Marvellous to take delivery of the Waterloo Sunrise album on CD at lunchtime today. My thanks to Peter, Ed and all of the team at Key Production once again.
Category:News & events
Instrumentals
A very productive afternoon and evening with producer Greg Fitzgerald in Canterbury, running off instrumental and half playback tracks for the 13 songs from the Waterloo Sunrise album. This is an element of the project that was originally set to be completed with mastering engineer Mike Thorne, however his very sad passing earlier this year led to a return to Greg’s facilities. It was very intriguing to hear the recordings minus the lead vocal and to be reminded of the subtle parts deeper in the mixes.
Help Musicians
Julie and I joined over 1,000 people this morning at Westminster Abbey for the long-running annual celebration on behalf of Help Musicians UK, namely the Festival of St Cecilia. This year’s event marked the 79th time the organisation has hosted the festival and in particular we enjoyed the performances by the combined choirs of Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Cathedral, led by Andrew Nethsingha, Organist and Master of the Choristers at the Abbey.
Night in Nashville
A delight to see Dominic Halpin and the Hurricanes delivering a set of Southside classics with their ‘Country Night in Nashville’ show at St George’s in Beckenham this evening. I had first met lead vocalist Shelly Quarmby on a Chris Difford songwriting camp in 2019, so it was also a pleasure to catch up with her too. The venue was pleasingly busy and the audience certainly expressed their appreciation for the show.
Father and son
Ben and I enjoyed a useful and informative afternoon in the West End today. The main aim was a visit to the Military Careers Office in Handel Street, Holborn, where Ben met with a senior army officer and discussed his future plans and options in the coming years. Our thanks to the team for an extremely useful half an hour. We then strolled through Russell Square and dropped into the British Museum.
Royal Albert Hall
A very successful event at the Albert Hall tonight, as I joined the staff and volunteers in raising funds for the Royal Society of Musicians (RSM) as The Really Big Chorus presented the world’s most celebrated choral participation event – Handel’s Messiah “from Scratch.” This is a truly adrenaline-filled performance of Handel’s masterpiece with singers and audience alike leaving the concert buzzing with excitement.
FAC AGM
I attended the Featured Artists Coalition 2025 AGM and Social in London Bridge tonight. Supported by NME, the event included a panel of artists – Orla Gartland, edbl, Bishi and Sans Soucis – hosted by NME’s Andrew Trendell, collectively discussing ‘A Year in Review’ across the industry. Members also heard Chair Dave Rowntree and welcomed new Board Directors as Imogen Heap, Katie Melua and Roxanne de Bastion stepped down after reaching their term limits.
College exhibition
A fascinating insight into the earliest stringed keyboard and fretted instruments this afternoon, courtesy of a visit to the Royal College of Music Museum in Kensington. After undergoing extensive redevelopment, the Museum reopened to the public in October 2021 and boasts over 14,000 items in its collection. As an interactive space, it hosts performances by RCM musicians and the opportunity for visitors to create their own music in the Weston Discovery Centre.
Royal Society
The Royal Society of Musicians held its latest get-together of members this evening at its premises in Fitzroy Square. I had been invited to attend to be inducted into the Society, to collect my enrolment Certificate and to sign the book of members. This proved a very enjoyable and informative evening with talks by the Chair, George Caird, the Treasurer Jonathan Rennert, the Vice Chair Jacoba Gale, CEO Charlotte Penton-Smith and Head of Comms Mark Brierley.
Parliamentary Jazz
The recipients of the 20th Parliamentary Jazz Awards were announced tonight at the World Heart Beat venue in London’s Nine Elms. These Awards celebrate and recognise the vibrancy, breadth and talent of the UK jazz scene. The event is organised by the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Group (APPJG) and supported by the MU and UK Music. My son Ben and I had volunteered to assist principal organiser Chris Hodgkins and acted as a welcoming team for the guests.
Ivy Club
A trip into town this evening as the wonderful Alice Offley had kindly invited me to catch the latest gig with her new band in The Loft at the Ivy Club in the West End. A particularly fine evening and a pleasure to make new contacts at the bar, including comedian and actor Kenny O’Connor and the multi-talented actor, singer and writer, Nina Kristofferson.
Soul Women
With jazz and blues venue Soul Mama London celebrating its first year, YolanDa Brown OBE and team arranged a concert of top class artists at Cadogan Hall in Chelsea tonight. The special collaborative event featured Grammy Award winner Avery Sunshine, soul icon Mica Paris, US vocalist Selina Albright, Jazz FM awards winner Georgia Cécile, Colombian Latin singer Luisa Santiago, MOBO award nominee Annastasia Baker, plus saxophonist and host YolanDa.
