This article is one of a series on regulars at the club.Tom has been coming along to the Dragon Folk Club since about 1981. In those days it was held at the Lamb in Iron Acton and the pub shut by 11pm. Tom would rush back into Bristol to the Stone House which stayed open until 1am, with every artist imaginable dropping in on their way home from gigs - it was like a folk collage. Tom was able to learn from the best, including Fred Wedlock to Loudon Wainwright III.
Tom plays original, blues and contemporary songs with guitar, banjo, mandolin and harmonica. During his days at The Stone House he played support to the likes of Wizz Jones, Diz Disley and Isaac Guillory. In 1992 he won the Best New Artist Award at the Wath Folk Festival.
He comes from a musical family; his father played the piano, his mother was a dancer and Tom recalls his grandfather with his wooden doll dancing to the rhythm of his fingers drumming on a plank (just like Seth Davy in Glyn Hughes' song Whiskey on a Sunday). Tom's musical influences include Bing Crosby, The Beatles, Flanagan and Allen, Don McLean, Paul Simon, Jim Croce, Dr Hook, Jake Thackray, Buddy Holly, Eric Clapton, Louis Armstrong, The Shadows, Scott Joplin, Carole King, Duke Ellington and Jimmy Young and even with that raft of influences there still seems to be some room for Tom to be himself.
You can find Tom on YouTube:
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