New Talent On Board Me Mateys

Lots of new talent at the Navy.        Words : Dave Whiteman,   pictures by Laurence Gale

They say time seems to go faster as you get older. It seems just a few weeks ago we were all looking forward to Christmas and now here we are in March. It's nice to be able to report that the popularity of the Newport Open Mic has continued, with regular attendances of around fifty, which on a cold winter evening isn't bad at all.

Carol Cartwright from Gnosall has become somewhat of a regular and her soft voice and melodic guitar is the perfect start to the evening. This week, songs from The Stones, Simon & Garfunkel and a classic from Joni Mitchell, Big Yellow Taxi set the scene for a busy night of music.

Jordan Clempner is a newcomer to the Navy and he tested the water by playing just one song, Crazy by Andrew Garcia. Judging by the reaction of the crowd and his big smile as he left the stage, I am sure we will see more of this 16 year old. 

Richie Evans is not only a very talented musician, but he often reminds me of the professor from Back to The Future. Never content to just stick to guitar he has a range of inventions guaranteed to spark interest. This week it was a 'stomp box' which added a bass thump to his first two numbers, Galway Girl and Hey Ho by The Lumineers. Final number Piano Man by Billy Joel, with Richie also playing harmonica, brought back nice memories. 

Just as last week seemed to be dominated by female vocalists, (was there a footie match on or something?)  this Tues it seemed to be all fellas. Darcy Crawford followed on with a great set featuring Paulo Nutini and The Calling, before livening up the audience with a spirited 500 miles from The Proclaimers. 

The ever reliable Olly Flavell filled in a short gap with just a couple of songs before another new act, D n B otherwise known as Ben Garrott and Nathaniel Davies, came on stage. Ben is a very talented musician this week on keyboards, and if his solo rendition of The Ink Spot's I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire was an eye opener, the next one Fly Me to The Moon with Nat joining in on the vocals was excellent.

Plenty of variety then and next up Richard Thomas can always be relied upon to provide that. Normally just accompanying himself on guitar, he was this week at the back, playing drums behind a four piece band, The Business.  'Chicken' the bass player is no stranger at the Navy, but guitarist Steve Renyard and Martin Lang on sax have not been seen for quite a while. Starting with a Madness number is always a good idea; One Step Beyond had all the feet tapping, and a soulful Knock on Wood reminded me of a stripped down Commitments. 

Once again the board was completely full and a quick changeover saw Alan lane accompanying Sharn Hodgkinson through a couple of great songs, Glitter & Gold from Rebecca Ferguson and Ain't no Sunshine in which Alan's playing deserves a special mention. The other Woman by Caro Emerald finished off an excellent set. 

Martyn Templeton raised the tempo a bit with Three Steps to Heaven and Stand by Me before another Open Mic favourite took to the stage. The silky voiced Zoe Pinchin made her first visit to the club in quite a while last week and it was good to see her back once again. With her regular partner Dave Whiteman on guitar, she effortlessly flowed through songs from Adele, Guns & Roses and a cracker from Sheryl Crow, Soak up the Sun. I hope this means we will be seeing more of this Navy Club favourite.

Always good to see a Scratchouse band taking to the stage and to close the show this week, another first timer Billy Biscuit, assembled half of The Business, Chicken and Rich T (sounds like a sweet & sour dish!) with the ever reliable Roger Clark on lead guitar to rock us to the end of the night. A great opener, Brown Eyed Girl was followed by a short set of classic rock & roll to finish off a brilliant evening of local live music.

The Navy Club every Tues at 8pm is the place to be if you like your music live.   

Whether you want to sing, play or just listen, you can be sure of a warm welcome at the Newport Open Mic. 

Also don’t forget Open Mic at the Lion in Edgmond, every Thursday around 9pm….give it your support.

See you there and keep it live!

