Fab Club Sunday 5th March
It’s the first bright sunny Sunday afternoon that I can remember in a long time and I’m still waking up from a short sharp sleep after doing a very cold and early boot fair.
Claudine and myself arrive early to set up the room and get the heaters working.
No cold session for anyone today.
We have some time on our hands…..we could practise our sets……but the sudden influx of folkies puts a stop to that!
Good God! We’re not talking about a couple of early arrivals….no way!
Like a lot of excited children before a friend’s birthday party they come flooding in fast and furious!
Hang on a sec’ says we….there are a lot of people from the surrounding clubs here…..
Dartford, Hoy at Anchor, Sail Loft, Romford, Orpington...
This looks like it’s gonna be a gooood afternoon.
For all of you who have just found this site or are looking to see what we got up to this time…..
well here is what you’ve missed:
Claudine our trusty club organiser, driving force supreme and all round wonder woman introduces our comperes for the afternoon…..
Tone Deaf Leopard
Sue introduces herself and Trevor as ‘Boland leopard’ and ‘Goldie locks leopard’ ( look at the photo and all will become clear)
She lays down a few firm rules backed up by a small but lethal looking whip that has more thongs hanging of its handle than an underwear shop!
Any messing and milling around will be punishable…..by the whip! Oooooh eeeeeer matron!
They start the entertainment with what is described as an ‘Agricultural song’
Well it’s about a farmer from Faversham, who likes his cider – and why not? – who also likes hand cranking….and there’s a milk maid….well how ever cheeky it seems it was very funny.
They finish off with ‘Boland Leopard’ doing a rendition of ‘Born to be wild’.
Well done, guys, a stirling start to the day!
The next act is introduced……hey it’s me!!!
Simon Oliver
I can’t sing this week due to a bad throat and so have my whistles instead of my trusty 12 string.
I start off with the theme from ‘Titanic’ followed by ‘Ashokan Fair Well’
My last set is a jig – don’t ask me what it’s called cos’ I haven’t a clue – which then leads into ‘Portsmouth
I think the gang liked it….yes they did: someone asked me to play them at Orpington next Friday.
Our next act is
Alan
from Dartford Folk club
He starts with a superb rendition of “Rambling boy” and has everyone singing happily along with him the first verse.
Alan then sings ‘Fair thee well Sisko’, he plays with such confidence and beautiful guitar picking.
Good stuff sir! We hope to see more of you.
Maureen
is up next with some more of her monologs.
The first is a female prayer. The lady is praying for a man with firm buttocks, nice long legs and a hug……sorry folks, I can’t write that, there maybe children reading this!
The male counter part is praying for a woman who owns a pub and …… put it this way….it had everyone in stitches!
Her next story was about Tarzan and Jane. Again very funny! Well done Maureen!
Bill Pardon
was our next act. He’s a mate, a fellow ‘Hoy’ member and a very good song writer.
His first self penned one is a rather sad story about a fellow called ‘Benjamin Greenbatten’
He and a friend drown but his daughter-in-law sees it all in a dream before the news reaches home.
Bill then sings his FaB Club anniversary song……it goes down a treat and has a very catchy chorus ‘At the Orsett Cock, at the Orsett Cock, at the Orsett Cock on Sunday’
Great stuff Bill, hope to see you back again soon.
Dennis Homes
rounds off the first part of the afternoon with a ‘love song’(sorry Den’ I didn’t catch the title).
His second song, ‘Grand ma’s old back yard’ was a very catch number – excellent lyrics and a dam good tune.
Let me say here that Dennis is a very established song writer and performer and as usual gave everything he had in his set.
Well done mate…..MOOOOOORE!
We take a ten minute break……and we are informed that because of the large number of performers and a ‘surprise guest’
Back again and the leopards introduce the next act…
Kit Watson
who is another Dartford folkie performs ‘Redwin’ which he sings with a strong country style voice and is backed up with excellent guitar playing.
Before he can escape, Claudine pulls him back on stage for the accompanying photo.
Nice one Kit, please play at Fab again soon.
