From Blues to the Opera at the Navy! Words: Dave Whiteman, Pictures: Matthew Thomas

The months of anticipation are almost over as Shropshire’s premier live music festival comes to the town this weekend. Behind the scenes, dozens of willing volunteers have been working tirelessly to ensure that each year’s NEWFEST is bigger and better than the last, and this year looks to be a belter. There have been a few dramas on the way…..popular band Freeze had to pull out of the line- up, but stepping in to replace them are a brilliant country rock band Darcy…don’t miss their set…and the whole event is headlined by top AC/DC tribute band Hells Bells.

It was a night of infinite variety this week at the Newport Open Mic, held in the Royal Naval Association in Bellman’s Yard. Dave Sanford and Olly Flavell once again kicked things off with a lovely acoustic blues set followed by Oasis fan John Minor. John is stretching himself these days….he is normally a keyboard player but he has been accompanying himself on guitar these last few weeks.

Young Richard Heywood has become something of a regular at the Newport Open Mic, and his stock continues to rise. This week he played a totally self- penned set, highlight of which was ‘The Loneliness of Satisfaction’. It is nice to see his growing confidence.

Richard Thomas has been coming to the club for many years and as I have said lots of times, always looks to surprise the audience. It takes a good bit of courage to stand in front of an audience holding just a ukulele….and then follow up with an eclectic set that included songs from Elvis Costello and The Village People! My favourite though, a cover of Tom Hark by The Piranhas……great stuff.


Most people know that my favourite element of the Open Mic is the Scratch House Band, when musicians….some of whom may have not even met before…..assemble a band and just get on with it.  Dave Sanford recruited the ever willing Andy Clark on bass, visiting drummer Steve Black on drums and veteran crooner Harry Woolley on vocals. We haven’t seen Harry in absolutely ages but halfway through ‘Reconsider Baby’ it was if he had never been away and of course no set would be complete without his trademark anthem, ‘Digging my Potatoes’.


Olly Flavell next up and a bit of a change as he opened  with a cover of Ed Sheeran’s ‘Thinking Out Loud’,  before persuading the busy Dave Sanford to join him on stage. A terrific BB King tribute, ‘The Thrill is Gone’ followed once again marrying strong vocals with soulful blues guitar.

Vinyl Tap lead singer is another performer who never shies away from trying new songs. His opener, James Taylor’s ‘You’ve Got a Friend’ is one of my all- time favourites, but then Alex  surprised everyone by belting out Lionel Richie’s ‘Hello’….the first time I have heard this is in the club.

Two members of one of Newport’s most popular rock bands, Old’s Cool came in for a quiet pint but not for long as they were recruited into our second Scratch House Band of the evening. Vocalist Stephen Simpkins and guitarist Dave Lowe were persuaded to join drummer Paul Mettem and bass-man Ed Young for a classic rock set.  ‘Can’t get Enough’ is a real rock opener, but it was Free’s ‘All Right Now’ that had the crowd shouting out for more.

So how do you follow that…..a bit of opera perhaps?  Louisa Warburton is a classically trained singer and never mind that she didn’t have an orchestra…..she just belted out an aria, a capella! Wonderful stuff.  Boyfriend Ed Young then joined her onstage to finish off the evening with a rousing version of ‘Mustang Sally’ to send the audience home with the Commitment’s classic ringing in their ears.

So is there any other live music venue where you can get such a mix? Folk, blues, rock, pop and opera….some of it even played on a ukulele….where else can you get such variety for only a quid?

NEWFEST, this Saturday from 1pm can offer similar value, with eight live acts over ten hours and all for only ten quid. Make sure you get your tickets before midnight Saturday as they then go up to £15 for adults….get them  from the usual outlets, Hey Jude's, Glass House Opticians and the Pop up Shop or they can be reserved by phoning 07949 793 738 . See you there, come and say hello and until next time…….keep it live!

Youthful night at The Navy. Words: Dave Whiteman, Pictures: Matthew Thomas

 This week saw the birthday of entertainers Tom Jones and Tina Turner, who are both, incredibly, 75 years old. And, if he hadn’t been murdered in 1980, John Lennon would also have reached that milestone later this year. All of these artists started their career in the 1960’s so how did they, with the exception of Lennon, manage such longevity in the music world?  Perhaps reinvention is the key? Tina Turner went on to appear in films, most notably Mad Max and our own Tom Jones is still on our TV screens each week hosting The Voice, so both recognised that just having a good voice wasn’t perhaps enough? I won’t be around to write about it but I wonder if any of our talented young performers at the Newport Open Mic will still be playing and singing in another 50 or 60 years……I certainly hope they are.

 Sound check time and under the watchful eyes and ears of resident soundman Jon Newton, Dave Blu,  AKA  Dave Sanford and Olly Flavell gave us an unscripted 10 minute blues medley in order to fix the sound levels. A completely full board by 8.30pm meant a sharpish turnaround, so without further ado, first up Richard Heywood was ushered on stage. Richard has only been playing live for a few weeks but even now it is easy to see the improvements in his sound and his stage presence.

