It's Only Rock n Roll.

Local talent on display at the Navy Words & Pictures: Dave Whiteman

Seems like just a few weeks ago, that the football season was ending with tears of joy for the winners and despair for those relegated, but the new season is back and, it seems, richer than ever, at least for some clubs. Will Wayne go to Chelsea? Can Fabregas be tempted away from Barcelona? Does anyone really care? Apparently this year, the governing body is bringing in FFP, or financial fair play, which should stop some of the wealthier clubs dominating the transfer market....but the news broke just as Real Madrid bid a world record £87 million for Gareth Bale. However, not happy that he will now become their SECOND most expensive signing ever, Ronaldo has demanded a pay rise......to £360,000 per week. Fortunately down at the Navy, there are no prima donnas amongst our bunch of talented players, so the entrance fee will remain at £1 including the raffle!

First up this evening, 18yrs old Jack Pierce making his first appearance at the club,. ‘White Blank Page’ by Mumford & Sons was his opener, and any stage fright very quickly disappeared. His vocals got stronger as his set progressed, and ‘Greased Lightning’ from the film Grease…never an easy song to master…was excellent. Coconut Skins, a song by Damien Rice closed a very good debut.

 
Nice to see the cross pollination with other Open Mic’s in the area, particularly The Navigation, just up the road. The Magpies are Tony Rodberg and Martin Jacks, both from Gnosall, and they got into the spirit of things by enlisting Steve Black on drums and bassist Alan Middleton to form a very solid four piece Scratch Band. Clapton’s ‘Lay down Sally’ was a lively opener with a brilliant guitar solo from Tony, but their next song really silenced the crowd. Pink Floyd’s ‘Wish You Were Here’ is a truly modern classic and judging by the harmonies these two have clearly sung it before.

Nathan Davies, without his singing partners from last week, gave us a solo performance and very confident it was too. ‘One Way of Life from The Levellers and Jake Bugg’s ‘Seen it All ’ were predictably very good, but a new number ‘Revolution Song’ written by his father Martyn was the highlight of his set.

 
Another new collaboration had Darcy Crawford joining multi-instrumentalist Ben Garrott, this time on keyboard, for a completely unrehearsed set starting with Piano Man by Billy Joel, which also featured Darcy on harmonica as well as vocal duties. Ben then showcased his talent with a boogie-woogie instrumental before they both got the audience involved with ‘Hit the Road Jack’ the Ray Charles anthem. ‘Wayfarin Stranger’ by Ed Sheeran involved ‘mouth percussion’ from Ben, and a multi looped vocal from Darcy. The end result was unusual, intriguing and a brilliant way to end to their set.

The soft vocals of Steve Davis next, and he started with a tribute to the recently departed JJ Cale, ‘The Best I’ve Ever Had’ which set the stage for another lovely ballad from David Crosby, called ‘Traction in the Rain’. The majestic ‘Ride on’ by Christie Moore once again had the majority of the 60 or so crowd singing along quietly or listening appreciatively at the bar.

Everyone’s favourite punk anarchist up next, Richard Thomas who always manages to spring a surprise. ‘ I Will Survive ‘by Gloria Gaynor was an interesting opener, before his own tribute to one of our local bands from a few years ago, ‘Breathe in Breathe Out’ written by Dead Moon Society. I don’t think anyone expected the next song……a David Essex song ‘Oh What A Circus’ from the musical Evita…….in Spanish of course, it really had to be didn’t it!

Time for another bit of unrehearsed busking and this time it was three quarters of the popular local band from a little while back, Robbie’s in Rehab, Alan, Roger and Dave. They enlisted the very capable drummer Baz Webster and managed to get people on the dance floor with a few memories from Thin Lizzy and The Zutons amongst others. The crowd was still quite lively, so after a couple of encores from Stereophonics and one of my favourite bands, The Police, it seemed only fitting then to invite our friends from Gnosall, Martin Jacks and Tony Rodberg to finish off a great evening. A rousing ‘Mustang Sally’ and The Who rocker, ‘Substitute’ sent everyone home with smiles on their faces.

So yet another very busy evening down at the Royal Naval Association. No overpaid superstars, no preening prima donnas, just a great evening of locally produced musical talent. If you like a bit of variety and you like your music live, pop down to Bellman’s Yard in Newport Shropshire, every Tues from 8pm….who needs the footie?