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Golden Cross - My Space bands
PIECE IN COVENTRY TELEGRAPH ABOUT IT HERE
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Read about Horace's New Book HERE
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"We work on the principle of Mutual Aid and devote our time to actively promoting an alternative to the big business of the Music Industry. We have no paid employees but rely on a collective of experienced people who believe in the ethic of cooperation. This is a project that has been 40 years in the making, which is now made possible by new technology.."
The Gnome are aiming for four releases each quarter and to develop from there (keep an eye on their site for details and developments) - Gnome Label and Gnome Fest
More details on these can be found on the Gnome Label site Here
"Songs from the Coventry Underground Is a collection of the earlier songs from poet and performer Trev Teasdel.
This is the guy that played an important role in the development of Coventry musical conciousness. He kept an alternative voice alive with the production of Hobo magazine that continued the trail from where the fading footprints of the Gnome could still be identified. Taking over the booking of live bands at the Arts Umbrella, he continued the policy that allowed many of the new local bands an airing as well as bringing in some excellent but not often seen names from outside of the City.
He also created one of the cornerstones of the Coventry Music scene, with the inception of the open jam sessions at the Holyhead Road Arts centre.
He left Coventry to study and has since been as active as ever, with an impressive workload of teaching new writers, running poetry magazines and venues from his Teesside home while still writing and performing his own material.
But that's not the only reason for choosing his work for this release. He is a master craftsman of his artform. His lyrics are carefully honed with the occasional surprise. The working of the words " under the Speenhamland scheme" into the lyric of Captain Swing, written some 20 years before the arrival of Billy Bragg, is phenomenal and deserves a place in the record books.
Aside from that, his work reverberates with the angst and expectations that many living in Coventry at the that time will have felt. Often written on long walks home up the London Road after the last bus, or in teabreaks while working at the GEC. The collective lyrics paint a picture of youthful exhilaration and myradiacl inspirations with echoes of revolt. Some might suggest that they could have been written in and about any city in those times. No they could only come from one place....Our Coventry.
Trev has posted many of his lyrics and the thought and activities behind their writing on his Vox space HERE
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The brilliant 1980 Coventry Album SENT FOR COVENTRY produced by Martin Bowes of Alternative Sounds
You can listen to excerpts from the tracks which include - The Wild Boys, Clique, The End, The Urge, Hot Snacks (Machine), Solid Action, The Mix, Vietnamese Babies, Squad, Riot Act, Protege, Homicide.
This is from the illustrious Two Tone Period in Coventry when Coventry was buzzing with musical life and bands. See the Alternative Sounds supplement with more info on the bands shortly - watch this space.
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Calling all the local heroes
Jul 23 2008 By Pete Chambers
TOWARDS the end of next year, the stunning new Herbert will play host to a music exhibition that goes all the way back to the birth of rock 'n' roll.
Provisionally titled More Than Two Tones, it will tell the tale of music in Coventry and Warwickshire. It is planned to include many angles of this great scene of ours.
The team behind the project is working on ideas and concepts, all aimed to bring the whole thing to life. It promises to be spectacular, but partially reliant on what exhibits we can obtain.
This is where you, my Backbeat friends come in; I'm asking people to be part of this by contributing to the exhibition. Be you an amateur or professional musician, a player or a fan, in a band now or an artist in the past six decades, we are looking for your help.
So what are we looking for? Well, anything with a musical connection. Be it with a national, international or local connection.
* RECORDS: What would music have been without all that lovely black flat vinyl? Yes long before we had the curse of the innocuous MP3, music had a bit of a fun factor about it, even in its packaging. I for one, recall the ride home with that new LP. Delicately removing the inner sleeve from the cover, and the joy of discovering that a lyric sheet was included.
So now is the time to drag out that almost-forgotten record box, and find that special album. We are not looking for your common garden LP, EP or single. We want something that has a tale behind it. Maybe it was your band on the disc, or as a fan you met the record's artists and got it signed.
* POSTERS: Probably the most highly-priced music collectible these days. I've seen Beatles posters outselling a complete set of the Fab Four's signatures. The very essence of a poster was to promote that one-off event, then discard it. The clever ones did no such thing, and hey presto, a collectible is born.
I have a few local posters in my collection, Covaid, Blitz Kreig Zone 2020 and Attrition. You may have one from a Coventry Theatre show, or Tiffany's, or even more exciting from the Orchid Ballroom. Remember, it doesn't have to be advertising a local artist; the exhibition will focus on any music that has a connection with the area. Including acts that played the city.