Al Stewart
I caught the train down to Bournemouth this afternoon and met up with my elder brother Ken and sister Janet to attend the opening concert of the farewell tour by folk rock veteran Al Stewart at The Pavilion. Al had begun his career in the town and notably played guitar in Tony Blackburn’s backing band in the early 1960s. Inspired by Dylan’s first LPs, he then moved to London and shared a flat with Paul Simon and secured a residency at Bunjies.
London tour
An exceptional day in the company of Nigel Kemp, a friend for almost forty-five years, as we toured central London on foot visiting famous music related landmarks. 9am saw us arrive at Abbey Road and our very special thanks to Fiona Gillott and Abi Duncan for the opportunity to appreciate Studios 1 and 2 and to have a coffee in the superb canteen. Always a treat and a special moment for Nigel as he has been a Beatles fanatic all his life.
Susie Parkes
With a view to preparing my vocals and stagecraft in advance of my album launch, I met Susie Parkes today, an award winning opera singer who has sung numerous soprano roles internationally. Susie very conveniently lives in my road in SE London and I have arranged a series of sessions in the coming weeks. I was immediately struck by her in-depth knowledge and skills. Susie frequently gives guest vocal masterclasses and has lectured on women composers, contemporary opera and the interpretation of English Song for several years at Oxford University.
Music Moguls
Another fine lunch with Jay Mistry at Soho’s Mele e Pere restaurant, courtesy of his Music Moguls’ event. This time seventy-two were in attendance with musicians, publishers and record executives enjoying the combination of delicious Italian food and engaging company. It was a particular joy to meet award-winning musician Rachel Walker Mason, composers Pascal Glanville and Nathen Durasamy, plus Sam Lung and Helena Thalassi-Hill of Pretty Decent Music.
TUC in Brighton
My thanks to Kudsia Batool of the TUC for the invitation to this evening’s General Council dinner at the Grand Hotel in Brighton. Always an important social event, with a top table of names and this year Ed Miliband (Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero) was the principal speaker. It was a particular pleasure to spend time with former colleagues from across the union movement, especially the MU’s John Shortell and the Writers’ Guild Ellie Peers.
Soultown 2025
A rare opportunity to catch some of the world’s legendary soul, funk and pop acts in our road today as Cameo, Shalamar, Lisa Stansfield, Gabrielle and many others attracted over 10,000 fans to the latest edition of Soultown in Croydon Rec, Beckenham. My wife Julie – celebrating her birthday – producer Greg Fitzgerald, his wife Jennie and daughter Emily, plus long term friends Mark and Dawn, made the short walk to the venue’s site previously best known for its association with the Bowie bandstand.
Transcriptions
I have been working on transcriptions of both the Waterloo Sunrise and Birdcage albums in recent months and can happily report that this process is approaching completion. I will shortly have all 26 tracks in sheet music form as pdf, plus supporting .mid, .sib and .musicxml files. My thanks to the highly responsive team at My Sheet Music Transcriptions for their excellent help in this process.
All Points East
This evening I drove to Victoria Park in Hackney to attend the East London annual Festival, All Points East and specifically ‘In The Neighbourhood. ’ This is a fun and free-entry festival that operates during the midweek of All Points East and is run in partnership with Tower Hamlets Council. The Featured Artists Coalition were promoting a new partnership with Amex Unsigned by hosting an exclusive event on the eponymous Stage.
Tom Robinson
A memorable night at The Forum in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, as Tom Robinson entertained a packed audience with a set of classic hits and stories. Despite suffering from a couple of physical issues, Tom was in fine musical form and led an excellent four-piece band in delivering impassioned performances of The winter of ’79, Long hot summer, War baby and many other polished diamonds.
Brodsky Quartet
At 9pm on Saturday 9th August 2025 – on the 50th anniversary of Shostakovich’s death – the superb Brodsky Quartet will be streaming a candlelit performance of the composer’s last work for the medium: his 15th String Quartet. This work lives in a space of its own, different to all that came before it. A series of slow-moving, meditative movements, it is a statement on both life and death, as the composer neared his end.
Abdelkader Saadoun
A marvellous evening at The Bedford in Balham in the company of Abdelkader and a nine-piece collective of musicians from across North Africa and the Mediterranean. First on stage was Kader Fahem, a stunning Algerian acoustic guitarist, whose playing was as fine as I have ever seen and heard in a London venue.
Lord’s Taverners
An entertaining afternoon with the Lord’s Taverners in the Nursery Pavilion, as the charity celebrated the career, membership and contributions of Stephen Fry. In attendance were Taverners’ President David Gower, Bill Wyman, Alan Davies, Jimmy Carr, Clare Boulding, Mike Gatting, Graeme Swann, Miles Jupp and many others from across the sport and the world of stage and screen.
