Hope this finds you all safe and sound after some troubling news headlines lately... On May 12th this year our music friend Dave Deares sadly passed away. This was sadly followed shortly by the passing of another music and poet friend Colin Mutimer on June 24th. Both sadly succumbed to cancer. We are holding a night to honour both of their unique talents. You can hear Dave's music here and read Colin's poems here.
On SATURDAY 15TH NOVEMBER we are holding a night of poetry and song in The Sultan (Side Bar), 78 Norman Road, South Wimbledon. London, SW19 1BT. Entry is free for this tribute evening and Marie Curie fundraiser featuring acoustic acts John Forrester, Genius Steals, National Camera, Alistair McFarlane, The Boycycles and Jamie Clapperton who will be performing some songs and poems written by Dave and Colin respectively. There may be the odd cover thrown in that they loved...
John Forrester sings songs of travel, adventure, lust, discovery, friendship, love & weather. A fine performer with an easy relaxed delivery, a warm openhearted voice, an unshowy guitar style and an infectious personality. Having toured Europe extensively his songs have a strong sense of location & motion. His most recent album ‘Restless’ was released in 2018. This was preceded in 2014 by ‘Outsider’, 2016's ‘The Former Me’, 2014's 'Outsider' (which has just been released on vinyl!), 2001's 'All The Wrong Things' and his 1996 debut 'Tales Of Nothing'. He was previously the front man of Sunspeak and the "noisy guitar band" The Colour Mary. John is a much sought after bass/double bass player currently playing in Robb Johnson & The Irregulars, The Outcast Band and Slow Munitions but has played in several over the years including Pressgang, Nozzle, The Singing Loins and Rastko. As well as his own shows, John has opened for Show Of Hands, Lindisfarne, Nick Harper, Rory McLeod, TV Smith, Sonny Condell and Robb Johnson. John will mainly be playing acoustic guitar tonight but also a mean bouzouki player! John knew Colin and was a great friend of Dave's. He played at the latter's big surprise 50th birthday celebration. Here is a live clip of John which includes a little lyrical prompt from one of his superfans (that's when you know you've made it)..!
They say that "talent borrows, genius steals". If ever you needed proof of this, Genius Steals is the band project of multi-instrumentalist and amazingly talented producer Pat Rowles. Typically modest and to the point, Pat says that he's "just another coulda/woulda/shoulda Jimmy Webb wannabe. I could give you a load of flannel about being influenced by 'classic' this and 'iconic' that, but that's all it would be: just flannel and [as one of his songs says], All Is Vanity. Let's say I was aiming for the sweet spot somewhere in a square whose corners are Lloyd Cole, Aimee Mann, Bob Mould, and John K Samson. Sound OK? Well, OK then!" Pat will be playing acoustic guitar and singing along with regular collaborator Robb Ball on acoustic lead guitar and backing vocals. Genius Steals are in the process of finishing their second album. It follows 2022's "Nobody Knows Anything" which Pat describes as "Ten years to write, Five years to record, Two years to mix and Fifty-one minutes to listen to..." Pat's debut solo album Gauche was released in 2005. He is a much sought after producer and bass player. As well as producing Dave's solo CD, Pat has produced his own band, Boycey, The Boykes and Richard Anderson. He has fronted No Corridor, Fonda, Shrimp Tractor and Ear Candy. Pat also played and recorded with Adrian Borland and Dead Man's Curve. He was a close friend of Colin and Dave. Here is a live clip of Genius Steals...
National Camera are Chris Macorkindale's acoustic three/four piece band that have been together for a few years now. Chris is an experienced performer on the London acoustic scene over the past 25 years or so. He writes thought provoking songs, plays rhythm guitar and sings sweetly. He will be accompanied by Mark Thorne on keyboards, Mark Spall on congas and sometimes by Lydia Whitehouse on violin. Most of the band knew Dave and Colin well. Here is a live clip of National Camera...
Alistair McFarlane has been writing and performing music since the late 1960s, not only as a solo artist but also as a member of various duos, trios, quartets, etc. In more recent years, Alistair has been writing. performing and recording music, under the name Sunprintsystem, with collaborator Daniel Chandler. Back at the turn of the century, as a solo performer, Alistair recorded and released a solo album featuring a collection of songs under the title 'Sleeping With Yourself'. He has been playing as a solo artist, along with some collaborators (including Colin) for over 30 years now. He continues to write new material but tends to make rare live appearances in recent years. We are so pleased that tonight will be one of those. Alistair was good friend of Colin's and knew Dave well. Here is a live clip of Alistair...
Moykal O'Bui formed The Boycycles at the end of 1997 after playing solo with Sheila B (Cello) and Mark Spall (Percussion) over the years. They were joined by Mark Thorne (Keyboards) and started recordings in December of that year. Sheila left in 1999 to go onto to great success with Fosca and Airport Girl. Susan Wright joined the band that summer. Violin replaced cello on the recordings but sadly a studio malfunction caused recording to come to an end in 2000. O'Bui started recording the album from scratch in the summer of 2001 but by then the band had come to the end and so the project was abandoned. In 2017 O'Bui resurrected the old recordings and regrouped members of the band to re-record parts and add new material. Susan was no longer playing at this time but Sheila returned and they finally released their debut album "Things Fall Into Place" and played a couple of live shows that year. They reform for a rare live appearance this evening to commemorate their late great friends who were involved in their journey and were always great supporters of this. The whole band knew Colin and Dave well. Here is a live clip of The Boycycles...
Jamie Clapperton is a local poet and songwriter. He plays piano and guitar. Jamie is making a rare live appearance tonight with some acoustic guitar accompaniment. He says "to me Dave and Colin were friends of friends but the pieces I have chosen show a feeling for nature, which I think we share". I am sure that they would have approved of his interpretations of their work. Here is a live clip of Jamie... https://www.facebook.com/reel/1513849812475108
Will be great to see you there if you can make it.
Event Venue
The Sultan, SW19, Eddie Cleal, 34 Deburgh Road, London, SW19 1DU, United Kingdom, Wimbledon
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