A Review of Heidi Peach Browne's new album. Words and Pictures by John Heath

Heidi Browne  is well known to us at The Newport Open Mic. Here is a review of her latest album (available from all good music outlets (and Itunes))

Review of Table 4 One – Heidi Browne

I recently bought the CD “Table 4 One” by Heidi Browne and I was listening to it at the same time that I was reading “Trilby” by George Du Maurier (GDM). It was almost possible to believe that George had heard Heidi playing in Paris and had based the character of Trilby on her singing.

George said this about Trilby:

“Every single phrase is a string of perfect gems, strung together on a loose golden thread.”

And I once wrote a review about Heidi´s live performances in which I said something like this:

“Heidi often wears a string of pearls during her concerts, and her songs are just like little pearls: beautiful and perfectly formed. In fact you could say her songs are like a string of pearls for the ears.”

See what I mean?

Anyone who has Heidi as a friend on facebook will be aware of how prolifically she contributes to this media, so you will, no doubt, be aware that she frequently has her songs played on the wireless.  Taking just one song from the CD, “G.I.R.L.F.R.I.E.N.D”, this was BBC Radio Shropshire´s song of the month during December 2011 and declared song of the year in 2012; It was picked by Tom Robinson for his 6Music Mixtape; it has been played on Radio Sheffield and Radio Stoke; and It was also the song Heidi entered for Jamie Cullum's 'Big Audition', making it to the semi finals. According to the publicity I received with my CD, Tom Robinson (Radio 2) described the song as “a masterclass in how to tell the audience a story, person to person, heart to heart, the writing is sharp and direct and the vocal performance is absolutely immaculate”.

The songs on this CD are an interesting mix of bitter-sweet and playful. The title track, “table 4 One” tells of the biter-sweet breakup of a relationship, but includes the playful lines: “Now that I am single, I´ll eat all the Pringles”!

The sound mix on the CD is splendid. In the past I have rushed out and bought LPs by various folk artists, only to have my hopes dashed by masses of overproduction by the sound engineer and orchestration that detracted from the original mood of the performance I enjoyed live. In a pleasant contrast to this, Heidi has composed arrangements for violins, flute, piano, guitar and vocal harmonies, all of which she plays herself, in such a delicate way that they seem totally natural and unobtrusive. The drumming / percussion by her brother , Joe, is surprisingly understated and mature, and it is impossible to fault the contribution made by her father, Colin, on Bass and keyboards.

The CD conjures up a wonderful atmosphere of summer days in Shropshire. It has, to quote GDM:   “.. . all the freshness of the morning, the ripple of the stream, the click of the mill, . . . the smell of early flowers and summer woods and meadows...” It would be easy to imagine playing these songs on the eight track in my (imaginary) open - top MG-T, driving up and down the A519 between Drayton and Newport, enjoying the warm sunshine and breathing in the freshness of the Shropshire countryside while listening to Heidi´s sublime music.

While downloading the CD, I took advantage of also buying the single “Paris”. This song alone is being played up to 12,000 times a week on 'Stereomood', (it seems to be particularly popular in Italy and Turkey), and it is frequently to be heard on Radio Shropshire and Radio Stoke. And quite rightly so. Heidi spent a year or so at university in Paris, and this is her poignant take on the city, and to quote GDM (who must have heard the song): Her voice is so “seductive, that the desire to hear it once more became nostalgic – almost an ache.” Her exquisite voice, plus some very delicate piano, a hint of Parisian accordion, a violin duet and some pizzicato fill, and the most refined brush-work on the drums, have all combined into a very fine song.

 

I really enjoyed reading “Trilby” a story about a singer who was Mesmerised into singing like an angel; conversely, let Heidi mesmerise you with her songs. You will agree with me and George Du Maurier that in her music she has“. . . all the genial gayety, grace and impishness of Pierrot idealized into beauty and innocence.”

www.facebook.com/heidiemmapeach

www.soundcloud.com/heidi-browne

www.youtube.com/heidibrowne

Words by John Heath  TF10 music

Young Musicians are the future of Rock n Roll

Young musicians out in force at the Navy.     Words & Pictures by Dave Whiteman

Cold weather, half term, horse meat scandals and the prospect of another recession, it seems like everything has been happening this week. Can’t do much about the first, back to school next week and it’s no use beefing about the other problems, it won’t change anything. One thing that is constant though, is that if you want to get away from all of this and relax in a nice friendly atmosphere, The Royal Naval Association in Bellman’s Yard Newport is the place to go. Tuesday at 8pm is the Newport Open Mic and where fans of live music can get together to see some of the great local musical talent on offer.

