11th December 2012

Arctic winds but red hot atmosphere in The Navy!

Words & pictures by Dave Whiteman.

Christmas is just around the corner, there’s snow on the way and we haven't finished shopping for presents yet, .. but don't worry, help is at hand.

The nights may be getting colder but you will always be assured of a very warm welcome at the Royal Naval Association in Bellman's Yard, Newport Shropshire.

Although freezing outside, the packed house didn't need to huddle together at last Friday's monthly live music evening, when local rockers Bang to Rights played a two hour set to a full house, that left everyone with a nice warm glow! Songs from The Eagles, Beatles, John Mayall and many many others made sure everyone got a pretty good live music fix at the start of the weekend.

Business as usual at the Open Mic on Tuesday evening, and first up this week Robbie Pilgrim and Ashleigh Husselbee had only one song, but what a cracker it was. 

Dylan wrote ‘To make you feel my love’ to be played in very simple way, without fuss or drama, and that’s just how these two did it…with lovely vocals backed by soft guitar. Olly Flavell then joined Robbie to busk through ‘Sweet child o’ mine’, a great start to the evening.

Good to see Roger Clarke back, and the first band of the night saw Rog joined by Keith Johnson and Dave Blu as a rhythm section and Dave Whiteman on vocals for a couple of lively openers, including a rocking version of ‘Gimme one reason to stay here’ by Tracy Chapman.

Dave Blu then swapped bass for his trusted Gibson to play a small blues set, backed by Keith Johnson and Andy Clarke on drums and bass, which delighted the eighty or so audience.

One of the founder members of the Open Mic, Dave "Diddy" Evans, who is now a member of local new supergroup “Touch Too Much” brought the new band to the club for the first time, and what a brilliant set they played. 

Songs from Pink and Christina Aguilara were only bettered by Skunk Anansie’s ‘Weak as I am’, with terrific vocals from Jody Claydon, made for a dynamic and excellent debut live performance. Come back anytime you like folks!

John Pullen and Martyn Templeton are always guaranteed to please and they shared both stage and guitar this time, delighting the enthusiastic crowd with ‘Come undone’ an early Duran Duran song before Martyn’s spot on version of ‘Pebbles on the Beach’ by Paul Weller.

There is always variety on a Tues evening and next up, Tony Barrett from Wheaton Aston provided it this week. ‘Rollin’ from Randy Newman and a self penned ‘Light at the end of the Tunnel’ showed off a superb guitar style, but the sing along crowd pleaser ‘Ghost Chickens in the Sky’ showed he can sing a bit as well!

Remynie Faith & Ben Garrott brought the house down last time and they gave us more of the same this week, with songs from Shakira and Katy Perry, before a brilliant ‘Hallelujah’ quietened the audience once again.

Brad Taylor up next and, although his songs about death from Body in a Box and Slipknot didn’t exactly get the audience dancing, great vocals and guitar from this talented young man. He then proved he wasn’t all doom and gloom by assembling a scratch band to play us out for the evening, with Remynie and Dan on drums & keys and Nathaniel Lewis on bass. An authentic ‘Sweet child ‘o mine’ was a lively end to another brilliant evening, but there was just time for Dave Blu to join them on stage for a great blues jam before the lights came on.



So that is just about it for this year, a brilliant 2012 for live music in Newport. Weekly Open Mics at the Navy every Tuesday and at The Lion in Edgmond on Thursday, massive festivals at The Phez and the Rugby Club, and pubs packing crowds in with bands throughout the town. What a brilliantly talented place this is!

Final dates for your diary before the Christmas break, Vinyl Tap are playing The New Inn tomorrow (Sat) starting at 9pm, support is Remynie Faith and entrance is free.

Don't forget the Open Mic Christmas Party next Tues, 18th Dec, when Amber Lizard will be taking to the stage for the end of the year bash, so get there early as it is always popular.

The Open Mic will then take a short break until after the festive season, returning in early Jan. I would like to thank everyone who has supported the Newport music scene throughout the year, particularly Jude Paton whose tireless work promoting live music and organising the Open Mic has kept Newport firmly on the map.

Thank you for all your kind comments, Happy Christmas and Best Wishes for 2013. Keep it live!!

Oh What a Night

Oh what a night….Another full house at The Navy  

 Words & pictures by Dave Whiteman and Laurence Gale

Sometimes you just know. The Open Mic on a Tues is always good, but sometimes….you just know it’s going to be more than that, something very special. 

