Photo by Bryan Ledgard
Baby Joshua & Our Move to Australia!
"Traitors, Fools & Heroes": Revolutionary Project
Celebrate-10! Festival, June 2006
Adventures Down Under: Australian Tour 2006
Mundy-Turner Support Fairport Convention 2004: Cath's Tour Diary
Roger Whittaker Sings Jay Turner
WELCOME TO JOSHUA
JACKSON MUNDY TURNER
Made
in Australia, produced in the UK! Cath & Jay were blessed with
the birth of a healthy, gorgeous little boy, Joshua Jackson Mundy TURNER
on Thursday 9 November 2006, 2.28pm. Born at Chesterfield Royal Hospital,
Derbyshire, England, Joshua weighed in at 7 pounds 2.5 ounces (3.24 lkgs),
and measured 52cm tall, with lovely long legs like his Dad and just the
right amount of beautiful dark brown hair, like his Mum!
Cath enjoyed a fabulous pregnancy and continued very successfully to tour & perform fulltime (in both Australia & the UK), and also recorded the new album Ha'Penny Tweedle. Cath went into labour on Wednesday night 8 November for a planned home delivery, under the excellent guidance of Community Midwife Sue Vardy. Despite very strong contractions and actively labouring for around 15 hours, problems with lack of dilation meant a transfer to hospital was necessary at 1:30pm the next day. A few complications occurred at the hospital, necessitating that Joshua was born by emergency caesarean. The medical team at Chesterfield Royal were really wonderful and both Mum and Baby (& Dad & Grandma!) received excellent care.
Joshua is in perfect health and Cath has been recovering happily & rapidly from her surgery.
The new parents are absolutely delighted and thrilled with Joshua's arrival in their lives and now can't imagine life without him!
Joshua, 1 hour old with Mum & Dad, day 2, hospital at home, getting in tune!
Any
messages of congratulations are welcome; please email to: cathjay@mundy-turner.com
OUR
MOVE TO AUSTRALIA & BABY JOSHUA UPDATE
Early
January 2007 saw us move with Joshua (then 8 weeks old) back to Australia
to be closer to Cath's family and also to build a new family home on the
block of land we bought near Brisbane in 2006. We loved living in
the UK, particularly in our little corner of North East Derbyshire, and
will miss everybody terribly! But it's equally delightful to be back
Down Under after 4 years based away. The new house is coming along
and should be finished before Joshua's first birthday in November - we
hope!
MUNDY-TURNER is now available for bookings at Australian festivals, acoustic music venues and house concerts, particularly in South-East Queensland.
MUNDY-TURNER's new postal address: PO BOX 574, Waterford, 4133, Queensland, Australia.
JOSHUA
UPDATE: Thank you to so many of you who sent such wonderful messages
of welcome and gifts for Joshua - it's been overwhemling. Joshua
is now over 6 months old & is growing like a sunflower - beautiful,
bright and strong. He has dark hazel eyes like his Mummy, long legs
like his Daddy, and an infectious laugh just his own. He loves going
to infant swimming lessons and spending a good deal of time with his little
first cousin Jayte (born 4 months earlier than him). He rolls, he
sits, he claps, he stands & bounces in our laps. Joshy laughs
often and charms everyone with his smile & outgoing personality.
He enjoys music, trees, bathtime, Daddy carrying him in his "parachute"
harness (see pic below on rainbow beach), and his Mummy's milk. Parenthood
is such a joy! We have been truly blessed with this lil fella.
NEW ALBUM: "HA'PENNY TWEEDLE"
Mundy-Turner
have been recording a new album and we're thrilled with the results.
Recording & mixing took place in August & September 2006 at Limbo
Creatives studio, Otley, Yorkshire, UK, engineered with flair by the
fab Radio Britfolk siteman
Phil Snell. To visit Phil's website:
http://limbocreatives.co.uk/philsnell/home.aspx
The
whole thing was mastered by Gareth Williams of Sound Recording
Technoloy in St Ives, Cambridgeshire.
WHAT
IS THIS HAPENNY TWEEDLE?
The
rather unusual album title is after our new song-&-tune set about a
fairground ride that Jay's Great-Grandpa John Turner built circa 1900 (pictured).
According to Turner family folk-lore, it was a fore-runner of today's swing
boats - John called it The Tweedle.
Living near Chesterfield, Derbyshire, UK, John was a coal-miner who was married to a local lass called Annie - they had 3 daughters and later 3 sons. In his spare time, he travelled his home-made attraction around the fairs of the region, charging a ha'penny a ride. Eventually he became so synonymous with his invention that folks called him Ha'Penny Tweedle.
NEW
DIRECTIONS
We're
hugely excited about the material on the album, which takes us in some
interesting new directions and has been going down a storm live.
Tracks include our original musical settings of the classic Australian
Banjo Paterson bush ballads Clancy of the Overflow and the outrageous
A
Bush Christening as well as a haunting setting of Henry Lawson's radical
poem Freedom's on the Wallaby.
The stark acappella arrangement of traditional anti-war song of c.1815, Mrs McGrath, aptly contrasts and links with Jay's new song Stealing My Democracy. The deeply moving We Can Fly to Heaven shows off Cath's voice at its silken and most pure, while her fine fiddle playing on a number of instrumentals has never before been so beautifully showcased; likewise Jay's unique open-tuned acoustic guitar work.
Guest
musicians joining us are Vicki Swan & Jonny Dyer, (Vicki on
double bass, wooden flute and small pipes; Jonny on accordion, piano &
guitar - see their site http://www.smallpiper.co.uk),
Phil
Snell on mandolin, and Hugh Whitaker on subtle drums/percussion.
We've never had so much fun nor laughed so hard in the studio than with
this mob! And they sound great too.
Release for "Ha'penny Tweedle" is late 2006.
See the Recordings & Reviews page for more info.
To
ORDER your copy click onto our Contact/Order page now.
"TRAITORS, FOOLS
AND HEROES": MUNDY-TURNER'S REVOLUTIONARY NEW PROJECT
Traitors,
Fools & Heroes is an intriguing project we have been researching
over the past couple of years, based on the events of the Pentrich Revolution,
Derbyshire 1817, reputedly England's Last Revolution. This will culminate
in a new album & live performance.
However the birth of Mundy-Turner's new baby & move to Australia has meant a postponement.
Meantime a sneak preview of the story & songs can be enjoyed on BBC Radio Derby. Producer Jan Rogers has made a documentary about the project with us, to be broadcast in May 2007 (see details below).
WHAT'S THE PENTRICH
REVOLUTION?
Reputedly
ENGLAND'S LAST REVOLUTION, the Pentrich Revolution took place in &
around the Derbyshire village of Pentrich in June 1817, close to Mundy-Turner
's UK base. It is the region from which Jay's paternal ancestry originates
going back at least 10 generations to 1629.
Three men were publicly hanged & beheaded for their involvement in the revolt, fourteen were transported to Australia and many more sentenced to imprisonment in Derby Gaol. It is likely that Jay's family is related to William & Edward Turner, two brothers who were sentenced to hanging (William) & transportation (Edward) for their involvement in the uprising!
BBC Radio Derby's broadcast of the TRAITORS, FOOLS & HEROES documentary coincides with the 190th anniversary of the events of the uprising (see below).
"TRAITORS FOOL & HEROES" RADIO DOCUMENTARY
BBC RADIO DERBY
- BROADCAST SUNDAY 28 MAY 2007
TAKE 2 PROGRAMME
SLOT, MIDDAY-12.45pm, UK
Cath
Mundy & Jay Turner lead listeners along the trail of Derbyshire's Pentrich
Revolutionaries of 190 years ago, England's Last Revolution. See
BBC What's
On Guide for programme details.
TUNE IN TO RADIO
DERBY 104.5FM, 95.3FM, 1116AM
or LISTEN
ONLINE
The
programme will also be available online to "LISTEN AGAIN" for 7 days after
the broadcast.
Click
on LISTEN AGAIN on the right hand side of the Radio Derby webpage http://www.bbc.co.uk/derby
BBC Radio Derby producer Jan Rogers has done a beautiful job of the 45 minute documentary called TRAITORS FOOLS & HEROES, which interviews Cath & Jay about their personal connection to the Derbyshire region as well as their research and discoveries about the Pentrich Revolution, interspersed with Mundy-Turner songs & instrumentals.
The doco will first be broadcast on the BBC Radio Derby network on the TAKE 2 programme slot, Sunday 27 May 2007 at midday. So tune in, log in and join MUNDY-TURNER on the Pentrich Trail.
CELEBRATE - 10!
A BEAUT WEEKEND FOR MORE PICS CLICK ON PHOTOS (left
menu)
What
a beaut way to celebrate Mundy-Turner's first 10 years of duo-dom.
Blessed by great weather, the Celebrate-10 Mini-Fest was held at
one of our favourite venues,
The Bluebell Inn, in Hempstead, near
Saffron Walden, north-west Essex, on the weekend of Fri 23 - Sat 24 June
2006.
This was the Bluebell's first music festival and was such a success that the pub plan to make it an annual event. Local support was strong and folk travelled from as far away as Aberdeenshire, Lancashire and Chichester!
Bluebell
owners Rod & Marion Stokes and their loyal team outdid themselves,
providing excellent traditional-style pub hospitality with a festive flavour.
A Real Ale Beer festival ran concurrently with the music. There was a lovely white marquee out the back for the evening events, great meals, lots of outdoor spaces to relax and soak up the country sun, a welcoming environment for campers.
Right
up the back next to the chicken, duck and goat pens was a second-hand
clothes & craft stall raising money for Mumbai orphans, plus face-painting
and hair-braiding by Ruth Stokes (pictured).