* CLOTHING: This is always an exciting one, you can roughly deduce what records and posters are likely to be available. Not so with clothing. Already we have pledges of some very interesting items. Such as Paul King's famous red suit, an amazing military-style coat from Edgar Broughton, and Tom Long has offered us the chance of borrowing his blue Gino of Will Brookes tailored stage jacket he wore when he was a member of the hit Rugby band Pinkerton's Assorted Colours.
You may have an original teddy boy drape coat, or have kept hold of your stage costumes, or even some 70s platform shoes that you wore to a gig. We are looking for many types of interesting clothing - male or female.
AWARDS: An interesting one; I'm talking about gold discs and the like.
I know that we already have people such as Coventry's Mark Rattray who is happy to loan his precious Opportunity Knocks Trophy. Cov legend Hazel O'Connor has pledged the loan of gold discs and her Best Soundtrack BAFTA she got for the Breaking Glass movie. Producer Roger Lomas is on the committee, so we may even get to exhibit the Grammy award he won for his production of the Lee Perry album Jamaican ET.
* EPHEMERAL ITEMS: Literally means lasting just one day. Like posters, this section will include throwaway items that never were thrown away, such as flyers, hand-bills, postcards, business cards and ticket stubs.
* PHOTOGRAPHS: The key to any exhibition. I'm happy to have a large picture collection of local music as part of my job as a local music historian. Though many of those images have already been seen, and I'm excited by what other photographs exist out there. So now's the time to get the photo box out, and have a good look at what you may have.
* INSTRUMENTS: Grand pianos and church organs don't really fit this bill. Guitars certainly do though, and maybe an odd drum kit (or a bass drum at least). Some may have concerns at lending such precious irreplaceable items. The Herbert has assured us that, as always, all items will be stored securely and will be well looked after in gallery conditions.
* GO ON SURPRISE US: Above is a broad outline of what we are likely to see, what we really want is the public to surprise us. To offer something we had never thought of.
I have every faith in the great Coventry public and I know we are going to get at least a few items in this category.
So what happens next? OK, what we want right now is a rough description of the item (or even better a photo), please don't send anything in at this stage. Letters can be addressed to me: Pete Chambers, at the Coventry Telegraph, Corporation Street, Coventry, CV1 1FP, or via my e-mail at tencton@hotmail.com
Delia Derbyshire famously arranged Ron Grainer's Dr Who theme electronically and
produced the first form of modern
dance music more than two decades before it became a popular cultural phenomenon.
In Godiva Rocks, Coventry music journalist, Pete Chambers wrote -
"Delia Derbyshire was one, if not the most important pioneers of electronic music..Delia was born in Coventry in 1937. She attended Coventry Grammar school and went on to achieve a degree at Cambridge in Mathematics and Music. A perfect combination for her chosen career. Originally rejected by Decca records in 1959 because they didn't employ women in their studios, she went on to join the BBC's Radiophonic Workshop. Her most famous work was arranging a Ron Grainer composition - the Theme from Dr Who. Such was her ability though, Graiger was astounded to hear what she had done with his composition, asking her 'Did I really write this?' It is of course one of the most famous theme songs in history.
Throughout her career she was to mix with the creative minds of the 60's (Brian Jones, Paul McCartney, George Martin and the great Karl Heinze Stockhausen) The 70's (Pink Floyd, John and Yoko, Jimi Hendrix). Right up to the new breed of electro artists with her influences on such forward thinking artists as Sonic Boom and the Chemical Brothers. her two most definative releases are : An Electric Storm (1969) under the name White Noise (released on Island Records, the world's first all electronic group) and BBC Radiophonic Music 1971. Delia sadly passed away in Northampton 2001 aged 64. Her legacy lives."
More recently Delia, who struggled for recognition of her talent, has at last been been celebrated in the media with the discovery of some of her lost works. On July 18th 2008 the Guardian ran this article Here claiming -
"A long-lost collection of tapes representing the legacy of the musical genius who arranged the Doctor Who theme has been rescued from irreversible decay by a team of academic musicologists."
"Her experimental work fell out of fashion following the advent of the synthesizer but, in recent years, she has enjoyed a revival of interest especially among bands like The Chemical Brothers and Portishead to whom she is a legendary figure."
