Songs from 1992/3 performed by an eclectic bunch of East Anglian folk and rock musicians. Cover by Colin Ward. For… Read More
The New Kadampa Tradition of Buddhism was founded in 1991 by Tibetan monk Geshe Kelsang Gyatso (1931-2022), following a fifteen… Read More
The first album by Punk Soul Brothers is a solid collection of minimalist agitational beat-heavy tracks. But the sound is… Read More
FIND OUT MORE!… Read More
In Sophie Scott-Brown’s excellent, well-researched and insightful biography of Colin Ward, one of Britain’s most interesting alternative thinkers of the… Read More
I’ve got a new album. It’s pretty much a one man show, but with a few crucial contributions to playing,… Read More
Like Joe Canzano’s last book, SUZY SPITFIRE AND THE SNAKE EYES OF VENUS, RUNE AND FLASH revolves around a highly… Read More
The Singer To these ears, Johnny Cash’s singing style was basically the same for the vast majority of his recording… Read More
A Place Like This – the title track describes the UK’s 2025 City of Culture, which wasn’t very cultural when I… Read More
I’ve got a new name, the band has a new name and, in the three years since we last performed… Read More
The Latest Albums by Man and Son of Man 1 Anachronism Tango by Man came out in 2019, coinciding with… Read More
For some reason, the term ‘singer-songwriter’ seems to be frowned upon when the person being referred to works in the… Read More
The Impermanent Resident album has received some airplay on college radio here in Canada, getting into the top 10 at… Read More
Jazz guitarist and composer Patrick Naylor has a new one out, called ‘Winter Dream’. The album contains nine varied tracks,… Read More
‘The Mystery of the Green Street Underground’ is an enigmatic product. Is it an album or an EP? Is the… Read More
Great Guitar It’s rare to hear folk guitar played so that every string rings out clearly when a chord is… Read More
Some recollections have popped up relating to Kill or Cure, a CD I put together in 2007-8, which I thought… Read More
A few notes on the EP ‘If You Want Love (Have Mine)’, now available on Bandcamp: I tried to get… Read More
A new song built on the foundations of an old one. The current world health crisis can’t be described as… Read More
We expected to be playing at Grossman’s, Toronto, on April 10th but it’s been cancelled due to coronavirus. So here’s… Read More
It was fun to do this song with its composer. Tim Shia is on drums.… Read More
It’s tempting, when explaining to people who Neil Innes was, to immediately associate him with the world-famous English exports he… Read More
Based on a riff by Mike Pierce-Goulding.… Read More
In nineteen eighty-three there were some kids I knew at school who were just starting to play what could loosely… Read More
On Spotify, Apple Music and elsewhere, there now exists a digital version of the joint release with poet Stuart Ross… Read More
From the time when I had little musical ability but plenty of eccentricity in the late 1980s through to the… Read More
After the high-octane experience of 150-odd people being served a three course meal, the fabulous pianist Adrean Farrugia started up… Read More
On March 30th 2019 I was at the Owls Club, Toronto, for the premier of the album Zombie Karaoke Santa… Read More
Despite their lack of mainstream kudos (exemplified in the name of the pop act ‘Johnny Hates Jazz’), there were many… Read More
My First Time “The shit on the streets of our townComes in different shades of brownWhat I mean can be… Read More
What is The Work? There are several videos of new songs on my website’s ‘The Work’ page. They can also… Read More
Continuing a summary of the book Radical Essex, influenced by Colin Ward and containing a significant contribution from his friend… Read More
New Book I think of the county of Essex as one of the Home Counties i.e. those surrounding London. I… Read More
Never Judge… The phrase ‘never judge a book by its cover’ couldn’t have been more appropriate. I was suspicious about… Read More
Folk Club Atmosphere This event felt like an English folk club night. I haven’t been to a folk club in… Read More
Social Commentary in Song A song sometimes has a lyric with a discernible message. This message may be skilfully presented,… Read More
Arsenal v Stoke City, April 1st 2018 Arsene Wenger’s Reign (1996-2018) Canadian friends were surprised when I told them how… Read More
