New Page 1

ILKESTON FOLK CLUB

Member Biographies

A place for club members to tell us a little bit about themselves.

If you'd like to be included please email a short biog to Keith.

Greg

At The Club

Member since 2000 (time flies), ex Chairman, Committee Member and Regular MC along with Keith

Does:

Plays 6 and 12 string guitar a bit of mandolin and bazooka and sings. (Badly all badly)keith

Biog:

Born in 1947 in sunny Essex moved to Derbyshire at an early age. Married to Elsie then moved to Ilson we have two children and four grandchildren. If I listed all my jobs be here all night so here is a couple, fitter at Stanton, police man, main job fireman for 26 years now retired and work part time doing a bit of consultancy work. Started playing guitar about 12 years ago my main teacher was Ian Scott in Ilkeston.

Influences:

Being a teenager in the 60’s groups like the Troggs, Animals, Small Faces etc. coloured my life. Now days I lean towards Vin Garbutt, John Prine and also enjoy singers like Katherine Jenkins and and even Lady Gaga. I suppose one of my biggest driving forces was being one half of the world famous folk duo “Fire and Brimstone” along with Derek Wilson. I have known him from when I was 15, he pestered me to play and sing for which I am eternally grateful. I must also mention Chris Smith and John Richardson to whom I was apprenticed at the White Cow as a compare it was these two who got me and Derek up performing.

Anna Lea

At the club:

Member Since, Adam was a lad

Does:

I play guitar and sing

BIOG:

I've always been musical and creative with memories of making up songs at a very early age. Then at 14 I discovered Joni Mitchell's album 'for he roses' and was blown away. I was inspired by both her voice, lyrics and compositions and began to accompany my own poetry with acoustic guitar.

I began performing at local folk clubs when I was 17 and continued throughout my 20's, during which time I also studied music at college.

I have since continued to write and perform (at folk clubs, open mic's, bars, pubs and restaurants) a combination of my own material ( both songs and some poetry) and also covers of various artists including some of my main influences; Kirsty McColl, Suzanne Vega and ofcourse, Joni Mitchell.

Some of my favourite covers to play are 'a case of you' by Joni Mitchell, 'The Queen and the soldier' by Suzanne Vega and 'Kathy's Song' by Paul Simon ( which was the first thing I tought myself to play on the guitar at 15!)

My own writing could be said to be almost autobiographical, comprised mainly of songs inspired by personal experience.

Listen out for me on local community radio shows as i'm featured from time to time'.

interests: Arts, Poetry, Photography, Music in general

Influences:

Joni MItchell, Kirsty McColl, Suzanne Vega, Donovan, Michelle shocked
also like:: Jason Mraz, Ray Lamontagne, Adem, Jack Johnson, Jose Gonzales, Martha Tilston

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Anna-Lea/105508212820570?v=info&ref=nf

http://www.myspace.com/TheAnnaCatherineLea1

PETER

At the club:

Unaccompanied singer

BIOG:

Born in Nottingham, returning after a few years down south. An economics and business teacher to 16-19s for 20 years or so after 6 years lazing in higher education.

Discovered the White Cow Folk Club about 1995. The only other notable survivors from then are ex-chair John, volunteer barman Dave and silky-voiced Kathy-Anna. A regular ever since apart from 5 years or so abroad, I have lived in Colombia, Malawi and Togo, and spent time in Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and Guatemala (Latin America) and Zimbabwe, South Africa and Ghana (Africa), and all over Spain.

Visited folk clubs from 1970 but did not dare to perform till 1990. Have sung nearly 300 songs but nowadays a smaller repertoire, especially English traditional. Also attend 2nd Time Around in Beeston and Traditions at the Tiger, Long Eaton.

Influences:

Used to like Bob Dylan and Van Morrison but have graduated to Martin Simpson and Martyn Wyndham Reed, plus the legendary Watersons and Coppers. In the last 10 years

KEITH

At the club:

Club member since 2000, Committee Member, Web Master and regular MC.

Does:

Plays Guitar, Mandolin, Bodhran, Sings.

Biog:

Born in 1955 on Newcastle Street in darkest Market Warsop (not actually in the street you understand inside number 2), I was born into a non musical family which explains my late development. I have worked as a car mechanic, Miner, Lorry driver and spent 20 years as an AA patrol were I met my alter ego Hairy Dave. I am now semi-retired I work freelance for an internet company and make wrought iron things for fun. I was taught to play by Hairy Dave, Ian Scott and Colin Harrigan and I have been playing since about 2000 (My fingers are really tired now). I Live in Huthwaite on the Notts Derbyshire border with Lynn the better half, four dogs, 7 horses, 3 Donkeys and a goat, not all in the house.

