Royal Celebration at The Navy    Words: Dave Whiteman   Pictures: Matthew Thomas

As if the summer scorcher and the sporting successes were not enough, the nation is cheering once again, this time for the arrival of William and Kate’s new son, who will be third in line to the throne. A committed Monarchist, I feel a certain affinity towards the House of Windsor. I myself was born in the  year the Queen came to the throne, our daughter was born in Silver Jubilee year, 1977, and to cap it all her son, our first grandson, was born just a couple of weeks ago….spooky eh?

We certainly enjoyed wetting our new-born’s head and should the couple decide to do the same I know the perfect venue. The Royal family have a massive connection to the Senior Service; with many of them having served in uniform…..perhaps an evening down at the Royal Naval Association would be just the ticket? I am sure Jess, the steward would make them feel very welcome! Apparently, they are both big live music fans, so maybe we should extend an invitation from the Newport Open Mic?

They would certainly have enjoyed this week’s show, with seventeen years old Kim Smith, from Telford first on stage. She has not been to the club for a while but she soon had the audience in her pocket with the Norah Jones favourite ‘Don’t Know Why’ Very nice also to hear a female singer covering a Police number… a really excellent version of ‘Roxanne’……a new slant on a brilliant song. ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ by Wheatus closed a short but polished set.

Alan Lane played last time with Megan, but returned this week with his usual musical partner, and Megan’s Mum, Sharn Hodgkinson.  The Corrs classic, ‘What can I do?’ was perfectly suited to Sharn’s strong clear vocal, and her follow up, Nancy Sinatra’s ‘These Boots are Made For Walking’ had the audience clapping and tapping their feet, before Train’s ‘Soul Sister’  closed the set.

Most people know that unrehearsed musical collaborations are my favourite. Nathan Davies normally sings his own compositions on stage but this week he assembled Brendan Bambro and Jobe Spencer to attempt the tricky Jason Mraz number ‘I’m Yours’ and didn’t do a bad job at all. An equally challenging song, ‘Someone Like You’ by Adele followed, and showed just how much confidence these talented teenagers brought to the stage. This was their first ever public performance from these youngsters, all aged just 15, and I think it is something they should do more often….. I am confident that we will see more of them.

Coaltrain last appeared at the club about four weeks ago and returned to give us another dose of their blues rock. A slightly different line up had Matt Allen on vocals this time and ten year old……..yes that is ten years old Conor Ross on blistering lead guitar.  Born to be Wild and Get it On soon had the crowd rocking but ‘Sunshine of your Love’ had the jaws dropping……a budding Eric Clapton with twenty years to spare! His Dad, Steve Ross also plays guitar with Coaltrain, so it is clear where he gets his inspiration from. Conor later joined a bunch of musicians on stage, looked calmly at me and just said “what key?”……… a quite amazing young talent.

The first Scratchouse band followed this great set from Coaltrain.   Alex Ash is lead vocalist with Vinyl Tap but tonight he led a five piece that had Roger Clark on bass, Alan Lane on lead, Dave Whiteman on rhythm and Paul Vince, the in demand drummer, to rock through Walking in Memphis and Creep before Chasing Cars, the anthem by Snow Patrol…..an excellent busking set from these experienced musicians.

Conor Ross then returned to the stage to show that he is equally adept at electric or acoustic guitar, before our final band of a very busy evening. The small stage of the Navy was filled to capacity, with a couple of singers, a blues harp player, two lead guitarists, rhythm and bass and fortunately, just one drummer….the brilliant Paul Vince who had backed everyone all evening. A mixed set of songs from The Killers, Bryan Adams, and The Stereophonics sent the crowd home happy.

It feels great to be involved in music in Newport these days. Apart from our own outstanding Open Mic, Olly Flavell, one of our regulars, has started another at the Bridge Inn on alternate Thursdays; next one will be on 2nd August. Don’t forget that The Navigation in Gnosall hold an excellent Open Mic every week, also on Thursday. 

