Night of variety at The Navy. Words: Dave Whiteman, Pictures by Matthew Thomas to follow!

Disappointing news this week as the BBC reported that live music venues throughout the country were folding at an alarming rate. Within the last ten years it is estimated that more than 40% of small music clubs in London have closed, and in other parts of the country that figure is even greater. Many venues like the Cockpit in Leeds, the Boardwalk in Sheffield and The Princess Charlotte in Leicester have all recently ceased to exist and these were the places that bands like Oasis, Pulp and Kaiser Chiefs started to make their name. Now of course, these superstars play stadiums, but would they have reached those dizzy heights without that all important first rung of the ladder?  On a much smaller scale, I sometimes make a similar comparison to our weekly Open Mic. Many excellent local performers, bands and individuals, made their first public performance in front of an enthusiastic Navy crowd, but it is very rare these days to see many of them back.…..is the lure of a paid gig the only reason?  

Malcolm Purvis from Leeds has been coming to the Newport Open Mic for a good few years now; every time he is working in the area in fact. He is a prolific songwriter…. it is very rare to hear him do covers… and tonight was another chance to hear his observations on life. A new song of his, Berlin was beautifully delivered. 

No Vinyl Tap this week, just lead singer Alex Ash on his own again…..are you looking for a solo career Alex? An excellent choice of songs in his performance tonight, with great covers from Elton and Queen but it was his version of the Oasis anthem ‘Wonderwall’ that brought the crowd to life.

Always nice to welcome a first timer to the stage, and although next up Colin Kirkby has been singing karaoke for many years, this was his first time ‘live’ and without a safety net! No need to worry Colin, this audience is not only generous but very partial to a country song, so your choice of, ‘If Tomorrow Never Comes’ was a good one. Sadly, only the one song on this first outing….but I did hear one of our regulars comment that he would have been happy to hear another half hour of the same. 

Laurence Gale is more often found with a camera around his neck than a guitar strap, but it doesn’t take much to persuade him to get up onstage. Always nice to hear any Strawbs song, and ‘Lay Down’ has a particularly difficult vocal, but he did a fine job. New song ‘Road to Hell’ is another tricky one but Laurence stripped it down to bare bones and made it sound more like a folk song….nice version.

We have seen a lot of Richard Thomas over the last couple of months, not only coming to play, but getting there early enough to help with the setting up….thanks Rich.  He carries a vast songbook onto the stage, which is probably why he never seems to repeat too many songs, and there is always plenty of variety in his act. ‘Rasputin’ the 70’s disco song by Bony M received a complete revamp and was much more dramatic than the original……he even had the crowd joining in!  

Sad to report the demise of local band Darcy, who this week announced they have split up.  The good news though, is that three of the band have decided to continue as EBS…..Emergency Broadcast System and on this outing they look to have a fine future. Grabbing an experienced drummer at the Open Mic is always good advice, so the lads were delighted to see Paul Crewe in the audience and quickly pounced. Multi-instrumentalist Ben Garrott is an extremely talented musician, but it was a pleasant surprise to see him on lead vocals AND mandolin. Twins Andy & Tony Callister first made their mark with another local band Gaz & the Tones, but EBS is a different proposition altogether….. harder and rockier, as evidenced by their opener, a cracking version of Tom Wait’s ‘Cold Water’. Keep an eye open for these lads; they will be out gigging soon.

Just enough time for Richard Heywood to close events with a couple of tunes from The Monkees and Oasis, and send the crowd home singing. Our Open Mic is the only place in the town where you can regularly enjoy local LIVE music and our audiences certainly appreciate it. But the closures around the country are worrying and the implications are obvious ……if you do not use it you will lose it……and we don’t want that to happen in Newport. 

Don’t forget, Fri 30^th is the Halloween Party, with Robbie’s in Rehab….get there early!