Somewhere below is our own review of Coventry singer songwriter Kristy Gallacher, written by Wayne Spencer but this one in the Nuneaton Tribune is worth taking a look at. Tribune reviewer Emma Ray says -
"Gallacher really is the real deal, and in the intimate setting of Warwick Arts Centre’s studio theatre, she holds the audience in the
palm of her hand."
"Key to her ability to wow her audience is three-fold – she’s got one hell of a voice, her songs are top drawer, and she knows how to connect."
Emma Concludes that Kristy deserves to be top of a record company's must sign.
Praise indeed for the upcoming 23 year old Coventry singer.
Read all about it here -
Nuneaton Tribune Review of Kristy Gallacher
Below - an earlier performance from one of her many pub gigs.
January 24th 2010 will mark the 40th anniversary of the historic performances by Colosseum with The New Jazz Orchestra and Jack Bruce and Friends at the Lanchester Arts Festival in Coventry 1970.
I was lucky enough to have seen that concert at 18, sat squat legged on the floor of the Student Union main hall with thousands of undergraduates, hippies, and Coventry musos.
Colin Richardson, who has been interviewed on this site, was Colosseum's manager and Booking Consultant to the Lanchester Arts Festival in 1970 and '71. Colin is currently editing a biography about Jon Hiseman, written by Martyn Hanson. Martyn has written books on Tony McPhee of the Groundhogs, The Nice and ELP. More details here http://www.martynhanson.com/colosseum.html
Colin has kindly allowed us to present a preview of the biography here concerning the concert at the Lanchester Polytechnic.
No publication date has been set for the book as yet but it is hope that it will be out in the New Year sometime. If you were there or an organiser at the Lanch, leave a comment.
From the chapter - A Giant Leap for Colosseum - Martyn Hanson writes -
“This remains one of the best gigs I was ever involved in. I was so proud that all my old mates from Tamworth were there to see it.” Clem Clempson on the Lanchester Arts Festival"
A Giant Leap for Colosseum (An Extract)
“This remains one of the best gigs I was ever involved in. I was so proud that all my old mates from Tamworth were there to see it.” Clem Clempson on the Lanchester Arts Festival"
The first few days of 1970 found Colosseum back on the road doing TV and live dates in Europe, including their first gigs in France…2 shows at the famous Paris Olympia, where they received a standing ovation from a euphoric audience. The feeling of satisfaction at having acquitted themselves so well in such a prestigious venue was slightly tempered by having to be up and away early the following morning in order to make it to the next gig, which was at the Winter Gardens, Weston-Super-Mare. Back to earth with a bump!
The heavy work schedule continued, but with a slight difference. Wearing his agent’s hat, Colin Richardson was the booking consultant for the Lanchester Arts Festival, a student-run, mixed media project in Coventry… a role which, the following year, would give him the opportunity to bring off something of a major ‘showbiz coup’…the first ‘live-on-stage’ appearance of Monty Python’s Flying Circus…three shows at the Belgrade Theatre as part of the 1971 Festival programme. For the current year though, he had already booked the UK premiere of Jack Bruce & Friends, featuring American stars Larry Coryell and Mike Mandell, together with ex- Hendrix drummer Mitch Mitchell. Also on the bill were Colosseum and the New Jazz Orchestra, playing live together for the first time…an idea that partly stemmed from the NJO brass and reed sections playing on the studio version of Butty’s Blues. Given the
close musical relationship that had always existed between Neil Ardley and Jon Hiseman, it was a naturally symbiotic combination, which would prove to be both musically satisfying and exciting. For Jon it was all part of the plan, as he told Melody Maker: “When I formed Colosseum I was consciously trying to create an environment in which we could involve a band of this size.” His real ambition went even further: “The ultimate goal is to produce a 20-piece band whose members are individually as well-known as Colosseum. It’s impossible, of course”.
On the night, the New Jazz Orchestra opened proceedings with Dick, Tony and Jon in their ‘big-band’ roles. The Lanchester College newspaper reported: “The Mike Gibbs composition Rebirth, showed what a ridiculously accomplished set of musicians they were, while Dusk Fire, by Michael Garrick, had Tony Reeves playing the best bass solo I’ve ever heard”. The Guardian and Melody Maker echoed this praise in their reviews, MM going on to report: “Jon Hiseman swung beautifully through every number giving one of the most tasteful displays in drumming and stamping his style memorably on everything”. Ronald Atkins of the Guardian was equally impressed: “Few drummers in this country can touch Hiseman for sheer technique, and he obviously takes every chance to vary his patterns.”
