YOUTH music

News ExclusiveCrisis at

East Sussex Music service?

Union Music:Nashville in Lewes

The Story of Starfishfree

ArthurBrownGod of Hellfire

SussexFolK:ShirleyCollinsIsobelAnderson

LEWESmusical expressLaunch Issue Summer 2013

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£600,000 has been provided by thecounty but more than half that isalready spent. Professional fundraiserAmanda Carpenter has been appointedto try and fill the gap. The music service covers the whole

county and employs 122 qualifiedmusic teachers in 55 full- timeequivalent posts. Officially a jobs freezeis not in operation but there areexamples of posts remaining unfilled.Centres are based in Lewes, Eastbourne,Hastings and Crowborough. Jane Humberstone, an advanced

skills teacher, manages the Lewescentre, is a ‘vocal animateur’ andteaches hundreds of children to singevery week. To relax, she plays the tubawith the Glynde and Beddingham BrassBand and marches with CommercialSquare Bonfire Society. More than 12,000 children and

young people benefit directly fromESMS. In primary schools 8,000 childrenreceive free specialist tuition for a yearin Key Stage Two – learning to play therecorder or percussion in whole classesand joining choirs and mass eventssuch as the Big Sing at Christmas.Another 4,000 pupils in primary

and secondary schools are taughtinstruments in small groups or one-to-one; parents pay fees on a termly basis,set to start next term at £93. With progress, a pupil can join

weekly ensembles and orchestras after-school and on Saturdays for £64 a term.The annual cost, including instrumenthire, is more than £500 but there aresubsidies available up to 85 per cent. A recent survey of parents found

massive support; more than 90 per centthought the progression, content andquality of activities was good or verygood while 99 per cent thought thestandard of performance was good orvery good.Sheila Cullen is a campaigning

parent whose four children have allbenefited from ESMS. The two youngest

Ecover pictureLEcalpol killed my uncle Ephoto LEjohn may

News:Sonic Youth 2

STaRFISH:Bands of 2013 4

THE CRAZY WORLD OF ARTHUR BROWN 6

Union Music:A little bit of Nashville in Lewes 8

All together now:THE CHOIRS OF LEWES 12

Isobel Anderson 16

A SENSE OF PLACE:Shirley Collins 17

Last Words:Peter Messer 18

LEWES PUNCHES ABOVE ITS WEIGHT – fireworks,floods, dissent, and, yes music, are no ordinary matters in thisSussex town. They’re major, unforgettable, and life-changingexperiences. Youth music, and in particular music education,is a case in point.East Sussex Music Service was founded in this county

town more than 40 years ago. It has become a £2.9meducation programme that teaches thousands of childrenand young people to play musical instruments and to singthroughout their school lives. For three consecutive years thequality has been judged ‘outstanding’ by the Federation ofMusic Services. “The teachers are amazing, they have such energy,” one

parent told the LME. “There’s a clear structure that worksbrilliantly – from small group tuition right up to ensemblesand orchestras,” said another. “We went to three Town Hallconcerts last month and the standard just gets better andbetter,” said a third.These are valuable expressions of support which the

Mayor of Lewes, county councillor Ruth O’Keeffe, says couldmake a positive difference as the service braces itself for acut of almost £500,000 in the county’s Government grantover the next three years.The allocation of Government money

looks like this: £1,027,440 in 2011/12 ;£924,696 in 2012/13; £739,756 in2013/14 and £500,072 in 2014/15.That’s more than a 50 per cent cut since2011 and what happens after 2015 isstill not clear. Ruth O’Keeffe, a former primary

music teacher herself and a member ofESMS’s management committee, saysthat parents’ backing is crucial whenfunding is under such pressure andwhen fees charged for lessons coverclose to a third of the current budget. “We’ve got something very special

here and to know that families are rightbehind the service is worth a lot. We’vemanaged to peg the fees at inflation orbelow but it will get harder the deeperthe cuts bite. Together, we’ve got to findways to maintain investment in music.”Total spending in 2013/14 is

projected to break-even at £2,929,400with fees paid by parents amounting to£1,164,000. Schools and colleges payfor whole class tuition, expertise, adviceand premises. Crucially a ‘cushion’ of

