Two years ago , encouraged by Ted Fordney, I set out to write one song a month in part as a distraction to the ongoing medical treatment . I made it through to June and the songs from that period will form part of the the new acoustic album I’m looking to complete later in the spring . I’ve decided that it is a really good discipline to focus on at least one new song idea per month and this year I intend to go one step further and as well as writing the song, record a demo version to put into a monthly posting on this site.
To start this process this month is a topical song “Twelfth Night” written around the night of the same name . This is a emotionally charged night as it is the closing of Christmas celebrations , the real starting of a New Year and also the start of the worst two months of the year in the UK where it is damp, grey and just a waiting period for Spring. Anyway this year there was the added irony that the christian origin of twelfth night is the coming of the wise men bringing gifts from Persia ( Iran and Iraq).
So here is a rough first demo recording of Twelfth night which will continue to develop over the year .
For many years I have played with Pete Young on keyboards , both in Ulterior Motives and in acoustic duo/trio formats . One standard in our set since the early 80’s has been a version of Swan Lake (From Tchaikosky’s Nutcracker) with a reggae feel, which originally came from Madness. It was often a set closer or encore and Andy Boyd discovered he had something like 20 versions on video through the years , from shows and rehearsals. Anyway he recently had some spare time so put together a compilation of Swan Lake through the ages and the 23 minute version is here : Swan Lake
Finally on 12th January we played a 30 minute set in The Seven Stars pub in Bristol where Andy once again shot a superb HD video so I thought I’d post it here as well for anyone who missed it on Facebook .
And so now as we also prepare to move house I’m busy working on a slightly longer than planned acoustic album , tentatively titled “Wildflowers” but that could yet change. Will confirm the track listing in next months post .
My grandparents (On my Fathers side) lived at number 29 so we saw lots of them whilst growing up, and also two other relatives ( Great Uncle and Aunt) on the opposite side of the street. In those days you knew and spoke with all your neighbours, and it was a very friendly community. My best friend Colin and his Sister Josie lived at the top of the street in Evelyn Terrace , and although the house is still there a road runs through the Garden we used to play in.
I kept in touch with Colin and still meet up for a drink with him when I am able to.