The
pub's sessioning folkies did an incredible job creating fabulous
atmosphere and playing all day till 3 each morning - what an effort.
Simon
Ritchie's Thaxted Country Dance Band put on a grand Friday night celilidh,
quite a family affair with Bobby Ritchie calling the dances, as well as
Simon and Bobbie's two young sons playing drums and piano in the band.
Amazing. I never see anything but smiles on everyone's faces at a
ceilidh.
While the dancers had a well-earned rest interval, entertainment was provided by talented duo Vicki Swan and Jonny Dyer and ourselves, each duo playing a small appetiser for the Saturday concert. As a quartet, we performed a debut version of Jay's beautiful "Naked" as a special request for long-time fan Clare Macrae and her partner Jannette who were there on the eve of getting married.
Saturday
kicked off bright and early with our Sing Yer Socks Off vocal harmony workshop
using the lovely acoustics of the Hempstead Village Hall, attended by singers
ranging in age from 11 to 60-something. Loved the extended improvisations
this group achieved. They also were the first to try a brand new
choral arrangement for our new song "Unfinished Business" - sounded awesome.
At
lunchtime Jonny Dyer guided acoustic guitarists through the magic of working
in the DADGAD tuning, then we played an informal acoustic concert in the
Hall, enjoying the opportunity to revisit repertoire from our early years
and play songs requested by fans in advance. Late afternoon saw Vicki
& Jonny's Meet the Artist session also in the Hall.
Sat
night: A hugely enthusiastic crowd, still enjoying the last of the evening
sunshine, welcomed Vicki & Jonny to the marquee stage. The duo
treated us to a stunning opening set of gorgeous self-penned tunes and
traditional ballads, with Vicki on Scottish small pipes, flutes and vocals
and Jonny on vocals, accordion and guitar.
We
then took to the stage to play 2 sets of mostly new material (including
a few world-premieres) and were joined in the first set by The Sing Yer
Socks Off choir on "Unfinished Business" - went down a storm! The
biggest delight was the final Band set where our usual duo set-up
was augmented by Vicki playing her sexy black electric double bass, Jonny
on accordion, guitar or piano (sometimes he wasn't sure which!), plus Phil
Snell (all the way from Otley in Yorkshire) on mandolin.
With
only three rehearsals with Vicki & Jonny to put a whole live set together,
and one session with Phil for his three numbers, the Mundy-Turner Band
sounded pretty damn fabulous for a first time outing! Thanks to
these three for making it so much fun, on stage and off. We'll
definitely be working with their gorgeous extra instrumentation on the
new album and hope that more live shows together will ensue too.
For
more pics of the weekend, click on Photos (left menu).
Huge
thanks to:
THE
BLUEBELL INN: ROD & MARION and all their team - visit The Bluebell
Inn http://www.thebluebellinn.co.uk
VICKI
SWAN & JONNY DYER - visit their website http://www.smallpiper.co.uk
THAXTED
COUNTRY DANCE BAND
PHIL
SNELL
SESSIONING
MUSOS AT THE BLUEBELL
HEMPSTEAD
VILLAGE
JANICE
ENGLISH for help with publicity and the idea to put on our own day of music
MOST
ESPECIALLY TO ALL THE AUDIENCE MEMBERS AND WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS WHO CAME
AND ENJOYED
Thanks
also to BBC RADIO SUFFOLK (Stephen Foster's Drivetime) AND BBC RADIO ESSEX
(Ray Clarke's Drivetime) for interviews and playing our music in support
of the event.
ADVENTURES
DOWN UNDER: AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2006
Cath
Mundy and Jay Turner returned in May to their Derbyshire base from a 3-month
trip back home to their beloved Australia, which included an 8-week tour
of music festivals and venues. On the tour, the duo drove 5000 miles,
took a detour by plane to visit Uluru (Ayers Rock), and enjoyed a generally
great time! Excerpts from Cathís tour diary reveal the shape &
size of Mundy-Turnerís adventures Down Under.
Sat
4 Feb 2006
Arrived
in my home-town, Brisbane, yesterday evening, via Singapore. It's
hot, sultry summer, quite a contrast to freezing England. After a
24-hour flight delay at Manchester airport, we feel like it's taken the
whole week to get here! Greeted at airport with lots of hugs by my
family. Back at Mum's, we crash out and sleep for 15 hours straight.
Next day the heat hits us - I canít stand to wear anything but my swimming
togs around the house. For the next 3 weeks here, weíll be doing
fun things, including visiting as many friends as time and energy allows.
Oh, and preparing for the tour and writing some new songs. Great
to be back, smelling the eucalypts, under this big blue sky.
Tues
28 Feb
Tour
begins! Picked up the hire car yesterday, packed it full of instruments
and stuff (Jay has bought a mandolin to add to the load). Left this
morning to drive south into New South Wales. Drove pretty-well non-stop
for 8 hours today down the Pacific Highway.
Wed
1 March
Another
5 hours drive and we reached our destination, Coomba Bay, a small
village on the Great Lakes behind the coastal strip of Tuncurry-Forster.
Staying with workshop and concert organisers Brian & Jenny Cotterill,
UK fans who emigrated to Australia to retire to this 55-acre bush property.
They've built the most amazing double-storey house out of sandstone with
eucalyptus floors, big verandas and great views over Lake Wallis.
Thurs
2 March
Early
start for our Sing Yer Socks Off vocal harmony workshop in the Coomba
Park Community Hall. Folks from ages 9-90 sang beautifully for 3
hours. Many travelled an hour by car to get here. Such enthusiasm.
Sat
3 March
Tonight
was our second house concert at the Cotterill's, helping raise funds
towards community projects. The gig last year was a huge success
with 60-odd people, and this one was even bigger with an 80-strong turn
out. Both sets went down superbly; these people know how to enjoy
live music. Debuted a brand new song "The Story of the Ha'Penny Tweedle",
the arrangement of which was so new, the wet paint signs were still on
it!
Sun
4 March
Up
early this morning to head south from Coomba to Engadine, Sydney for
another house concert - a 5-hour drive. The concert was organised
by Margaret Bradford of the Sutherland Folk Club. A delightfully
a relaxed affair, in the heat of a sunny afternoon. People
had travelled down from the Blue Mountains to see us. Afterwards
we got to know our hosts and played a bit more music informally.
Margaret is a folkie from way back and plays beautiful psaltery.
Thurs
9 March
Mon
and Tues we drove from Sydney to Melbourne, staying in the Snowy Mountains
en route. Now just north of Mebourne on a farm with relatives Ray
& Joan Mundy, folkies themselves. They love to session and know
heaps of tunes! It's been a non-stop session/party here every night.
Pictured are Ray & Joan Mundy, with us and my Mum Barbara at the National
Folk Festival later in the trip. Good times.
Fri
10 March
From
Melbourne, drove 5 hours to the picturesque, ex-whaling town of Port Fairy,
west of Melbourne. Port Fairy Folk Festival is one of Australiaís
largest, selling out 20,000 tickets every year (http://www.portfairyfolkfestival.com).
Itís also where Jay & I first met, 11 years ago, performing in our
separate guises. The festival has been running 30 years and is celebrating
with the publication of a glossy book Thirty Years On. My
article about meeting Jay there in 1995, Life is a Folk Fest, has
been included in the book. I am chuffed with that!
Mon
13 March
This
was our fave Port Fairy ever. The music was superb, also our accommodation,
the stage-sound, the on-site transport and the audience response.
All very professionally run. Met and heard wonderful performances
from Colin Hay (of Men at Work fame), David Francey from Canada, Bernard
Carney and the Pigram Brothers from West Australia and Jez Lowe & the
Bad Pennies. A highlight for us was taking part in the Pipes of
Peace concert, round-robin style, with an array of top-notch singers,
songwriters and storytellers, including stalwarts Jan Wositzky (co-founder
of The Bushwhackers), Judy Small and Margret Roadknight. A
very heartfelt, powerful concert that really reminded us of the power of
music to make a difference, to articulate humanity's greatest hopes, to
galvanise us to keep faith and stay vigilant in the struggle for peace.
Tues
14 March
Back
in Melbourne. Receiving some really nice fan emails from the weekendís
festival appearances. Had a doctorís appointment this morning to
confirm that I am nearly 7 weeks PREGNANT! AAAAAAHHHHHH! We
have wanted to have a child for years, but only decided to take the plunge
late last year. It didnít take long to happen! Baby Made in
Australia too. We're thrilled. We're stunned. We're pretty
overwhelmed actually.
Sun
19 Mar
Melbourne
is in the throws of Commonwealth Games fever. Weather: warm and lovely.
Played a series of dates this week, including a live to air radio session
on 3MDR Community Radio in Emerald, up the misty damp Dandenong
Mountains east of Melbourne. Also played Berwick Folk Club
in Melbís far-east, a Dinner-&-Show at the Cockatoo Café
in Dunolly 3 hours' north-west of Melbourne in the historic gold-fields,
and a magical house concert at Kangaroo Ridge, Hurstbridge just
north of Melb, organised by Sam & Jen Ginsberg (thanks for a magic
time Sam & Jen and Phil & Anna at the Cockatoo). Busy weekend,
lots of driving (well whatís new?). Great to meet so many folks who
weíd not seen for some years, plus make a number of new fans.
21-24
March
Time
for a mini-holiday! Flew to Uluru also known as Ayers Rock for a
few days exploration of both Uluru and Kata-Tjuta (the Olgas) in
the famous Red Centre. Itís only 2.5 hours flight from Melbourne,
but the dreaded morning sickness caught up with me during the flight.