This NJO gig was also something of a milestone for Barbara Thompson as she got her first chance to play a solo in public, in a duet with Henry Lowther. Jon recalls: “She played on Mike Taylor’s Study a very hypnotic slow ballad and it brought the house down. I learned the big lesson that night that you didn’t have to go in with a sharp stick to get an audience reaction. I couldn’t apply it to Colosseum as I always had trouble in keeping the tempos down, but I applied it to Barbara’s later career. She was fantastic that night, I was so proud of her.”
After the NJO left the stage, Dave Greenslade and Clem Clempson came on and Colosseum played their set. They
kicked off with Lost Angeles, by now considerably longer than the studio version, followed by the old Graham Bond staple Walkin’ in the Park. Next came The Machine Demands a Sacrifice, which featured Jon’s drum solo, inspiring the college paper to write: “For those of you who saw the first solo, the second was even better and for those who saw the second, Jon had been on stage for over six hours when he started”. It’s quite likely that most of the crowd were there to see Jack Bruce, but already they were experiencing some seriously powerful and memorable music…but the best was yet to come! the NJO musicians returned to join Colosseum for the final two numbers, the first of which was Butty’s Blues, featuring some forceful playing from Dick, but the highpoint of the performance was always going to be the closing piece, Valentyne Suite, scored for the augmenting musicians by Neil Ardley. At one point during the performance, Dave Greenslade was suddenly aware of the significance of the moment: “This was amazing for me Jon and Tony, as we had seen all those
great big bands all those years ago. And I found myself playing Hammond in the middle of this great brass section - it gave me a great buzz.” The suite’s climactic ending prompted lead trumpet Bob Leaper to hurl his trumpet high in the air, deftly catching it on its return flight. It was a fitting climax to a memorable collaboration. Jon congratulated Clem after the show saying it was the best he’d heard him play and the college paper also singled him out for his outstanding performance. There was good reason for Clem to be so fired up and playing so well that night: “This remains one of the best gigs I was ever involved with. I was so proud that all my old mates from Tamworth were there to see it.” Colin Richardson concurred: “It was an amazing concert…without doubt, one of the highlights of my music biz career.” The Guardian’s Ronald Atkins was amazed by the crowd’s good humour, as they sat shoulder to shoulder in stifling heat: “No one grumbled and no one collapsed; they sat quietly while the music played and clapped and cheered when it stopped. As a veteran of FA cup ties and smoky jazz clubs, I offer them my envious congratulations.”
Dick also considered it a milestone for Colosseum: “Of all the outrageous things to attempt – the NJO incorporated in the set, playing Neil Ardley’s arrangements to some of our recorded numbers. The hall was packed to the rafters and the reception we got started off as enormous and ended up gargantuan.” The Lanchester college paper went into overdrive: “But then, back came the NJO for the final 40 minutes of the best music I have ever heard here…words cannot do justice to the reality. Quite simply, it stopped the show.” The last word is from Jon: “Lanchester was just amazing. We played to a total of 5000 people in the two shows. Dave Gelly told me that was more people than he’d performed to all year.” The success of this collaboration ensured that there would be further such joint concerts later. Jack Bruce’s set was also well-received, with Jon joining the audience to dig it, enthralled by the drumming of Mitch Mitchell. “He was just wonderful that night – his was a talent I much admired but I think he got lost somewhere along the way.”
Barbara had, in fact, played in Coventry on another occasion. In the early part of 1969 she had formed the Barbara Thompson/Art Themen Quintet. Art Themen was a very talented tenor saxophonist who had known Jon and Dick Heckstall-Smith for many years (he’s also Arthur Heckstall-Smith’s godfather). They played at the Belgrade Theatre and Melody Maker reported: “Opening with John Coltrane’s Promise they played some interesting modern jazz with Barbara and Art both blowing fluent tenor, soprano and flute.” The audiences tended to be on the small side, but Barbara enjoyed the artistic freedom. She told Melody Maker: “Musicians have got to get the idea they can make a living out of jazz out of their minds…it’s a pipe dream,” In spite of this remark, since her Cabaret experience, she had made the decision never turn down the opportunity to play jazz just because it didn’t pay. Barbara always kept several projects on the go, including composing music and writing arrangements. She also seems to have had a thing about drummers, as she also played on Keef Hartley’s album Battle of North West Six. To promote it, Hartley had performed a John Peel ‘live special’ with a 14 piece big band, which featured Barbara in the sax section. Two days after the memorable Lanchester Festival gig, Barbara made her first public appearance with Colosseum on Beat Club a German TV show, filmed in Bremen. Colin Richardson was a good friend of the producer/director, Mike Leckebusch having previously booked Manfred Mann and the Bonzos on the show. Barbara remembers she wore a strange outfit: “It was the time when the Indian Squaw look was really in, and the make-up department at the German TV station went to town on me.”
