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December 2011
It’s December already (as I type this) and nearly another has year gone by… But I cast my mind back to September to start this blog. The world has gone mad, this we know. But popular culture has gone mad also: The Mercury music prize was won by PJ Harvey. For the second time. These pretentious awards are to be steered well clear of in my opinion and for the record, Mark Chadwick’s All The Pieces should at the very least have been on the shortlist… Still, everyone’s a critic…and talking of awards ceremonies, what a strange magazine GQ must be. Never read it, never wanted to and certainly not tempted after reading their ‘Men of the year’ award winners which included the likes of Best Band: U2, Politician: George Osborne and Man Of The Year: Lord Sebastian Coe… A new series of the BBC TV’s Strictly Come Dancing returned to our television screens and one of the celebrities was ex-Tory MP Edwina Currie. Break a leg Edwina we thought at the launch of the celebrity dance show. No, honestly, break a leg…
It was back in September and 09/09/2011 to be more accurate when I had the chance to go and see legendary ska band The Selecter at The Venue, Derby. Ably supported by north Derbyshire based pop/ska (with a dash of Arctic Monkeys in the mix) outfit Ruberlaris (whom one of their band was good enough to give me a free CD while chatting at the bar- Cheers!), it was a brilliant evening watching the two-tone greats The Selecter, still with original members in singer Pauline Black and singer/rapper/toaster Arthur ’Gaps’ Hendrickson. The classic ska tunes that I know were all played and included Three Minute Hero, On My Radio and Too Much Pressure as well as songs from their latest CD Made In Britain including a great cover of Amy Whinehouse’s Back To Black and the Woody Guthrie inspired lyric of Big In The Body, Small In The Mind with its sing along chorus of ‘All you fascists are bound to lose’. Even I danced my feet off when faced with such good music in the small club setting; The Venue had limited the gig to just 200 tickets and partitioned off an area of the room which made for a very intimate and hot night… And later in September I took a few days away from the day job to celebrate my birthday and enjoy some time with Mrs Butler. Having been to see the latest film adaptation of one of my favourite stories in Jane Eyre the week before, we had a lovely time exploring the fictional Thornfield Hall used in both the 2011 film and an earlier drama version from 2006 (both of which are superb in my opinion) which in reality was Haddon Hall near Bakewell, Derbyshire. It was also used as the interior for the inn at Lambton for the 2005 Pride & Prejudice film. We enjoyed a guided tour of the house, explored the grounds and looked for all the sights we’d spotted in the films and drama. I must admit that it was my favourite of all the film locations in Derbyshire I have visited including Pemberley in the film Pride & Prejudice (in reality Chatsworth House) and Royston Vasey, the fictional town in BBC comedy The League of Gentlemen (in reality Hadfield)… And on the following day, for my birthday, we spent the day in the Peak District and walked 6 miles around Milldale and Dovedale. Over the Stepping Stones, by the side of the River Dove and we were lucky enough to see our first Dippers (for any birdwatchers out there) seeing 3 in total. A lovely birthday treat indeed. The following day was another walk around the beautiful parts of Derbyshire starting at the picturesque Monsal Head, walking down into the valley of Monsal Dale, through the newly re-opened Headstone Tunnel once used by steam trains up until the line closing in the 1960’s and we followed the old railway line as far as the old Hassop station. And then if that wasn’t enough exploring, on our 4th day of leisure, we took a more gentle stroll around Carsington Water and saw Meadow Pipits for the first time… Whether due to global warming or not, we certainly experienced a mini heat wave at the end of September and beginning of October with temperatures hitting over 29 degrees on 01/10/2011 for the warmest October day since records began. Myself and some friends were in a great place during such hot weather at the Ripley Rail Ale Festival at the Midland Rail Centre, Butterley, Derbyshire. Last year had been a complete wash-out as we’d stood in a marquee tent in sinking mud listening to the rain battering the outside of the tent. From one extreme to the other, we drank beer in some of the warmest temperatures of the year - in October! We took the train ride (courtesy of a Class 46 Peak, in old style green livery and its old number of D182) up the preserved railway line between Hammersmith through Butterley station and up to Swanwick Junction and back again to the beer festival site at Butterley. Other preserved diesels we saw at the centre were 20048, 20907, 45108, 45133, 50007 and a few DMU’s including 51625. Many thanks to Mat, Keith, Gordon, John and Gaz for our latest Jolly Boys outing! The pubs of Ripley, Derbyshire beckoned afterwards on such a warm evening of course…