Neither of us had been to Uluru, so we relished the chance to immerse ourselves all too briefly in the fascinating culture of the local Anangu people, and the unsurpassed and unique natural beauty of the worldís largest monolith and nearby Olgas. Could sense the deeply spiritual nature of this National Park.
We did not climb the Rock, out of respect for the wishes of the Anangu.
Fri
31 March
Two
nice gigs this week. Ballarat Folk Club was just like a British
folk club, in the upstairs room of a pub called Irish Murphys. Enjoyed
the handsome heritage buildings from the 1850s gold-rush boom that still
line the broad streets of Ballarat. Treated to fine hospitality by
Norm & Alice Christie.
Visited children's folk entertainer & multi-instrumentalist Mike Jackson. He's at the forefront of the ukelele revival in Oz, and sold us two very cute Mahalo ukeleles, one in white, the other blue. Jay & I are now mucking around with lots of fun folk tunes from Mikeís excellent book, Ukeín play the Uklelele.
Tonight we played at the Brunswick Mechanics Institute in Melbourne, as part of the 11-day Brunswick Music Festival (http://www.brunswickmusicfestival.com.au). Our gig was sponsored by Folk Victoria, and support was from a lovely young singer-songwriter Chloe Hall. Great crowd, lovely intimate theatre venue - really enjoyed it.
Sun
9 April
More
nice fan emails! Left Melb a few days ago on our journey back north.
Last Victorian gig was in Melbourne's east at the Ringwood Room,
an unplugged affair, organised by longtime supporter and ex-manager of
our mailing list Sue McKoy and her fab family. We debuted one of
Jayís newest songs 'Stealing My Democracy'. He has strong feelings
about the erosion of human rights and civil rights in the wake of the so-called
War on Terror. Once again heís made his point so clearly & poignantly,
wrapped in a gorgeous melody with a singalongable chorus. Jay strikes
again!
Last night we played what has to be the best gig of the tour so far, organised by singer, Kim Fox. In The Cellar under The Shamrock Hotel in Echuca, and were supported by local choir Bella Acappella and trio Serendipity Sisters, pictured above. Such an overwhelmingly responsive crowd. They were well primed for everything we had to offer, singing lustily to every chorus and cheering loudly for every song. Our kind of room!
Echuca itself is a beautiful country town, situated on the Murray River, and was a major inland port in the 1800s. Paddle-steamers brought timber and wool down the river to be transported by train to Melbourne. Today the fair-dinkum old paddle-steamers are still there, but carry only tourists.
11-13
April
Arrived
in Canberra, our nation's capital, a few days ahead of the National
Folk Festival so I could study at the 3-day pre-festival Masterclass
series. There were several classes to choose from, including
Scottish or Irish Fiddle, Guitar Accompaniment, and Vocal Technique.
I chose Irish Fiddle. My tutor was Gerry OíConnor, from Dundalk in
Ireland, a master fiddler of his style. Learnt various techniques
and some lovely barn-dances, single jigs, and highland schottiches.
Afternoon sessions were different - Australian Tunes or Australian Songs.
After a day of fiddle tunes, we opted for the songs and learned some fabulous
traditional and contemporary Aussie songs from duo Chloe & Jason Hall.
Staying
with Jay's cousin Andrew's lovely wife, Kathy and daughters Felicity and
Susie (fom left: Kathy, Susie, Cath, Fliss, & Jay). We have flown
my darling mum Barbara down from Brissy for the festival - her present
for having us in her home during February. Having a grand family
time in between all the musical activities.
13-17
April
Next
stop: the 5-day National Folk Festival, Canberra, now celebrating
its 40th year (http://www.folkfestival.asn.au). Sunshiny days, bright
autumn colours on all the imported European trees. But freezing
temperatures at night. Glad we brought our thermals!
Every year the NFF features a different state; this year was Queensland's turn. Special focus was also brought to Australia's Italian immigrant community with a number of acts reflecting this theme. A puppetry troupe from Sicily were on the bill, Teatro dei Pupi Siciliani. Saw a number of artists from the UK including Colum Sands, Dick Gaughan, George Papavgeris, and Chris While & Julie Matthews.
Other
highlights: indigenous band from Arnhem Land Narbelek, Sydney trio Jigzag,
Seaman Dan from the Torres Strait Islands, Irish band Tulca Mor from Bris,
singer-songwriter Pat Drummond, female acappella from Melbourneís Akasa,
and gypsy-jazz-flamenco group SARS. Enjoyed the daily Poets Breakfasts.
Jay benefited from attending the morning sessions for beginners playing
his new mandolin. These sessions take learners through tunes at a
slower pace and even have charts projected on the wall to help out.
Loads of participative workshops in music, song and dance, including daily events like the children's festival, the Festival Choir (500 strong!), and the National Bush Band. In the Dance Pavilion were constant colourful dance displays from a vast array of countries and cultures. The Queen competition was a huge hit and no, nothing to do with British royalty! Festival artists were asked to enter their folked-up versions of a Queen song, resulting in some highly dynamic and comedic presentations, often involving Freddy Mercury-style moustashes. Especially liked Jigzag's bluegrassy take on Queen.
The National Library, as always, were recording festival concerts in the huge Budawang venue for archival purposes, filmed by students from Canberra Institute of Technology. Multi-camera footage of each performance was being projected live onto a screen beside the stage. This is the only folk festival Iíve been to where youíre up on the big screen while playing! We managed to buy the footage of both our performances. Hope to use it on our website soon.
With such cultural and artistic diversity, and impressive scope for participation, these Aussie folk fests are an exciting place to be.
21-23
April
St
Albans Folk Festival is a much smaller event up in the hills north-west
of Sydney by about 2.5 hours drive; a peaceful bush retreat (http://www.snalbans.iwarp.com.au).
Had a marvellous time running our popular Vocal Harmony workshop there.
The workshop went so well that participants performed at the Sunday morning
folk church service in the lovely little chapel, with great acoustics.
The singing of some wonderful old folk-hymns was so spirited, it was the
best church service we've been to in years. Played a couple of evening
concerts in an outdoor tent venue. Pictured is Jay jamming old time
songs on mandolin with Bridget & Ken of the Sommer's Family band, a
very talented family to whom we really enjoyed listening at their St Albans
gigs.
Again the autumn days were beaut and sunny, but the nights were freezing. We were camping in a cold barn (no heating!) so Jay & I went to bed every night fully dressed, even wearing woolly hats.
24
April
Exhausted!!!!
Left St Albans yesterday and drove for 7 hours north up the New England
highway, stayed oínight in a motel, then today a 4-hour drive up to Brisbane.
Back in the Queensland warmth. In 2 months we completed a 5000-mile
round trip by car, traversed several climates, two seasons and played a
load of concerts. Heavens, weíve got a baby on the way too.
What more could we achieve?
1
May
Final
gig of the tour was last night at The Drum in Brisbane. What a high!
Folks from all around the region turned out. One couple John &
Karen White travelled 2 hours by plane from Port Douglas to be there.
The crowd was wonderful. A really fab performance.
2 May
Sigh!
Here we are at Brisbane airport, pictured with my Dad, our plane shown
below. It's sad to leave today, having to say goodbye to Mum, Dad, my sister
Margie (especially since her first baby is due end of June) and all our
friends. Though of course weíll be pleased to see our lovely friends
and family in the UK, and be home in our happy Crooked House in Derbyshire.
It's a strange and wonderful thing, living in parallel universes, and such
a privilege to have our music take us around the world.
~ Cath
Mundy, May 2006
MUNDY-TURNER'S BONZER AUSSIE CHRISTMAS
THE
LIVE SHOW: UK Tour December 2006
Dive
into a seasonal show with a difference! Deck yer surfboard with boughs
of wattle, Don yer best Aussie cossie & Slap on sunscreen for a Dash
of the festive season from Down-under!
With music, stories and song, Cath Mundy (vocals, piano, violin) & Jay Turner (vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica) are inviting British audiences to join them to celebrate the season in true-blue Aussie style.
Cath says, ìThe audience is encouraged to come in Aussie Christmas costume, under their coats and jumpers. You know, silly sunhats, garish shirts or shorts, flip-flops, sunscreen, tinsel. Or come as your favourite Aussie. But please just don't mention the Ashes."
The
ëbest dressedí audience member at each gig will win a copy of the new album
. Don't miss one of these rare live shows. See Gigs page for
tour dates.
ìIf you thought winter was cold and gloomy, this will change your mind. MUNDY-TURNER bring sun and warmth to the festive season, together with their usual musical excellence. This is a show not to be missed.î Belper Folk Club, Derbyshire
THE
ALBUM
We
are thrilled to announce the release of the album, MUNDY-TURNER'S BONZER
AUSSIE CHRISTMAS, our first seasonally-themed collection. The success
of 2003ís Bonzer Aussie Christmas pilot tour prompted us to get into the
studio to record all the new material weíd developed for the live show.
So we returned to the scene of our last album 'Crooked House' to work with
engineer
Brian Bedford at his Parkhead Studio near Huddersfield
and the results are totally... well... bonzer!
We are joined by some top guest musos, including Gerry Conway (Fairport Convention, Jacqui McShee's Pentangle), Fred Baker (ex of his trio with Ric Sanders and Vicki Clayton), Marsden's unityvoices, and Felicia Dale (of Seattle-based duo Pint & Dale).
The unorthodox Antipodean approach to the Christmas theme is guaranteed surprise and delight. For more info on the album, click over to the Recordings and Reviews page on the site and to order your copy click on Contact/Order Page.