The Guardian tells us that a collection of 267 tapes, correspondence and scores were found.
"The material had languished unheard for 30 years until it was passed to Manchester University’s School of Art, Histories and Culture to catalogue and preserve. The material, in poor condition, had to be played on a 1960s Studer A80 tape machine lent by the BBC’s Manchester studios before it could be digitised."
"Ms Derbyshire was also a woman of her times, clad in Biba or Mary Quant, her hair in a Vidal Sassoon bob, a fixture at the parties of Swinging London where she was known for her chaotic but exuberant love life. She worked with Brian Jones, the late member of the Rolling Stones, Yoko Ono and Jimi Hendrix and met Paul McCartney to discuss an opportunity to work on Yesterday"
"She left the BBC a disillusioned woman. She and struggled with drink and a series of unsuitable jobs, including radio
operator. At one time she married an out-of-work miner but eventually settled in the Midlands where she lived in relative obscurity and would rail, between drinks, against her lack of critical recognition."
"The composer, who always kept a book of logarithms in her back pocket, used a combination of musique concrete techniques including the tape manipulation and electronic gadgetry to create her sounds. Her favourite instrument was a green lampshade which she would strike and then manipulate the resulting sound to achieve the desired effect."
The BBC News site have uploaded examples of Delia's earlier work including a piece from the late 60's that is a proto dance music track.
BBC achive of rare Delia Derbyshire sound bites
"A hidden hoard of recordings made by the electronic music pioneer behind the Doctor Who theme has been revealed
- including a dance track 20 years ahead of its time.
Delia Derbyshire was working in the BBC's Radiophonic Workshop in 1963 when she was given the score for a theme tune to a new science fiction series.
She turned those dots on a page into the swirling, shimmering Doctor Who title music - although it is the score's author, Ron Grainer, who is credited as the composer
Most unexpected of all, however, is a piece of music that sounds like a contemporary dance track which was recorded, it is believed, in the late sixties." Here is a direct link to the dance track - Delia's Dance Track from the late 60's
From this biography site Delia Derbyshire Bio we read - "she created by
recording the individual notes onto bits of tape and then assembling the song by hand. On hearing the finished piece, Grainer asked: "Did I really write this?" "Most of it," Delia replied. Yet despite Grainer's
In 1966 she formed the group Unit Delta Plus with Brian Hodgson and Peter Zinovieff. Though the group existed only for a year, they staged some of the earliest concerts consisting entirely of electronic and tape music. Famously, the group performed at the Million Volt Light and Sound Rave in 1967 at the Chalk Farm roadhouse in London, a four-day electronic music event which featured Paul McCartney's sound collage Carnival of Light (now lost in a vault somewhere).
In 1968 David Vorhaus enlisted Derbyshire and Brian Hodgson (also at the Radiophonic Workshop) for his psychedelic electronic music project White Noise, releasing the seminal album An Electric Storm in 1969."
From her Obituary in the Guardian -
"Among her outstanding television work, one of her favourites was composed for a documentary for The World About
Us on the Tuareg people of the Sahara desert. It still haunts me. She used her own voice for the sound of the hooves, cut up into an obbligato rhythm, and she added a thin, high electronic sound using virtually all the filters and oscillators in the workshop.
"My most beautiful sound at the time was a tatty green BBC lampshade," she recalled. "It was the wrong colour, but it had a beautiful ringing sound to it. I hit the lampshade, recorded that, faded it up into the ringing part without the percussive start.
"I analysed the sound into all of its partials and frequencies, and took the 12 strongest, and reconstructed the sound on the workshop's famous 12 oscillators to give a whooshing sound. So the camels rode off into the sunset with my voice in their hooves and a green lampshade on their backs."
