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[back
to top] The Big National
Ceilidh was a co-ordinated series of dances Despite selling barely a handful of tickets beforehand, some 70 people showed up on the night. The dancing began at 8 o'clock with Derek Atkinson appropriately calling The Big Set. The floor was full for the following hour or more before a meat and potatoe pie supper was served and the raffle drawn. Dancing resumed at 9.45 with Mellor Brook's own fiddle group, The Palatine Fiddlers playing Paddy Carey's. At 10pm, all ceilidhs danced a Circassian Circle for which all bands played the Northumberland tune, Jamie Allen. After a Galopede, some square dances and an energetic Virginia Reel, the dancing finished and Seamus Heffernan thanked all who attended as well as the many helpers who had ensured the smooth running of the event. Expenses were kept to a minimum: the band gave their services for free, Sanderson's Bakers donated a meat and potatoe pie supper and the Centre's committee members supplied several raffle prizes including CD's, bottles of wine, a picture frame and a box of Balderstone apples. Bar profits, ticket sales and proceeds of the raffle altogether totalled £496. Well done one and all! |
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to top] The evening kicked off with a 35-minute set by Oswaldtwistle guitar maestro, Ian Alveston. No stranger to the Mellor Brook regulars (this was the third time he had performed here), this time he had solicited the on-stage support of Des Horsfall (guitar and vocals) and Laura Taylor (vocals). The trio performed a varied selection of songs including much original materail. The 3 voices combined to greatest effect on "One Day I'll Make it Home To You" where the chorus of harmonies lifted the early evening torpor. Ian and Des showed their craft as song-writers with Further Down The Line (Horsfall) and Missing You (Alveston). Ruth Notman stepped onto the stage to open her segment of the show as a solo act when she performed traditional songs, some at the piano and others unaccompanied. She then introduced her accompanist, Saul Rose. Well known to the folk fraturnity for his musical collaborations with Eliza Carthy, Faustus and top English ceilidh band Random, Rose leant subtle variation and ornamentation to the lovely singing voice of Notman. The 2 sets offered by the duo contained traditional material (which was mainly English and Irish in derivation) as well as Ruth's own songs. However, for this correspondent, the highlight was her rendition of Richard Thompson's Farewell, Farewell at the end of the evening. Despite the minor disapointment of the non-appearance of cellist Hannah Edmonds, the pair gave great value and many of the appreciative audience sought further value by purchasing the debut CD "Threads" in the bar afterwards. |
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 Saul Rose, Ruth Notman |
 Laura Taylor, Ian Alveston, Des Horsfall |
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[back
to top] The first Mellor Brook concert of 2008 featured long-established folk musician Pete Coe. The evening began with a 30-minute set featuring the smooth bluesy tones of the excellent Mick Knowles singing basso profundo to his accompanist Seamus Heffernan's baritone harmony. Knowles has a knack of making his own compositions sound familiar with compulsive hook-lines. Following a short interval, the first thing that strikes is the array of instruments on stage. Coe is versatile to say the least. During his delivery of over 2 hours-worth of songs and tunes, he played melodeon, bouzouki, Appalachian dulcimer and banjo and, for Don Bilston's "Fireman's Song" step danced in time with his banjo as he sung. He changed instrument for nearly every song. His repertoire included traditional songs and contemporary songs - some from his own pen. Vic Gammon's spiteful mockery of the royal lineage "The Kings and Queens of England" hinted at Coe's left-leanings: Now
William III was a protestant and Dutchman and James I was a Scot Born in Cheshire, Coe now resides in the Ryburn Valley in West Yorkshire. He is certainly of the subversive persuasion of folkies - those who forged the way in the 60's during the heyday of the folk revival. A parallel career as a teacher probably gives him extra skills in cajoling an audience - not that this one needed much persuasion to participate. Coe's two sets featured many opportunities for the audience to sing in chorus. "Seven Warnings" written with his ex-wife Chris Coe and the traditional "An Acre of Land" set the tone for a good sing-song. The £9 ticket certainly offered great value: unbeknown to organisers as well as audience, Pete Coe's wife Sue, hitherto barely noticed and apparently part of the audience, mounted the stage for a step dance routine to Pete's banjo accompaniment. By 11.15 and with the show over-running by 15 minutes, he finally retired from the stage to appreciative vocal acclaim and several requests to buy from his extensive CD catalogue. Conclusive proof that the A59 is not the only good thing to come out of Yorkshire. |
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to top] Pop duo, Blackheart opened proceedings with a slick and tuneful 30-minute set of catchy self-penned songs. Guitarist Richard Pilkington showed his instrumental prowess as well as a flair for vocal harmony behind the impressive singing of Chrissy Mostyn. They have recently become regular guests of Bury Metropolitan Cafe featuring in shows with Van Eyken, Eliza Carthy and Rachel Unthank and their original material, together with an affable line in chat, endeared them to an appreciative audience. Compare Seamus Heffernan made the point that, despite the array of international talent crossing the Centre's threshold in recent times, there had not, hitherto, been an authentic Irish musician on the Mellor Brook stage. West Cork-born Maire Ni Chathasaigh treated an audience numbering over 70, to a variety of traditional and modern material on her French-made celtic harp. Brilliantly supported by some spectacular guitar work from partner Chris Newman, the two 45-minute sets flew by. By the end, we had heard foot-tapping Irish dances, beautiful slow airs, jazz-tinged swing tunes and a touch of the baroque. The pair left the stage to loud cheering from a most appreciative audience many of whom showed further appreciation by buying the duo's latest album, Firewire. SH |