M-T
SUPPORT FAIRPORT, Jan 29-Feb 29, 2004
MUNDY-TURNER's
tour as support act to legenary folk-rock band FAIRPORT CONVENTION was
a huge success! The duo played major venues around the UK for 30
dates in 32 days (see tour details on the 'gigs' page). Audience
response was glowingly enthusiastic everywhere they appeared and many new
fans signed onto the mailing list and bought M-T albums.
Here
Follows Cath's Tour Diary...
FAIRPORT
CONVENTION WINTER TOUR 2004
with
pics mostly by Cath & Jay and some by Ian Burgess of Friends of Fairport
(Thanks, Ian!)
Thurs
29 Jan
Roses
Theatre, Tewkesbury
The
first day of the tour! Finally after all these months of anticipation the
day has arrived. I am nervous! But very excited too.
Iíve never been on a tour like this before. Jay did it back in 1991,
so heís not feeling quite the same way as I am. It will be different
to the last tour for him. For a start heís not on his own, and we
are not travelling on the crew bus as he did back then. Weíve got
our own transport and are taking care of our own
accommodation, staying with friends all around the country.
The drive to Worcestershire was blessed with gorgeous sunshine and brittle temperatures ? 4 degrees celcius. After the snow-blizzards of yesterday, the countryside looked radiant in white. I love the snow!! But we have to be careful ? there are icy patches on the roads and paths.
First,
to our friends Mike & Sheilaís in nearby Hanley Swan to settle in and
spend some time (itís great to see them), thence to Tewkesbury. We
arrive at the back end of The Roses Theatre, not sure of whether we are
in the right place. Next to a fairly huge truck is a fairly huge
bloke complete with fairly huge beard. Heís friendly though and smiles
when we ask if weíre in the right place. We explain that we are the
support act. He says, "Youíll need to park here. Iíll just
move the bandís bus forward a bit so you can squeeze in behind."
He 
introduces himself as Buff, (pronounced with his Geordie accent as "Boof")
which stands for something quite rude apparently. He is the man who
drives the truck carrying the sound rig and all the instruments and he
is just lovely. Off to a good start!
Simon Nicol greets us next. He asks if Iíve managed to stay on my feet today. It seems that he took a tumble on the ice that morning, landing on one hip. Luckily, no breaks, heís just a bit sore! We find our dressing room, conveniently marked with our name by the Tour Manager Rob Bravinor. Itís good to see everyone ? the rest of the band (Dave Pegg, Ric Sanders, Chris Leslie, and Gerry Conway), and the crew - Geoff Curtis the monitor engineer, and John Gale the guitar roadie, and of course Brav. Theyíre all lovely folks.
Ric
shows me the way to Front of House and he takes me up two flights of stairs,
through the bar then down two more flights of stairs. I later discover
a much more direct route which cuts out all the stairs and takes you straight
to the foyer - Simon says that Ric has an interesting sense of direction.
Well heís very kind to have shown me at all! Itís good to see Christine
Pegg there. She is the Powerhouse behind Woodworm Records and Cropredy
Festival, and is supervising the first night of merch-ing by new team Gareth
and Frances, two more lovely people. I can tell this is gonna be
a good tour.
Sound check next. Geoff on monitors is great ? nothing is a problem, all you do is ask for whatever you need. Rob controls the out-front sound, which is gorgeous and sparkly. Itís a nice theatre and the rig sounds fantastic in there. Weíre going to enjoy playing through this system every night.
Simon helps to calm my nerves by saying that we know our stuff and weíll have no problems going out there and doing it wonderfully. Chris Leslie helps even more by reassuring us that the audience will love our set. He says heís a fan! Well that makes us the Mutual Admiration Society here then!
Ric opens the show with a very flattering introduction harking back to
the time in the previous century, 13 years ago, when ëfresh-faced young
singer-songwriter Jay Turnerí toured with Fairport and enchanted everyone
with his song "My Grandfatherís Eyes". Our set goes very well, no
technical disasters! Do need to ask Geoff to adjust the balances
between our instruments and voices on the monitors a bit ? everything is
going to be settling in during these first few gigs. Iím struck however
with how clearly I can hear my voice. I guess Iíve been used to working
through less clear systems than this. Itís FANTASTIC. Iím wearing
a pair of tall stack-heeled boots bought especially for the tour ? very
stylish, but hell, Iím not used to heels and itís gonna take me time to
get used to performing in them. I feel VERY tall!
Went out front to listen to Fairportís set. Wow ? they sound exquisite. Love the arrangements. Appreciate anew their incredible instrumental talents. Quite a few new numbers too. And they are very funny ? a delightful show. Went on to join the band for their traditional encore "Meet on the Ledge" by Richard Thompson, with me on piano, Jay on guitar, and seeing as weíd only just learned the chords and arrangement, thought it went very well. The audience seemed quiet tonight and were not buying anything much during interval, much to the Merch crewís dismay. Apparently even the bar complained of only selling one tray of drinks! Hopefully this is not the trend for the tour.
Fri
30 Jan
Roses
Theatre, Tewkesbury
We
discovered that British comedian Eric Morecombe did his last performance
in this theatre and died on the floor in OUR dressing room. Ooooohhhhh,
thatís spooky.
A few changes tonight. Peggy & Geoff say bringing the piano on for the encore is too messy so theyíd like us to join them on another number instead, namely their hit song from 1968 "Si Tu Dois Patir" by Bob Dylan. Itís all in French! I canít speak French, let along sing it! We have one run-through, Jay playing guitar and me on cow-bell (more portable than the piano) and trying to keep up with the words of the chorus. Eeek.
Second night audience are a lot more lively, much louder and happier. It was a sell-out. They bought lots of drinks and cds and t-shirts and stuff and wanted us to sign things! Really fantastic! I can do this!
"Si Tu" was a bit rough whilst we learn the words and the shape of the arrangement, but itís new for Fairport too, so at least weíre all in it together. Strangely, theyíve never played their hit. The only current band-member who was in the band at the time of the hit was Simon and he didnít sing back then!
We thought
Peggy meant us to do "Si Tu" instead of "Meet on the Ledge", so we got
changed into our black civvies to load out, and were standing at the side-stage
watching the encore. Peggy started moving his head indicating that he wanted
us to go on and sing along, but by the time we worked out what his head-movements
meant, weíd missed the first chorus. So we tried to sneak on stage
right in time for the second chorus, whilst everyone was looking at Chris
Leslie doing his mandolin solo stage left. Sneaking on didnít work!
The audience very enthusiastically burst into applause at our entrance,
which was so nice of them, but we didnít mean to disrupt Chrisí solo.
It was wonderful singing along, adding our harmonies to the chorus, and
Iím glad we still are involved in the encore. Thanks Peggy!
Sat
31 Jan
Forum
28, Barrow in Furness, Cumbria
Never
been here before and on such a wet day it felt as though we were driving
into the fjord-lands of New Zealand. Roads and fields were flooding.
But itís so beautiful. I love the adventure of going to new places.
Stop in Ulverston to meet our hosts Jack and Vicky, who are fascinating
people and great fun. Vicky is descended from Welsh gypsies.
She showed us photos of her mum and grandmother, both beautiful women.
Her grandmother was a traditional Gypsy fortune-teller. Jack re-constructs
the skeletons of dead animals (usually birds) into striking sculptures.
There is a big skeleton of a turkey looking in the kitchen window, and
the many tiny bones of birdsí feet sorted into specific groups on his desk.
He also sews wedding dresses. Amazing folks.
On to Barrow to the theatre, with our hosts leading the way. Forum
28ís claim to notoriety is that the venue was the site of the outbreak
of Legionnaires disease a couple of yearís back, which killed a number
of people. They are going through a court case at the moment, I think.
It seems a very nice place all the same.
Another fabulous audience, pretty well sold out. They really went crazy for the whole show. Fairport got a standing ovation - wonderful to see. People really liked our set and our songs ? so much positive feedback from audience members at interval and after the show too. "Markham Main" is really making an impact, quite fittingly during the 20th anniversary year of the Minerís Strike. All the enthusiasm for our set bodes well for our return visit to play our own show at the Ulverston Sports and Social Club in May.
Sun
1 Feb
Newcastle
Opera House
A big
cavernous chilly place, but so beautiful. Built in the mid-1800s,
itís classically styled and awesome with multi-levels of towering balconies.
Never been to Newcastle before and itís a handsome looking city, very impressive.
And Iíve never played in an "opera house" before. Felt really cold
on stage with the draught that swept through, and found it difficult to
relax during the set, but it went well, judging from the cd sales and the
amount of people coming up to us with such great comments, and smiles on
their faces. They really are loving what we do, and weíre so happy
for that! The chance to bring joy and emotion to peopleís lives through
music and storytelling is the whole reason I became a performer.
Playing to such lovely crowds in these theatres every night really "feels
like home to me" (to quote a Linda Ronstadt song).
Great to see Bob Fox and his wife Marilyn here tonight. He has been nominated for Best Folk Singer of the year by ëBBC Folk on Two Awardsí, to be announced in a weekís time. His version of Chris Leslieís evocative song "My Love Is In America" has also been nominated for Original Song of the Year. We hope he and Chrisís song get the gong, although being nominated is honour enough! Also nice to see long-term fans, the mostly female Wisker family and their friend 17-year old Mikayla from Birmingham, all squealing with excitement at the fact that two of their fave acts were on in the same bill. We signed a lot of posters!
Stayed overnight with friends on the nearby coast, virtuoso fiddler Stewart Hardy and his lovely German wife Tine. She is a physiotherapist. They are both hilarious. This tour is turning into a great way to catch up with friends. We stayed up later than we meant to yet again, talking, laughing and feasting on very nourishing vegetable soup! All good for the soul.