Link to her album - Electrosonic
by Delia, Brian Hodgson, Don Harper - Glo-Spot
And a review
Review
ALBUM OF THE WEEK- Delia Derbyshire/ Brian Hodgson/ Don Harper- 'Electrosonic' LP
Something a bit special for those of you that care about the evolution of music. The force that is electricity revolutionised the ways that sound could be produced and there were many pioneers. Among these were the BBC's Radiophonic Workshop who were instrumental in creating sounds that never existed. Sounds from other worlds, planets, time and space. Among the equipment used to produce these strange futuristic sounds were modular synthesisers. Huge things with cables and twiddly knobs everywhere. Basically if you dig this kind of early synth stuff then 'Electrosonic' is an essential piece of musical history that deserves a place in your collection. The music is composed by some relatively unknown colleagues of Delia Derbyshire (The White Noise, BBCRO) nameley Harper/ Russe/ St. George which we're guessing are pseudonyms for Delia Derbyshire/ Brian Hodgson/ Don Harper. This was previously only issued by KPM in 1972 as on obscure library record. If you enjoyed the 'Tomorrow People' record on Trunk or like Pauline Oliveros' early work then I suspect you'll be wanting this gorgeous chunk of extremely limited green vinyl released on Scottish label Glo-Spot. I'm not even going to attempt to describe the sounds on here. Light years ahead of their time. Ace.- Ant x
Andrew Wagner's tribute -
Andrew Wagner's tribute and pop art painting
http://www.adrianwagner.com/awgalleryPopArtGallery.html
Delia was a guide and an inspriation to me in all the many years I knew her and I miss her more than I can possibly express. I met her at the age of 18 years and she took me in hand and pointed me at many directions in Electronic Music. She was a true genius and her love and passion infected everyone who knew her. This is a very special painting of her and, I hope, reflects her many dimensions in the prime of her creativity. (She his pop art portrait of her on his site).
Delia Derbyshire in the Scotsman
"Drew Mulholland, a Glasgow-based composer and musician who got to know Derbyshire in the last five years of her life. "She was a hero, a pioneer," he says. "She was a completely unique, one-off composer. Her stuff sounds ahead of its time even now, never mind in 1965. When you realise she was just beavering away at the BBC in Maida Vale with the most basic equipment, it is amazing."
Susan Mansfield
"WHEN THE DR WHO THEME MUSIC beamed out into the living rooms of Britain for the first time, in 1963, it began a
new era in sound. The unearthly whines, throbs and howls seemed to come from the future. In a way, they did. The great British public was getting its first taste of electronic music.
While the theme went on to become one of the most recognised in TV history, Delia Derbyshire, who created the eerie futuristic soundtrack, is virtually unknown. Yet she was one of the pioneers of electronic music in Britain. Among Derbyshire many credits is the music for a film by Yoko Ono.
Now the fascinating, often turbulent, life and tragic death of Derbyshire will be brought to a wider audience for the first time in Standing Wave: Delia Derbyshire in the 1960s, a theatre production being developed at the Tron in Glasgow by Reeling & Writhing Theatre Company, with a script by Nicola McCartney. Each performance will be followed by a programme of new electronic music composed in Derbyshire memory by Scottish contemporary composers.
Derbyshire was born into a working-class Catholic family in Coventry in 1937. She would later say that growing up to the sounds of air-raid sirens and the clatter of clogs on cobbles first awakened her lifelong fascination with sound. She studied piano to performance level and graduated in mathematics and music from Girton College, Cambridge.
She excelled, demonstrating an instinctive grasp of sound which enabled her to find extracts of orchestral music simply by studying the grooves in an LP. As soon as she could, she sought an attachment at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, created in 1958 to supply music and sound made with the day "new technology". Although the secondment was for a maximum of three months, Derbyshire stayed for ten years.
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Link to the Radiophonic Workshop with Vid
Trev Teasdel's Interview with KRISTY GALLACHER - July 2008
Kristy, you seem to be highly regarded and popular on the Cov Scene but how did you get started - what inspired to give it a go?
I just love playing and playing a few open mics at the age of 16 seemed to lead from gig to gig and i haven't really stopped since. Having just turned 22 i'm enjoying it more now!
You have a great guitar style or rather styles. How did that develop, what were your influences?
I think just playing in general will shape and develop your own style. I learnt with Clive Layton a truely brilliant Coventry musician for 7 or so years, teaching me songs i love and different techniques. In the last year or so i have been playing with Dave Bennett a fantastic and well respected ragtime player based in Coventry. Dave has had me listening to Mississippi John Hurt, Reverend Gary Davis, Joan Baez just to name a few and i have enjoyed experimenting mixing them all and playing in a completely different sytle out of my comfort zone.
You have a distinctive songwriting style, as if the listener is privy to an interesting but private conversation, or even the receipient. It kind of draws you in and involves you in the song. Tell us about how that developed, the influences etc.