There were great reports about the Live Music held in the Market Hall on Saturday a few weeks ago, so there is a strong possibility of that happening again. Keep it live!

Temperatures rising at the Navy!! Words: Dave Whiteman, Pictures: Laurence Gale

The British Summer, it is said, normally consists of a couple of fine days and a thunderstorm, so what has gone wrong (or right)? The last time I can remember such a sustained period of hot and sunny weather was in 1976, when all records were broken. Sorry to keep going on about it, but I think it is marvelous that everyone seems so positive and cheerful when the sun shines.....maybe that's why the Australians are like they are?

 I went to a brilliant BBQ last weekend, at The Navigation in Gnosall. The garden was packed and the irresistible smell of sausages cooking wafted through the air. Lots of music as well, as around six acts entertained the crowds throughout the afternoon, mainly from the Navigation Open Mic, held every Thursday. A little closer to home, one of our regulars, Olly Flavell has just resurrected the Open Mic at The Bridge, the first one held last night. The intention is to hold it fortnightly, on Thursdays, and I will of course keep you informed.

8.30pm might seem a little early for a sing song, but first up Richard Evans tested the water with Dirty Old Town and even if it was a bit too early to sing, at least the crowd was tapping its feet. He wouldn’t give up however and his next song had them all joining in with Irish Rover....a very lively start to the evening.

Jordan Clempner hasn’t played here for a while and his opener, I’m into Something Good was recorded at least 30 years before he was born, but he did a great job of keeping the audience involved. It’s very clear that he has spent a good bit of time practicing, not only has his stage confidence grown but his voice has also improved considerably as demonstrated on his version of Ed Sheeran’s A Team….excellent.

Martyn Templeton is always guaranteed to please. Summer in the City, and Ooh La La, the Faces classic were both superb, but my favourite was one of his new songs, Let Her Go by Passenger, a great version.

Olly Flavell played a set of his own original compositions including By Your Side and I’m So in Love With You. His new jazzy direction is original, perfectly suited to his vocal and his whole stage presence has come on in leaps and bounds.

One Nation are a band new to the Navy, but the musicians aren’t strangers. Jon Davies, ex Jumps, and Karl Pope-Terry bass player with Don’t Luck Larry, have got together with the vocalist Diane Drummond and drummer Matt Chambers for a very punchy sound that fuses soul and reggae…..I have never heard Adele played in this way but it worked well. One of my all-time faves, I Can’t Stand up For Falling Down, by Elvis Costello followed and was superb…… I am sure we will hear a lot more from this band.

Alan Lane, another very experienced musician, up next. He normally supports Sharn Hodgkinson, but tonight it was Sharn’s daughter Megan who delighted the crowd on her first outing, showing no sign of nerves. Hallelujah is always a favourite, and she did a super job, but her closer, Pink’s ‘Try’ was my highlight of her lovely set.

Our second band of the evening was a Scratchhouse Band made up of newcomer Pete Meyrick on bass, Steve Black on drums, Roger Clark on lead guitar and Dave Whiteman on vocals. It is always a lot of fun when everyone just busks to a random set list. Songs from the Eagles, Soul Asylum and Stereophonics seemed to be good choices!

Zac Christie made a brilliant debut a few weeks ago so expectations were high when he took to the stage and he did not disappoint. How could he with variety such as Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding and Radiohead? This young man (he is only 16) has only been playing in front of an audience for a very short time, but he is already a very accomplished performer….. his talent is extraordinary and I predict a great future for him.

Just enough time to welcome back an old Navy favourite, the silky voiced Zoe Pinchin. We hardly ever see her, she never practices and she doesn’t rehearse……but she gets up on stage and just blows people away with that fantastic voice. Songs from Crowded House, Norah Jones and Police showed just what a great range she has.

So another superb evening of live music enjoyed by the 60 or so crowd. More music tonight (Fri) at the club as The Business play live, supported by the excellent Mellissa Walford. Tickets are £3 at the door and all proceeds to charity. See you next week, keep it live!