Mon
2 Feb
City
Varieties Music Hall, Leeds
Itís
the Muppet Show and tonight Kermitís special guests are Mundy-Turner and
Fairport Convention!! Yaaaaaaaay!! What a cool place, and such
a cute little stage. Somehow we managed to fit the piano on there, thanks
to Geoff setting up his mixing desk back a way. The music hall TV
series "The Good Old Days" was filmed here. I do remember it very
vaguely from my childhood - they showed a lot of British TV in Australia.
The auditorium and stage really do remind me of the Muppets theatre.
I could just imagine those two old geezers heckling from the boxes.
Built in 1860ís, itís of similar vintage to last nightís Opera House but
possesses a very different energy. More grungy and "theatrical".
An absolutely packed out, sold out, standing room only show. Very
sweaty, and a great deal of fun.
Apparently the City Varieties is being threatened with closure as it doesnít conform to present-day safety and disabled access standards. They are asking people to write to the council in protest. Itís part of Leeds heritage. Surely the council should be investing in it, to help revamp it to modern-day standards, not pulling it down. So here's my bit - KEEP THE CITY VARIETIES ALIVE!
Staying two nights with very good Yorkshire friends Bill and Judy now. Tíwill be great to spend two nights in one bed and to spend some MORE time with friends. Hotel rooms are cool, but the chance to see people and enjoy home-hospitality whilst on the road is quite a blessing.
Tues
3 Feb
Burnley
Mechanics, Lancashire
Bloody
great show here, and what a marvellous venue too. We came out on
stage and asked the audience how they were. "All the better for seeing
you!" came the shouted reply, and we looked down to see a whole table of
some of our most loyal fans right in front ? Tim and Denise and The Birtwhistles.
Felt wonderful. They are also big Fairport fans so they were enjoying
the night immensely. CD sales went exceptionally well here, the best
night of the tour so far, so itís all feeling rather fantastic. "Get
There From Here" with the band went off, and we are getting the hang of
"Si Tu" now. I drove Jay mad practising it in the car all the way
up to Barrow last Friday.
The
band and Rob are enjoying rather sumptuous lunches on this tour.
Every evening at
sound-check they have a story of yet another fantastic gastronomic experience,
today at Kashmirís in Bradford, one of the best curry houses in the country.
After all the years of doing the Winter Tour, they have sussed out the
places to go and plan their journeys accordingly. We on the other
hand, have no idea where all these marvellous places are, and dined at
Little Chef this afternoon! Hahaha.
The
Birtwistles wrote to us:
"Hi
- Loved Burnley's show, and you have to get a version of Get There From
Here down on tape sometime during the tour. Get it out as a single,
or on your new CD as a bonus track, truly awesome. Philip, Celia
and Ruth "
Wed
4 Feb
Southport
Arts Centre, Lancashire
Rainy day, roads flooding. A very damp ride down from the Moors of
Yorkshire to the coast. What a gorgeous Victorian seaside town Southport
is. Wish we had more time to look around, but as usual we arrive
in time to go straight into the venue. Jay went out to a cd shop
before the sound-check to buy a copy of Roger Whittakerís new compilation
album. Itís got Jayís song "Feather on the Wind" on it as a bonus
track, and we had a quick listen through the FOH system, courtesy of Rob.
Sounds good. "FeatherÖ" and another of Jayís will be coming out on
the new RW album later in the year. . Well done Jay ? I hope he gets
lots of royalties!
The theatre here is rather marvellous, the sound is splendid and we played a good set. Sold lots of cds and heaps of people came up to give us their thanks and compliments on our performance. It feels wonderful being on this tour, playing in great venues to such responsive audiences who appreciate original music, and supporting such an excellent band of people and musicians. I reckon we could do his forever.
Starting
to get some fan email - wow!
"Saw
you at Southport last wednesday. Really enjoyed your set. Paul"
"What a fantastic discovery! I had never heard of you before - but saw you last night with Fairport Convention in Southport - you are absolutely fantastic! I am totally hooked! Just been looking to see where else you are playing this year so i can see you again - luckily there are a few possibilities! Meanwhile, i am just going to have to buy some more of your cds as it seems i cant get enough of you! Wow! What a find! Just read your profiles also and it seems you have been around for some time - so where have i been? Must have been going around with eyes and ears closed! I shall gush no more... Thank you for last night - i enjoyed you just as much as Fairport, if not more so because you were such an unexpected find. Now - how many cds is it i have to buy?.....Many thanks, Jean."
Thurs
5 Feb
Assembly
Rooms, Derby
Ouch,
this was a hard night. Itís the first night with the Dylan Project, and
therefore our set was cut to 20 minutes. We thought, "Right!
Cut 2 songs from a 6-song 30 minute set and we should be apples."
Nup! It turns out we still managed to overrun by 5 minutes, but not
intentionally of course. This combined with not starting on time
because the theatre didnít give clearance at 7.30, time was tight for the
rest of the show. This is a lesson in being much more attentive to
timings and making sure we understand the whole picture when a show is
different in any way.
A funny thing happened with Little Johnny Gale on stage tonight.
He took my piano off stage after "William Jolly" and I'd left my fiddle
bow on top of it. I came to do "Separation Street" and I had no bow!
Somehow I managed to get the message across to John and he came on stage
to hand-deliver the bow much to the audience's delight. He's fab.
Tonight, despite the difficulties, I am struck with the incredible kindness we have received from everyone on this tour. The crew (John, Buff & Geoff, pictured left to right) are just so great. Rob the Tour Manager is also great. Every member of the band is so sensitive and supportive and lovely. They are all working under stressful conditions and have to get out there each day and do their utmost best. Itís awesome to watch and to be a part of it. I feel a huge sense of gratitude to Fairport and their TeamÖand a lot of love too. Awwww. Warm fizzies, oops fuzzies.
Fri
6 Feb
Assembly
Hall, Tunbridge Wells
Lovely
room, great sound, fab audience ? who could ask for anything more?
Went down a storm!
Great
show tonight from all players. Everything was feeling a lot calmer
after the tumult of last night. The crew and band members came up before
the show to check we were well. They are such caring people.
Everyone on the Fairport bus is a family, and such a loving one.
Feel very blessed by that. Thank you guys. Youíre true heroes.
Steve
& Terri ? great friends and Fairport-supporters from the very early
days ? came as our
guests tonight. Steve gave us good feedback about how well the set is working.
Said it was perfectly balanced and exactly what he would suggest we play.
But Rob timed us and it looks like even with the chat culled right down
to the bare minimum it is still the same 5 minutes over. Damn!
We didnít realise that. The only thing to do is to cut another song,
and that way we can relax with the audience, still do some of the story
telling, and not over run.
The Fairports gave the most hilarious extra encore tonight, before "Meet on the Ledge". Simon came on and sat at the drums and started playing the solo from "Wipe Out", so Gerry grabbed his guitar and was doing all the rock and roll moves with it, although he could only play one note. Most funny was that he hadnít turned the tuner off, so no sound was coming through at all, until John ran out and switched it through. The audience loved it, and we all fell about. I had no idea Simon could play drums so well.
More
Fan Emails: "Hi Saw you live in Tunbridge Wells last Friday
- thought you were excellent! Please help - I'd like to buy a copy
of Crooked House (should have got it on the night, I know) - does your
on-line order facility ship to the UK or is there a better way of purchasing
your CDs within the UK? Thanks for your help - look forward to seeing
you again some day.
Regards
- Chris"
"Cath/Jay
Just a quick note so say how much I enjoyed your gig with Fairport in Tunbridge
Wells the other night (my 11 year old daughter enjoyed you more than Fairport,
who she has seen before). I purchased ëCrooked Houseí and have managed
to find space to review it in #78, which I am currently completing. It
will also contain a live review (if I get my finger out) and I will send
you a hard copy of the mag when it is finished. I hope you managed to have
a look at the ones I left with you. However, I thought you might
like to see the review of the album (attached)
All
the best, Kev "
Thanks for the very nice album review Kev. We look forward to the live review too!
Sat
7 Feb
Corn
Exchange, Cambridge
Weíd
been told the acoustics in the Corn Exchange were dreadful but we had NO
problems on stage ? fantastic sound as usual. Up front thereís a
huge standing-only area for the audience, then way away thereís a riser
with seats and then up above that in the "gods" is a balcony full of people
as well. So youíve got people hanging over the front barrier right
in your face and a faceless crowd way up there in the black heavens that
you canít see. Weird! Nonetheless we had a great time on stage
? audience were fantastic.
A hilarious moment on stage: Jay had just introduced "Get ThereÖ"
and the band were all on stage behind us (or so we thought), when Peggy
stage-whispered to Jay "Keep talking, keep talking..". Jay turned
around to find out why, and there was no Gerry behind the drums!
Heíd been in his dressing room with his walkman in his ears and the door
shut and hadnít realised everyone had left for the stage. Poor man
looked very sheepish when he finally did rush onto the stage to the kit.
We canít start without him!
Our friend Brian Cleary, host for the night and brilliant guitarist, raved about our set, sweet man. This is a man who doesnít dish out compliments without cause, so we felt chuffed. He loved our sound and what we did with a big stage rig. Said it was exquisite, especially our voices and harmonies. Heís seen us a number of times in intimate folk club situations and thought we translated our act so well to the large venue. Really gratifying to hear this from a man whose musical opinion we respect so much.
The crowd went wild for Fairport tonight. The lovely singer-songwriter annA rydeR was there and sang with the band on her fab song "The Crowd". "Si Tu" went down a blast as did "Meet on the Ledge" especially with young guest cornet-player Edmund adding his brass-magic to the chorus ? totally exhilerating. It did sound fabulous and the crowd were right into it, singing along. God itís a real joy to be on this tour!
