Tykes Stirrings

Tykes Stirrings
For Folk in and around Yorkshire
Thursday, 28 March 2024
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Spring issue

Current Issue: Spring 2024

Editorial

First of all, I must say a huge thank you to everyone who has been in touch in response to Jim’s piece in the last issue of TykesStirrings. Comments have ranged from disbelief, to queries about the “real reason”, to suggestions about ways to continue, to generous words of thanks. Suffice it to say that the imminent end of TykesStirrings, [is] scheduled so that no one will be left with issues [outstanding].

What's in the Spring Issue

NEWS

There is sad news of the possible closure of Robin Hood's Bay folk club, and news of the last ever Cleckheaton Folk Festival. The rest is full of clubs successfully re-locating and continuing to book artists and put on events. A bitter sweet section.

FORGOTTEN FAVOURITES

Jaqui & Bridie's Hello Friend: Chris Manners got this LP at a school concert: "Bushy Barrett the chemistry master was first up on the makeshift stage in the school hall, playing Incredible String Band songs and struggling with his fingerpicks. The headliners – 'never heard of ‘em' – were Jacqui and Bridie, two sweet old ladies with tight perms and long floral skirts. Twee… Except they weren’t. Jacqui McDonald on guitar, Bridie O’Donnell on banjo, sharing lead vocals or in harmony, were lively, hilarious, fearless and rude. Far from being twee, they were pioneers… So in 1961 they set up their own folk club. It grew, until they could give up the day jobs and sail to the USA in ’64 for a six week tour that lasted six months, [They had] such a following that they could mount concerts at the Philharmonic Hall a couple of times a year. There was even a Royal Gala performance."
Lively, hilarious, fearless & rude.
Lively, hilarious, fearless & rude.

ANAHATA'S CHOICE

Two tunes from 'There was None of This Lazy Dancing!' Bob Ellis's last book. "Bill Hall's Quicksteps were transcribed from a recording made by Peter Kennedy in 1953, played by Sam Fawcett of Baldersdale"
Bill Hall
Bill Hall's Quicksteps 1 & 2 are within

OBITUARIES

Bob Ellis

As mentioned on the previous page, Bob Ellis tragically died in January. His friends remember:

Richard Hargreaves "Bob’s support was freely given as [my band] Buttered Peas, with Pete and Sue Coe calling, put on a Sunday afternoon of Traditional Dales Village Music and Dances [...] He was a modest, unassuming companion but with a quietly infectious enthusiasm for all that he had researched and played for his book."

Colin Speakman "Bob was [...] a charming and modest man. It was [his] inspiration that led to the revival of the Buck Inn Sessions. These were arranged after two of us travelled up to Buckden [...] to meet Bob [...] for lunch at the Buck Inn."

Melodious melodeon
Melodious melodeon

Chris Coe

"[...] in a crematorium overflowing with people, & observed by many more online, the folk scene said a fond farewell to Chris Coe who died on December 20th following a slow decline [...]. It's difficult to know where to begin in cataloguing Chris's contribution to the folk music world. [...] but perhaps the easiest starting point is this extract from the citation written by Dr Vic Gammon for the award to her of the Gold Badge of the EFDSS in 2019.

“We think of a Renaissance person as someone who is skilled and well-versed in many fields of knowledge, skill, work, etc. Chris Coe is a renaissance woman: singer, instrumentalist, artist, designer, writer, teacher, dancer, actor, great company and an outstanding human being. Not everyone is aware of the range of Chris’ achievements, which include qualifications in medical microbiology, fine art and being a skilled welder!”

Chris Coe - one of the greats.
Chris Coe - one of the greats.

NIC HALL

Nick Dreams Big ... “The new album was barely half-finished, had no title, and our cheery ‘Yes we’ll have a new album ready for the tour’ pronouncement to Dave Pegg seemed like an exercise in reckless wishful thinking!”
A cheery Nick
A cheery Nick

TAKE 5 ... LIVE

Bella Gaffney ranges globally for her memorable gigs
"The Killers [Glastonbury 2019] They headlined the Pyramid stage and held the audience in the palm of their hands. I had brought too much beer in my rucksack and threw my back out dancing    [...] The agony was worth it though."
A Serene Bella – not in Glasto
A Serene Bella – not in Glasto

SPOTLIGHT

Janie Meneely takes aim at the Rifle Club in Whitby, and takes a pew at St Cuthberts in Billingham.