The Last Voyage aka Soundtrack to a Non-Existent Movie, is just one of four album releases so far this year… Read More
The anecdotal information I could gather about The Bad Plus before attending their gig at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club on… Read More
The Event Farewell Michael Holt. The singer-songwriter, classical pianist/composer and cultural activist had a great send off on June 30th.… Read More
Bonus Track #1: Bonus Track #2:… Read More
More straight to camera efforts, with help from Ronny + my first gig at The Local for 5 years! next… Read More
I’m not a fan of the music video. I used to like Adam & the Ants a lot until they… Read More
Roger ‘Deke’ Leonard seemed to add an air of glamour to the Manband. He adopted the name of a character… Read More
Phil Ryan, keyboard player, singer and songwriter with the Welsh rock band Man, died on April 30th 2016. Phil Ryan… Read More
Ken Aldcroft: 1969-2016 When someone dies unexpectedly in youth or middle age, as guitarist Ken Aldcroft did on September 17th,… Read More
What follows is a personal salute to Vi Subversa, via the biography of fellow anarchist Colin Ward. Back in 1945,… Read More
Likeable characters, original ideas and a well-structured plot comprise Joe Canzano’s second pop-lit novel, Sex Hell. The bulk of the… Read More
Parade (1986) It was hard for Prince to win over some sections of the music-listening public. He was part Jimi… Read More
It’s hard to forget my first visit to Toronto. I had never been anywhere so cold. I had never been… Read More
The sixteenth studio album by Welsh progressive rock band Man: Reanimated Memories – the band having been in existence, with… Read More
Colin Ward by Harriet Ward: When I met Colin in the mid-1960s we were both at a turning-point. After 12… Read More
We’re having a bash in the back room of the Cameron House, 408 Queen St West, Toronto, on Saturday October… Read More
Guitarist, composer and bandleader Patrick Naylor has followed the 2 exceptional albums his band made in 1999 (‘Patrick Naylor Quartet’)… Read More
‘A Few Crazy Days Each Year’ is dedicated to all members of SAMZEO (formerly The Family Nikoladze), a Leeds-based group… Read More
There are five CDs by Joe Canzano (under various stage names) available and now they have been joined by Magno… Read More
I’ve been to more Man gigs over the years than I care to remember but I’ve never seen Man at… Read More
The latest literary offering from guitarist/singer/songwriter Deke Leonard, Maximum Darkness, picks up chronologically where his 1996 book ‘Rhinos, Winos and… Read More
Gorgeous God: 10 Songs from the CD Gorgeous + one from the CD Kill or Cure uploaded to youtube.… Read More
photo by paul, december 2011 On the occasional Friday afternoon between 5 and 7 during 2011 I would drop into… Read More
There’s an open stage with a difference going on halfway down Roncevalles Avenue in Toronto’s mid-west. The first Catweazle Toronto… Read More
George Harrison’s solo stuff seems to have been under-appreciated, despite the widespread affection for his personality. The music has great… Read More
The band, all two of them, were dressed in black, grown-up and focussed. The audience was largely, though not exclusively,… Read More
Hi This is a One-Off Message giving details of my new CD, Gorgeous, and how to get it. With lovely… Read More
I’ve just given the go-ahead for the manufacture of the CD after obtaining 7 sets of proofs from 7 separate… Read More
The tracking and Mixing process for the CD I’m working on, basically all the creation and manipulation of audio before… Read More
During the course of a recent 39-day trip back to Britain from Canada I found myself in a variety of… Read More
If enthusiasm is amateurish I must be a seasoned professional. The effort required to make a CD of new versions… Read More
Harry Nilsson, Who he? During my first year as a Canadian resident I was a little dismayed to find that,… Read More
While working on my current project, a revival and recreation of songs I wrote many years ago, the enjoyment has… Read More
It’s encouraging to know that, 3 years after his death, the vision of my dad, the alternative thinker Colin Ward,… Read More
I borrowed my friend Vanessa’s bass guitar and put down, on average, 3 takes per song on 14 songs which… Read More
I’m recording some new versions of old songs which didn’t come out right the first time round. Recently I dusted… Read More