Carol Cartwright once again opened up the proceedings with her soft voice and lovely guitar work. I have been playing guitar for many years, but I was blown away by her finger picking on Scarborough Fair, a great start to the evening.

Our first newcomer on stage was Kim Smith, just 17yrs, and very talented she is. Showing no sign of first time nerves, her super set included Madness and Justin Timberlake, but my favourite was reworked classic from Police, Roxanne.

Next up, another young and talented female…where were all the fellas tonight? Melissa Severn has the stage presence of a West End veteran, and her set, comprising solely her own songs was very well received. At just 14 years old I am sure there is a bright musical future for Melissa.

At last our first male to try and redress the balance, Olly Flavell although still only 16, is something of a veteran. His brilliant set included Amy Winehouse, Guns and Roses and his own self penned song, Sunday Morning.

Still more musical youth (what a good name for a band!) to come, and Open Mic regular Mellissa Walford once again showed the crowd what a great voice she has with songs from Kings of Leon and Ed Sheeran. It seems like female talent was far outweighing male this week as, after a short medley from Dave Whiteman, a founder member of the Open Mic came back after a long absence. 

Zoe Pinchin hasn’t been to the club for a while, but within the first few bars of her opening song, Who’s That Girl? The audience were reminded of what a fantastic voice she has. A couple more songs, completely unrehearsed, from Eva Cassidy and Fleetwood Mac, cemented her reputation…..don’t stay way too long next time Zoe!

With the score at 5-2 to the girls, it was another young lady of remarkable talent to come on and seal the game. Remynie Faith, this time on keyboards, brought the room to a standstill with David Guetta’s Titanium, before bringing musical partner Ben Garrott on stage to play a rousing version of I’m Not a Vampire, by Falling in Reverse.

Carol Cartwright returned to the stage, this time to accompany another visitor from Gnosall, Anthony Cox. Last week Anthony played here for the first time with a small makeshift band, but this week his set had stripped down versions of Bad Moon Rising and Dock of the Bay, with just Carol’s lovely acoustic guitar as backing. Final song, Hello Mary Lou had the audience clapping and singing along.

Picking up the Rock & Roll baton, next act Martyn Templeton carried on the same vein with songs from Eddie Cochran and Buddy Holiday, before a great version of Do You Wanna Be a Spaceman? from Oasis. 

Yet another brilliant evening was coming to a close, extra time was on the cards and I was just reflecting on the fact that the female talent had far outweighed the male when an all male band came to the stage to equalise. A very experienced bunch of musicians, Rich Evans from Weasel Diesel, Paul Crewe and Simon Carslake from Airbag, and Simon Mann from Lost the Plot formed a brilliant group to play us out. I Get Knocked Down from Chumbawumba set the scene and a raucous Great Balls of Fire finished off a loud, energetic and quite brilliant short set.

If you like live music, and a regular audience of 50+ in the Navy suggests that many do. Try the Lion at Edgmond on a Thursday night. Purely acoustic there is a great sound system, a brilliant atmosphere and wonderful beer…..give it a try.

Don’t forget the birthday party tomorrow……...Lost the Plot are just one year old and are celebrating at Cosy Hall on Saturday. Jelly and Ice-cream will be served and an evening of music, fun and laughter is guaranteed. All for now, keep it live!

Another brilliant night at the Navy. Words by Dave Whiteman, Pictures: Laurence Gale

The secret is definitely out. If you want to play at the Navy on a Tuesday evening, you have to get there early. 