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[back
to top] Following their support slot for Aussie blues guitarist, Derrin Nauendorf last year, Carol & Laurie Harrison made their second appearance at Mellor Brook. As on that occasion, they began the evening's musical offerings with a varied set of traditional and contemporary songs. Carol's confidence on the fiddle is growing and she has developed a broad repertoire of tunes. However, her main attribute remains her jazzy vocal style shown off by her sass delivery of songs from Eddi Reader and Rickie Lee Jones. The 2 Johns (strictly speaking, a John and a Jon) were also making their second appearance at Mellor Brook. As they did 12 months before, they attracted a full house. Spiers regaled the audience with anecdotal tales of life on the road and quirky background stories as to how some of the tunes were inspired. Spiers' tune "Jiggery Pokerwork" references his "Hohner Pokerwork" melodeon which, unknown to him when he acquired it, was made out of reinforced cardboard. While busking on a rainy afternoon in Oxford, it dissolved in his hands. Much of the material was taken from their two CD releases of 2005, "Songs" and "Tunes" and the format for their 2 45-minute sets involved alternating from song to tune, back to song. The audience lapped up the banter as well as the foot-stomping rhythms. MC Seamus Heffernan had acclaimed them as the first Community Centre guests to appear on the BBC's Later With Jools for earlier that week, they had recorded 2 songs with their big band Bellowhead for the programme, due to be broadcast later the same night. VCR's must already have been programmed when at 11 o'clock the audience roared approval of the now customary encore of Prickle-Eyed Bush. Before allowing
them to leave the stage, Seamus asked if they might return next year
and got the appropriate assurance* |
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Bernard
Wrigley
with special guest Dylan Owen Review, 3 February 2007 Well, that was the best ‘Tenner’ I have spent in a long time! Yes, you might ask why? Last night the Community Centre at Mellor Brook hosted another evening of live entertainment in the shape of ‘The Bolton Bullfrog’ Mr Bernard Wrigley. The evening commenced with the more than adequate support ‘artiste,’ Oswaldtwistle Bard, Dylan Owen, with his own inimitable style of songs, comedy and guitar playing! He held the audience well by both his vision of life’s cycle and also brought everyone back down to earth by the rendition of his self written commemoration of the ‘Accrington Pals’ – Very moving and thought provoking to say the least! After a short interval the audience knew that they were about to be treated to a truly superb performance as Bernard Wrigley took to the stage. From the moment Bernard spoke his first words to tell and indeed show us all what he did with his ‘namesake branded spearmint gum’, he had us all in his hands. I can honestly say that for the next hour we laughed, we cried with laughing (so much!) and we all did our very best to sing along with him, brilliant! And when we all thought a great night was coming to an end, Bernard gave us all a chance to get our breath back, relieve ourselves, recharge our glasses and then he was BACK again until after 11pm!! Now you know why it was the best ‘tenner’ spent and it was just a little saddening that the hall was not full to capacity, but I feel sure that if he was to come back in the future then the place would be FULL!! Eddie Connell |
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[back
to top] Heidi Talbot (Mellor Brook On The Radio) On New Year's Day 2007, BBC Radio Lancashire broadcast a recording of the The Heidi Talbot Band's concert at Mellor Brook Community Centre back in September 2006. The station's folk programme, The Drift had already broadcast one song by the Kildare-born singer as well as another performed the same night by her special guests, Ben Walker and Chris Knowles. |
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| [back
to top] Mellor Brook welcomed Lancashire's finest exponents of Western Swing with a full house on Easter Sunday evening. Many of the audience had been present 12 months before when The Swing Commanders made their first visit to the Centre as part of a tour to promote the release of their second album "Play It Again". As they did then, the band certainly gave good value: two one-hour sets of high-energy country, jazz and western swing incorporating retro-pop classics like Sixteen Tons, There's an Awful Lota Coffee in Brazil, The King of the Swingers, It's Now or Never and culminating in the Cab Calloway classic, Minnie The Moocher. The audience howled back each line at singer Pete Riley: "Hody hody ho!" and greeted the close of the show with a tumultuous standing ovation. By this time, worries about the multiplicity of interpretations of the off-side law (Rovers 0 - Liverpool 1) had dissipated and so Sham thanked the venue staff, the audience and the band for each doing their bit towards another night of top class entertainment.
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designed to raise funds and the profile of the international
charity Water Aid. Thousands of people took part in over 80 events
across the UK. Water Aid's mission is to overcome poverty by enabling
the world's poorest people to gain access to safe water, sanitation
and hygiene education.
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