From the moment that blues veteran Dave Blu assembled the Scratchouse band with Andy Clarke on bass, Stephen Black on drums and young Olly Flavell on guitar, and the first notes of a high voltage ‘Crossroads’ started, the atmosphere was already electric and everyone understood that we were in for a great night.

Malcolm Purvis from Leeds always pops in when he is in the area and his sweet (autobiographical?) urban poems put to music, set the stall for a brilliant evening. 

The performer’s board was already full by 8pm and it was going to be a challenge to give everyone playing time. Telford based Jimmy Bremner, just 70 years young, followed and ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ was a perfect tune to get the crowd excited, before Dave Whiteman kept the audience involved with an energetic crowd pleaser from Simon & Garfunkel, ‘Mrs Robinson’

Our second band of the night had Ed Young joining Dave Blu and Stephen Black on stage to raise the roof with rockers from Hendrix, Free and Bad Company. Dave’s brilliant guitar work meshing perfectly with a great rhythm section….difficult to believe it was the first time they had played together.

Remynie Faith is known as one of the club’s great young talents, and this week, joined by another multi instrumentalist Ben Garrott, it is fair to say they brought the house down. They surprised the audience with a ukulele driven ‘Sweet child of mine’, but the next song sent a tingle down every spine. A gorgeous version of ‘Hallelujah’ had Remynie’s haunting vocals backed by Ben’s superb piano and it quite rightly brought the house down.

Always difficult to follow something like that, but next up Vinyl Tap rose to the challenge playing one of their tightest and best performances to date. ‘Town called Malice’ set the mood, Kraftwork’s ‘The Model’ was quite brilliant and Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ had the audience joining in once again.

Olly & Jake are Navy regulars now and a typically solid set once again showcased excellent guitar work with very strong vocals.

We don’t see enough of Richard Thomas these days due to his work commitments, but he always brings something different to the table. ‘Driving with my High Heels On’ was followed by a reworked Who classic, before he delighted the crowd by singing the first Christmas song of the evening ‘Oh Tannenbaum’ ….. of course in German! Nikki Millar then joined Rich for a song about ‘Searching for Alice in Wonderland’ which had more than a hint of ‘Living next door to Alice’. As I said, always original!

I’ve heard Sharn Hodgkinson sing Gabrilella Cilmi before, and, accompanied by Alan Lane on guitar she gave us a great version of ‘Sweet about Me’ before yet another showstopper, this time the blues classic ‘Summertime.’ 

Our fourth band of the evening was Telford three piece The Dead Vespers and as on their previous visit, they did not disappoint. ‘All Rise’ ‘When the Moon bleeds Gold’ and the heart wrenching ‘Sweet Heart Lullabies’ match a confident stage performance with exceptional song writing…..I am sure we will hear more from these young guys.

Ed Young and Ade Morris played together for the first time in a long time last week and it was nice to see them back on stage to play purely acoustic versions of great tunes from Crowded House and Bad Company. Ade’s typically strong vocals and sympathetic guitar work from Ed, was all that was needed to quieten the crowd once again.

Wow, what a night!  With more than a dozen live acts, it was quite difficult at times to make sure everyone got stage time, and we would certainly have liked to have heard a lot more from some, but as the clock crept towards midnight, another superb evening of live music came to an end. 

Word seems to be getting around; Tues night at The Navy is the place to be if you are a music fan, and all for less than the cost of a cup of tea! 

Local rockers Bang to Rights are live in The Navy tonight (Fri) supported by the excellent Jack Green. Doors open at 8pm and entrance is only £3 so why not come along and get a flavour of the superb local music scene in Newport? 

Other dates for your diary: Vinyl Tap are at The New Inn on Stafford Road on 15^th Dec and don’t forget the Open Mic Christmas Party at the Navy on Tues 18^th Dec. See you there!

Local talent on display at The Navy        Words & Pictures by Dave Whiteman



I managed to save over £980 pounds last week and in these austere times that’s quite a tidy sum. So how did I do that? Well, when I say I SAVED what I really mean is that I didn’t spend it. If you’ve seen the news, you may have noticed that our longest running rock band, The Rolling Stones celebrated 50 years in the music business by playing to sell out crowds at the O2 where tickets cost up to £1000….yes, I’ll say that again £1000! Nice to see that with a combined age of almost 275 yrs they can still pack them in.

I on the other hand went to the Robin 2 in Bilston to see the Counterfeit Stones, a brilliant tribute band, and do you know what? Not only do I think that I got the best deal, but I reckon that some of our younger musicians will have the same longevity.