Barbara reprised her flute playing on The Machine Demands a Sacrifice which she had performed on the Valentyne Suite album. Clem, who had by now settled in and had gained in confidence, gave an inspired vocal performance.
1970 had certainly got off to a good start, but unfortunately, another crisis was already looming on the horizon!
Martyn Hanson
More Swinging Cats Videos on You Tube if you click back to You Tube
Run by Ben Glass "It’s All About Coventry gives a great band and gig guide.
and features a guide to gigs happening throughout the city.
It also includes exclusive video interviews with Coventry bands and more."
Coventry ragtime guitarist Dave Bennett is featured here on the Hobo site and Ben Glass interviewed his daughter Sarah Bennett on video. Her guitar work is amazing as you'd expect if you've heard Dave play. I got to see Sarah play at Justine's Acoustic Escape last year.
Kristy Gallacher is a name to look out for on the current Coventry music scene.
This popular young singer songwriter has developed quite a musical career for herself before and after gaining a degree in Musical Composition at Coventry University. Kristy is not only developing her own career but as a promoter is helping new talent in Coventry.
Fresh from the Troubadour gig in London Kristy performed at Warwick Arts Centre, and Poet, Script writer and music lover Wayne Spencer (pictured here with his back towards us talking to Special - Horace
Panter) has written a review of Kristy's performance alongside Birmingham singer songwriter Ben Calvert
KRISTY GALLACHER AND BEN CALVERT - WARWICK ARTS CENTRE, STUDIO THEATRE - 13 NOV 2009 by Wayne Spencer
Photos of Kristy's gig by kind permission of Jacki Donovan http://www.flickr.com/photos/sadieshatterly/
Well it was Friday the 13th so I should have guessed something would happen on this day. The journey from Leicester to the Warwick Arts Centre is usually a simple one, but on this occasion we were treated to a delightful meal of torrential rain and strong winds blowing us all over the M69 as we made our way to the concert. Just when we thought the end was in sight we were given a side helping of a massive traffic jam. But thankfully we just made it in time.
The Warwick Arts Centre is a very impressive building, boasting the recently redeveloped Butterworth Hall, a cinema, a theatre and the Studio theatre. Seasick Steve was playing in the Butterworth and the Centre was full of life, with everyone glad to reach the dry and warm, and audiences looking forward to their chosen concert.
I've been to events at the Centre before, but never in the Studio theatre. I found it to be very impressive. Intimate and with a great atmosphere. Six tiered rows of padded blue seats, each row about twenty seats across, and a side row of seats along each wall, raised on a platform/balcony. The ticket sales for the show had been very good with only a tiny handful left.
The concert was part of the Under the Radar season, a platform for the best independent and emerging musicians from in and around the Midlands.
Birmingham singer songwriter Ben Calvert began the show with an excellent set of songs that he describes as ‘Lo-Fi Post-Folk musings’. His first song was Rollin' City, from his The State of Travel EP. Ben built up a good rapport with the audience, with short witty comments in-between songs. A few concert goers were still arriving during his set, no doubt delayed by the swirling elements outside on this Winter's night. Ben joked that "latecomers will get detention".
Meet Me 'Mongst The Leaves, the third song of Ben's set, was a real favourite with the audience. Songs from his album The Leafy Underground were very well received, as was the song Flee from his album The Broken Family Daysaver.
A new song that was featured was inspired by the Katie Price-Peter Andre saga, and managed to include the tabloid tales of eating Hob Nobs alone. It had a headline inspired title that Morrissey would be proud of - Pop Star Sits Alone At Home Crying Eating Hob Nobs.
Other new songs included Everybody Loves Lucy and the very appropriate Winter. Ben has just recently recorded both of those in demo form as he works on his next album. Ben was accompanied on some songs by Jamie Parkes with excellent violin playing. Between them they created a very friendly atmosphere that everyone seemed to enjoy.
An interval followed Ben's performance, and CDs of Ben and Kristy were available to buy in the foyer.
As we resumed our seats for the second half of the concert, the lights dimmed and on came Coventry singer songwriter Kristy Gallacher and her band. I had first seen Kristy perform live at the Herbert Museum in Coventry on 2 October as part of the launch night for the More Than Two Tones exhibition.
On that night she performed solo, acoustically, and had impressed many people including myself. I had been blown away by her performance and had wanted to see her in concert again, to see a longer set. The Warwick show was a special one as she doesn't do too many with the band, and they certainly didn't disappoint.