Our friends Steve & Jill were there and wrote:
"'Elo darlings! What a great show and how terrific you both looked on the big stage in the super trooper spotlights, absolutely loved your set and also the mixing in with F.C. Your wonderful voices added an extra dimension to the band. Good luck with the rest of the tour. See you soon, love & cuddles, Steve & Jill "
"Thanks
for a great gig at Cambridge. Luckily we brought binoculars!
Good
to see Fairport returning to the Huw Williams catalogue. Hopefully they'll
soon turn to the Mundy-Turner songbook. On which subject, should
you ever require a studio band, or even stage backing musicians, don't
forget us if you can't afford Fairport.
All
the best for the rest of the tour. Mark (and Phil & Kim in absentium)"
Sun 8 Feb
Symphony
Hall, Birmingham
Wow!
What a stunning venue. As Jay remarked at the soundcheck, "Itís like
the flight deck of the Starship Enterprise in here." Very impressive.
Acoustics to die for. This is obviously a 6-star gig. The dressing
rooms have not only ensuite bathrooms, but a highly polished upright piano
in each, so you can practise, do warm-up scales, play the blues, whatever
youíd like to do with your own private pre-show piano. Posh.
(Oops, a bit over the top with p-alliteration there.)
This is a Dylan Project night, so our set is a bit short, but 3 songs in the Symphony Hall is better than no songs at all! Itís also a real home turf gig, seeing Peggy, Chris Pegg and Ric are both from Brum. Bit nervous for some reason, specially starting with "Little Birds" which we havenít before performed on the tour.
I feel like Iím coming down with something ? tickly throat. But the audience seemed to love us, and the CD sales were fantastic! Was great to see the wonderful Chris Pegg there. She is the powerhouse behind Woodworm Records and Cropredy Festival. She took me to task for being too tall, wearing high platform heels. She said I would be intimidating men and would be unable to catch one. I said I wasnít looking for a man, Iíve got one already!
The Dylans and Fairport all went down a storm, and we all got on to do
the finale of the Fairport hit "Si Tu Dois Partir", followed by big chorus
line style bows altogether. PJ Wright (awesome guitarist from Dylan
Project and Little Johnny England) & I had fun on the side ëHonky-Tonkyingí
with his electric guitar and my cow-bell.
After
such a brill Fairport performance, of course the audience were baying for
an encore, so all were on for the emotive "Meet on the Ledge", including
a much-applauded appearance by the brilliant ex-Fairport multi-instrumentalist
Maart Allcock. The audience sang a beautiful solo on the chorus.
I took the camera on stage and got some lovely shots. Great night
altogether. Woke up this morning with a tickly throat so hope Iím
not getting anything nasty. Sleeping at home tonight ? canít wait
for me own bed.
"Dear
Cath and Jay,
...what
a revelation seeing you at the Birmingham Symphony hall on the 8/2/04.I
thought you were absolutely incredible! ...thank you very much for an enjoyable
evening , your singing, playing and very tight close harmonies were edge
of the seat stuff and we would both love to come and see you play for longer
next time. Good luck and have a great future. Lots of love
Martyn"
Mon
9 Feb
Opera
House, Buxton, Derbyshire
You'd
think going home after being away on tour will be nice and relaxing.
But sometimes it's not. Like today! We woke up late as usual
and pretty tired after having driven up from Birmingham post-gig the night
before, only to find that a water pipe has burst across our driveway and
the ridge tiles had blown off our roof in the high winds over the weekend.
Yikes. Let's go back on the road please.
Temperature has dropped again ? itís freezing today. A lovely drive from home, just 50 minutes across the dramatic and beautiful Peak District, brings us to the old Buxton Opera House. Itís absolutely gorgeous, from its art nouveau stained glass frontage, to its classical interior of elaborately gilted balconies. Thereís even cherubs and angels painted on the domed ceiling high above the auditorium. Very celestial.
I wish I felt better. Definitely coming down with something rotten and cold/flu-like. Damn! I was so determined to stay cold-free. Had my first sleepless night of the tour last night. Fairport melodies, riffs and arrangements were rehearsing themselves incessantly in my head. At least the music was enjoyable. Could have done with the sleep instead though. I told Simon about this and he looked genuinely concerned. "Oh you poor thing!" he said sympathetically. He told me that he couldnít get to sleep either after last nightís because they hadnít done "Matty Groves". To get any rest, he had to get out of bed, go downstairs and play through the whole thing!
Uncle Reg Turner (Jayís oldest surviving uncle) and his first cousin Nigel Turner were in the audience tonight. He dedicated "Markham Main" to them, as they are all descended from Jayís Grand-Dad Turner who was a Derbyshire coal miner. My voice was not working very well due to whatever is going on with this sore throat. I wanted to opt out of doing the Kookaburra impersonation (that's an Ozzie native bird with a wild call that I do in our set, in case you didn't notice it or didn't see the show) 'cause I was feeling so yuck. Very kindly the House Manager brought me a hot whisky during interval. Purely medicinal of course!
Tues
10 Feb
Pontypridd,
South Wales
Jay
& I have just come off stage after an exhilarating set warming up for
the fab Fairporters. Iím struck by the realisation that dressing
rooms are great things ? even when they are a bit cold (sorry Muni Arts
Centre). But I should have no complaints. Even a chilly dressing
room gives you somewhere to stretch out the kinks of the journey, put on
lippy in private, and make funny noises with your voice. You can
even set up the laptop and type your diary entries. You donít get this
luxury at folk clubs. Itís bloody nice.
So, here we are in Ponty! This is our first and only night in a Welsh town and apart from the rather difficult get-in and the painfully crawling traffic through the town centre, itís great! The audience are bonzer. I like the Welsh, their sense of humour, and I like the Welsh place names. Where else in the world do you come across the musical lyricism (albeit unpronounceable lyricism for those not in the know) of places called "Maes-y-coed"?
Itís that point in the tour when health is a little run-down ? both Chris
Leslie and I have colds and Geoff (our fantastic on-stage sound engineer)
has been a bit poorly. Chris is so thoughtful ? he came to our dressing
room before the show bearing a hot mug of Lemsip for me. I attribute
the success of our set to lovely Mr Leslie, the Sudafed I took earlier,
and Lemsip. (Is one supposed to take Sudafed and Lemsip together?
I dunno but Iím on a high now so it must be good. Think Iíll get
another hot whisky from the bar tonight too.)
Fan
Email: "Dear Both, saw the gig at Pontypridd thought you were
brill. What album is Markham Main on and the first song you did about Australia?
You both looked as though you were enjoying yourselves especially on the
stage with Fairport. Thanks for a great night. Hope you come to South Wales
again especially Swansea... will deffo be coming. Thanks again. Terry"
Wed
11 Feb
The
Phoenix, Exeter, Devon
There
was an interesting art exhibition at the Phoenix (see me there with Raven
installation, right). There's a bird theme happening here - phoenix,
raven, kookaburra... Cool place!
I asked
Jay what he enjoyed most about tonightís gig. "It felt like a real
gritty rock n roll gig. The crowd had a real restless energy which
inspired me lot." Yep I agree wholeheartedly ? it was great fun out
there tonight. A stand-up gig ? for the audience I mean. Having
a mosh pit of folk-rockers on their feet jammed in front of you creates
a great atmosphere. The audience were really up for itÖliterally.
Donít know what happened with Fairport getting on stage ? we introduced
them and Ric and Chris came on, but no one else. Eventually Simon,
Dave and 
Gez followed, Simon zipping up his trousers - it was very funny.
Jayís new-found half-brother Martin and his girlfriend Sharon were in the audience tonight. Martin is also a musician, and it was so nice to have him there being so supportive and relaxed. Having a brother is something new for Jay and he is enjoying it. So am I.
Jay
is great. Touring with him 24 hours a day, working with him on stage,
driving thousands of miles in the car, navigating our way through endless,
confusing one-way systems in a different town every day, AND being married
to him, youíd think weíd be getting on each otherís nerves. But no
itís wonderful. I canít help but think how bloody lucky we are.
Rob asked me last night whether we were all right, were we enjoying being on the tour? He said the fact that he hadnít asked very often isnít because he or the crew donít care, but more because of everything going on. I told him the truth ? we love every minute of it. The crew are so great to us, the band are too. Weíve no complaints - weíre being treated so respectfully and kindly, and feel really appreciated. Rob very kindly said that we are a joy to have on the tour and doing a great job. I canít say how pleased I am to hear that from him. As the Tour Manager (TM) and Sound Engineer (SE), Rob has a tough role, running the tour, making sure everything works smoothly as possible with the venues, band, crew, the support act, hotels, etc, etcÖ and he gets out front and gives us all brilliant soaring sound every night as well. The tour is full of heroes actually, and Rob is right up there.
Went out front to listen to part of the second half of the show.
Simonís performance of "Rosemaryís Sister" by Huw Williams is a real high
point for me - so poignant, complimented by the delicate and sparkling
guitar-work and the sweet violins of Chris & Ric. It gave me
goosebumps. I must remember to tell him.
Thurs
12 Feb
Queens
Theatre, Barnstaple, Nth Devon
Arrived
in Barnstaple mid-afternoon in convoy in the misty rain with our Taunton
hosts The Carters (Gwyn, Kevin the Saint and daughter Vicky) for a relaxed
lunch together at the pub opposite the theatre. They are putting
us up for all our gigs in the West Country (quite a few). Wonderful
folks. Gwyn has been a fan of Jayís since he toured as support on
the Fairport Winter Tour of 1991 and owns all four of his solo albums on
cassette - rare things.