Battle of the Bands at The Navy Words: Dave Whiteman, Pictures: Laurence Gale

What an amazing seven days. Have you noticed how just a few small things can change the mood of the entire country? Summer has arrived with high temperatures right across the UK, The Lions smash the Aussies on their own turf, Andy Murray gets a 77 year old monkey from the nation's back...and all on top of Justin Rose winning the US Open Golf....incredible! All it needs now is for the Ladies to win the football and our cricketers to take the Ashes and we have a full house! 

There are similarities between the world of British sport and music. The Sixties gave the world The Beatles, and each decade since has been dominated by British music. In every town throughout the land budding singers, guitarists, and keyboard players are playing in front of audiences at Open Mics, and Newport's own, one of the best around, is right at the forefront.

A Scratchouse band rattled through an excellent sound check….. nice to see Alan Middleton and Roger Clark back on stage, before fabulous young talent Remynie Faith, drummer with Vinyl Tap picked up a borrowed guitar. She soon had the audience in the mood, with first Jessie J's Pricetag and then a lovely version of 'Hallelujah' ...a lovely start to the evening.

Anyone who starts with a Squeeze number will always grab my attention and next up, Laurence Gale and Rob Bryon did just that with one of my favourites, 'Up the Junction' another fave, Ronnie Lane's 'How Come?' completed a great short set.

Steve and Bry played with a band last time we saw them but this week a completely different sound with a soft acoustic set that included 'Fortune Teller' a self penned number that deserves to be heard on the radio, good stuff from this talented duo.

Hair of the Dog is a brilliant name for a band and their opener 'Born to be Wild' certainly blew away any cobwebs, Hard to Handle, the Black Crows version, really rocked the house, and classic 'Smoke on the Water' finished a superb set. A very high octane performance from the newcomers.

Nathan Davies is turning into a very accomplished songwriter....dare I say very reminiscent of his father? As well as a self penned 'Beaches' he managed to fit in his own tribute with one of Martyn's best known songs, 'I Wonder Why', excellent stuff.

Vinyl Tap, who have played the last few weeks with a variety of stand in drummers or guitarists, had a full complement this week. A Town Called Malice was a nice opener, but their second was excellent. Blue Oyster Cult's 'Don't Fear the Reaper' is a difficult song to master and they did a very good job indeed, particularly Brad’s harmonies.

Only a short while ago, I was bemoaning the fact that we didn't seem to see many bands down at the club these days.....well I must have touched a nerve, because this week we were inundated with them! Another scratch band made up of yours truly on vocals, Simon Carswell on keyboards and master drummer Paul Crewe made a fine job of a set that included Phil Collins, Del Amitri and Crowded House.

Good to see Neil Wilday performing again. With a great rhythm section from Baz Webster and Al Middleton and brilliant lead guitar from Roger Clark, they lifted the musical bar with Dire Straits and Gerry Rafferty before a great finale with Thin Lizzy's 'Whisky in the Jar'

How do you follow that? Bang to Rights had that unenviable task but they rose to the occasion magnificently. Lead singer Mervyn Williams was one of the founder members of the club, and it was great to see him back at the Navy rocking out. If the audience were impressed with the lead guitar from Mark Langford on opener 'Johnny B Goode', 'Hotel California' was simply awesome. It’s fair to say that had he joined the Eagles on stage to play the solo, no-one would have known any difference, truly superb.

A new band at the club, Random Times had waited patiently all evening and finally got the chance to play the night out. Jumpin' Jack Flash was an appropriate opener given the Stones at Glastonbury and Pump it Up, which followed stopped anyone from leaving. 20th Century Boy, the T Rex anthem had the audience shouting for more and they got it with Deep Purple's Black Night to send everyone home happy.

So it seems my little dig a few weeks ago ruffled a few feathers....this week we had more than seven bands and what a fantastic evening of live music it was. Same time next week, every week....8pm at the Royal Naval Association Club in Bellmans Yard just off the High Street, the home of Newport's live music scene.

