At: Groove Pad, 48 Saltaire Road, Shipley BD18 3HN
Venue (not Club) Tel: 01274 586542

Est: 1956

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Topic Newsletter Archive

TOPIC FOLK CLUB, BRADFORD

At the Bradford Irish Club, Rebecca Street, BD1 2RX                    an accessible venue

Newsletter No. 116 - December 2011

Hi everyone and welcome to the December 2011 edition of the Topic newsletter.

Before I go any further I should point out an (un)deliberate mistake in our Tykes News advert and the flyer for the winter season. The Singers & Musicians Nights around Xmas are on Thursday 22nd Dec and Thursday 29th December - not the dates shown in the advert & flyer. Thanks to Kath & Trevor Charnock for spotting the error! Just as well it is my final season as club bookings secretary otherwise who knows what other disasters could have befallen in the future! 

The other important item of news is that our Martin Carthy concert this Thursday has now sold out so I hope that all who wanted to see Martin have got their tickets! Martin's performance will launch the Raise Your Banners Festival of Political Song which takes place next weekend at Kala Sangham, Bradford Cathedral, the 1 in 12 Club and the National Media Museum. There is a great programme of artists, workshops, choirs and film, as well as lots of other activities. There is now going to be more seating in the Blue Room at Kala Sangham which means that tickets for the John Tams / Barry Coope, Roy Bailey, Hall Brothers concert on Friday night and the Peggy Seeger concert on Sunday afternoon are once again on sale having previously being announced as sold out. Hurry though as there are only a few extra being sold! http://raiseyourbanners.org/index.php?page=ryb-2011-tickets-2

Back at the Topic we have a great run up to Xmas with Miranda Sykes & Rex Preston and Duncan McFarlane & Anne Brivonese coming to entertain us as well as our old friends the Holbeck Mummers paying their customary visit to practice the fine arts of folk theatre and extortion (all for a good cause of course!). There are plenty of opportunities in December too for those who enjoy our Singers & Musicians nights.

Our first guests of 2012 will be the superb young band The Sail Pattern who I have seen twice now and can promise are one of the most exciting bands to emerge on the folk scene in recent years - they brought the house down at Musicport!

Look forward to seeing you at the club! 

Dec 01   
Singers & Musicians - Entry Free

Dec 08   
Miranda Sykes & Rex Preston  - Entry: £6 (£5 members)
As well as being a superb vocalist and double bassist – and frequently seen performing with Show of Hands - Miranda Sykes continues to surprise audiences with her musical versatility, and demonstrates her ability as a guitarist and interpreter of song, slipping effortlessly between genres. She has a strong repertoire and is currently developing material for her 5th solo album. She will be joined by Rex Preston; one of the most virtuosic mandolin players in the UK today. His style & fluidity augments Miranda’s songs beautifully. Undoubtedly another evening to treasure at the Topic!

Dec 15  
Duncan McFarlane with Anne Brivonese - Entry: £6 (£5 members)
Long-standing friend of the Topic and local hero Duncan McFarlane will undoubtedly ensure that our guest nights for 2011 will go out on a high. Equally at home in electric or acoustic bands as in his duo performances with superb fiddler Anne Brivonese, Duncan always provides his audience with a seamless evening's entertainment comprising intimate ballads, rousing choruses and everything in between!

"Duncan has an obvious feel for the tradition and a deep-rooted belief that it has a place in the current folk scene, aspects which he puts across with lively showmanship. His own songs show a canny grasp of, and response to, the tradition, while his intrinsic seriousness of intent and approach is often laced with a healthy irreverence that happens to be hugely entertaining." - Living Tradition

"Duncan's a punchy guitarist in the 'English folk' style and offers a set about equally split between his own songs, other people's and traditional." - fRoots

"Stylistically, Duncan's guitar technique falls very much within the Carthy/Nic Jones school, with a strong rhythmic impetus that's infectious in the extreme. His singing has real character too" - Traditional Music Maker

Dec 22  
Singers & Musicians - with special guests The Holbeck Mummers   Entry Free
Happy Xmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dec 29  
Singers & Musicians - Entry Free

Jan 05   
Singers & Musicians - Entry Free 

Jan 12  
The Sail Pattern - Entry: £6 (£5 members)
The Sail Pattern are a dynamic young 4-piece band who offer a raucous broadside of folk, encompassing original songs, plus their own arrangements of shanties and other traditional songs. They love playing live, and breathing new life into near forgotten songs! A recent unforgettable appearance at the Keighley 'Aire Do' led to them being snapped up for the Scarborough Fair and Musicport festivals.

They are Joe Alderson (Guitars and Vocal), Alex Haydock (Guitars and Vocals), James Bentham (Percussion and Vocals), and Bob Alderson (Bass and Vocals). Although having played together for years The Sail Pattern was formally established in the summer of 2010. With a shared passion for playing folk music they have gigged relentlessly and won a reputation for energetic and memorable live performances. Their home spun melodies and powerful arrangements of traditional songs will guarantee a night to remember at the Topic.

Best Wishes

Joe Grint