From the Music i enjoy listening to, Tori Amos, Shawn Colvin, Suzanne Vega they all have very distinctive writing styles and certain 'tricks' that pop up from song to song. It's quite a natural develpoment for me, i don't think you can force that type of writing because everyone's style is different and if it is forced it doesn't sound natural and therefor untrue. I write from the heart from things i have experienced or have witnessed.
You have a folk style delivery in your live performances but on your new album - Emotional Gun - I noticed a developing jazz ballad style delivery that was full of potential. Is that a conscious direction or influence?
The Jazz style tracks on the album were all written in the same time period where i was listening to a lot of Madeleine Peyroux and Diana Krall at the time learning their songs and this was reflected in my writings at the time.
You've obviously worked hard on your live performances, how hard has it been to get regular gigs and build up your reputation, and does yet extend outside the Coventry area?
Like i said before i have been very fortunate and one gig seems to lead to another, venues in the area are constantly changing and am very thankful for the support that has built up in the West Midlands area of people coming to gigs. I am branching out further though and have a gig at the Regal Rooms, Hammersmith, London on the 29th August.
What would make a difference now, both in terms of the Coventry scene and in career opportunities for your music?
I have just graduated from a Music Composition Degree at Coventry University and am now set up as a full time Professional Musician so in career terms i am very fortunate to be able to do what i love doing. I am also a promoter in Coventry and have two weekly nights, one at the Earlsdon Cottage and one at the Tuns (details at <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3Lm15c3BhY2UuY29tL2tncHJlc2VudHM=">www. myspace. com/kgpresents). The Coventry scene has been very kind and supportive to me and by putting nights on in the city i hope to be giving a little back.
Lastly, where can people buy the album? (The shameless plug question!)? Go for it!
It's available to buy from <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmtyaXN0eWdhbGxhY2hlci5jb20=">www. kristygallacher. com or http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3Lm15c3BhY2UuY29tL2tndW5wbHVnZ2Vk">www. myspace. com/kgunplugged or come along to a gig and buy one. They are £7 and some tracks from the album and new tunes are up on the myspace.
I grew up over the road from Gilly Darbey, in Willenhall Wood, Coventry. I hardly knew her, she was more my younger
sister's age. By the time Hobo was up and running in the early to mid 70's she was playing Coventry folk clubs. It was at the Charterhouse pub, Terry Rd. in Coventry I first saw her perform with her guitar to great acclaim for her young voice. Around 1974 her name cropped up in many of the folk club posts in Hobo.
At the time she was a rising star on the local folk club circuit but I never knew what became of her until the other day, when searching for another Coventry act, I came across her website and e mailed her. Gilly now lives in New Zealand and her website biography makes intersting reading.
You can read of her musical adventures and download her music via her own website but here are some of the main highlights to tempt you to visit her page and to document her success on the this site. Her website can be viewed here
Gilly says her singing career started in school, joining various groups and then forming her own all girl group called Mosaic.
Gilly also started to "perform solo at local folk clubs in her home town of Coventry, she was still only 14.
Gilly was a rebellious pupil and left school as soon as was possible, to join an Irish showband of all things. She had a great time learning the ropes, and was well chaperoned by the boys in the band."
At 16, she answered an ad in Melody Maker "for girl singers to form an English equivalent of the "Three Degrees". Gilly got the job! Along with two others, she underwent the star treatment doled out by "MCA" records and "Bell" records. However, as with a lot of these record company fiascos,(at one point Gilly was the only one singing all of the parts and the other two were just to create a three girl image), it all went botty up and Gilly was once again solo.
After that Gilly returned to the folk scene and joined Streetband who were about to do a busking tour of Europe. She had a great time despite being arrested twice (busking was illegal then)! Eventually she returned to England as a soloist and the Streetband became the One Eyed Jacks with bass player Martin Allcocks.
Soon she would hear " Waterfall", Keith Donnelly and Martyn Oram, perform at the Lanchester Poly in Coventry. She
fell in love with the songs (mostly written by Keith Donnelly), This started a new chapter in Gilly's life and career,and a partnership with Keith that lasted for nearly 20 years.Though they no longer perform together Gilly and Keith are still great friends, and Gilly still performs a lot of his material.
They became very popular on the folk scene both here and abroad. A highlight at this time was to open Cambridge Festival on Main Stage1. Gilly remembers it particularly well as she had taken up skydiving and had to be helped on stage with crutches due to a slightly mistimed landing!
