My band's next gig

Al fresco Jagpie gig this Sunday

Local acoustic events in Southport, December

All in the evening except §

• Sun 1st: Saskia Griffiths-Moore - Bothy Folk Club, Park Road West.

• Mon 2nd: Singaround - Guest House, Union Street.

§ Tue 10th: Lion Singaround - Tap & Bottles, Cambridge Walks, 1.30pm.

• Wed 11th: Singaround - Grasshopper, Sandon Road, Hillside.

§ Sun 15th: Carol singing, Fishermen's Rest, Weld Rd - 1.00 p.m.

• Mon 16th: Music session - Guest House, Union Street.

• Sun 15th: Lucy Ward - Bothy Folk Club, Park Road West.

• Sun 22nd: Bothy Xmas Party, Park Road West.

§ Thu 26th: Southport Swords Day of Dance afternoon - Hesketh, Churchtown, then Guest House.

Coolest thing ever said to Al Stewart

I went to see Al Stewart at the Royal College of Music in Manchester last night. It was a sell-out performance and he was, as always, excellent. The support band, Empty Pockets, who also were his backing band, were very good in both capacities. He told this story:

About 40 years ago, he was backstage and a woman he reckoned was about 10 years older than him came in, made herself a drink and sat down to read a magazine. Assuming she was the wife of the promoter, he went over to chat with her, and after a while she told him that she had a cassette of his music in the car, adding that she had only two cassettes in her car, the other being of her brother.

"Is your brother in a band?" asked Al.
"He was," she replied, "but they split up."

As he put his guitar on to go on stage, Al asked the name of the band. She replied: "The Beatles."

It was George Harrison's sister. Al said it was coolest thing that's ever been said to him.

► I remember watching the live version above of 'Year Of The Cat' on the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1976. He and his band did an excellent version last night.

Song and music sessions to the end of October

At singarounds and music sessions, you can perform, sing along or just listen to suit yourself. All venues serve real ale, and all events are free, unless otherwise stated.

September
► Sunday 29th: singers night at the Bothy Folk Club, Park Golf Club, Park Road West, Southport from 8.00 pm. Free admission for performers.

► Monday 30 September: song session in the Tap & Bottles, Cambridge Walks, Southport from 8.15 pm.

October

► Sunday 6th: singers night at the Bothy Folk Club, Park Golf Club, Park Road West, Southport from 8.00 pm. Free admission for performers.

► Monday 7th: song session in the Guest House, Union Street, Southport from 8.15pm.
► Tuesday 8th: song session in the Lion, Moorfields, Liverpool from 8.30 pm.
► Wednesday 9th: Grasshopper singaround in the Guest House, Union Street, Southport (change of venue for this month only) - from 8.15 pm.
► Monday 21st: music session in the Guest House, Union Street, Southport from 8.15pm.
► Sunday 27th: singers night at the Bothy Folk Club, Park Golf Club, Park Road West, Southport from 8.00 pm. Free admission for performers.
► Monday 28th: song session in the Tap & Bottles, Cambridge Walks, Southport from 8.15pm.
► Every Thursday: lunchtime singaround in the Belvedere, Sugnall Street, Liverpool 7. 2.00pm to 4.00pm.

Song and music sessions to 16th September

All events are free, unless otherwise stated. At singarounds and music sessions, you can perform, sing along or just listen to suit yourself. All venues serve real ale.

► Tuesday 10th: song session in the Lion, Moorfields, Liverpool from 8.30 pm.
► Wednesday 11th: singaround at the Grasshopper, Sandon Road, Hillside, Southport from 8.15 pm.
► Sunday 15th: singers night at the Bothy Folk Club, Park Golf Club, Park Road West, Southport from 8.00 pm. Free admission for performers.
► Monday 16th September: music session in the Guest House, Union Street, Southport from 8.15pm.

► Every Thursday: lunchtime singaround in the Belvedere, Sugnall Street, Liverpool 7. 2.00pm to 4.00pm.

Untrained Melody in Ainsdale

Song and music sessions to 2nd September

All events are free, unless otherwise stated. At singarounds and music sessions, you can perform, sing along or just listen to suit yourself.

► Wednesday 14th: singaround at the Grasshopper, Sandon Road, Hillside, Southport from 8.15 pm.
► Sunday 18th: summer singaround at the Bothy Folk Club, Park Golf Club, Park Road West, Southport from 8.00 pm.
► Sunday 25th: Bothy Folk Club summer singaround - for 1 week only - in the Guest House, Union Street, Southport from 8.00 pm.
► Monday 26th: song session in the Tap & Bottles, Cambridge Walks, Southport from 8.15 pm.
► Monday 2nd September: song session in the Guest House, Union Street, Southport from 8.15pm.

Local acoustic music events to 15 August

All events are free, unless otherwise stated. At singarounds and music sessions, you can perform, sing along or just listen to suit yourself.

• Friday 2nd: Untrained Melody - folk and blues in the Tap & Bottles, Cambridge Walks, Southport from 8.30 pm.
• Sunday 4th: summer singaround at the Bothy Folk Club, Park Golf Club, Park Road West, Southport from 8.00 pm.
• Monday 5th: song session in the Guest House, Union Street, Southport from 8.15pm.
• Sunday 11th: Folk in the Park, 1.00 pm to 6.00 pm, Hesketh Park, Southport.
• Sunday 11th: summer singaround at the Bothy Folk Club, Park Golf Club, Park Road West, Southport from 8.00 pm.
• Monday 12th: tunes session in the Guest House, Union Street, Southport from 8.15pm.
• Tuesday 13th: singaround at the Lion Tavern, 67 Moorfields, Liverpool L2 2BP from 8.15 pm.
• Wednesday 14th: singaround at the Grasshopper, Sandon Road, Hillside, Southport from 8.15 pm.