Once again by 8.15pm we had a full board of performers eager to strut their stuff at Newport Open Mic. 

Carol Cartwright, a first timer last week, enjoyed it so much she came back for a repeat performance. A lovely version of Both Sides Now preceded a rarely heard Simon & Garfunkel number; I am a Rock, before a rousing version of Sweet Little Sixteen closed the set.

Olly Flavell has been writing new material and he showcased this evening with Sunday Morning, before assembling a scratch band to join him performing Crazy in Love.

Another youngster full of confidence is Melissa Severn. She has become a regular and firm favourite with her thought provoking self penned songs. You could hear a pin drop as Melissa sang a couple of her own, Our Story and Burn, but she then surprised us all by playing a cover of One Direction's Kiss You.

Dave Blue is one of the clubs most enthusiastic musicians. A brilliant guitar vocalist, he has put together a new band with Steve 'Blackie' Black on drums and Paul Cooper on double bass, called Old Bones Boogie Band and they are well worth seeing if you get the chance. A lively set full of blues, R&B and classic rock had the crowd wanting more, but with more than a dozen musicians still waiting to play, it was not to be. They are actively looking for gigs now, get in touch via the TF10 newsletter to book them, you won't be disappointed.

Whilst another new band was setting up on stage, John Pullen (left) and Martyn Templeton gave us just one song each. Rock & Roll is King from ELO is an ambitious song with just one guitar, but John pulled it off well, before Martyn tried a brand new song Titanium by David Guetta, great stuff from the pair of them.

Regular readers will know that my favourite part of the evening is when a group of people who may not even have met before get together and make a bit of noise. Simon Haywood, who came to the club for the first time just a few weeks ago, texted Dave Whiteman to say he had bass player, Paul Wiggin from Hednesford and guitarist Michael Halley from Lichfield (right), but no vocalist....could he help? Dave duly obliged and a super set of songs gave no sign that this was a first time performance.
I think I am right in saying that it is also the first time that Earth Angel from the film Back to The Future has ever been played live in the club!

Next up,  Richard Thomas (right) played a mainly punk set, with Sham 69's Weíre going down the pub, before a couple of classic tracks from UK Subs and then the Sex Pistols God Save the Queen.....Richard a punk? Never!!

 Still a good bit to get through as singer guitarist Darcy Crawford (left) came on, performing songs from Florida Georgia Line and The Script before a great version of Brad Paisley's I'm still a guy, showed a country & western string to his bow.


Malcolm Purvis is always welcome, appearing as he does when working in the area. His self penned 'life stories' always entertain" A19 about his favourite road and a touching song about love from a distance, The girl On Line 14.

Fresh from performing in front of 3000 people in Birmingham, Mellissa Walford came back to her roots with a brilliant vocal set. Iris from The Goo Goo Dolls was followed by her latest self penned song, Stuck Like Glue, before she made a touching personal tribute. Pete Walford was her music mad cousin who tragically died just a year ago and Mellissa credits him with encouraging her musical interest. Her rendition of one of Pete's favourite songs, Knocking on Heaven's Door had many reaching for the tissues.

Neil McPherson is usually found in the various folk clubs around Newport, and having waited patiently all evening to play he delighted the remaining audience with a mixed set of classics beautifully played on his 12 string Ovation guitar. Sounds of Silence and If I were a Carpenter were both excellent, but his haunting version of Christie Moore's Ride On was truly superb. 

So yet another brilliant evening of live local music comes to an end. Every Tues from 8pm, but please remember if you would like to play, get there early as the board fills up very quickly.

Just time to tell you about a very special birthday party in a couple of weeks. Local band Lost the Plot are just one year old and they will be celebrating in their own unique style with a gig at Cosy Hall on the 23rd Feb. Fancy dress will be much in evidence and, as at any birthday party, jelly and cake will be served.


See you all next week. Same time same place, The Navy Club Bellmans Yard Newport Shropshire TF10....Ta-Ra.