The process of reviving some songs I wrote long ago in order to remake them for new ears has been… Read More
I’ve selected some songs which have been popular with listeners over the years, I’ve assembled a basic home studio and… Read More
I didn’t go to see the singer-songwriter Colin Hay for the anecdotes. I think the first words he said as… Read More
Deke Leonard is a guitarist, singer and songwriter who was a member of the group ‘Man’, with a couple of… Read More
A gorgeous new year to all beings from a sofa-bed in the west end of Toronto. My year in independent… Read More
The donut shop is practically unheard of in the UK. There, people think of doughnuts as large, sticky confectionary items,… Read More
My friend Scottie was unhappy with the greeting I had left on the answering machine. It was long and possibly… Read More
I’m singing in a 10-piece choir called Machari at a concert on April 2nd in downtown Toronto. We do Georgian… Read More
Thanks to all the folks who watched the Gare Black video I was going on about last month. This time… Read More
BW and Gary Black, September 1995 Back in 1995 I used to be a regular at the Black Rooster open… Read More
A review of ‘Invisible World’ by The Blow-up. I played this CD while a friend was visiting and he said… Read More
” dialogue would have been a better response to the World Trade Centre attacks than retaliation “… Read More
A review of the CD ‘Big Mouth’ by Happy Joe: New Jersey’s premier shouter-songwriter Joe Canzano picks up where he… Read More
A hot and busy day, but ultimately a rewarding one was had by the 200 or so people who sat,… Read More
My dad Colin Ward died in February. He has left us with decades of great writing and many good memories… Read More
If anyone personifies the great work done by artists not receiving corporate support, it’s Al Lindsay. I’ve singled out the song Fly Away from 2009’s Shingle Street CD because it’s a good example of Al doing what he does best. There’s nothing flashy about the singing or the song but like a lot of great folk and blues it works on a sensual, pre-intellectual level.
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All those nights I spent listening to European football competitions in the 1970s and 80s, in which British teams would… Read More
Last weekend I went to a music festival (the 2009 WOMAD festival at Charlton Park, Wiltshire, UK) for the first… Read More
This is the second of three blogs which aim to provide alternative sources of music to what we are normally… Read More
Peak Recordings is pleased to announce the release of the new single by Ben Walker: Hold On To Your Hard… Read More
This is the first of three blogs in which the aim is to provide alternative sources of music to that… Read More
Like a lot of pubs, the Kings Head at Pebmarsh isn’t a natural music venue. The makeshift performing area is… Read More
An appreciative audience gathered at The Packhorse, Leeds, to hear a night of all-original music played by a new 5-piece… Read More
After an 11-year gap, Daylight Dog reunited at a private party on a Suffolk farm to play 7 songs from… Read More
The ‘Mela’ is an annual, free 2-day festival held in Peel Park, Bradford. It’s predominantly geared towards asian culture, but… Read More
An Orphan’s Song on YouTube 6 of 15 pieces from the CD An Orphan’s Song performed by Ben Walker and… Read More
It’s unusual, not to say unfashionable, to have certain audience members at a gig perform the duties of ‘light monitor’,… Read More
Sometimes it can be overwhelming to be confronted with the entire output of an artist you are not familiar with.… Read More
I entered the room to find people smiling. Introductions had been made and tonight’s performance was about to begin. We… Read More
When a music venue sells Tyrrells Root Vegetable Crisps, it suggests that an above average evening may be in the… Read More
The next time I’m at a dinner party with the high and mighty, listening to the music they’ve just ‘discovered’… Read More
Recently I had an argument with a friend. I was describing a gig I attended where the music was original,… Read More
A few days ago I turned into a fly and landed on the wall at one of Richard Ormrod’s performance… Read More
Earlier this evening I went to hear Al Lindsay play at Kesgrave Music Festival near Ipswich. One song into the… Read More