Influences:

I have so many it is hard to pick just a few but I have been influenced greatly by: Colin Harrigan, (who still persists in trying to get me above the fourth fret) Jim Vincent, a very early Joan Baez album, The Beatles, and countless performers at the many clubs and festivals I have been to, I lean towards comedy and admire such diverse people as Ken Dodd, Vin Garbet, Mike Harding & Bernard Manning I have the dubious honour of assisting Bernard on to the stage at one of his last gigs before his sad death (God Bless you Bernard). I love to see someone perform, the material almost doesn't matter when the performance is good.

SUZE

At the club:
Member since 2001. Club chairman which entails drawing little
pictures and paying no attention during committee meetings. It was a
difficult job to grasp but I think I've got the hang of it now.

Does:
Sings, plays guitar, plays banjo occasionally just to annoy Keith.

Biog:
Born in 1964, wandered aimlessly through life ever since. Found
Ilkeston Folk and Blues Club in 2001. Dazzled by the musical talent in
there (especially Julie May), I then went out and bought a guitar and
learned to play. Outside of my folk club life: I was born, I went to
school, I left with few qualifications, I worked in several jobs
including being a fishmonger at one point. I then took a break to have
children and raise them (raise???? keith), I went back to college, then on to take a
BA(Hons) ready for my return to the working world. This, I figured,
would secure me a good working position and a respected place in
society.

Influences:
Joan Baez, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, Julie May. Largely inspired
by coffee and chocolate

CLIVE

At the club:

Club Member since Adam was a lad, staunch supporter of the club, regular performer.

Does:

Currently plays Guitar, D/G Melodian & Bodhran, sings with feeling can play loads of things often turns up with different accordions etc, a proper musician

Biog:

Born in 1949 in a small farming village (Hemington) on the Leicestershire Derbyshire border to a Scottish father & English mother. Dan his father was a fine button accordion/melodeon player. Clive has packed a lot into life so far including a spell in the Guards, he has stood outside the palace wearing a Busby (sorry a bearskin) it is not recorded if he had a melodeon with him at the time, he is a well known busker both locally and in Whitby, famous for breaking strings outside the Middle Earth, and his capacity for fine Scotch.

Influences:

Clive was fed on organically grown produce and Jimmy Shand later progressing to solids such as The Corries and The Dubliners.

BRENDA

At the club:

Joined in late 2003 by accident when he went "somewhere new" for a change and someone stuffed a membership registration slip in his face.
He thought it was a cheap beer token so being a cheapskate he signed it and handed it in to someone who he was later to discover Keith on a covert press-ganging (Recruiting) mission.

Does:

Plays guitar in weird tunings (one day he'll learn how to tune it properly) in order to look better than he actually is.
Writes songs that he hasn't got a hope of being able to sing properly and has to ask someone else to sing them for him in order to find out how they actually go.
Currently engaged in hand to hand combat with the bottleneck in a last ditch attempt to become versatile and get one over on Lightnin' Pete.
He's learned that Jo, his other and much better looking half, is a better singer than him so he has mercifully learned to shut up and stick to the guitar, letting Jo do all the clever "voicy" stuff instead.
Unfortunately he will insist on singing when Jo has a cold, so for God's sake keep taking the vitamin C Jo.
One day, when Jo has vetted, airbrushed, and finally sanctioned release of a photo of herself this bio will become "Jo & Steve", but until then it's just his lordship.

Biog:

Born in January 1959 (so he says) in Nottingham, making the sensible move to Ilkeston eleven years ago (we think he was "asked" to leave Nottm). Spent most of his musical life jumping around like a silly bugger in heavy rock bands until finally realising he was too old to play at being young any more, so he layed down his electric guitars in quiet graves and took up the more sedate acoustic guitar, which now dominates all of his playing and writing.
The club has christened him BRENDA due to his propensity for wearing little black dresses and stockings on special occasions, even though he would insist that it's simply because he's got long hair (which IS NOT falling out).

Influences:

In the early days he was influenced by the usual rock culprits, Led Zeppelin, UFO, Floyd, etc, but is now far more beguiled by acoustic/folk music. Truth is, the club has been a massive influence over the last couple of years, and his new heroes are local ones, like our very own Lightnin' Pete, Chris Smith, Clive, Bob Stokes, Julie May, Alan, Cookie, Pat when he's around, and many others.