John Minor followed with a collection from his favourite writer, Noel Gallagher, and it is very clear to see how much enjoyment he  gets out of performing, whether guitar or keyboard….a loyal supporter of Newport Open Mic.

Olly Flavell gave us just one song this week, before being joined onstage by bluesman Dave Sandford. I love these little collaborations, and a polished performance showed just how good these two are together.

Newcomer Sam Pauling, who has been in the audience for the last few weeks was finally persuaded to take the plunge by his step Dad, musician Roger Clark and a fine debut it was. Looking resplendent in Fedora hat and bow tie T-shirt, he gave us a great rendition of One Republic’s ‘Counting Stars’ on ukulele….no easy task.

We have seen ace guitarist Tom Boddison a number of times at the club, but he has now recruited fellow Adams Grammar School friends Callum Shaw and  Luke Owen-Bowden, all 17 years old, to form Blue Season, fronted by 16 years old Adam Clark-Hills on vocals. These young lads have only been together for a very short while, but the potential is there for all to see. Despite a few stage nerves, they pulled off a fine performance, highlight of which was Hendrix’s ‘Voodoo Child’ complete with Star Spangled Banner ending from Tom……a very good first outing.

Still plenty more music on offer, this time from local band, Vinyl Tap who had the audience clapping along with their lively set which included the Queen classic ‘I want to Break free’…..good stuff from these Navy regulars.

Some years ago I predicted a bright future for next up Melissa Severn, who seems to have been around for ages, yet is still only 17 years old. Tonight (Friday) sees the launch of her debut CD, ‘Punch in the Gut’ at the Navy club, recognising that this was where she first started to perform around three years ago. Why not come down and have a listen….I promise you will not be disappointed.

Speaking of incredible young talent, next up Remynie Faith, multi- instrumentalist and drummer with Vinyl Tap performed solo with just an acoustic guitar for company. Despite a small show of nerves before she went on, she delivered a faultless example of lovely vocal and economic guitar playing…..her finale James Blunt’s ‘Goodbye my Lover’ was sensational.

I said we had a full board and The James Cousins had waited all evening to play and brought proceedings to a close with a very lively set. Starting with a Beatles song is always a god idea in my book, but covers from George Ezra, Amy Winehouse and finally The Everly Brothers, showed what a versatile vocal harmony duo they are.

Phew, what a night! Around twelve live acts all for a quid including the raffle…can you get better than that? We don’t think so!

 Only just over a week to go to the premier live music event of the year in Newport, NEWFEST, on the 20th June at the Rugby Club. It should be a fantastic feast of entertainment with around 12 hours of live music headlined by top AC/DC tribute band ‘Hell’s Bells’.  

Tickets are still on sale at a number of outlets around town at just £10 adult and £5 children…….hopefully see you there. Till then, keep it live!

Packed house at The Navy!      Words: Dave Whiteman,  Pictures: Matthew Thomas

‘It was 20 years ago today, Sgt Pepper taught the band to play’ sang Paul McCartney on the album ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ and amazingly, it is 48 years ago this week since that iconic album was released. He must have been doing something right, as he sang it to a packed house in Birmingham last week and will be singing it to many hundreds of thousands over his current world tour. I really thought Tuesday’s Open Mic at the Navy Club was going to turn into a Beatles evening as around half a dozen songs in the first couple of hours were fab four compositions!

First up Cavan & Harry James, from Telford, who were playing at the Open Mic for the very first time, and what a debut it was. From the opening chords of ‘All my Loving’ they had the sizeable crowd in the palm of their hand.  The Navy audience loves good vocal harmonies and their set was full of them. Come back soon guys, you were terrific.

Richard Heywood made his debut only last week, singing live for the very first time but his performance was interrupted by a fault on his guitar. No such problems this week as he returned to give us a couple of crackers from the Manic Street Preachers before finishing with one of his own, ‘She only Wanted to Sing Him a Love Song’. Great stuff from this likeable youngster.

Open Mic regular John Minor is always keen to play something from his favourite band Oasis, and, this time on guitar, he delivered a super medley of some of their most popular tunes, before our second new band of the evening came to the stage.

From the name, Syatica, you can probably guess that these guys are not young…. but with maturity comes experience and they had it in bucket loads. Made up of locals Pete Lance, Paul Mettem and John Cooper, they have been friends and work colleagues for more than 25 years and with the addition of bassist Andy Plant, they have formed a nice easy listening soft rock outfit…….in fact it is fair to say they could have raided my CD collection for their set.  It was clear by now that we were in for a great evening.

We don’t see ace guitarist Roger Clark often enough, but when he turned up with collaborator Al Middleton on bass and Baz Webster on drums, the scene was set for a reunion of popular local band Robbie’s in Rehab. Despite hardly ever playing together, these guys rocked out super covers from REM, Steve Miller and of course the Beatles that had the 60 or so crowd joining in enthusiastically.

How do you follow that? Well, with Richard Thomas of course. Rich T is talented, dedicated and entirely unpredictable….you never know what you might get. A song about James Bond followed by a classic singalong….’These Boots Are Made for Walking’. Hardly anyone did singalong however…as it was done entirely in German!   Always different, always welcome!