Right from the first song, Don't Look Down, they had the audience enthralled. The band consisted of Clive Layton on bass, Lisa Nowak on violin and Karen Milne on drums. Kristy has worked with Clive for a long time, he produced Kristy's first album Emotional Gun, and they are currently working on the second album.
The set included four songs from the Emotional Gun album - the title track, I'm Gonna, This is War, Don't Look Down -
and two songs that were part of the six track Live @ The Troubadour release - Cold and Empty and Shame Shame.
New songs on the night included Hunting for the Thief, and a very powerful performance of Take which was a real highlight amongst many great moments.
The format of the show was that some songs were with the band (with and without Lisa on violin), and some songs solo. Some electric, some acoustic. At one point Kristy joked that she should have put the guitars closer to her as she tip-toed through the mass of wires scattered across the performance space to change over from one guitar to the other. This was the first time I'd seen Kristy perform with an electric guitar and she was just as impressive as she is acoustically. The mix of acoustic and electric made for a very powerful combination.
Kristy is such a talented and confident artist, and her songs of emotions and life have a deep effect on an audience. She manages to convey great friendliness as a person, with an intense telling of life stories, and that makes for a great performance every time. A brilliant merging of emotional lyrics, wonderful voice and powerful sound.
It's also very good to see musicians genuinely enjoying themselves onstage, and it was obvious to all that Kristy, Clive, Lisa and Karen were having a great time, and so were we.
At the end of the show the audience definitely wanted more. The encore of This Party Is Over was the perfect ending to the night, and Kristy and the band left with smiles on their faces and on ours, and with loud applause ringing around the Studio space.
As the audience wrapped itself up again and braced ourselves for the increasing storms outside, we knew we'd witnessed something special. And as we headed out into the dark and windswept night we did so with great memories from a truly memorable show.
It may have been a Winter's night, but both Ben and Kristy had made the rain and wind from outside disappear for a couple of hours, and replaced it with a night of wonderful music.
Ben's set list was;
Rollin' City
Counting Carriages
Meet Me 'Mongst The Leaves
Hours Fall
Everybody Loves Lucy
Pop Star Sits Alone At Home Crying Eating Hob Nobs
Flee
Winter
Black Boys On Mopeds
Resolution
No Sound
No Lullaby
Kristy's set list was;
Don't Look Down
Cold and Empty
I'm Gonna
Safe and Sound
Jealousy Seeds
Picking up the Pieces
Halo High Street
Take
Shame, Shame
This is War
Hunting for the Thief
Emotional Gun
Too Close to Home
This Party Is Over
Ben's upcoming gigs are listed on his myspace page at
Kristy's releases and upcoming gigs are on her official site at
She is also on myspace at
And Facebook at
and
ALSO ON THIS SITE - Trev Teasdel's Interview with Kristy Gallacher
And a Report on her album Emotional Gun
The Hope And Anchor pub in Whitefriars Lane (Central Coventry) is under threat of demolition. Musicians and music fans in the city are protesting the loss of the historic venue that enabled the Enemy and Two Tone bands to get started.
Now owned by Coventry University, the site is to be demolished to widen the road and provide more car parking facilities!
Coventry Weavers
Back in the 1850's Coventry Weavers regularly met at the 'Anchor' for union and benefit society meetings and Digger Dave of Broadgate Gnome raised a an environmental question " What will happen to the apple trees in the garden. They are the only local remaining ones of the local variety Wyken Pippin".
However it is it's role as a pub venue with historic importance to the Coventry Music scene that has caused protest over its closure and threatened demolition.
The Coventry Music Scene
In the early 1970's it was one of many city centre pubs that formed a circuit for local and regional bands, folk clubs
and discos along with the Colin Campbell, Plough, Golden Cross, Hand in Heart, Three Tons. Councillor Dave Nellist recalls being a DJ there in the early 70's. Folk performer Pete Willow tells us
" I ran The Magic Lamp Folk Club there in the 70s with Bob Powell. Guests included Joe Stead, Armpit Jug Band, (the late, great) Gerry Lochran, Cliff Aungier, Kev Dempsey & Polly Bolton, Martyn Wyndham Read, Dave Paskett, and many others. Some good memories waiting to be bulldozed."
Two Tone
However it was during the punk and Two Tone days that the pub really cut it as a venue when an explosion of Coventry bands hit the scene. Top local bands, many of whom appeared on the Sent From Coventry album, appeared at the venue (where, I think, the album was launched - correct me
if I'm wrong).The list is endless but includes - Vietnamese Babies, Squad, Urge, Hot Snacks (Machine), EMF, Criminal Class, The Wild Boys, The End, and of course Two Tone bands The Selecter and Specials. Later bands include The Travelling Riverside Blues Band, The Primitives, Naphalm Death and The Enemy.
