What's Ozzy got to do with folk music?

Ozzy Osbourne in 2010

Yes, we were a bit thin on the ground at last week's Dragon Folk Club session, but we sang. There were no attempts for a record number of songs, just lots of chat and lots of singing.

Stand-in MC, Simon, started us off with Chase the dragon (* Keith Hancock) which Simon acquired from the singing of Gregson & Collister (Clive Gregson and Christine Collister) - Hancock and Gregson were school friends. Simon sang the song for the first time in a few years as a sort of sideways tribute to the recently deceased Ozzy Osbourne.

After earlier talk of children working in the mines, Rob decided to sing Frank Higgins' The testimony of Patience Kershaw (*), based on the report given by Kershaw, of Halifax, to the Children's Employment Commission of 1842. Rob said that Patience wasn't as well respected by the commission as the song implies.

Stan completed the first rotation by singing Return to me (* Carmen Lombardo, Danny Di Minno), first recorded by Dean Martin in 1958.

The one song of the evening not found on YouTube and therefore not in the playlist linked below was Rob's own Lost in the wild (Rob Winder).

Stan sang More than I can say (*), understandably mentioning the 1961 hit version by Bobby Vee, but it was written by two members of Buddy Holly's band The Crickets: Sonny Curtis, Jerry Allison and was recorded by them in 1959 soon after Holly's death, being released in 1960. The link is strong because the then fifteen-year-old Vee was one of the musicians who volunteered to fill in with his brother Bill among others after singing stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and "The Big Bopper" J. P. Richardson were killed in a plane crash on 3rd February 1959. The stand-ins performed as a band which they named The Shadows on the spur of the moment. The band which already existed without a name modelled itself on Holly's style. This marked the beginning of Vee's career.

After some discussion of the 1960s and whether one remembers it Rob segued seamlessly and artfully into Shel Silverstein's monologue, The man who got no sign (*).

We had a mini links theme which started when Simon sang Roger Whittaker's Durham Town, which incorrectly places the city of Durham on the River Tyne. I incorrectly stated that Whittaker was South African. He was in fact born in Kenya to English parents although he enrolled at the University of Cape Town in 1956. He moved to Britain in 1959.

Rob's linked song was Back in Durham Gaol (*) written by Jez Lowe. Not only is the song about Durham, but Lowe is from County Durham.

Simon's next song also came from the pen of Jez Lowe, being The Bergen, which our friend Derek Brinkley once suggested may be the only song that has been about Seaton Carew.

Rob's last song of the evening was Bob Dylan's Just like Tom Thumb's blues (*). The penultimate song of the evening was Earth angel (Curtis Williams, Jesse Belvin, Gaynel Hodge) sung by Stan, followed ultimately by Simon inviting everyone present to raise their voices for When all men sing (Keith Scowcroft, Derek Gifford).

Now listen to a selection of songs sung during this session.

(Number of people present - 3 of whom 3 performed)

In the above report songs new to the Dragon database (though no always new to the club) are marked with an asterisk (*).

Blood and Roses

(Photo: webentwicklerin)

Last week's Dragon Folk Club session continued the trend of eclectic songs and of meeting new and old friends. Notably, we saw the return to the club of old friend Roger who came with occasional visitor John. Roger said he would try to persuade his wife Chris along next time; it would be excellent to see and hear Chris again. We also had an unexpected and welcome visitor, but more of her later.

Your scribe wasn't around at the very beginning of the session, so please forgive any slight inaccuracies. Denny started things off with Young Banker (roud 3321), which Paul followed with the Ballad of Cursed Anna (Jonathan Kelly).

Sue gave us (Haywire Mac) Harry McClintock's Big Rock Candy Mountain (roud 6969) and Bob sang Sweet Little Liza (Dick van Altena). The latter was the first new song of the evening for the Dragon database. As usual this doesn't mean it definitely hasn't been sung at the club before, but that it probably hasn't been recorded in this blog.

Colin's first of the evening was The Greenside Wakes Song (roud 4585). Not only is is new to the database, but nowhere to be found on YouTube (at least not as a song), and therefore it is not in the "a selection" playlist linked below. The only song of the evening which is missing.

John B fittingly gave us Sloop John B (roud 15634) with accompaniment from Roger and singing from all assembled. Meanwhile, Roger's turn brought Ralph McTell's Streets of London.

Simon completed the first round with Roger Whittaker's geographically inaccurate Durham Town. A boy sitting by the river in Durham would be by the River Wear and not the Tyne. How should South African Roger know?

Denny quickly picked up on that and made a pairing with The Water of Tyne (roud 1364), the third song new to the database that evening.

Paul also brought a new song to the party with Seven Virgins (roud 127), from the singing of Norma Waterson.

The new songs for the database were coming thick and fast when Bob sang The Last Ride, written by Robert Halcomb and Ted Daffan, and made famous by Hank Snow.

John had found a new song from Glacia Robinson in the form of Survivor.

Paul got us all singing along to Blood Red Roses (roud 931) which AL Lloyd suggested might be from the early 19th century, but the chorus at least of which Bert himself seems to have brought in possibly with some standard shanty verses.

Bob shook us all up with I knew the bride when she used to rock'n'roll (Nick Lowe) - another new song to the database.

Paul revisited his rendition of Alex Glasgow's Close the Coalhouse Door from the previous week for Bob's benefit since he had been absent.

John was Knockin' on Heaven's Door, but not with the straight Bob Dylan version, rather with words by Ted Christopher relating to the 1996 Dunblane Massacre where in an incident unusual in the UK 16 pupils and one teacher were killed and 15 were injured at a primary school. The man with the gun also shot himself dead. It remains the deadliest mass shooting in British history. It resulted in the private ownership of most handguns within Great Britain being made illegal with few exceptions.

It was Denny who introduced us to A Mon Like Thee which was written by Edmund Hill from St Helens in Merseyside, formerly Lancashire.

It was around about this time that the door opened and there stood Allie, a pub regular who some of us have come to know in passing and have regularly encouraged to join us for the singing. She declared that she had been standing outside the door for some time and was enjoying the music. We tried again to encourage her to enter and while she did not, she stood on the threshold and sang a creditable performance of Here Come the Navvies, written by Ian Campbell. I hope we see and hear more of Allie in the future. She was about to head into singing the Lincolnshire Poacher (roud 299, laws L14), but in the end disappeared off down the corridor.

The last "new" song of the evening was John's singing of Farewell Angelina (Bob Dylan) before Simon brought the session to a close with When All Men Sing (Keith Scowcroft, Derek Gifford).

Now listen to a selection of songs sung during this session.

(Number of people present - 9 of whom 9 performed)

White Acres

Roger Whittaker (Photo Wilfried Wittkow)

Summer is a time when people head to the hills and beaches or wherever, so we might expect some of our regulars to miss a few weeks but we are here waiting every Friday to welcome all our folky friends, even those we have yet to meet, who are gravitating in the direction of the South West of England, whether they're staying in the Bristol area or just passing through. Please come and swell our ranks, even if it's only for one session. Perhaps you'll like us enough to drop in another time when you're down our way, others have.

Colin was MC and started the session off by referring to a new fast food outlet being built in Fishponds, and sang a song he had "collected" from Maggie S: McDonald's Kitchen (Seamus Kennedy).