RIP to legendary folk singer and acoustic guitarist Bert Jansch who passed away from cancer at the beginning of October, aged 67. The former Pentangle man was an inspiration to acoustic guitarists such as myself and I’m glad I was able to see the great man live on a couple of occasions (12/06/1995 with Bob Barton at The Guildhall Theatre, Derby and 04/08/2001 as a duo with Suede’s Bernard Butler at the Guildford Live festival) though decided very every early on that I would never be as good as such guitarists as Bert and to stick to bashing out three chords leaving such playing and styles to those more accomplished than I…
I went to a football match for the first time this season as part of my day-job on 15/10/2011 when I went to the Championship game between Derby County and Southampton. It wasn’t a bad game for the neutral with plenty of chances at both ends, both teams struggling to find the net at times despite all the chances and the game ended 1-1. It was nice to hear The Selecter over the tannoy before the game too!… And it was back to Derby’s The Venue for a night out on 21/10/2011 and oh what a night! Mark Chadwick (frontman of The Levellers as well as his debut solo record All The Pieces which came out last year) playing a solo gig at the venue which was a lot smaller and intimate than you’d find The Levellers performing in. Mark was fantastic and played for well over a hour and included many songs from the band in his set (Carry Me, One Way, The Boatman, The Riverflow, Dirty Davey, Julie, Hope Street, Just The One, Sara’s Beach, What A Beautiful Day, Fifteen Years, Red Sun Burns…) as well as one or two songs from the solo album including Satellites, The Great And The Dead and the title track, All The Pieces. Support acts (Jemma Johnson and Please Y’self) playing around 50 minute sets each did make the wait for Mark an incredibly long one, though the quirky up-tempo skiffle from Please Y’self (whom I’ve seen before) was good fun and featured on guitar and vocals a man called John Gill. Not only did I once share a bill with John playing solo in Matlock Bath in 2000 but many years ago while at school, John gave me some guitar lessons!… It is indeed a small world sometimes. I realised I’ve not seen The Levellers all that many times despite having first saw them in 1991 at Rock City, Nottingham. And then at Leicester Granby Halls in 1993 and more recently I can recall in 2001 at Nottingham’s Rock City again and in 2003 at Derby Assembly Rooms. I’ve also seen them play under their Drunk In Public pseudonym at Derby The Flowerpot and at the Guildford Live festival, both in 2001... I was again in Derby on 24/10/2011 (and like the football game I attended previously was due to my day job) when I supported someone to the city’s Guildhall Theatre to see a performance of the play Vampirates based on teenage fiction writer Justin Somper’s first novel. It was a really enjoyable production by Scene productions and directed by Gavin Robertson who has directed to acclaim in London’s west end (theatre land). The cast of three (Katharine Hurst, David Sayers and Stuart Walker) ably performed the atmospheric story on stage and would suit kids of all ages in my opinion… And then it was a third visit to The Venue in Derby in as many months for another night of great music on 04/11/2011 when I got to see another legendary ska band in The Beat. With original member Ranking Roger taking up lead vocals and his son Murphy providing vocals, toasting and rapping, it was another top night with some great songs from their back catalogue such as Stand Down Margaret (which really needs either dropping from the set or the lyrics updating?), Hands Off She’s Mine, Mirror In The Bathroom and Too Nice To Talk To. Throw in the excellent covers of Tears Of A Clown and a nice version of The Clash’s Rock The Casbah, I’m glad I’ve seen the 1970’s two-tone band at last. Support act was Alex Blood and the Diggers whom I know nothing about…. And the only downside to the evening was The Beat not playing my favourite song of theirs; the cover of Can’t Get Used To Losing You…
The next performance by myself was on a bill as part of a gig by established Derby band The Stance. The gig was advertised as their last one ever and apart from an unannounced warm-up date a couple of days earlier was their first in 8 years. It took place at The Victoria Inn in Derby for my 54th performance in Derby and my 24th at The Victoria Inn! It was a fabulous night and a real celebration of The Stance, their music and contribution to the Derby music scene. I was the first act to play and with an excellent sound courtesy of Kev at the PA desk, I enjoyed every second playing. The Victoria Inn has improved under Micky’s new management with a lot of thought put into the facilities and the set-up for the artists playing at the venue. The stage area has improved also and it did help my performance I think. My set was Don’t Come Back, The Biggest Party Of Our Lives, You’re Dead I’m Not, Underground Overbite, An Evening With Michael Portillo, ‘Phone In Well and Celebrity Bus Crash. Many thanks to all those who had a listen, took an interest and/or came up to chat afterwards. Next to perform were The Little Pigs who played some great new wave, mod, reggae and ska music during their varied set. They were great lads too so I do hope our paths cross again. After some performance poetry from Dwayne Butterley, The Stance