Melissa Severn, Mellissa Walford, Olly Flavell & Jake Fosteroj between them are younger than one Stone and are all regular performers at the Open Mic, held in the Royal Navy Club every Tuesday.

First up this week, a couple of regulars from the Lion open Mic, Grahame Weir and Jon Lloyd on guitar and mandolin.  A very nice set included ‘The Cave’ from Mumford and Sons and ‘Big Girl Now’ from Dylan before a sing-along ‘Dirty old Town’. You can catch them at the Lion in Edgmond every Thurs evening.

Mick Collins is a relative newcomer to the club and his relaxed style and Black Country humour soon won the crowd over, with songs from The Clash and The Stereophonics. Time now for a bit of the aforementioned youth, with 14 year’s old Melissa Severn.

Melissa always gives a solid performance with her thoughtful, self penned songs and this was no different. ‘If you knew I existed’ and her final song ‘Is Nashville what they Say’ showed off an exceptional talent.


We haven’t seen Dave Blu in the Navy for a while, but after assembling a rhythm section of Andy Clarke and Remynie Faith on bass & drums he soon blew the cobwebs away. Warming up with ‘Wipe Out’ by The Safaris, he then blasted through ‘All along the Watchtower’ and guitar classic ‘Crossroads’ to delight the enthusiastic crowd.

Our second Mellissa, Walford, is never afraid to try something different, and a couple of new songs from the Foo Fighters and Kate Nash was followed by a quite superb self penned song, ‘Take me Away’….. another great young talent.

Our very own tribute act next, when Dave Whiteman returning after holiday assembled Remynie and Jake, on bass and drums and the guitar wizard Dave Blu to rock through a couple of Stones classics.


Back to the youth, as Jake remained on stage to be joined by his regular playing partner, Olly. ‘Ain’t no Sunshine’ and an excellent self penned ‘So in love with you’ quietened the audience, but John Mayer’s ‘Gravity’ was quite superb.

A couple of popular songs from Nick Whitby, ‘Scarborough Fair’ and ‘Wish you were Here’ showcased a lovely guitar style, before a couple of old favourites took to the stage for the final act.


Ade Morris and Ed Young, who used to play together in Airbag performed an excellent acoustic set that managed to include Jose Feliciano, Jason Mraz, Take That and Crowded House….quite a combination, and it’s a pity so many people had drifted off and missed it.



So another lively and entertaining night of locally produced music at the Navy and if you consider that the cost of the Stones gig would pay your entrance to the club for the next 20 years or more, it’s great value for money!

Why not come on down next Tues and every Tues at the Royal Naval Association in Bellman’s Yard from 8pm.


Dates for your diary, on the 7th of December, Friday next, local rockers Bang to Rights  will be playing some classic rock and blues at what may turn out to be the very last "Live Band Friday Evening", the band will be supported by the excellent Jack Green. Let's show the promoters our support, in an effort to try and change their minds.

Tuesday the 18th of December is the Open Mic Annual Christmas Party…come along and see off the year in style.

Take care until next week. 

20th November 2012

Another night of musical excellence.

This Tuesday saw one of the quietest open mic nights in a long time down at Bellman’s Yard, with only about 35 guests. In fact, at 8.00pm it could have been a scene from A Fistful of Dollars; eager musicians, eyeing each other silently from across the saloon, each wondering who would be first to fire. Thankfully this didn’t last long, as the anticipation was broken by Jon Davis, who we suspect may be taking part in Movemeber and so was suitably 'tached for the part of a Spaghetti Western character, strode up to stage and belted out a handful of songs accompanied by a series of skilful guitar licks. 

He then rallied up the talented Remynie-Kiah on drums, Andy Clarke on bass and Rich T on vocals for a plugged, meaty, 12-bar-blues-rock-and-roll, jam-fest. They covered some classics, including Johnny Be Good, Shake Rattle and Roll and of course we had a bit of Rock Around the Clock. Does anyone know the key to Lucille? I'd bet it's in A!

Olly Flavell took it down a notch with his soulful sounds. It's been a while since I last heard Olly sing here, and I think he might have got even better. And his voice was certainly on top form this evening with his solo rendition of Warwick Avenue. I'd listen to this over Duffy any day. Robbie Pilgrim joined him for a couple of guitar-duets including Olly's own song, Gravity. They make a stylish pair.