Waterfall toured constantly throughout Europe and further afield, including trips to Belize, Cyprus and the Falklands. They also did a T.V. special for the BBC called "This Is Waterfall." Definitely worth seeing for the ridiculous outfits that they came up with on a shopping spree in London! The trio released two albums to much acclaim, "Three Birds" produced by Johnny Coppin, and "Beneath The Stars" produced by Phillip Goodhand-Tait.
After Martyn Oram left Gilly and Keith toyed with several new names and for a while were called "Little Aeroplane", releasing an album of the same name, this time produced by Richard Digance. Then they changed the name again and became "Nothing By Chance", the name of a Richard Bach book that Gilly was reading at the time.
Once again a new chapter began as "Nothing By Chance" were taken on by Jasper Carrotts' management company, after a succesful tour with him. They went on to support such noticeables as Van Morrison, The Hollies, and Tori Amos, to name but a few. During which time they appeared at almost every major venue throughout Britain and Ireland, with numerous T.V. appearances, including several on "Pebble Mill At One".
They were spotted by a BBC producer whilst doing a Phil Cool support, who loved what he saw and wanted to turn them into huge, and I mean huuuwwwwwwwwg T.V. stars.
They had their own T.V. special for the Beeb which received critical acclaim, (a clip was shown on "Points of View") and was swiftly shown again at a prime time on BBC1. Gilly and Keith then spent 6 months working with the people at BBC Pebble Mill on a six part series. At the last minute politics between London and Pebble Mill meant that the TV series was vetoed.
Undaunted Gilly and Keith then made an album called "Ghosts Of Love". The album was produced by John "Bonny" Acock and Mick Dolan at Stevie Winwood's fantastic studio down in Gloucestershire, and features many fine guest musicians including Phil Beer of "Show of Hands" fame and Al Marnie, bass player with Chris de Burgh, This was swiftly taken up by "Chrysalis" records. They started a 90 date country wide tour in their own right. The album was receiving rave reviews, and receiving radio 1 and 2 air play. Unfortunately "Chrysalis" were being bought out by big bad nasties "EMI", Nothing By Chance became tiny, tiny fishes in a huge sea, got sucked through some other fishes gills, and ceased to exist!
Gilly returned once more to a solo career which she is still doing, including some major festivals around the world.
Her first solo CD "One", is really a showcase CD, trying to show some of these differing sides to her voice, though mostly aimed at the "folk scene". It was recorded totally live at the famous Red Lion folk club in Kings Heath, Birmingham. The infamous Jim Mcphee who ran the Red Lion F.C. signed Gilly up for his agency, Acorn Entertainments, as soon as he heard her doing a resident spot at the club. This is what he had to say about her first appearance there:
She had everyone so captivated that-
1. I forgot to start recording untill she'd nearly finished the first set.
2. The audience were spellbound - you could hear a pin drop.
3.The latecomers entered the room and stood silently, transfixed until she'd finished her song - AND THAT'S NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE!
4. I forgot to start the recording for her second set.
All in all I was so gobsmacked that I said I would try and get her some work.
Unfortunately Jim underwent a major operation and decided to end the agency.
Gilly incorporates many different genres of music into her sets, believing that a beautiful song is a beautiful song no matter what genre it comes from, and that if she believes the words the audience will too. With her ability to "feel" a song and to pass that feeling on to her audience, genre is often transcended.
Her haunting voice was used for the title track, and incidental music for the BBC drama "The Tennant Of Wildfell Hall" which has been shown worldwide, and by the same composer, Richard G. Mitchel, for a video of the World Cup,(The Coupe de la Gloire-also available on CD) during which he referred to her as Gilly te Kanawa!! Listen out for her Kiri impression on track 6, "Sunday Prayer".
More recently Gilly has joined up with Maart Allcock for some gigs. The few they have done so far have really taken the audience by storm, including The Mill, Banbury, Godiva Festival, Coventry, and Warwick Festivals.
The demo Maart and Gilly did for the BBC producer was made MP3 of the month for October 2001 on Folking.com This is what they wrote...
MP3 Of The Month...Gilly Darbey- "Ain't No Use Baby"
"Dim the lights, I want to set the scene. It's August and we're at the Cropredy festival, Fairport Convention has just gone off stage and the chatter of well contented, happy people are all around us. Most people are heading out of the main site for either their tents or transport home. We're not leaving the field - We're going to wait for something magical to happen. We walk to the left hand of the stage and pass through the security gate. At the back of the stage there is a tent. Artists and their friends are milling around outside it and the sound of the blues floats out. Inside the tent is "Sugarland Slim" cranking out an impromptu session featuring the extraordinary voice of Gilly Darbey who we have chosen as our MP3 of the Month for October. "Ain't no use now baby" features the talents of Maartin Allcock and hopefully will be included as one of the tracks on a planned collaboration album in the not too distant future. Sugarland Slim have also hinted that Gilly may guest with them on their next release."
