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 Glyde House, Glydegate, Bradford BD5 0BQ

Newsletter No. 152 - January 2015

Hello all,

First of all, a Happy New Year to you all, hopefully 2015 will be a Good One all round. The Topic will endeavour to bring you something for all tastes, the best in acoustic music available on the circuit, starting with:

8th January: Nick and Sarah Smout.
Cellist Sarah Smout is well-established as a session musician and former member of Wilful Missing and Rosie Doonan and the Snapdragons. She is currently a member of the Gren Bartley Band. She has also recorded and performed with Patsy Matheson, Michael Chapman,Jess Morgan and Hannah Trigwell.

Sarah has recently started to perform with her brother Nick: together they supported Nels Andrews at The Live Room, Saltaire to great acclaim, as well as appearing at this year’s Saltaire Festival. Nick is a superb guitarist/songwriter and together their harmonies and musical abilities deliver the quality normally unique to sibling performers. £6/£5

15th January: Beggar's Bridge.
Beggar’s Bridge are a six-piece band from Hull who write tuneful and engaging song-stories in the best folk traditions, often based upon tales of people, places and events from their home county of East Yorkshire, encapsulating its rural, urban and maritime heritage. Their music has both a traditional and a contemporary feel; there are echoes of Fairport Convention, Pentangle and Jethro Tull in their music, along with more recent influences such as The Levellers and the Seth Lakeman group. It’s not just the music which makes a Beggar’s Bridge gig memorable, though; the spaces in between are just as compelling, as the backgrounds to the song-stories are explained, usually with a good helping of earthy humour, and it all makes for an experience which is not only musically satisfying, but amusing and informative too...£6/£5

Beggar’s Bridge use traditional instruments and rich vocal harmonies to create a wonderfully simple sound that is reminiscent of the best folk revivalists...wildly refreshing to listen to a group not only singing about their local past, but revelling in their own traditional folk sound.  Bright Young Folk

22nd January: Jack Blackman.
Jack Blackman is fast developing into one of the most accomplished and exciting young performers on the acoustic roots scene today. His guitar playing has been described as “Exquisite” (FATEA Magazine 2013) and his songs have been generating a great deal of attention from many in the music industry. Jack combines his love of and influence by the blues with his feeling for folk music to write songs of high quality and his second album recorded at Leeds College of Music showcasing his fingerstyle guitar  playing and soulful songwriting has received national and international airplay.

Jack has toured in the US and appeared  on radio shows both there and in the UK: one of his songs has been featured on a BBC Radio 4 documentary. £6/£5

"an artist about whom we shall doubtless be hearing a lot more over the next few years" – Acoustic Magazine

29th January:  Sam Barrett (Serious).
Originally from Yorkshire, Sam has travelled extensively (5 tours) throughout the United States. His influences are mainly Americana and blues, but he has never strayed far from his Yorkshire roots. With several  CD's, solo and in various collaborations, to his credit, Sam has been making a name for himself, not only known as a musician but as a compulsive skateboarder. He has been playing the guitar for as long as he can remember, skateboarding for, perhaps, a little less. So, possibly a first for the Topic; a skateboarding troubadour, though he’ll probably have his guitar rather than his skateboard for the gig. £6/£5

TOPIC NEWS

The AGM passed off without incident (well, it would, wouldn't it???). Liz Narey is a welcome addition to t'committee.

Guest nights are well booked up for the year ahead, thanks to a great deal of sterling work by Sue Gaffney: it seems many artists want to appear at the Topic. Audience numbers hover around the average and the club is ticking over reasonably well.

It would be great to see a few more on a regular basis, so if you're ever wavering, come on down.

A  SONG FOR THE TOPIC

There has been some preliminary discussion and a few ideas put forward concerning the Topic’s 60th anniversary next year (2016).

One idea suggested has been for a song specially written for (or lyrics of an existing well-known song adapted or rewritten) for and about the Topic Folk Club. One format could be a verse about the Topic in the past, one about the Topic today, and one for the Topic in the future, joined together by a rousing chorus. The ball has been started rolling by Into the Buttercup’s adaptation of “The Holy Ground” at the last singers night.

The songs could be sung at each monthly singers’ night, and adopted for the purpose if a song were deemed appropriate. At a suitable event to mark the anniversary they could be performed as part of the event. Perhaps even recorded?

This is a fun idea, it won't be competitive in the sense that there would just be one winner.

Anyway food for thought. The way things are going, 2016 will be here in no time.

Farewell 2014
As the year turns,the loss of two club stalwarts in the last year comes to mind. David Robey and Mick Walker will be sadly missed, never forgotten.

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