JOHN FORD ALBUM AND GIGS AT THE STRAND THEATER, LAKEWOOD, NJ, and THE CUTTING ROOM, Manhattan  UPDATED 

News of a new album coming from John Ford (always very welcome indeed!) – Life In A Foreign Town. More news and a preview when I get a copy from John.

About the Cutting Room gig, John e-mails about a second show at "the Cutting Room, NYC on the 26th August, sharing the bill with my British friend, Edward Rogers, who collaborated on one song on the album. I will be including "Each Manner Of Man" in the set list."

More info and tickets at:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/john-ford-edward-rogers-smash-palace-acoustic-w-special-host-may-pang-tickets-162703972963 and http://thecuttingroomnyc.com/.

About the Lakewood gig - Ray Coles posted:

"Tickets for John's Aug 21 show at the Strand are now on sale @ www.strand.org. Attendees will receive a copy of the new album.

This is part of a 3 show set I am presenting called "Shaking Off The Cobwebs", as the theater reopens after almost a year and prepares for its 100th anniversary in 2022

Also part of the series are my good friend, Americana Artist & Author Rod Picott on Aug 6 and the amazing Iain Matthews on Sept 24. Tickets for those will be on sale soon.

So, if you are anywhere within striking distance of Lakewood, NJ, try to make one of these shows as we welcome the return of live music to the Strand's stage."

DAVE BAINBRIDGE ALBUM  NEW 

DB writes:

New album 'To The Far Away' is now available to pre-order from the Open Sky Records online store!! The official release date is 30th September. The album will be available in the following formats:

* DELUXE BOX SET WITH SIGNED AND NUMBERED CERTIFICATE
5 x postcards 1 x signed and numbered certificate 1 x exclusive hardback photo book Limited Edition 2CD
(CD2 contains demo versions, alternate mixes)


* SIGNED 'TO THE FAR AWAY' 2CD
(CD2 contains demo versions, alternate mixes)


* TO THE FAR AWAY 2CD
(CD2 contains demo versions, alternate mixes)

* TO THE FAR AWAY CD

* TO THE FAR AWAY DOWNLOAD VERSION
(24bit wav / mp3 formats)

All the recording is now completed and at the time of writing I'm about half way through mixing the album. The limited edition book of my photos is all collated and the artwork is well on its way to being completed. I see this album as a continuation of the musical sound worlds of Iona as well as my Veil of Gossamer and Celestial Fire solo albums. Special guests on the album are:

Sally Minnear - Vocals
Iain Hornal - Vocals
Troy Donockley - High and Low Whistles, Uilleann Pipes, Cumbrian Voices
Frank van Essen - Drums, Solo Violin, Ensemble Violins & Violas
Jon Poole - Fretted and Fretless Bass Guitars
Jonas Pap - Cello
Nigel Cameron - Whistles
Julie Cameron-Hall - Violin
Martin Nolan - Whistles

Special mention must go to Canadian/Irish poet Lynn Caldwell, whom I collaborated with on the lyrics.

THE COMPLETE FIRE - 3CD ANTHOLOGY  NEW 

Cherry Red have announced this compilation of all the Fire tracks known to exist, release date 21 Aug 2021. Assembled with the aid of chief Fireman Lambert, the 3-CD set features many rare delights, such as all four tracks (including the previously unreleased ‘It’s Not Easy Falling Out Of Love’ and ‘Boys And Girls Together’) that the band recorded in mid-1967 at the RG Jones studio under their original name of Friday’s Chyld, plus two tracks (‘Live To Love’ and ‘Back There Again’) that were recorded in late 1970 by a revised line-up, and which have never previously appeared on a Fire package.

Disc One rounds up their 1967-‘68 work (including both Decca-issued versions of the title track single).

Disc Two contains the album ‘The Magic Shoemaker’ plus sundry out-takes and alternative versions from the same period.

Disc Three is the original trio’s triumphant staging of an extended, revamped live ‘The Magic Shoemaker’ over two nights in 2007.


The booklet includes a full band history, rare photos and new quotes, ‘Father’s Name Is Dad: The Complete Fire’ is the final word on one of the most fascinating bands working on the late ‘60s British pop scene.

