At: Hullabaloo, 41 Westgate, Shipley, BD18 3QX

Est: 1956

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Topic Newsletter Archive

TOPIC FOLK CLUB, BRADFORD

At Glyde House, Glydegate, Bradford BD5 0BQ  

Newsletter No. 143 - April 2014

Hello all,

Here we are, back with the longer evenings and hopefully some warmer days, and, as usual, evenings both long and warm at the Topic. Just take a look.....

3rd April:    Singers and Musicians.
8.15 pm start. Free entry.

10th April:  Stan Graham. 
Stan’s songs have been described as powerful yet understated, moving and memorable: he writes from the heart and somehow always manages to keep his songs simple and straight to the point.

With four internationally successful and highly acclaimed albums of self penned songs to his name, he stands out from the usual run of songwriters. £6/£5

17th April:   Barluath. 
Barluath are a diverse and innovative Glasgow-based Scottish folk band who embrace both the traditional and contemporary music of Scotland, Ireland and America. The band consists of six young musicians who met whilst studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and has a line up comprising Scots and Gaelic song, fiddle, whistles, guitar, highland and border bagpipes, bouzouki and piano/keyboards. A snip at £6/£5

24th April: Pete Morton. 
A welcome return for this superb songwriter, singer and “folk rapper” with his wealth of great songs and stage presence. A veritable troubadour, Pete tours constantly either solo or in various collaborations, sometimes in musical theatre shows. He has entertained all over the world with his unique style, songs telling stories and speaking of the human condition from his own unique perspective, songs of humour, politics, love and social comment delivered in the folk tradition. Pete now has eight solo albums of original material as well as others in collaboration with other luminaries such as Roger Wilson, Simon Edwards and Jo Freya. £6/£5

TOPIC NEWS

The funeral of David Robey took place on 24th March. It was very well attended with a notable representation from the Topic. The event consisted mainly of tributes from David's family, friends, and the various organisations with which he was involved: the Topic's tribute was delivered by John Waller. All paid homage to David's loyalty, hard work and his meticulous approach to everything he did, just wanting to get on with whatever he could do to help, without any fuss, all the qualities he was known for in Topic circles. He will be sadly missed. A copy of the draft of John's tribute is attached to this newsletter*.

Some more sad news: we recently heard that John Ewbank, who had performed as a floor singer and was booked to appear at the club last autumn, but had to cancel because of ill-health, sadly passed away in December. Originally from Bradford, he emigrated to Australia as a teenager, but later made a life for himself in New York. A google search will reveal that he was quite an amazing man, not only as a musician. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ewbank_(climber)

Topic  Round and About in Bradford 2014.

The club will be well represented at various events around Bradford throughout the summer, as follows:

23rd-25th May   Threadfest 

15th June            Bradford Festival 

9th/10th August  Shuttle Shuffle Festival

More details nearer the times, in the next newsletters, but make a note in your diaries.

Practical stuff 

Nick Waller has done something amazing: he has "created special small and reconfigured smartphone/mobile version of the Topic site which is a lot easier to read. Having the normal site scale down to fit on my phone made it very hard to see anything without zooming and scrolling and panning.

"There's no special trick for the user - you start by trying to go to the normal Topic site and it redirects automatically to the mobile version."

That's in quotes because frankly it doesn't mean a great deal to this non-smartphone technophobe. I'll leave it to you.

Non-Topic stuff which may be of interest.

Leon Rosselson has a gig on Friday 18th April at 7.30 pm at Seven Arts, 31A Harrogate Road, Chapel Allerton Leeds LS7 3RD. Details from www.sevenleeds.co.uk or ask me.

The 40th day of dance takes place at Victoria Hall Saltaire on Saturday 26th April, with 40 workshops in dance, song, and a host of other activities, 3 ceilidhs and other events in the evening. A great day to be had. This year a special item will be a talk on the life and songs of Peter Seeger by Joe Stead. Visit www.dayofdance.co.uk for full programme details and links.

Usual Other Stuff

For performers who may be thinking of approaching the club for a booking, please note that the bookings organiser is now Sue Gaffney, email address : sue.gaffney@btinternet.com

If you would like to become a member of the Topic Folk Club, it costs just £5.00 per year, running from 1st January. Being a member entitles you to the lower ticket prices shown in this newsletter, as well as the chance to become more involved in the workings of the club if you would like to.

 If you’re visiting the club for the first time, be sure to come and say hello, and if anyone has any suggestions for the club, for example if you would like us to try to book a particular artist, we’d like to hear them.

The Topic runs on Thursdays at Glyde House, Glydegate, Little Horton Lane, BD5 0BQ  8.30pm start. (Singers & Musicians nights start at 8.15pm). Like all the clubs in the area, our aim is to provide good quality live entertainment to suit all tastes of those interested in folk music, and we thank you for your continued support.

Floor singers are always welcome, especially in the first half. Please try to get there by 8.15pm if you’d like a slot – it helps the MC to plan the evening.

To find the Topic on Facebook search for "Topic Fc"Best wishes

Tony Charnock, Topic Newsletter Editor  

tocharn@gmail.com        
www.topic-folk-club.org.uk 

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*
DAVID ROBEY

Thank you for giving David's friends at Bradford's Topic Folk Club the opportunity to contribute to this service. Much of what I have written here chimes almost exactly with what contributors who knew him in other aspects of his life have already said.

David was an active member of the Topic for over 30 years, and was its Treasurer for more than half of that time. He made heroic efforts to attend every week, despite this involving a series of three buses; and with no guarantee that he would get a lift back again. This continued even as he started to feel the aches and pains of advancing age. He kept the Club's accounts with meticulous care, and was always on hand to sell the raffle tickets so vital to any folk club's financial survival. He performed a similar function for the Bradshaw Folk Club, rather nearer his home.

David was a man of few words, but he relished performing at Club Night singarounds. He did not have the strongest of singing voices, but had an impeccable memory for the songs he enjoyed. These revealed a dry, even mischievous sense of humour; with his offerings ranging from Stanley Holloway monologues, through songs about Halifax (such as the story of the incident-prone Bus up to Tabor), to others about improbable social customs that verged on the risqué - including the one about the Funeral which took an unexpected twist. Some of the songs he sang he had written himself, though he was usually too modest to mention it.

David kept himself to himself, but was perhaps able to express himself better through performing songs and poetry than through normal conversation. He clearly felt at home amongst his friends at the Topic; as a performer, a listener, and a valued contributor to the running of the Club. He was one of those people who quietly get on with doing what needs to be done, without fuss. The sort of person whose contribution is essential to the clubs, organisations and societies throughout the land, which add so much value and richness to our lives. He will be very much missed by all in the Folk world who knew him.

John Waller

Funeral, Monday 24th March 2014