NEWPORT'S GOT TALENT .. IT'S OFFICIAL

OMG!   Mellissa auditions for BGT!      Words by Dave Whiteman, pictures Laurence Gale.





We have always though she is a talented young lady and now Mellissa Walford is about to put herself firmly in the spotlight this weekend as she auditions for Simon Cowell.  Mellissa, aged 16, will appear before the Britain’s Got Talent judges in Birmingham tomorrow, singing one of her own compositions and if this week’s ‘sneak preview’ at the Newport Open Mic is anything to go by we think she is going to knock them out.


Before that though, first on the stage is another super young talent, Olly Flavell, with a couple of crackers from Ronan Keating and Michael Jackson. Following Olly was a newcomer to the club, Carol Cartwright, who usually plays at the Navigation Open Mic in Gnosall. Her version of ‘The last thing on my mind’ had the audience enthusiastically joining in the chorus and a Joan Armatrading number ‘All the way from America’ was equally well received.

Harry Woolley and Barry Hollyhead are both individually well known, but tonight they collaborated to perform a Lonnie Donegan tribute. It was reported that Lonnie was Elvis Presley’s favourite singer and as Barry & Harry reminded us of his quality, with songs such as ‘Alabama Bound’ and ‘Hard Road Dead or Alive’ it is easy to see why he had such an influence on British popular music.


Next up Darcy Crawford had some new material and was still scribbling down lyrics as he was called to the stage. No time for rehearsal then, as he went straight into a couple of Brad Paisley numbers, ‘I’m gonna miss her’ & ‘I’m still a guy’, but you would never have guessed this was a first outing for these songs. His final choice, Toby Keith’s ‘It’s a little too late’ showed off his superb vocal range…another one to watch for the future.

A rousing reception greeted the news that Mellissa Walford was to audition for the BGT show. She has long been held in high regard for her room filling voice and her self-penned song, ‘All these days’  ...….the song she intends to perform tomorrow, was brilliant. Good luck Mellissa from everyone in the club.

It’s not often that we see Clive Evans in the Navy these days, but he made a welcome return this week to team up with his son, Open Mic stalwart Rich Evans. Playing electric guitar with Rich backing on acoustic, Clive treated us a terrific instrumental set starting with Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Albatross’ and then the Shadow’s classic ‘Apache’….brilliant stuff.

Dave Whiteman had the difficult job of following them and he had the crowd singing along with a particularly topical song, given the weather, ‘Why does it always rain on me?’ before our only band of the evening took to the stage.


Last Tuesday, I think we had four live bands, but this week it was well after 10pm before our first group came on stage. Guitarist Alan Lane, Andy Clarke on bass, and the ever reliable Keith Thomson on drums backed another newcomer to the club, Anthony Cox.   Our second visitor from Gnosall, Anthony quickly got the crowd on board with an excellent medley of Elvis Presley songs, highlights of which were ‘Teddy Bear’ and ‘Blue Suede Shoes’

Alan then stayed on stage to accompany the silky voiced Sharn Hodgkinson, who carried on the foot tapping theme with ‘What can I do?’ from the Corrs and a fine version of the little heard Rebecca Ferguson number ‘Glitter & gold’. Her final song, ‘Set fire to the rain’ by Adele, was, for me the pick of the bunch.

Back for an encore by popular request, Darcy Crawford made a reappearance and played a couple of favourites from Paulo Nutini, before yet another multi talented young lady took us to the finish. Remynie Faith is an accomplished drummer,  keyboardist and vocalist, but tonight with just her  guitar, she played and sang out the evening as the lights started to come up and people made their way home.

So once again, another fantastic evening of live local entertainment at the Newport Open Mic. The Navy Club has the deserved reputation of hosting one of the best Open Mic’s in the area if not the whole of the UK, with drum kit, guitars, amplifiers and even our own resident soundman.

Whether you want to play sing, or just listen, there is bound to be something down at The Navy Club in sunny Newport Shropshire for you. Come and see all this fabulous local musical talent for yourself!

Another Special Night.