Until next week #winkwink

Newcomer steals the show

Words: Dave Whiteman, Pictures: Laurence Gale

Wow, what a week it has been. High drama at Wimbledon, The Stones headlining the biggest festival in the land, and the enormous success of our own Newfest. The first Glastonbury was held the day after Jimi Hendrix died in 1970. The line-up included TRex and The Amazing Blondel and tickets cost just £1, including free milk from the farm. How things have changed with admission now over £200!

The Newfest then, would seem to be extremely good value a t£10 for around a dozen live acts. Who were the favourites? Well, so many to choose from, but Quo Motion sent everyone home with Status Quo anthems ringing in their ears, M.A.D.I.S.O.N. were excellent, as usual, but for me the most enjoyable was a three piece band whose collective age is less than my actual age! Blue Tuesdays have played down at the Navy a few times and I am always amazed at their ability to make songs that were written before they were born appear to sound so fresh.

He was very busy on Saturday at the Newfest and first on stage tonight, Laurence Gale put down his trusty camera and entertained us with songs from The Beatles, Lindisfarne and Harry Chapin, before our first newcomer of the evening, Mel Christie from Stone. We seem to be getting a number of acts from further afield these days, and Mel’s strong vocals powered through a couple of Clapton classics, before finishing with ‘Please Don’t let me be Misunderstood’ by The Animals.

Nathan Davies shared his spot this evening with a friend of his, Jobe Spencer who was singing for the first time. After Nathan had entertained with a self-penned ‘I Remembered’ and a great protest song, ‘I Wonder Why’ written by his late father Martyn, a shy Jobe took to the stage to give a great rendition of High Hopes by Irish band, Kadoline.

Vinyl Tap are always guaranteed to entertain and they raised the roof tonight with a quite brilliant set…even with a stand in guitarist and drummer. ‘A Town Called Malice’ set the scene followed by a song they have made their own, ‘Walking in Memphis’ but it was the last song, a very ambitious Queen number that won over the 70 or so crowd. ‘I Want to Break Free’ is perfect song for Alex’s strong vocal and it deservedly received a great reception.

Mellissa Walford has been very busy with exams, so we haven’t seen her in a while, but you would never know from her performance. She has always had a fabulous voice, but she seems to have found a much nicer tone on her guitar which has given her a better all round sound, self-penned ‘Behind Those Eyes’ the highlight.

It is really nice when a first timer gets on the stage and within seconds of starting, the crowd has gone silent. Zac Christie from Sedgley, was the star of the evening with first ‘English Rose’ by Paul Weller, and then my personal Beatles favourite, ‘Blackbird’. Aged just sixteen and playing only his second gig in front of a live audience, it is true to say that you could hear the proverbial pin drop….don’t leave it too long before you come back Zak.

Sammy Brizuela had the very difficult job of following on, but an emotional version of ‘Hallelujah’ soon had the crowd in her pocket. The best ballad ever released by a heavy rock band, Aerosmith’s ‘Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing’ was perfect choice next, and an acoustic ‘Poker Face’ by Lady Ga Ga finished a great set.

I have been bemoaning the fact that we have not had many bands over the last few weeks, so it was nice to welcome, Coal Train to the stage, a five piece blues/rock band. Crowd pleasers ‘Get it On’ and ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ had the enthusiastic crowd joining in, but my choice was a very early Peter Green number from Fleetwood Mac ‘Long Grey Mare’

Just time for Open Mic regular Darcy Crawford to send the crowd home happy with a very clever looped ‘Wayfarin Stranger’ by Ed Sheeran and a couple of belters from Paulo Nutini and U2 ringing in their head.

Well what a brilliant evening! Around ten acts and all for the cost of the Glastonbury admission from 33 years ago…what fantastic value. Same time next week and every week, 8pm at the Royal Naval Association, Bellman’s Yard, Newport. Have a look in the Market Hall tomorrow (Sat) A number of acts from the Open Mic are playing between 12 noon and around 2pm Keep it live!
 