Robert Woodley
is up next and starts to perform a lovely sentimental love song…..or at least that’s the impression in the first verse gave.
After that it went rapidly down the moralistic hill in to all sorts of assorted relationships. To my utter ‘horror’ my name was mentioned .EEEEEEEEEEEEK!
Along with lassie….woof, woof!
Put it this way the song was the singer talking about a relationship with two women, yours truly(UGH!), the sausey baroness Reichspanker along with handcuffs and a dog…..morality hide thy face!
A very funny song and sung so well and deadpan!
Rocking Bob
is up next singing and playing ‘Georgia
Bob is a firm club favourite who keeps on inspiring us all with his sheer enthusiastic attitude. Everyone loves Bob!
Mark Reed
is up with his twelve string and performing ‘We found love’
He picks and strums the guitar with complete professionalism and carries the song off very well.
Mark is a club regular and always gives a fantastic performance!
Jem
then takes the stage with his trusty guitar. He performs a song by Alison Cubet. Though I didn’t catch the title it all about some one living with an alcoholic.
Jem is such a confident guitarist and has a lovely relaxed attitude when he performs.
Jon Leone
is up with an electric guitar – he’s a Fab club virgin but soon that is changed as he sings and plays a self penned song called
‘Emperor of nowhere’
Well done Jon! Hope to see you again soon.
Margaret Brown,better known as lady Formby plays a song for the youngest lady of the audience, Lil, who was celebrating her 25th birthday! "My mother's eyes" surely brought back some fond memories to us all...
We take another ten minute break…..
And now ladies and gentlemen, the surprise performer.
The one, the only
Paul Downes
Paul had been playing at Rochester
Claudine had persuaded him to do this after seeing him on Friday. Wonder woman strikes again!
Paul starts with ‘Come and be a soldier’ one of my favourites and plays the mandola with real energy.
‘The moth’ is requested by Claudine and is sung and played beautifully.
‘Driving at the moon’,
the next number, is an intricated instrumental piece, once a Gillingham world premiere and was inspired while Paul was driving along the M20 looking at a lunar eclipse. He avoided all the crashes that the other people had!
‘I’d rather die on the ocean’ is a truly fantastic song that will be appearing on his next album and has the great Phil Beer playing on it as well! I can’t wait!
He then does the very catchy ‘Angi/Cocaine’ – stunning finger picking that the rest of us would die for!
Every one is tapping their feet in time and as Paul finishes, there is a split second pause and some where out of the audience someone says ‘Brilliant’!
He then finishes off his set with ‘Mosambique’ a lovely song which takes the listener in to the heart of Africa .
Thank you Paul, for making it a Fab Club to remember!
The leopards get back to the floor spots and get
Chris Spindlow
from Orpington up on the stage. Before he sings , Chris shares with the audience that as Paul Downes was leaving, he was thinking to himself:” What poor soul’s got to follow him?...” Guess who? But Chris copes very well and gives an excellent accapella performance of “Ronnie”. Well done Chris for taking the floor after such a big name!
Mo Baker,
also from Orpington, is up next singing the well-known Eric Bogle song:” Nobody’s moggy”. Nice one Mo!
Mark Elf,
does an excellent unaccompanied rendition of the Irish traditional song ” my lagan love”. Mark has a distinctive strong voice and we should like to see more of him at the club in the future!
Tony Prior,
chairman of the Hoy at the Anchor Folk Club in Leigh on Sea is up next.
Claudine shouts out at this point: “ Sing the shaggy dog one!” Tony then starts to pick up the chords but I pipe up shouting:” I did that last time Tony!”. He then instantaneously changes the tune without blinking an eye and sings the excellent “ Myrtle the turtle” song from Les Barker. The audience joined in the chorus with enthusiasm and laughter!
Mick Brown is the final floor spot and points out that because this is a folk club with folk music, he’s gonna sing a country and western song! A strong voice and some confident guitar playing for “ the girl who loves the man who robbed the bank in Santa Fe
Very nicely performed!