It is Day 15 of the tour ? half way through. Rob told us that when he was in Australia he earned the nickname "Crocodile Geor-die". Bloody hilarious! Thatís it ? Iím calling him "Croc" for the rest of the tour.
Jay reckons there is a really clear energy in all the performances tonight. The audience seemed a little quiet at first but were soon responding wholeheartedly to our intros and songs. They almost didnít stop clapping to several numbers. The band entered to prolonged applause. They are giving it welly tonight and sounding great. I still feel bunged up with the lurgy, but managing to sing through it. This bug makes you so dry you have to swig water in between every song.
Last night at Exeter, we did our set without the piano - lack of space.
So I played "Get There From Here" on fiddle instead of piano.
It felt so great to be up on my feet in the middle of the band rather than
being stuck out at the side seated behind the keys, so we decided to stick
with the fiddle. Now Iím getting much more of a kick from that number
and it ends our set on a better note for me. Simon also gets more
of a chance to add to the arrangement on electric guitar, which is a bonus
cause I really love his playing. And I double up the brass-line with
Ric on fiddle, which gives it a bit more of a big "chorus" effect, and
let him and Chris on mandolin do the hystrionics. It works well and
itís a happy high note with which to finish our set. I like the way
the support act dovetails with the main act ? it works nicely and is fun.
Found
a ësecretí message from Peggy scribbled inside the book Jay is reading
each night in the dressing rooms. Message reads
"Hey
? well done U2. Youíre great! Love Peggy xx PS not being
nosey - just wanted to thank you!" Awww. Thatís so
sweet of him. God Bless Peggy. Wonder when he wrote that?
Fri
13 Feb
Royal
Spa Centre, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
Great
show tonight although people are a little road-weary. Poor Ric is not feeling
well tonight ? stomach upset. The band drove all the way back to
their home-base in Banbury from Barnstaple last night. Thatís quite
a way after a gig, and they didnít get home until 4-5am. We slept
over at Taunton, so didnít have such a long drive today but it still took
4 hours. Tesco meal for dinner in Warwick ? not bad. Where
else can you get a hot meal for such a good price at 4 in the afternoon
thatís not McDonalds?
This is boring I know but this cold is STILL lingering. Itís making a bit grumpy. Iíve really had enough of it, thanks very much! Tonight on stage I breathed out through my nose during our final number with the band and what came out wasnít pleasant. I couldnít do anything about it with the fiddle in my hands and you can hardly wipe your schnoz with the back of your hand in front of all those people, can you? I hope no one noticed. Poor Jay seems to be getting the sore throat now. Bummer. But still we did a great set and the audience went crazy for it.
Met Robís wife Barbara and his two very pretty daughters Jessica and Milly. Some good friends in the audience tonight ? Karen Dove our super-hero friend from Coventry, and Australian singer-songwriter-bassist Liz Frencham who goes back to Australia this weekend. (Liz played bass on Chris While and Julie Matthews' new album last year and we hope sheíll be returning to the UK in the summer to gig and play bass on our album too!)
Before the show, the marvellous Chris Leslie showed us his special Native American flutes that he brought in from home. Just a gorgeous sound, and he is such a natural on the instrument. Itís sold us on acquiring one of the River Reed flutes. They are made completely by hand by the traditional Cherokee makers, using no machinery.
Interval was a blast ? selling cds big time and signing everything pushed
before us! Itís lovely to be able to have a chat to people as they
come up with their albums. Most have connections with Australia,
either having been there or relatives there. All have such lovely
compliments to give us too, which make me feel very humble indeed.
We are soooooo lucky to be here singing to these fantastic people.
For the second half, Jay has taken our friend Karen backstage so she can watch Gerry Conwayís drumming up close. She has just started learning drums, and thinks Gerry is incredible. He is ? we agree completely.
Sat
14 Feb
Wycombe
Swan, High Wycombe
Valentines
Day, kisses and hugs and more of those warm fizzies! Got a lovely
card from my love and a huge Toblerone. Yum. Weather not fab, very drizzly
and dreary. Itís lucky I carry the sunshine in my heartÖ
Now, why is it so hard to get in to these venues? Sometimes it seems as if every door is locked, every passage not the right one, and your hands are always full so that opening the endless range of fire-doors is impossible. But once youíre in, everything is great! Atop our gear tonight sat a big red Valentines card and a bunch of beautiful tulips from the crew to me. The card read: "Hot stuff! ÖHi there you little devil ? to our Valentine with love from the crew. x" Wow! Very unexpected and such a thoughtful gesture. I thanked Geoff, our marvellous monitor engineer, and he said "Well we have to look after you, seeing as youíre the only girl backstage amongst all these blokes." They are so very sweet.
We got a large container of Quality Street chocolates for the band, and another for the crew, just to show them we care. The band has tucked into their box admirably, but I donít think the crew have even visited the green room to know of their existence!
The crew definitely work the hardest of us all, for the longest hours, sometimes doing 17 hour days with very little break, and in this case for 17 consecutive days without a day off. They are never grumpy or mean, always professional, always go out of their way to assist you, and all have an excellent sense of humour. Thatís essential. You donít have to be mad to be on this tour, but it helps.
Great
crowd here at the Swan theatre. Chris Bates taking pictures as he
did last night. Set went really well but poor Jay, heís now suffering
the cold I had, whilst mine is getting better by the day. Still he
sang beautifully and "Naked" was just sublime. Sold lots of "Wholly
Road" live albums at interval. Maybe because people seemed to really
like the Kookaburra tonight and thatís the only album itís on. Fancy
selling albums because of a bird impersonation! 
After the show we drove up to our friend's place Pam & Oliver. Oliver cooked us a fresh trout meal with gorgey veges at 1 o clock in the morning. Another tour hero. (See Oliver cooking in the piccy!)
Fan email time! "Fabulous night last night and very much enjoyed your contribution. Please could you place us on your mailing list... Hope to be able to see you live again somewhere soon!"
"Hello, Saw you last night with Fairport, really really good. How about a gig at Nettlebed folk Club or Tudor folk Club ? Thank you, will see you again. "
Sun
15 Feb
Octagon
Theatre, Yeovil
There
are people here tonight whoíve come all the way from Leicester to see us
play again, after seeing us at the Derby show. How cool is that!
They loved our set, and have been playing the cd non-stop since and just
wanted to hear us again. Iím blown away by that. Just so glad
people are enjoying the music we create.
Well poor Jayís got my cold for sure. I WAS getting better but woke up this morning feeling like shite and the drive from Banbury to Yeovil didnít improve me. Could the cold-fairy come and take it way now please? Iíve overdosed on Vitamin C and sucked enough Antiseptic Soothers to last the year.
After the difficult get-in at Pontypridd, we took up the original offer from the crew to have our gear carried by them, apart from the violin. So now we arrive to find our gear already in the venue and only have to cart the personal stuff and fiddle. What a luxury that is. These guys are just fantastic.
The Merch crew, Gareth and Frances, are doing a wonderful job selling everyoneís stuff. It is very reassuring to know your product is in such efficient hands and they are so nice too. Frances has helped us several times to find our way into obscure backstage entrances. The guys sold heaps of cds for us at Leamington Spa, the best night for our sales so far, with Burnley Mechanics coming a close second.
Iím listening to Portmerrion over the dressing-room speakers and it is sublime. Ric makes his violin sing. Iím totally in awe of his playing ? he can tackle any style and make it his own, a true virtuoso. Chris Leslie is also awesome, what a multi-instrumentalist, AND heís a great songwriter. I love his fiddle playing but his mandolin work is also exquisite. Time to go now to get ready for "Si Tu"Ö
Mon
16 Feb
The
Playhouse, Weston-super-Mare
Sunshiney
afternoon, very pretty seaside town, complete with a pier. Had no
idea Weston was such a nice little place. Buff was our guardian angel
again this afternoon, out with the truck, telling us the code to get in
by the stage-door. Another great show tonight ? our set went down
big time. CD sales and signing of programmes and posters was full-on
at half-time and interval. Lots of kids here as itís half-term. Itís
wonderful that parents are bringing their children to see live music of
this genre, ensuring that the interest lives on into another generation.
Jay met up with an old acquaintance, Richard, and long-time supporters Paul & Angie Richards from Bath were there as our guests. Lovely to see them, but thereís not much time for catching up with friends during interval - thereís so much to do with signing cds and chatting to fans!
The funniest thing about the venue is that you can't get to front of house without going through the auditorium. So Jay and I went from the stage door and ran around the block to the front of the theatre! By the end of the show it was raining as we 'arrived' spattered with rain to ask the audience passing us on their way out, "Oh did we miss it? Was it good?"
Simon had a monumental time with the lyrics of "Matty Groves" tonight ? the song stopped twice, as he found his place in the narrative. Such a long song, so many verses, itís not a wonder. But itís not the sort of song that works when the sequence of events is not in chronological order! "Oh, no, they havenít gone to bed together yet!" he cried. We all cracked up (backstage and front), but the audience donít seem to mind their heroes showing fallibility. Theyíre only human and very charming ones at that.
Day off tomorrow, the first in 19 consecutive shows. Canít wait, my body needs a breather to get rid of this cold-bug completely. The band will be driving home after the gig, while we are hot-footing it across the country to Dawn & Grahamís in Broadstairs, Kent. Shouldnít take us more than about 3 hours. It will be better to do it at night whilst the traffic is non-existent, than spending our day off crawling through peak-hour road-works on the M25.
