introduced us to a couple of new jig instrumentals as we've been playing "Bluebell Polka" for our instrumental spot for the last few years and it's time for a change.

St Patrick's Night Gig

Last night's gig for Garstang Light Opera Group (GLOG) was a brilliant night! David and I are pictured in silly mode at the start of the night. David needed the huge Guinness as he had had to cope with a flat tyre on the way to Cabus Village Hall!

It was a night interspersed with many guest artists who either sang and played on their own or who joined us for a song or two.

We tried out a few of our new songs but the night went so quickly that we still had plenty of stuff left unplayed at midnight when my ballgown started to turn back into rags!

Thanks as always to the stalwarts of GLOG for helping make the night so memorable!

Album Work Continues

It's been a busy Sunday, as I've been preparing a few more tracks for the album. Fran has been at work so I had a clear run at being able to play the same thing over and over without getting on her nerves!

I start off with keyboard tracks - backing, drums and basic chord backing. Then any other keyboard tracks that may be required. That can include strings, brass, synthesizer, choirs or almost any other instrument.

Then I add guitar parts. Normally I add strummed guitars one to either side of the stereo image at the extreme edge, neither guitar audible through the opposite speaker. That creates quite a full sound. Then I might add other guitars closer to the centre with any lead or solo parts coming centre stage. I play both electric (Fender Stratocasters) or accoustic. If playing the accoustic I mic that up and have to turn off the fan on the central heating to ensure no background noise!

At this stage the track is ready for David to add his vocals after which I'll add any harmony parts. Finally Bob will add the bass and possibly extra accoustic guitar or mandolin parts.

Today "You're My Best Friend" has had an electric guitar part added and is now ready for Bob, whilst "Picture of You", "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" and "My Life" have been started from scratch and are ready for vocals to be added.

I was at a party last night and several people came up to say they had heard and enjoyed the band. Thanks for all the kind comments - we hope to firm up some more dates for public gigs soon - keep an eye on our home page.