Track Listing:

DISC ONE: UNDERGROUND AND OVERHEAD (SINGLES + DEMOS)

1. Father’s Name Is Dad (Original Single Version)
2. Treacle Toffee World
3. Happy Sound
4. Spare A Copper
5. Will I Find Love?
6. Man In The Teapot
7. It’s Just Love
8. I’ve Still Got Time
9. I Know You Inside Out
10. Alison Wonderland
11. It’s Not Easy Falling Out Of Love (Friday’s Chyld)*
12. Boys And Girls Together (Friday’s Chyld)*
13. I Just Can’t Wait (Friday’s Chyld)
14. I Didn’t Know You (Friday’s Chyld)
15. Can’t Be So Bad
16. Green-Legged Auntie Sally
17. Oh Johnny
18. Round The Gum Tree
19. Toothy Ruthie
20. Father’s Name Is Dad (Remixed Single Version

DISC TWO: THE MAGIC SHOEMAKER (1970 ALBUM + DEMOS)

1. Children Of Imagination
2. Tell You A Story
3. Magic Shoes
4. Reason For Everything
5. Only A Dream
6. Flies Like A Bird
7. Like To Help You If I Can
8. I Can See The Sky
9. Shoemaker
10. Happy Man Am I
11. Children Of Imagination (Reprise)

Bonus Tracks
12. Only A Dream (Demo Version)
13. Magic Shoes (Demo Version)
14. Reason For Everything (Demo Version)
15. Mama When Will I Understand (Studio Version)
16. Live To Love
17. Back There Again

DISC THREE: THE MAGIC SHOEMAKER (2007 LIVE CONCERT)
1. Overture (To A Shoemaker)
2. Children Of Imagination
3. Tell You A Story
4. Magic Shoes
5. Reason For Everything
6. Treacle Toffee World
7. Only A Dream
8. Flies Like A Bird
9. It Wouldn’t Have Happened In My Day
10. War
11. Like To Help You If I Can
12. I Can See The Sky
13. Father’s Name Is Dad
14. It’s Just Love
15. Shoemaker
16. Happy Man Am I
17. Mama When Will I Understand (Live Version)

*previously unreleased

RICK WAKEMAN CBE  NEW 

And finally, belated congratulations to Rick for his inclusion in the recent Queen's Birthday Honours List – "Richard Christopher Wakeman. Musician, Presenter and Author. For services to Music and Broadcasting. (Scole, Suffolk)"

Ricks' response at:
https://www.rwcc.com/notices/cbe.php

NEW STRAWBS ALBUM WAS RELEASED - 26 FEB 2021

Esoteric Records press release

"Settlement is the latest album produced by Strawbs, more than 50 years on from the band's first major label release. The album comes at a time of political and social upheaval, which the lyrics and melodies of the songs reflect. Undeterred by the fact that "business as usual" was not possible because of the global COVID-19 pandemic - working remote from one another, from their own home studios - Settlement is a remarkable achievement.

David Cousins, leader of the Strawbs says: "Settlement is something extraordinary. I can’t think of another band who can go from metal grunge to the lilt of an Irish ghost story - or from a song in 6/8 time to singing in 4/4 over a 5/4 backbeat - in half an hour." He goes on to say: "The lyrics reflect the times we have been living through: 'Once we went dancing through quicksilver days', or 'What the autocrats are selling you is Sturm und Drang', or 'All bear witness, come together, we are everyone'. I'm immensely proud of what we’ve achieved.”

Settlement is produced by Blue Weaver who played with Strawbs and Bee Gees in their 1970s heydays. The recording was coordinated from Blue's studio in Germany, where he now lives. Strawbs are David Cousins, Dave Lambert, Chas Cronk, Dave Bainbridge, and Tony Fernandez who last played together at Strawbs' 50th Anniversary Weekend in Lakewood, New Jersey in April 2019.

Strawbs' guests on Settlement are John Ford, another former member of Strawbs, who lives in New York, Cathryn Craig, with her lovely voice and unmistakable Southern lilt, who lives in Northern Ireland, and bass player Schalk Joubert, with whom David Cousins performed in South Africa at the beginning of the year.

Blue Weaver sums it up: "Strawbs dusted off their instruments and set up the necessary technology to make it happen - ranging from state-of-the-art recording equipment to an ironing board! It is unprecedented that a recording of this quality could be made without a single face to face meeting. There comes a time when every Settlement is due!"

Buy the album

CD: https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/strawbs-settlement-cd-edition
180g Vinyl LP: https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/strawbs-settlement-180g-vinyl-lp

Album previews

There are preview reviews from me and long time support Jon Connolly on the Settlement reviews page. Please don't just send your reviews and comments to Facebook - send them to me at:

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Added selection of online reviews.

Singles/downloads

Two singles released onto YouTube:

In addition, Strawbs have streamed the title track of their upcoming album Settlement exclusively with Prog magazine.

Videos

To promote Settlement the Strawbs have been releasing a series of videos onto Facebook and other social media. These are collected on Strawbsweb on the Settlement videos page, for ease of reference. Check them out - more to come .....

NEW STRAWBSWEB DESIGN

Since the beginning of this lockdown (early Jan 2021) I have been working on a new cleaner design for Strawbsweb, which, af=ter many days work, I have now completed (apart from the "Live Reviews" and "Galleries" sections, which need further reorganisation.

I think I've caught all the pages - if I've missed any, you'll see the old logo, or possible an error message - let me know and I'll fix the errors. Do let me have comments by e-mailing

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TONY HOOPER  UPDATED 

See now updated Tony Hooper tribute page.