In 1984, I decided to give London a try. I had an introduction from Simon Nicol to Bob Davenport, so the first weekend I was there I did a spot at the session Bob and Roger Digby ran on Saturdays at The Empress of Russia, which used to be at the Angel in Islington. The next day Roger took me to The Victoria in Holloway Road. I will never forget the moment he opened the street door: before going through the inner door, I could hear the band and my heart almost stopped - it was Paddy in the Smoke live. Jimmy Power invited me up to play, and that’s how I met Reg Hall. I’m not joking when I say that everything I’ve ever learned about traditional music I learned from Reg. Without his wisdom, I would never have been taken under the wing of musicians like Jimmy, Lucy Farr, Tommy Healy, and the great story teller Freddie McKay.
That’s the beginning of the story - I hope the pictures will tell part of the rest.
A typical night at The Islington Folk Club at The Empress of Russia, @1985
Sitting in with The (expanded) Rakes - Tommy Healy, Lucy Farr, Paul Gross, Michael Plunkett, Ron Somers, Reg Hall, @1986
with Roger Digby at C# House, maybe 1986
The Islington Folk Club moved to The Horseshoe when The Empress became a block of flats. The fun continued - there's Eddie Upton, Pete Cooper (we lived in the same house for a while and busked to support the miners during the strike) Dan Quinn, Trevor Bennett and Tufty Swift.
with Lucy Farr, 1989
with Lucy Farr, 1989
with The Rakes and company (we may have been called The Lucy Farr All Stars that evening) to support the great Maggie Berry in 1989
Maggie Berry's last London concert, 1989
Maggie Berry's last London concert, 1989
Maggie Berry's last London concert, 1989
with my mentor, Reg Hall, @ 1990
Reg and I backing Bob Davenport, @1990
with Trevor Bennett and Dan Quinn, c1989
Sitting in with Gas Mark V - I would have given anything to play in that band full-time. I just loved their approach.
Another opportunity to sit in with Gas Mark V - Dan seems to be enjoying whatever it is I was doing with Gordon Pott's Strat.
Sitting in with Gas Mark V and sharing a laugh with Dan
I really enjoyed Dan Quinn's company and musicianship. We always had a great time.
Who knows? but Dan seems to like it!
Another night at The Horseshoe, with Lucy Farr, Sue Lees, Michael Plunkett, and I would imagine Rob Gifford on drums
Sue and Ken Lees, with a couple of smiling men
Crazy Hearts was a country-rock band led by Peta Webb and Tony Engle. It was really an honor to be asked to play guitar with them.
with Tony Engle and Crazy Hearts
with Crazy Hearts at Sidmouth
with Crazy Hearts at Sidmouth
Peta Webb, Ken Hall and I at Sidmouth. We were The Marks Brothers and Rosa
During my London Daze, I managed to do a doctorate at UCL. I lived at William Goodenough House in Bloomsbury, and here I am with Ham Mulan of Uganda and Ann Daishey of Barbadoes contributing to a musical evening. Ham and I were great friends - we both loved The Beatles. He asked me to teach him about Country, and in return he taught me a bit about African guitar playing.
with my dear friend Alan Levermore - he gave me a place to stay; he gave me a residency at his The Last Straw Club; he supported me in every way he could, and he's just a great guy all around. I love him dearly.
After I'd finished writing my doctoral thesis and was waiting for the viva, I wrote a book about playing guitar like Jerry Donahue.