And indeed she appears on Sugarlands new CD "Texan Calypso". A song Sean wrote especially to duet with Gilly, called "Dirty girl, Lousy Guy". After recording the track Sugarland had a gig locally and invited Gilly along. This is a review from Relayer. A web site dedicated to bands in and around Bedford, though the reviewer had travelled much further afield to see Sugarland Slim.
".... and then the singer announces a short break .... and invites Gilly Darbey to get up and entertain us. Gilly and Sugarland Slim got together in the small hours at the Cropedy Festival, and they were equally knocked out with each other.... playing and singing through the night. Gilly has been invited to duet with Sean on a number on the new CD.... I'm looking forward to that - she has a superb voice with an incredible range, and treated us to a short set, mostly solo's (guitar/vocal) ...... Jeff solo's on a couple.... great sound! "You'll have to excuse me, I'm a crap guitarist!" she says, before playing very well indeed! Loud applause, from a smallish, but very appreciative crowd ...Wow, what a singer ..... very enjoyable indeed!" The CD is now due out, so check the guys web site for release details.
The year 2000 saw her expanding her horizons with a successful tour to Australia and New Zealand. Since that first tour Gilly has returned several times to growing enthusiam from the audiences in the southern hemisphere. Appearing at some of the countries most prestigeous folk and blues festivals and venues.
Spring 2004 saw the release of her second solo CD...."Blues Movin' In", which is more bluesey than the first solo CD and has really captured the essence of Gilly's voice.
Spring 2004 was spent touring in Australia and New Zealand, with the prestigeous Australian National Folk Festival over Easter in Canberra, and a live appearance on National Radio in NZ. Gilly went down a storm at the National, especially the huge 3000 seater Badewang Hall where she sold out of CD's at the first concert.
Then a return to the UK for more gigs.
Summer 2004 was spent moving to NZ where Gilly now resides.
Autumn gigs included Hong Kong Festival and the end of the year saw her at the huge and wonderful Woodford Festival in Queensland, Australia
2006 saw Gilly recording some songs for Gordon Giltrap and performing them as his guest at the Symphony Hall, London in March. Gordon Wrote of her.......
"You are and always will be one of the finest singers I have ever had the privilege to listen to"
2006 saw her embark on another tour of New Zealand, including a live spot on TVNZ "Good Morning Show". Then back to Australia for the National Festival in Canberra.
2007 and Gilly is now making a name for herself in her new home New Zealand, with great reviews for her appearance at the Queenstown International Jazz Festival, Waipara Wine and Food Festival, and the Alexandra Blossom festival, one of the largest festivals in the South Island, she has also just been confirmed to appear at the Parihaka International Peace Festival in 2008, which is a real honour. Check out their website at Parihaka Festival.Her new CD recorded in Australia at Rob Longs wonderful studio in Newcastle, with Rob playing guitars and drums and Liz Frencham of Jigzag playing double bass, has received rave reviews in NZ Musician.
October 07 sees her embarking on a tour of NZ with her band to promote the new CD, see date sheet for details.
Gilly has recently joined up with Dunedin based Texan musician Terry Ebeling and the band are starting to get gigs around the wine and food festival, corporate circuit.
VISIT her Website Here
Gilly also has a My Space (although I haven't yet found it) Will post it when I do!
Any thoughts or comments on the meeting welcome.
Note of meeting re Coventry Music Exhibition, 5.3.2008
Present: Pete Chambers, Neol Davies, Dave Fisher, Peter Walters, John Dawkins, Huw Jones, Erin Hollis, Martin Roberts
Apologies: Trevor Teasdel, Roger Lomas, Richard Elms, Roger Vaughan
1. Exhibition development
Pete circulated a list of pledges so far, which included costume, instruments, gold disks, poster, etc representing a number of bands and performers. He also passed round some scanned images of objects, posters, etc. This represents a really good start and will help to determine the structure and design of the exhibition.
Pete is also going to write a column appealing for information and objects.