Day
Off, Tues 17 Feb
Broadstairs,
Kent
Got
here at 3am and sunk thankfully into a warm feather-doona-ed bed after
being let in by our wonderful host Dawn, just before dawn! Awoke
at 11.30am, which is when we normally do on this tour anyway. It
will be great to be here for the next three days, two of which are days
off, interrupted only by a relaxed sortie into nearby Canterbury for the
gig. Yay! Such a lovely seaside town. We do love Broadstairs,
and itís great catch up with our mates Dawn & Graham, do some laundry
and tonight, ooooh we might just watch a movie. Weíve almost forgotten
what a quiet night at home watching a movie is like.
Wed 18 Feb
Marlowe
Theatre, Canterbury, Kent
Final
night with the Dylan Project, which means again a 3-song set. The
piano couldnít go on tonight, firstly due to lack of space once PJís pedal
steel is set up. Secondly, the pianoís sound module got dropped last
night by accident and itís buggered up in some way. Jay tried taking it
apart and fixing it to no avail. Must find an electrical repair-type
person tomorrow and get it back on track. It was prettty difficult
choosing what to do tonight, but finally settled on "Separation Street",
"Naked" preceded by the kookaburra of course, and "Markham Main".
It means only one song with the fiddle, but somethingís always got to give
and whatís most important is the dynamics of the set.
It was nice opening with Separation Street anyway as we havenít done it for a while now. And everyone loves the gorgeous "Naked" and the powerfully emotive "Markham Main". There was a worrying moment when Jay repeated the entire third Verse of Markham! Itís the first time heís done that, but he continued through and recovered well. Hopefully no one noticed.
The kookaburra has been going well. Iíve had so many comments about it, and children particularly think it's cool. It's nice but also funny when someone says "I really liked your kookaburra." I sometimes think, "But what about the songs? Didn't you like them too?" But hell as long as weíre bringing joy to folks, I donít care really.
Interval was a blast ? didnít stop signing albums, and the Dylan Project also went brilliantly. Another Day Off tomorrow. We won't know ourselves!
From
newly discovered relatives of mine that I met at the gig (first time!):
"Hi
Cath & Jay, Thoroughly enjoyed your performance in Canterbury,
and also the rest of the evening with Dylan Project and Freeport Convention.
It was nice to meet you, however brieflyÖ
Good
luck and rock on - Is there a CD of your Kookaburra impersonation!!
Bob & Jenny"
Thursday
19 Feb
Day
Off
Spent
taking the pianoís sound-module to be repaired by qualified electricians
in Ramsgate. They couldnít fix it. But at least they confirmed
nothing was wrong with the circuitry. So Jay took it apart again
and fiddled with this bit and that and got it going. Yippee-yi-yay.
Jay is pretty bloody clever. Phew. In between trips to Ramsgate we
vegged out and watched movies. First time Iíd seen "Close Encounters
of the Third Kind" ? very cool. Those diatonic-melody-loving aliens
are so cute.
Friday
20 Feb
Fairfield
Halls, Croydon
After a leisurely morning in Broadstairs (mostly sleeping) and a relaxed
lunch with Dawn & Graham, we set off to Croydon. Weather: freezing
with a chill wind. Fairfield Halls is somewhere Iíd been looking
forward to playing, because Iíd read about the Beatles playing there in
1964. A lot of very famous acts have played here. It is big
and beautiful, with a blond timber floor on stage and gorgeous acoustics.
It was good to arrive early, as we needed to check the piano module out with the keyboard. The crew and the venueís lighting team were all there busy setting up, and everyone was jovial and joking around with each other. Our crew amaze me, as they are always so happy and positive. They must be exhausted, but their sense of humour never fails them. Itís a joy to work with these guys. Onya Buff, John and Geoff!
Well unfortunately the auditorium is not full, but the Fairports are playing fabulously tonight. They are hot. Peggyís impro-intro to "The Crowd" was inspired. Our set went well, but the best thing about tonight is that my lovely youngest sister Rachel is here. She lives not far away in Streatham, and works in the centre of London. We havenít seen her since New Year - have been missing her lots. I saw her in the audience close to the front, wearing a huge grin during "Get there From Here".
Interval: nice to meet some folks weíve seen at other shows. Fairportís fans are such that many of them come to multiple shows on the tour, so we are getting to know a few of them by sight, some by name as well.
We got
Rachel backstage after interval to hang out and watch the show. Sheís
not seen Fairport before and really enjoyed the music. She told us
she was enjoying it so much she wore a grin the whole time and Peggy was
smiling back at her. Well how could you miss that gorgeous smiling
face? Rachelís I mean, although Peggy has a nice smile too.
But Rach is a stunner. 
Iím so glad a member of my family was able to see us play on this tour. My wonderful Mum and very supportive Dad are in Australia, not here. That means they canít see us. But Iíve sent a copy of the programme to each of them. The programme is very posh and glossy and has a beautiful page with our photo, biog, Spring Tour Dates and website and stuff. Apparently both my parents have been taking it round to work and to show their friends, ëcause itís so posh.
Jayís parents couldnít really come either. They are quite a lot older than mine and not very well. But we have so many friends and other Turner rellies, that we donít feel like orphans. Plus we have each other and that is fantastic.
Post-show: back to friendís Steve & Terriís in South Norwood for a delicious take-away gourmet curry from The Banana Leaf, with another Fairport fan called Mark but who wasnít at the gig, accompanied by some very nice champers and white wine. Jay ate too much and went to bed with a grumbly belly, but what a great night!
Sat 21 Feb
South
Parade Pier, Southsea, Portsmouth
This
is not my first time playing on a pier (Cromer in 2002 was) but this place
is different, quite grungy, and not like the other posh theatres on the
tour. Rob said itís more like a working menís club but he was really
glad that the promoter Barking Spider put the gig on, after the gig on
the Isle of Wight fell through. This sometimes happens. Well done
John Roberts and all of Barking Spider!
It is very cold and windy on the seafront. Met up with our dear friends Karen and Craig (whoíve driven down from Coventry) for a spot of lunch then to load in across the pebbly beach up onto the pier. Could hear the sound of the waves and wind under the floorboards in our dressing room, which is cold, cramped and pretty dirty, full of empty glasses and mess from the last people who were in here. Show-biz is all about these sorts of contrasts. There is no point in ever getting up yerself. Dan, one of organising team, was very kind in bringing us a heater for the room. Now I can get undressed.
The crowd are totally going for Fairport tonight. Thereís a dance floor and those in the mood for dancing got up for Matty Groves. The band also got long-term fan Griff up on stage to sing an impromptu "Wild Rover" backed by the band ëcause it was Griffís birthday. Quite a laugh and Griff was delighted!
Karen got her drum-sticks signed by Gerry after the show. She is doing so well at drums. After only having learned for 6 weeks her drum teacher has suggested she do Grade 2 Exam! She absolutely loves watching Gerry play, and got talking with him about stick-weights. Drummer-speak is a bit above our heads. Jayís first-cousin Nigel who lives not far away in Emsworth is also here. Nige remembers seeing Chris Leslie and his squeeze-boxing brother John play as a duo in a village hall in Oxfordshire in 1974 or í75, when they were all in their mid-teens. Tonight he managed to catch up with Chris to work out where and when it must have been. Chris says heís got a re-release on cd of the album he and John did back then, which heíll give to us for Nigel. Very kind!
Sun
22 Feb
Palace
Theatre, Westcliff, Southend-on-Sea
Gorgeous
gig tonight ? lovely old theatre with balconies right up in the Gods, the
audience are just fantastic people, the sound is sizzlingly good (thanks
Rob & Geoff) and we were right on form. I made an embarrassing
"faux pas" at the off when I described the weather as cold and "a bit nipply"
before singing "William Jolly". Luckily the audience were fun people
and had a laugh. Iím sure I went bright red. Itís not
what I meant to say to a group of 600 people who Iíd only just met!
The crew were cracking up. I looked over at John and he was making
circles on his chest in the nipple area. Argh! I had to blank
him out because it was just going to crack me up again. It came after a
sound check full of unintentional ëdouble entendresí. Simon and Rob
were misinterpreting everything I said and putting an certain type of innuendo
on it, so I couldnít believe I said what I said on stage.
Then just before doing the Kookaburra I had a snotty moment. Yes the dregs of that damned cold are still hanging around my nasal-passages. So I thought Iíd turn my back to the audience briefly and clear a blockage with a careful outward sniff before attempting said Kookaburra. Unfortunately it was a bit closer to the surface than anticipated and... Well I had no tissues on stage, so with my back still to the audience I had to wipe up with my hands ? yeach! But Johnny Gale the very excellent young roadie came to my rescue with toilet paper. I tell you ? what a crew. They will do anything to help you out of a (literally) sticky moment on stage.
The band is staying locally tonight. We parked at our friends Bron and Ernieís house just around the corner from the theatre and WALKED to the gig ? very civilised. Gerry is travelling independently from home at the moment with his partner Jacqui McShee in tow. She is a famous singer in the legendary folk-jazz band Pentangle. Jay says the very first folk album he bought (a long time ago) was Pentangleís "Basket of Light". Jacqui and I had a lovely talk in the Green Room before the sound check ? I like her lots.
Gerry joined us and we talked about the confusions of his religious upbringing.
His surname was Cohen but his parents changed it. This was because
of difficulties with the orthadox synagogue about his Dad marrying a non-Jew.
Amazing! (This happened in my family too, the Jews marrying non-Jews
bit, not the changing name bit). Gerry was both Christened and Barmitzvah-ed,
so doesnít know what to say when asked what he is religion-wise.
Gerry subscribes to what Bob Hope replied when asked to what religion he
belonged: "I belong to them all. I donít want to miss out on heaven
on a technicality."
He also revealed that he wears special drumming shoes. This is something I didnít realise. In the 60ís he wore Cuban heeled