rounded off the diverse bill with their farewell set and a polished and well rehearsed selection of songs. I could hear elements of punk, new wave, PIL, Joy Division, Crass style military drumming, danceable bass lines, excellent guitar playing, some fine tunes and Johnny’s unique vocal in the mixture which made for an entertaining set. It was a honour to be a part of their night, a great celebration of their music and a great gig for them to end with if it does turn out to be their last. Thanks to Johnny of The Stance for having me along, to the rest of the band for making me most welcome, to The Little Pigs and Dwayne Butterley for a great evening shared together, to Allan, Charlotte, Gordon, Rachael, Adam, Mat and Keith for the wonderful support and to Mickey of The Victoria Inn and Kev on the PA desk for making the venue such a pleasure to play at… RIP to Kev Brownhill who was a resident and PA/sound operator at The Victoria Inn for many years and died during November (and not the same Kev who currently provides PA/sound duties). I wasn’t a friend at all but many of the gigs I’ve played at the venue previously had been under Kev’s competent instruction and his ability to make my old cheap acoustic guitar (at that time) and not-so-loud vocal come alive in what was mostly a ’rock venue’ showed his true ability and experience in giving bands and artistes all the help they needed when playing to a live audience… RIP also to Gary Speed (whom I wasn’t a friend of either). The ex Leeds United, Everton, Newcastle United, Bolton, Sheffield United and Welsh international footballer was recently the manager of Wales when he sadly took his own life during November. A sad loss for the world of football and a player whom I saw play in the Premier League on a couple of occasions, one of which where he scored 2 goals for Newcastle in a 4-3 win away at Derby County during the 1998-1999 season…
30/11/2011 saw one of the biggest strikes in many years by public sector workers. In anger at proposed changes to public sector pensions and in protest about a lot of the financial pressures that working class people are facing when the cause of the financial collapse has been caused by and large by the richest 1% of society and by greedy bankers - not by working class people. Obviously, capitalism isn’t working. Don't believe any of the negative press regarding the strike or the workers. The likes of the Daily Mail and right wing sympathisers in general will have you believe that you shouldn't have supported the strike. TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson went as far as saying on national TV that people out on strike should be taken out and shot! They're all wrong. The same people and media types will also try and divide you into public sector and private sector etc, just as we get divided into lots of other groups in life. Because they don't want to see solidarity - because solidarity is strength... As I have said previously, strikes have been around for over 200 years and for the last 150 years have been the basic form of working class struggle throughout the world. It's sometimes said that strikes never win and that in general, they're pretty ineffective. This is mainly due to the experiences in the 1980's when most strikes were beaten and the unions suffered. But if you look not too far back in history, the 1980's seem to be the exception rather than the rule. The 1950's and 1960's saw frequent strikes and successful ones at that. The 1972 and 1974 miners strikes shattered the government. The 1980's miners strike could have done the same but for the Tory determination to break up the strike at any cost (starving the miners back to work/police thugs in riot gear), the climate being deep recession and high unemployment when those who have jobs are at their most vulnerable about losing them and a lack of working class solidarity. Had the railway workers, dockers etc fought alongside the miners in 1984, it could have defeated Thatcher. Just like the Wapping strike in 1986 could have beaten Rupert Murdoch had the rest of Fleet Street come out on strike...I was first involved in being on strike in 2002 and from my experience, it's never a decision that's taken lightly. They can be uncertain and unpleasant and are usually during a time when you are feeling most vulnerable in your job whether due to your pay, your terms and conditions or at risk of losing your job itself... But sometimes industrial action has been a necessity, just to have a voice... And they can win! They create unity between other groups of workers by showing strength in solidarity and they destroy government credibility by showing that the government is not in control!... and in my experience, just letting my views known and airing problems can be exhilarating in itself... So support strikes. Up the workers!
Enjoy the xmas time if you celebrate or use it to spend time with family and loved ones. Updates to the website since the last blog are here, Fave Things page, Links page and the Gigs page which is updated as and when gigs are confirmed. Keep an eye on www.facebook.com/chrisbutlermusic for more frequent news and messages and www.myspace.com/chrisbutlermusic also.
See you sometime in 2012.
Chris
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