Sixties crooner Eddie Maiden can still do the business despite being well into his seventies and a couple of crowd pleasers included the Neil Diamond gem, ‘Sweet Caroline’ which the audience loved.

Steve Davis is a great supporter of Newport Open Mic and regularly makes the journey down from Manchester to sing and play. Joining forces with Alex Ash, vocalist with Vinyl Tap, they continued the Lennon & McCartney theme with the John Lennon masterpiece ‘Imagine’ before closing with ‘I Saw Her Standing There’…….truly a  super set for Beatles fans. Steve then stayed on stage to deliver a solo performance with a terrific David Crosby number, which I think was ‘Traction in the Rain’ and deservedly quietened the room.

Just enough time to assemble a Scratch House Band for the final segment, and what a great band it turned out to be. Drummer Paul Mettem and bassist Andy Plant from Syatica joined forces with guitarist Roger Clark and ace blues harp player Ed Sullivan, needing only a vocalist to complete the line- up. Step forward Alex Ash once again and a super closing set followed. ‘Let’s Work Together’ had enough space around it for everyone to show off their individual skills and bring a great night’s entertainment to a close.

Is there really anywhere better to spend a Tuesday evening?  More than sixty people didn’t think so, given that their £1 entry including the raffle, gave them around ten live acts with everything from Sham 69 to the Beatles….surely enough variety to please even the hardest heart?

Same time next week and every week, at the Newport Open Mic held in the Royal Navy Association, Bellman’s Yard. 

Till then, keep it live!

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The Wanderer Returns. Words: Dave Whiteman, Pictures: Jon Newton

It’s good to be back. I have spent the last couple of months touring Europe in a campervan and it was nice to be driving back up the A41 and to see the signs for Newport. Wherever I travel, I always try and catch local live music and there were some real highlights. At a festival in Germany, I saw a terrific young band, Fog Joggers, a sort of heavier version of Del Amitri. Their material is original, in English and I think they are going to be big. Have a look on YouTube to see if you agree. At the other end of the scale, a folk singer in Luxembourg sounded so much like Herr Flick from ‘Allo, ‘Allo that it was difficult to concentrate on his songs. One thing is very clear to me though……the standard of live music and the wealth of talent locally puts Newport up there with the very best.

An enthusiastic crowd welcomed the debut of Richard Heywood, who was playing live in front of an audience for the very first time. Despite technical problems and with a borrowed guitar he delivered a lovely set of original compositions…. a great start.

Any Elvis song will get the feet tapping and next up Alan Critchley followed ‘Returned to Sender’ with another couple of gems from Eddie Cochran and Billy Joel. It wasn’t just Alan’s fan club that enjoyed his short set!

Our youngest regular performer, 11 years old Jay Harris has spent some of the Bank Holiday busking in Shrewsbury and Stafford, supervised by his Dad Russ of course, and it is clear that he is benefiting from that kind of experience. Once again, a small technical hitch interrupted his performance, but like the trouper he is, he still delivered a polished show on a replacement guitar.

Mike Collins has been an Open Mike regular for the last couple of years and it is nice to see his son Mikey joining him on stage performing under the name of Young & Grumpy. Keen to showcase his new guitar Mike rattled through a very lively set, heavy on audience participation, finishing with 500 miles, the Proclaimer’s anthem which had everyone joining in.

Richard Thomas has such a catalogue of material that he rarely needs to repeat a song. There are few musicians who can mix reggae/punk and traditional and get away with it, but as I have said many times before, Richard always brings something different to the table.

It has been great to see Olly Flavell develop as a singer/songwriter. Around three years ago I remember him as an enthusiastic but basic guitarist with a reasonable voice and one half of the duo ‘Olly & Jake’. He has since matured into an excellent solo artist with a super voice and a great guitar style. His opener, Maroon 5’s ‘Sunday Morning was followed by a couple of songs from his debut album Lo-Fi which adds song-writing talent to his repertoire.

Never judge a book by its cover is the old adage and I have to confess, the first time I saw Steve Reynolds perform, the sound he produced was not what I expected. He has the build of a nightclub bouncer but when he starts to sing and play his soft melodic songs of love, the females in the audience start to melt. ‘I’m Not Moving’ by The Script was a brilliant opener, but his acoustic cover of Meatloaf’s ‘2 out of 3 ain’t Bad’ was outstanding and had many reaching for the tissues! Soundman Jon Newton said it was the best version of that song he had ever heard and I just had to say.....you took the words right out of my mouth (!)

So yes, good to be back, and 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. 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.

I am looking forward to Shropshire’s major live music event in a few weeks’ time, Newfest which looks to be bigger and better than ever. The weather tried to spoil it last year, but this time the organisers have really pushed the boat out with a terrific line up including AC/DC tribute band Hells Bells topping the bill.  Adult entry pegged at just £10 and kids at just £5…..put it in your diary now, 20^th June. 

Till next time, keep it live!