New Generation of Musicians
More recently one of Coventry's top acoustic artist and promoter Kristy Gallacher ran an acoustic night there, encouraging a new generation of Coventry musicians and Horace Panter has played there many times in recent years.
Protest
Hobo was alerted to this by Paul Maddocks of the Coventry Society and since then a range of Coventry musicians and fans of all ages and Councillor Dave Nellist have protested the demolition.
Roger Lomas (Ex Sorrows and Selector's Producer) said on Facebook
" Another venue lost!! When the hell are the powers-that-be in Coventry going to step in and INSIST that this does not
keep happening ???"
Roger is remembering that over the last couple of years a number of Coventry music venues were threatened with closure owing issues over noise, including The Golden Cross and The Tin Angel and more and has been an issue in the rest of the country too at a time when the Government is stressing the importance of the Creative Industries.
Coventry's music scene has always been mainly centrally based and cohesive. Young people have travelled into the city centre for pubs and entertainment for decades now. While progress and redevelopment is important it's often done in disregard to the communities that use the City Centre. Locating new residencies next to longstanding venues with a music licence is not a good idea. The new residents protest the noise and the musicians, landlords and fans protest the closure of the venue.
So What's Happening Now?
The Coventry Society have initiated a protest on a Facebook group and socialist councillor Dave Nellist is leading the campaign with the head of the Coventry Society Paul Maddocks. Bob Brolly is holding a debate on BBC Coventry and Warwickshire Radio. The Coventry Telegraph have covered it at least twice - Campaign to Save Doomed Pub
and tonight (October 26th) the day it was originally due to be demolished The Pub should be demolished says Ex Landlord
Tonight it looks like demolition has been stalled and some discussions have taken place but the fate of the building still hangs in the air. -
The Coventry Telegraph report -" A spokesman for Coventry University confirmed plans were still in place to demolish the pub and said a meeting took place on Friday between university bosses and the council to discuss ways of providing alternative performance venues in the city."
However, Mick Farr, a former landlord at the Hope and Anchor, told the Coventry Telegraph that he thought the pub 'should be closed down'. He claims that while the pub was good in it's heyday, recently the pub wasn't making money and was mostly empty except on Friday and Saturday. Dave Nellist denies that the pub was not used when it was open.
For sure a lot of pubs are suffering around the country owing to people paying the price of the machinations of the financial Rude Boys but as Peter Every says, in response to a comment on the Coventry Telegraph article
" Hope and Anchor. Post-Thatcher reasoning = "Dave Nellist hasn't got a clue obviously, if the former Landlord states it wasn't making money .. then that's that .. whats the point if these people who are fighting to save it never drank in there anyway! Get a life!" Hey! there are 400 empty rooms in Buckingham palace. BULLDOZERS!!!! Which bit of heritage don't you get? clearly the bit that happens after 1979..."
We've Been Here Before! Here's a Meditation.
In 1973 we started Hobo magazine in response the bulldozers flattening the Coventry Arts Umbrella Club which
had in some way facilitated bands with gigs, rehearsal space and more. It was getting harder for local bands to find venues to play,especially if they were young and new. Our campaign led to Coventry Voluntary Service Council arranging for us to have use of The HolyHead Youth Centre theatre to organise a weekly mixed media gig. So many young bands came to us and some of them told us they were about to give up as there was no where to play by the mid 70's. One 16 year who started off at the Hobo Wokshop, Holyhead Youth Centre was Dave Pepper - who later went on to form the X Certs, his band at the time was Phoenix (as he mentions in the comment below). When we moved to the Golden Cross we gave a first gig to a jazz rock group.The bassist was a young Horace Panter who wrote to Hobo asking if we knew of anywhere they could play (See letter below).
Back then you wouldn't know the importance of first step venues to artists but two other bands we gave first gigs to in 1974 were Analog and Trigon. Later those two bands formed the Two Tone band Reluctant Stereotypes out of which came King in the 80's.Midnight Circus was another band whom we put on a few times. Later they became The Flys and appeared on Grey Whistle Test. It's leader Neil O'Connor joined his sister Hazel on the Breaking Glass tour as a guitarist. Meanwhile downstairs in the cellar, Charlie Anderson was youth leading a group of West Indian musicians who even then sounded great. No one would know that five years later most of these shy musicians would be creating pop history in the The Specials and Selecter. Neol Davies came along to help organise a jam session and we tried to encourage some of Charley's group to join in. They were a bit shy but Neol, already knowing Neville a bit,went down and jammed with them in the cellar. A few years late I saw Neol in bands like Chapter 5 and Hard Top 22 with some of them - transitions along the way to the final Two Tone line ups.