Select 4 at the Southport Tavern

Local rock band, Select 4 which is led by guitarist Mick Cooper, will be playing a gig at the Southport Tavern (formerly the Albert) on London Street this Friday evening, 24 May.

The band plays a mixture of interesting well-known songs along with a few neglected classics. They tend to avoid the usual standard rock songs that many bands reach for.

To the right is a logo I designed for the band, but I don't know whether they have taken to using it!

Whiskey in the Jar

The song 'Whiskey in the Jar' is probably most associated with Thin Lizzy, but it is of course an old traditional Irish folk song, and before Lizzy got their hands on it, the Dubliners' version was probably the best known. Thin Lizzy never intended it for release, and were in fact just larking around in the studio when they recorded it. They consequently weren't too pleased when Decca released as a single anyway as it wasn't representative of their sound, although I expect they were to some extent consoled by the higher profile they gained when it reached number one in Ireland and six in the UK.

I remember it was on our college bar jukebox and one night at the student  folk club, the club organiser got up and announced he was going to sing the song, "the proper version, not that abomination on the jukebox." I remember thinking that I rather liked the abomination on the jukebox.

With line-up changes, Lizzy dropped the song from their repertoire, and they never played it on the five occasions I saw them live. However, that wasn't the end of the line for the song. In 1990, the Dubliners re-recorded it with Celtic punk band the Pogues with a faster, more rocky sound. In 1998, Metallica recorded a version similar to Lizzy's, but heavier as you'd expect, even winning a Grammy for the song in 2000 for Best Hard Rock Performance.

The song has come a long way from Irish pub folk sessions to heavy metal recognition.

The video sows the original line-up of Thin Lizzy featuring drummer Brian Downey, lead guitarist Eric Bell and Phil Lynott on vocals and bass guitar.

Gig tomorrow

Free admission - all welcome.

Live at the Guest House, Southport

Music events at Remedy, Southport

Tap & Bottles singaround

A quick post to remind local acoustic music lovers that the Tap & Bottles acoustic song session will take place tomorrow night (Monday) from around 8.30 pm. Free to all, performers welcome, and good beer as well.

The Tap & Bottles is on Cambridge Walks, Southport.

Open mic at the Cock & Rabbit

Joanne Louise - banished to the wilderness
after Bar Eighty Eight pulled the plug

Local singer-songwriter Joanne Louise is running an open mic night tomorrow at the Cock & Rabbit, (formerly just the Rabbit) on Manchester Road, Southport. This is a fairly new venture, and it will be taking place once a fortnight on Thursdays; after tomorrow, the next one will be on the 31 August.

She was running them in Bar Eighty Eight on Lord Street in Southport, but the management decided to call it a day for some reason. It can't have been the quality of the performers, which were generally of a high standard. I won't miss Bar Eighty Eight much because its beer wasn't very good, and there have been two violent incidents there in the last month or so, as sometimes happens in places which unsuccessfully try to be classy.

The open mic begins at around 8.30 pm tomorrow evening, 17 August. Performers welcome. The Rabbit usually serves real ale, last time a rather nice pint from Wigan's Wily Fox Brewery.

Restless Angels at the Mount

The band at a previous gig in The Mount

Rock band Restless Angels are playing the Mount pub this Saturday 5 August. They perform tracks by artists such as Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, Julie Driscoll and The Small Faces along with other 60s classics; Blondie, Tina Turner, Ace and more from the 70s; and a sprinkling of later tunes from the likes of Texas, Duffy and many more to provide a wide range of music that doesn't necessarily go for the obvious 'rock classics'.

Yours truly played one gig with the band at New Year as a temporary replacement for a guitarist who was unavailable at short notice. I enjoyed it, although it was a bit nerve-racking for being far out of my usual style!

This Saturday evening in the Mount Pleasant, Manchester Road, Southport, PR9 9BD ; it is a real ale pub. Free admission - all welcome.

Open house at the Grasshopper

With the Open Golf coming to Southport, Birkdale to be precise, the Grasshopper in nearby Hillside tells me that they are putting on 'The Open mic night' which will very loosely have a golf theme. It will an acoustic-only evening (so not deafening!) to celebrate the Open without the 'mic', and anyone who is so inclined is welcome to join in.

Pete Rimmer of the Bothy Folk Club will be running proceedings, and I've been asked to go along and contribute a few songs. 

The Grasshopper always has a good range of real ales on offer, and is at 70 Sandon Road, Southport, PR8 4QD, handy for bus and train.

Lion song session

A detail in one of the Lion's windows 

Just a reminder that the Lion singarounds - acoustic song sessions with no PA - have begun again and are now on the second Tuesday of each month and not the Thursday as before, beginning at around 8.30 pm.

The Lion survived more than 6 months' closure last year and a refurbishment early this year, and has come through largely unscathed. The licensee, Dave, was hoping to have a beer festival this summer but it looks as though the location of the pub on a very busy corner in the city centre close to a major railway station may make the logistics of all the deliveries a festival demands unfeasible. Blocking a busy junction while unloading dozens of casks may not go down too well with our constabulary friends.

A good choice of eight real ales and a real cider is always available.

The Lion is on Moorfields in Liverpool, diagonally across the road from the railway station.

Tap & Bottles acoustic song session

This monthly singaround in the Tap & Bottles, 19 Cambridge Walks, Southport, Merseyside, PR8 1EN. Next Monday 26 June will be the fourth at this venue.

As the poster suggests, it is open to all comers, although performing is not mandatory.

The Tap & Bottles is now well-established in Southport town centre as a venue offering a good choice of real ales, craft and bottled beer.