Plenty of new faces at the Navy. Words: Dave Whiteman, Pictures: Matthew Thomas

It looks like 2015 is going to be a very big year for live music in the UK. Apart from the obvious large festivals, Glastonbury and our own V Festival just down the road at Weston Park, the big guns are out and looking to fill stadiums…….as well as their pockets. Superstar groups on the road include U2, Fleetwood Mac and Take That, but if you want tickets you had better be quick, as even the large venues are selling out fast. A couple of divisions below these  you will find a wealth of talent hitting the smaller places, bands such as Simple Minds, Santana, 10cc and my personal favourites Squeeze who are playing the Birmingham Symphony Hall in October.

Slightly better value at only a quid, why not get yourselves down to the Royal Naval Association in Bellman’s Yard on a Tues evening for the Newport Open mic? This week a crowd of around 50 enjoyed performances from about a dozen live acts and what a brilliant evening it turned out to be.

John Minor once again kicked off proceedings with a bit of Oasis before the welcome return of Jay Harris, who has been busy playing live all over the place. A great set included a classic from The Jam and a very catchy ‘Second Bite of the Apple’ from Beady Eye. Good to have you back Jay!

What about a bit of Elvis Costello, Gloria Gaynor, Proclaimers and even The Village People…..all played on a ukulele? Richard Thomas is normally the one to make the audience raise the eyebrows, but he is always, repeat always entertaining!
One of the great young bands from the last 2 or 3 years was a three piece called Blue Tuesdays. Sadly the band have now split with members off to university and the like, but lead singer Dan Walton made a solo appearance at the club with just an acoustic guitar for company and what a super set it was. Songs from Dylan and Damian Albarn were well received, but his own composition ‘Wandering Man’ was quite superb and deservedly got the most applause.
Dan then stayed onstage to join the first Scratch House Band; the part of the evening where musicians just get up and play without rehearsal or sometimes without even knowing who they are playing with!  Bassist Mark Berry from Telford, had heard about the Open Mic from taking his sons to Rock Project, but he was happy to join up with like- minded musicians Keenan Collins and our own Remynie Faith for a brilliant debut performance. Crowd pleasers ‘Mustang Sally’ and ‘Honky Tonk Women’ had the crowd joining in enthusiastically.
Will Morgan runs an acoustic Open Mic evening at Brewood and had heard about Newport Open Mic on the musical grapevine. Clearly Will has a lot of experience and as he launched into a Johnny Cash opener, the audience were clapping their hands and singing along. A beautiful version of Springsteen’s ‘Ballad of Tom Joad’ followed and he showed his musical prowess by playing a haunting harmonica over lovely guitar picking. Clearly Will enjoyed his first time at the club and the audience responded by demanding an encore………. a sure sign that we will be seeing more of him.

Graveyard shift and time for Rob Bryon and Laurence Gale to entertain the late stayers with a popular set of songs from Ronnie Lane, Eric Clapton and The Faces and then just when we thought it was all over, Eddie Maiden was on stage  to send us off home with a couple of popular singalongs ringing  in our heads.  Eddie has just returned from Spain, where I know he has been singing in the Palladium in Benidorm and his choice of songs from Tom Jones and Neil Diamond seemed the perfect way to end the night.

 It does seem that we have turned a corner at the Newport Open Mic as far as attendances are concerned, and not only are these up around the fifty mark again, but many of these are visiting for the first time.

Grateful thanks as always, to those who turned up at 7pm to help set up and those who stayed till late to put the kit away…you help to make the Newport open Mic what it is.

Please remember, if you want to play, sing, recite poetry or even play the spoons, come on down on a Tuesday and have a go. If you would like to contribute in any other way, perhaps taking photographs, setting up the kit or even writing these articles, you would be made very welcome. Come and introduce yourself!  Till next time, keep it live!