And my point is...
I mention all this to illustrate the point that without places to start off, play and grow, develop stage presence and
performance skills, make connections such as the one that Neol and Charley made, no new musical developments will happen in the city. At the time, no of us knew what some of the musicians would go on to do, including the musicians themselves and today in Coventry there are a range of impressive bands and acoustic artists coming out of the city. They deserve to be supported and to have a range of venues where they can play, build up a following, learn by mistakes and develop their own cultural heritage.
Whether or not the Hope and Anchor survives, I welcome the discussion that's going on between Coventry University and The Council on how best they can provide alternative performance venues in the city and the discussion on Bob Brolly's show. One important feature though is not to make them all corporate entities with entrance fees that restrict participation. Equally important is the intitative involved in somebody creating a venue or disco, whether they just be organisers or musicians.
Good examples currently, are Kristy Gallacher and Justine Watson who not only promote and play their own music but initiate acoustic nights to encourage others. They are not the only ones of course but without pubs available, these initiatives can't and would never have taken place.
Without them Pete Chambers wouldn't be able to write books like this -
ADD YOUR THOUGHTS TO THE DISCUSSION
HOW COOL!
BBC RADIO COVENTRY COVER THE COLIN RICHARDSON MONTY PYTHON STORY
Hannah Tobin of BBC Radio Coventry and Warwickshire got in contact with Colin Richardson after Hobo had
uploaded an interview with Colin, part of which dealt with he's scoop of bringing the Monty Python team to the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry for the first ever live performance in 1971. Colin and also David Partridge (who was in the audience) were interviewed on BBC Coventry Tuesday October 20th 2009 on the Annie Othen show.Thanks to Rosie King at the BBC for allowing us to relay the interview on the site.
A little while ago I did a piece for the Hobo site on the Arts Festivals at the Lanch Poly (now Coventry University) in the early 1970's, involving the organiser Ted Little who went on to bigger things in the
Arts World.
As a result Colin Richardson got in Contact - I'd seen his name on the Lanch arts Festival Programme for 1971 as the BRON Agency Booking Agent but knew absolutely nothing about him. After many e mail and Skype exchanges I realised what a fascinating musical career he had had from early Jazz roots, through being night manager with for the Marquee club, through managing Colosseum, through Charisma and much more.
As Colin had been instrumental in booking some of the
major artists that played the Lanch Poly Student Union and had amazing background stories, as for example the bringing of Monty Python to Coventry for their first ever live performance, I decided to do a very full interview with Colin.
Here's Colin's full story on booking Monty Python for their first Live Gig in Coventry Monty Python in Coventry
The interview is on this site in several stages - the links are here
Part 1 Colin Richardson Interview Part 1 As Musician
Part 2 Colin Richardson Interview Part 2 The Jazzhouse / Manfred Mann
Part 3 Colin Richardson Interview Part 3 Marquee Club
Part 4 Colin Richardson Interview Part 4 Booking Agent
Part 5 Colin Richardson Interview Part 5 Managing Colosseum
Part 7 Colin Richardson Interview Part 7 - Artist Management / Charisma
COLIN RICHARDSON IS ALSO ON VOX - http://colinrichardson.vox.com/
LATEST NEWS
"It only seems like 5 minutes ago when I was sitting on the floor of Cabin Studio with Dave Pepper, glueing and folding the sleeves of the 'Courtiers of Fashion' single which was the first release on the Sonar Label."
Release date - 1st November
Sonar Music - 25th Anniversary Music from Coventry Artists
This is an exciting project releasing our vinyl products to digital distribution via i-tunes, amazon, lastFM, tesco.com, 7 digital and many more. The album will feature bands from the last 25 years and some rare recordings. The final track listing is as follows -
1. Stand Up - gdansk
2. Bed of Roses - She's the leader
3. Living on the edge - Armalite
4. Belladonna - Furious Apples
5. Courtiers of Fashion - Courtiers of Fashion
6. Liz's Song - Chris Aldridge
7. Go for the Jugular - Crokodile Tears
8. Obsessed by you - Blush
9. Freefall - 20 Days
10. Wasted - Laughing House
11. Peace Comin' On (ft Ziggy) Kenny Love
12. Understand You - City Dread
13. Don't be Scared - Viktoria's Sekrets
14. Chinese Whispers - Crokodile Tears
15. I wanna Know - Kenny B
16. Engineering - Furious Apples
17. Cathedral Lanes
MORE THAN TWO TONES - Launch Review
Having been on the steering group for the Coventry Music History Exhibition - More Than Two Tones over the past
two years, (along with Pete Chambers, Richard Elms, Trev Teasdel (me), Huw Jones, John Dawkins, Roger Lomas, Neol Davies, Dave Fisher, Pete Walters and Herbert Museum team) I was invited to the launch at the
Herbert Museum and Art Gallery last Friday (2nd October).