I was also very pleased to hear Melissa Walford and her fabulous voice again. She started off with the likes of Skinny Love, The Kooks’ Naïve, and when we wouldn’t let her leave the stage she finished off with some Ed Sheeran. You've got the love, Melissa!

 Next we were reminded how the crystal clear voice of Sharn Hodgkinson is perfect for (but certainly not limited to!) country classics. She started of with Jolene, which was brilliant, and also of note was her version of Streets of london. Accompanying her was Alan Lane on guitar, who did a professional job.
 
 The night would not be the same without performances by a few of the Navy club regulars, including smooth crooner Alan Turner, who played another lovely set, and rocker Rich T who gave a feel-good performance of Abba’s Take a Chance on Me and – now there's a distinct country and western theme emerging – Steve Earle’s Devil’s Right Hand. I am not ashamed to admit I was happily slapping my knee.

 The night ended with a blast: Essex’s own Chris ‘Fender’ Black and Rosie Buttocks were back for a fun, lively rock-and-roll set. Chris is a true performer, who knows how to work the stage. The pair jammed with a couple of the ‘in-house’ young musicians: Remynie was on drums again, and German graphic artist and musician Ben Garrott, who we suspect is not necessarily taking part in Movember, was on fire on the tenor sax in the last couple of songs.

So altogether another cracking evening. Why don’t you come down and join in at the next one? They’re every Tuesday, 8pm, at the Navy Club in Bellman’s Yard, Newport.


Don't forget to keep Friday the 7th December free. We have the wonderful classic rock & blues band "Bang To Right" playing, with support from the great voice and musical talent that is Jack Green. 

Make it the beginning of the Christmas Party season, C'mon people it's a FRIDAY !!. See you there.

Tuesday 13th !!

Tuesday 13th November!!.. proved to be a lucky night for music lovers at Newport Open Mic at The Navy Club in Bellman's Yard Newport with the players board full by 8.15 and a crowd of over 60 people about to be treated to live music of the highest calibre.

Paul and Adele Parker carrying baby Parker (due in 3 weeks) had arrived to do a recce of the Navy Club venue prior to their eagerly awaited gig butwere more than happy to treat us to a 25 minute opening acoustic set.
Classics from Amy McDonald, Eagles, Fleetwood Mac and a song from the soundtrack Easy Rider, The Weight by The Band transported me back to 1969 and my love affair with Peter Fonda.  Superb harmonies and a great set gave the audience a taste of what to expect from Paul Parker and All the
Right Friends on Friday.

14 year old Melissa Severn again stirred the audience with her own unique style of self penned songs from the heart including Walk in my Shoes (about people who are horrible to you for no apparent reason), Crowded Dreams, Lovestruck (about a cute boy in the maths class) and Paralysed.
Relaxed and now full of confidence Melissa is fast becoming a familiar favourite at the Navy Club. She tells me she has written over 70 songs to date so we are sure to hear a lot more new material in the coming weeks.



Peter Blythe, yet another newcomer to Open Mic, played his very first live performance with cool confidence and some interesting new songs not heard before at the Navy including Liquid Confidence by You Me at Six and If It Means a Lot to You by A Day to Remember.  Enthusiastic applause meant that I am sure we shall see a lot more of him.


Multi-instrumentalist Remynie-Kiah this week played guitar and stole the show with her startling vocals, singing haunting ballads from The Script, Bright Eyes, Priscilla Ahn and  finishing with Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah which left us spellbound.

Melissa Walford gave another strong performance and included one of her own songs You and I and Kings of Leon Use Somebody in an excellent set.



Singer/songwriter Malcolm Purvis from Leeds made a welcomed return to Newport Open Mic always making the effort to come and play when working
the area. This week we were treated to Girl on Line 14, In Time, Candle and Alive. Great lyrics, songs about life and songs from the heart.

Olly (guitar and vocals) and Jake (bass) and only 15 and 16 respectively now play regularly at the Navy and at Jaspers in Shifnal and delighted us this week with Duffy’s Warwick Avenue, a splendid bluesy soul version of Bill Wither’s Ain’t no Sunshine and a favourite of mine, Gravity by John Mayer.




Worrying that we had hauled the drum kit out of the loft for nothing we were relieved to see birthday boy Andy Conway step up on stage with band mates Pippin and Rob to round off the evening with rock classics Voodoo Chile and Whole Lotta Love played in their own pulsating style. A very tight three piece band that never fails to clear out the ear drums at the Navy.