Another packed house at the Navy Club!                                       Report Tues 29^th Jan. 

Words Dave Whiteman, pictures Laurence Gale

“All the snow has turned to water, Christmas Day has come and gone” sang country singer John Prine in his song ‘Souvenirs’. 

I was reminded of this as I walked though Victoria Park just a few days ago, remembering that last week scores of kids were sledging down the small hills and now it is back to its normal green. Christmas Day has come and long gone and as we enter February, once again flood alerts are across the whole county. One thing you can be sure of though, is that whatever the weather, there will always be a decent crowd of live music lovers at the Royal Naval Association in Bellman’s Yard for the weekly Newport Open Mic.

After a quick sound check under the watchful eyes and ears of Adam the sound man, Barry Hollyhead was first to entertain the house with a couple of cracking songs, ‘Kisses sweeter than wine’ and a lovely ‘Railway Hotel’ done originally, I think, by Mike Batt, of Wombles fame.

Olly Flavell, this week without his regular partner Jake, was next up and treated us to a great version of the Michael Jackson hit, ‘Man in the Mirror’…..not simple to do with just an acoustic guitar, but he made it look easy. Following this with ‘When you Say nothing at all’ it’s now clear to everyone just how much his singing and playing have improved. 

Time for a Scratch House band next and Dave Blue assembled regular Andy Clarke on bass, Olly on guitar and Keith Johnson on drums to fire up the crowd with a classic blues set which featured ‘Crossroads’,  ‘Mr Bartender’ and my personal favourite, ‘Black Country Blues’…..which definitely sounded more Tipton than Mississippi Delta! 

Slowly making a name for himself is new(ish) local tennis coach Darcy Crawford. Tracey Chapman’s ‘Talking ‘bout a revolution’ was followed by a couple of superb Paulo Nutini numbers, ‘Last Request’ and ‘Candy’.

We pride ourselves on having quite a wide age group at the Open Mic, and you could say that next act, Jimmy Bremner from Telford, at 70 years young is one of our more ‘senior’ members. He sang solo on his last visit a while back, but this time he brought a four piece to entertain us. Tom McDonald on lead guitar, Paul Vince on drums and our own Ed Young standing in on bass supplied the backing as he rocked though songs from Johnny Cash and Hank Williams.

Vinyl Tap played a super set last week and they were back at the club again with new songs and a new guitarist. Brad Taylor has joined the band and his guitar and vocal contribution will, I feel, be a big asset. A set that included Soft Cell, Radiohead, Chris Rea and Amy Macdonald is quite a mix, but the band pulled it off brilliantly. 

Next up, Richard Thomas, who is always original. He seems to have an endless supply of quirky versions of familiar tunes, and he delighted again this week with ‘We could have been anything that we wanted to be’ which was, I think, from the musical Bugsy Malone. His next song was definitely familiar but it took me a while to work out that it was an Abba’s ‘Mamma Mia’ done in his own inimitable style….half of it in Swedish! 

If anyone can fill the room with her voice, it was next act, Mellissa Walford. Although still only 16 she has the stage presence of someone much older and has become far more confident over the past few months. It is now quite difficult to separate her covers from originals….in between Ed Sheeran’s ‘A team’ and ‘Too Close’ by Alex Clare, she treated us to one of her own compositions, ‘Stick Like Glue’ which she has just written, and it sounds good enough to be recorded. 

In what has been a good night for bands, with Mark Langford and Steve Smith, half of local rockers ‘Bang to Rights’ in the house it seemed only natural to recruit a couple more to make up a final group to close the evening. Simon stepped up on drums and Dave Whiteman provided vocals for a couple of lively tunes from first Bryan Adams and then a classic Eagles number, ‘Hotel California’.

  All too soon the lights were coming up bringing yet another brilliant evening of live music to a close. Four bands, three singer guitarists and two very talented singer songwriters, where else can you get entertainment like that for a quid? The Navy club, every Tues, from 8pm is the place to be whether you want to play, sing or just listen. Come on down…you know it makes sense!