This is a temporary exhibition lasting until January 3rd.
Down in Coventry
Living now on the edge of both Teesside and the North York Moors, I travelled down to the Two-Tone Motor City by National Express down long stretches of arterial lanes and souless motorways passing through the wonderwell of York and the urban guerrilla of Birmingham where I was picked up and ushered to Cov by my young nephew in his smart new car, albeit with a heavy accent on the accelerator!
Coventry seemed surprised to see me after all these years and spread the rumour loft to loft 'Trev is back' but the cars and buses and lorries bustled on regardless. After spending the afternoon with my mother and sister in Chapelfields, I was driven by my nephew down to Priory Street where things were already happening.
Striding down the new Cathedral steps, trying to avoid eye contact with devil on the side wall, I saw a crowd entering
the Lanch Poly (now Coventry University) Student Union building. Priory Street has become the iconic street in Coventry having had three Cathedrals, one of which was bombed and it is near where the Lennons laid acorns for peace in 1969 and where the Lanch Poly SU held its arts festivals and put on some of the top undergraound in the 70's and early 80's from Soft Machine, Jack Bruce, Colosseum, Clash, Selecter, UB40 to name just a few. Priory Street is now where Pete Chambers does his BBC Coventry Pop into the Past programme with his Walk of Fame outside in Priory Place - with it's tributes to the Specials, Hazel O Connor and Pete Waterman etc. At the other end - the Herbert Museum and Art Gallery but more of that soon.
THE 8th TWO TONE PLAQUE
The gathering at the Student Union was to launch the 8th Coventry Two Tone plaque.This being the place where Roddy Radiation wrote Rat Race in the Student Union. Horace Panter, Pauline Black and Jerry Dammers all did their degrees there.
The fact that the plaque had already been up a year (I know because Pete Chambers photographed me below it a year ago) didn't matter - it was a good way to start the launch and attract a crowd and a flashing of journalists! Pete Chambers and Horace of the Specials addressed the crowd and answered questions. Afterwards it was camera and notebook madness with Pete and Horace most likely 'Braggin' and Trying not to lie!' as they say in the song!
Stories of Indian Summer
The crowd then moved up past the old Cathedral to the new Herbert Museum and Art Gallery for the launch. There was
quite a crowd of invited guests,many seemingly of the Two Tone generation but quite a mixture of ages really. I was hard put though to find anyone from the early 70's music scene. Bob Jackson, the former Indian Summer front man who over the years has played with John Entwhistle, Pete Brown, Badfinger and the Fortunes came up and spoke. He too had expected to see more familiar faces. Neol Davies of Selecter came up and shook our hands but wasn't able to stay as he was guesting at a Ska gig in Birmingham.
Neol had originally wanted to reform The Selecter for 30th Celebration and I suggested they might play at the Exhibition launch. Neol however was unable to get Selecter back together again but there was talk of a Two Tone jam or a solo performance from Neol, but Neol was off to Brum instead. Roger Lomas (Ex Sorrows and producer of the Selecter and also on the steering group, was touring the contient with The Ripps. Bob Jackson told me a story about how they had to push his Hammond Organ all the way from Grafton Street near Gosford Green to the Lanch poly for a gig owing to a lack of transport and also corrected a story I'd heard that when
the Nice played the Lanch poly. Rumour in the 70's had it that Keith Emerson borrowed Bob's Hammond albeit that Emerson was notorious for throwing knives into his Hammond as part of the act but that Emerson bought him a brand new one to replace it! Bob revealed that the story had gotten a little far fetched and Bob confirmed he turned Emerson down! Bob's Hammond was precious and there was no mention of any replacement - not that Bob - in his own addmission - was opposed to throwing knives in his own Hammond as part of the act at one stage but no way would he let anyone else do that -even Emerson!
I agreed to interview Bob for Hobo on the Indian Summer days and beyond. Bob was always good for some interesting news update stories in the 70's when I ran Hobo magazine I was amazed tofind Bob looks more or less the same as he did in the 70's - he still has the long hair and the colouring and so was easily recognisable!
The Launch
After much socialising and free drinks and Liquorace Allsorts - Pete and Horace opened the launch with a speech. Unfortunatley little of it was audiable in the new cathedral-like reception hall except for the words 'Two Tone' which seemed to resound in the rafters like a sacrad word! I commented to Martin Richards of the museum that Pete would probably love that - the rest of the words were presumably fillers and acknowlegements anyway and the crowd were anxious to see the Exhibition..