Rifle Club 'LOCALS' Concerts

"Whitby stirs back to life [...] as residents await the first blush of spring. And so it is that [...] Falcon House Concerts decided to shine the light on some of Whitby’s Local Players for an afternoon of musical entertainment."
Alan & Lynda RoseCastle amongst the bushes – & Locals
Alan & Lynda RoseCastle amongst the bushes – & Locals

Ken Willson's St Cuthbert's Concerts – Billingham

Ken… started things off with a song, followed by… songs from Barry and Ingrid Temple. Then came the main act, as lively a crew as any could want. Chris Sherburn got everyone laughing with some light banter, making fun of his bandmates,… of anyone that came within range, really. Then Denny let ’er rip with Cyril Tawney’s Sammy’s Bar. Emily on fiddle and Chris on the concertina rounded out Denny’s smooth guitar. And so the evening progressed.
As lively a crew… indeed
As lively a crew… indeed

BOOK REVIEW

Where Are The Elephants? Leon Rosselson

"Where Are The Elephants? lays out in 14 chapters and 170 pages a precise and concise view of how Leon sees the world. It is personal and political, public and private, it informs, educates and entertains in equal measure." Alan Rose

RED LETTER DAYS No 2: Moveable Feasts

Nigel gets his teeth into these months.
"What our ancient ancestors called ‘þe monaþes of lencten’, March - April - May, represent a quarter of the year which contain the most familiar dates of tradition in our calendar. Some are fixed, … May Day, April Fool’s Day, the Vernal Equinox. Some are variable, … Good Friday, Pancake Day (Shrove Tuesday), Whit Sunday. The whole sector of the year is covered by extended periods of Christian observance – Lent, Easter-tide, Whitsuntide."
May Day – Oss Oss! Wee Oss!
May Day – Oss Oss! Wee Oss!

REVIEWS: Two Live and Umpteen CDs…

FINDLAY NAPIER at UPCO – Mike Feist on home turf in Otley

"Others [songs - ed] reflected topical issues. There’s More to Building Ships is a scathing commentary on the failure of successive governments to recognise and plan for mitigating the adverse social and economic effects of cutbacks in a key industry: 'They scupper it and cut it / And the unions take the blame'."
Socially aware Findlay
Socially aware Findlay

TOPIC FC: COHEN BRAITHWAITE-KILCOYNE

Chris Manners was there.
"Cohen is doing fabulous work, finding fresh life in traditional song and tunes. This project [looking at the way British traditional material crossed the sea to become part of the black American and Caribbean repertoire and how it changed in the process] links to Angeline Morrison’s Sorrow Songs, Reg Meuross’s Stolen from God [Live Review in Winter23 TS - Ed], and Sophie Crawford and George Sansome’s Queer Folk, adding diversity to the British tradition and finding ethnic and geographic links that were always there but never explored. Watch out for the tour dates and be sure to bag a ticket - it’s going to be a cracker."
Cohen in a different club near you
Cohen in a different club near you

AND ANOTHER THING

Jim Shipley finds that the light at the end of the tunnel is ... folk music. In the 1972 Rag Week in Keighley, the committee held a folk concert in a railway tunnel. You had to be there!

"Ingrow railway tunnel may have been a strange choice as a venue for the student Rag Week gig, but these days the [Keighley & Worth Valley] Railway is no stranger to live music which features strongly in their popular Beer Festival events. It has also run music trains with folk artists like Pete Coe, Bob Fox, John Kirkpatrick, Les Barker & Emily Druce"

JK on the KWVR
JK on the KWVR

FILOFOLK

Make a date, have a sing, sink a pint.

(Also available online: FILOFOLK)


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