Dave

Newport Shropshire's Best Open Mic Evening

Acoustic talent on show at the Navy     Words: Dave Whiteman, Pictures: Laurence Gale

‘Where have all the Flowers Gone?’ was a protest song very popular during the hippy era, and I was thinking of borrowing it and changing the lyrics slightly. ‘Where Have all the Bands Gone?’ would be a great title. Seems like just a short while ago, you could throw a drumstick into the Navy club audience and chances are you would hit a musician…guitarist, drummer, bass-man etc. These days the fantastic drum kit sits at the back , virtually unused, the electric guitars are sat gathering dust in the rack and the play list is somewhat dominated with acoustic singer songwriters. Bang to Rights, Don’t Lick Larry, Robbie’s in Rehab, Airbag……..where are you all? Don’t get me wrong, the acoustic evenings are fantastic, but don’t you just sometimes wanna rock??!!

Enough ranting and back to the open Mic. Great to see first act of the evening Graham Dabbs on stage again. A quirky song about fishing opened his set, and songs from Cat Stevens and Hal Ketchum showed everyone that he hasn't lost his touch. Good to have you back Gray!

I always like to hear a good vocalist and Martyn Templeton is one of those singers who can make it seem effortless. He hadn't planned to play but after a little persuasion from yours truly, he enlisted Rich Evans and gave us a brilliant short set that managed to include two of my musical idols....Tom Petty and Johnny Cash. I really think you two should team up more often.

The Levellers were the favourite band of Martyn Davies, and his son Nathan clearly holds them in the same esteem. A fine version of 'Does anybody Know what Happens to Love' was followed by one of his own songs, 'I Won't look Down', before finishing his set with one of his Dad's, 'Another Protest Song' great stuff from this impressive 15 year old.

Claire Shaw from Telford was making her second appearance at the The Navy and she will soon become a firm favourite with this kind of performance. Starting with a good old fashioned singalong is always a great idea, and the crowd joining in noisily with The Lumineers 'Ho, Hey' proved the point. A bit of Country & Western from the Dixie Chicks followed, but her final song, a self penned 'Not my Place' left the audience wanting more.

It's true to say you never know what is coming from Richard Thomas. This Open Mic veteran has been surprising us for years, and he made us smile again with his opener.....Karma Chameleon from Culture Club....Johnny Rotten meets Boy George! More Country & Western followed, maybe inspired by the previous act, with crowd pleaser 'Gypsy Woman' the pick of the bunch, before singing an impromptu 'Happy Birthday' to Jude Paton.

I don't think I have heard Ben Garrott sing before. He is a very talented all round musician, with saxophone and keyboards his usual instruments of choice, but he came on stage with just a ukulele for a rousing 'Take me Out' by Franz Ferdinand and yet another superb crowd singalong 'Daydream' by The Lovin Spoonful, complete with whistling solo......not too easy to do on stage!

More singalongs followed from Darcy Crawford. Obviously recognising that the crowd were in the mood, 'Last Request' by Paulo Nutini was very well received but The Proclaimers '500 miles' brought flashbacks of Auchturmuchty Working Men’s Club on a Saturday night!

At last a scratch house band to finish the evening. I was beginning to think that it would be a totally acoustic evening when Neil Willday assembled Olly Flavell and Andy Clarke on Guitar and bass, with drummer Brad Taylor completing the line up to rock through a series of classics. 'All Right Now' set the tempo, 'Sweet Child of Mine' kept up the pace before the Elvis standard 'All Shook Up' sent everyone home happy.

So another quite brilliant evening of live music at the Navy. For all you absent musicians out there, dust off your drumsticks, grab your Gibson and get back down to the best Open Mic in the area. Doesn’t matter if you are too tired to hump your amp along…remember we have drums, PA, mikes, lights, lots of guitars and a wonderfully enthusiastic audience…..what are you waiting for???

See you next time.