Without giving too much away (you really will have to go and see for yourself) the exhibition was rather smart with a mix of Gold discs, costumes, guitars, posters, recording desks and outline histories. Sure it's not going to please all of the Coventry musos - much that was mentioned in the planning wasn't evident but given the size of the gallery and the time scale and pressures, I think the team did a great job and although it focuses on the big names mainly, it presents a convincing picture of Coventry as an important musical centre. It will be what the fans from across the world will want to see. Sure there were names missing - I didn't see Dando Shaft for instance and it didn't portray the underground music scene out of which Two Tone emerged, but it was probably better for being simple; being a temporary exhibition and the first of its kind in Coventry. The Hobo Vox site (here) gives a lot of that background anyway although I didn't notice the urls to the Coventry music sites that I thought were going tobe displayed!
But it gets the thumbs up for all the hard work the team did to make it happen at all and hopefully this is just the start of documenting the rich musical history of the city.
The Concert
Meanwhile downstairs in the restaurant the stage was being prepared for the musical aspects of the night. Early plans for the launch had included The Selecter or a Two Tone Jam with Neol Davies at least, The Vampires - a Cov band from the 50's.
Once more Pete Chambers took to the stage but this time we could hear him loud and clear through the PA. We knew the Primitives were headlining but who was on first? I was delighted when Pete introduced a young Coventry singer songwriter called Kristy Gallacher. I'd communicated with her and had a copy of her CD but never got to see her live, living a long way from Cov. Kristy did a short but highly effective set. The sound system and lighting was superb and Kristy looked great in her stageoutfit. Kristy is a great example of the new talent coming out of the city, proving that the cities musical achievement is not all in the past - far from it - there's a thriving acoustic scene and although mixed, has a good representation of female singer songwriters (in the seventies - with a few exceptions like Beverly Martyn) music scene was largely male dominated (ok maybe some bands had the cursory 'chick singer') but the lads ruled!
Now some like Kristy and Janine are not only talented muscians and writers but run some of the top venues in the city
- a measure of how far women have come. Kristy led us through some of her best songs with confidence and skill and such good guitar accompaniment with touches of jazz funk, finger style and rock in the chording. Her songs tell an evocative and heartfelt story with great wit, ingenuity and rhythm. Speaking to her afterwards I realised what a lovely person she is and, in the best of the Cov Scene spirit, selfless enough to give much of her time to promoting other up coming artists (she runs at least two acoustic venues herself). Kristy ended the short set with an uptempo number and had the audience not been so close to the stage, I would have been both dancing and listening (but as those who have been to the Writers Cafe in Stockton know - I need space for my kind of dancing!).Kristy's Home page is http://www.kristygallacher.com/
Next on were the Primitives. I was excited to see the Primitives as they emerged after I left Cov.Produced by Paul Sampson -who used to play for us at the Hobo Workshop - Holyhead Youth Centre in the mid 70's with his jazz rock band - Trigon. Paul went on to be a leading member of the Two Tone band Reluctant Sterotypes with Paul King who later topped the charts
with his own band King. For those not in the know - the Primitives were a kind of Blondie style groups who had hits in the mid 80's - like Crash. Sadly it wasn't the original line up with the passing of Steve Dulla. Their performance is on You Tube for those interested. Very much a pop style band with plenty of dancable tunes and it was a treat to see them live despite the abscence of one of it's leading members.The Primitives underpin the diversity of music that has come out of Coventry over the decades, from rock n roll, progressive pop, metal, folk rock, ska and punk and much more. Here are some photos of the concert by Chris Johnson http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisjohnsonphotographics/sets/72157622380970547/
Inspire
On the advice of Kristy, I headed to Inspire for a glass of Vino before heading back to my sisters. Although I didn't recognise anyone I knew, it is apparently one of the places Coventry musos now go. Maybe the equivalent of the Dive bar in the 70's. Inspire is interesting for those not from Coventry. So called because Coventry's smallest spire of the three famous ones is just that - the church got blown away by the Luffwaffe. The pub is literally in the base of the spire with an outside lounge area and a powerful landlord who keeps order by thunderbolts!!! It often has live music or a DJ.
The flying visit was over - next morning bright and early back on the coach heading towards Leeds through blustery headwind and then out in to Middlesbrough and home!
Links from my Friends
Hey Up! What's the Crack? N...
Lively performance poem by Trev Teasdel with his raging g...
History (demo) By Lies (Joh...
Demo mix recorded January 2009. Created by Dean Lovell & ...
Recorded on a 4 track in Coventry's Rockhouse Rehearsal S...