For regulars and newcomers to Newport Open Mic this was, in my opinion, one of the best 3 hours of live music I have had the pleasure of listening to. Mostly acoustic sets this week, with lots of original material and not a song sheet or music stand in sight. Terrific stuff and thanks to those that make it happen each week.

Newport Open Mic is held every Tuesday at the Royal Naval Association in Bellmans Yard just off Newport High Street (Opposite The Nat West Bank) from 8pm. See you next week.

For all you live music lovers don't forget that we have Bang To Rights plus support from Jack Green on Friday the 7th December. This promises to be a great night of live music and partying. Make sure you come early.

6th November (already).

November is here; the nights are beginning to freeze and there's a bitter chill to the air, but one can always come down to the Navy Club in Bellmans Yard just off the Newport High Street, for Newport's premier Open Mic Night, to warm up with a sizzling selection of red hot performances! 
Clearly this was a popular plan this Tuesday, as the seats were full once again. (I feel I should have left this introduction for December, and based my introduction on the eve of President Obama's second victory, but I am so exhausted from the excitement of the evening I've been left speechless.)

 

First up this week was Malcolm, from Leeds, who charmed us with his tales from the North, including Girl on Line 14 - a song about his fellow attractive Polish factory worker who he wants to seduce with wine.

 

Next was Dan Corcoran, who opened with an acoustic version of legendary blues song Stack O'Lee, before surprising the audience by whipping out his Bazooka: the musical kind obviously, no one was harmed during the course of his set.

 

They played a few weeks ago and we happily welcome back on stage youngsters Robbie Pilgrim and Ashleigh Husselbee, for a short, sweet set comprising of a Taylor Swift cover. Always leave them wanting more is what they say - one can tell they're now in the show business.

 

Next up were H'n'K - a newly formed group of musicians on their maiden voyage at the Navy! Howard (H), a guitarist from Whitchurch, answered drummer Keith's (K) ad in the paper for a gig-partner. Bass player Nick (N) just happened to be sitting in the wrong place at the wrong time and hey presto, up they got to confidently deliver a boogie-tinged set of Rock 'n' Roll classics. Let that be a lesson to all you lone musicians - it's easy to get a group together so get out there and get jamming!

 

Then Alan and Keith accompanied the lovely Sharn for a great set, which included a particularly good rendition of '30 Minute Love Affair'. We would love to hear more of Sharn here at the Navy.

 

It is always a pleasure to hear the folky-blues tones of local band Driftwood, who gave a brilliant, sultry performance of the Jessica Rabbit Song amongst others. They will be releasing a new CD in the next few weeks so look out for it - The Lonesome Boatman, available at Hey Jude's and other good record stores.

 

We haven't seen her in a while, but Melissa Severn was back tonight and good as ever, starting off with a cover of 'What Are You Waiting For?'. She told us that she doesn't usually do covers but when they're this enjoyable we'll let you off Melissa! She finished off, true to form, with a new song of hers called 'Lovestruck'. 

 

The Navy Club's other Melissa - Melissa Walford - was not to be seen tonight. She is saving her voice for her gig at the Four Crosses this Saturday night at 8.30pm. Go down for a drink, it will be the price of a pint well spent.

 

 
It's always a good night when a good number of bands play, and this week, Navy Club regulars Rich T and Chicken teamed up with Heather on Sax, Martin on rhythm and Steve on fantastical lead guitar to form The Biznez. Chicken provided spot on vocals for a cover of The Police's 'SOS', before handing back to Rich, this week on drums, for 'Jumping Jack Flash'.

 

The evening wound down with some acoustic sets. First of all Alan took to the stage for classics such as Ground Control to Major Tom, and a really lovely performance of You Do something To Me - nothing better than to hear a good voice singing this beautiful song.

Finally, Rob and Loz saved the best till last: they performed a series guitar duets with Rob on vocals, including Ooh La La by The Faces and Squeeze's Up The Junction.

 

And that's that for another week! Another great night, so thanks to all who came and performed. 

Just a quick heads up to all music lovers that 8.00pm on Friday 16th November, Paul Parker & All The Right Friends are playing live at the Navy Club. You wouldn't want to miss it. It promises to be a fantastic night of excellent covers from the likes of REM, Rolling Stones, Tom Petty, The Who, Springsteen plus many, many more, and again at what may turn out to be the very last "Friday Night Music Presents" evening. BANG TO RIGHTS with support from the very popular Jack Green. Be there for the party of the year.