Lewes Musical Express

news

SONIC

Sarah Bayliss investigates‘outstanding’ musiceducation that needssupport in hard times

“WE’VE GOTSOMETHING VERY

SPECIAL HERE AND TO KNOW THAT

FAMILIES ARERIGHT BEHINDTHE SERVICE ISWORTH A LOT”

YOUTHContents

LEWESmusical expressLaunch Issue Summer 2013

Emain photosLEhelene carter

EimageLEmike stones

are at Wallands Community PrimarySchool where Nina (8) learns the guitarand cello while Ewan (10) learns theguitar and trumpet. Both attend theSaturday music school in Lewes.Sheila says: “We hire a cello for Nina

and they’re both doing two instrumentsso obviously it’s expensive. Recently wethought about cutting back but decidedthat after all it’s worth it – it’s less thanyou might spend on entertainment orholidays. And there are subsidies forpeople who struggle financially. “Basically music is good for our

children. It’s good for their brains, theirconfidence and their sociability – theymeet people and make friends. Ewanplayed a solo on his trumpet for thefirst time at school this week and lastnight Nina simply said to me : ‘I love mycello.’ You can’t put a price on that.”Sheila says parents should sign up

to a national campaign to protectmusic services and lobby local MPNorman Baker. “We need to join innational campaigns because the cutsare coming from Whitehall – notCounty Hall.” The ESMS also includes the

Academy of Music, a centre ofexcellence at Sussex Downs College in Lewes, where 100 sixth formers

take A-level music and musictechnology. The ESMS CommunityChoir, open to all adults, is led by theAcademy and celebrated its 25thanniversary in June with a performanceof Haydn's Creation. This year, behind the scenes, a major

reorganisation has taken place to fit anew national plan for music, instigatedby Education Secretary Michael Gove.The plan puts the Arts Council in chargeof managing funds and creates newmusic ‘hubs’ which can replace localauthorities. It encourages partnershipsand ‘music for all’; the ‘patchiness’ itcriticises has not been an issue in East Sussex. Locally a new hub has now emerged

with four ‘key delivery partners’:Glyndebourne Opera House ,which hasa long and deserved reputation forexcellence in education and outreach;Rhythmix, a major independent musiccharity that focuses on children facingchallenging circumstances; the existingESMS and the local schools andcolleges. Not surprisingly, given its‘outstanding’ reputation, ESMS hasrecently been elected the ‘lead partner’.

Meanwhile ESMSdirector, Dr Tony Biggin,former teacher, song-writer and co-founder ofRhythmix, has decidedto bow out after eight

years at the helm. His post disappears inthe planned cuts, a move he describedto LME as ‘my contribution’. He said: “It's a fine service and

I believe it is in the best possibleposition to face the future. The trick willbe to maintain an outstanding servicewith less money.” He will return to a life of composing

and hopes to get more of his work 'outthere'. Justice and peace are abidingthemes; his musical dramas includeworks about Greenham Common andthe environment but he uses humour insongs for children, such as The PeacePudding Songbook. Councillor Ruth O’Keeffe paid tribute

to Dr Biggin saying: “I think it is a greatloss because he has made a dynamicand positive contribution. I understandhis view that right now we need morepeople on the ground and I believethere will be strong leadership frommiddle ranking officers.” Rhythmix CEO Mark Davyd said:

“It’s a sad story because the nationalplan was a good document witheveryone signing up to the idea thatmusic for all was a wonderful thing. Butthere was this terrible footnote thateveryone must carry on with a lot lessmoney – £58m rather than £75m

nationally. And East Sussex has been hitharder than others by the financialrecalculations. It can’t be a good thingto lose someone like Tony – he’s a veryclued-up guy who cares passionately.”Dr Biggin will say a final farewell

during the annual ESMS SummerSchool. For three weeks, from July 8-28, it’s in full swing – a musicalextravaganza involving 1000 pupils on51 courses across the county from rockschool to advanced keyboard, fromsamba to the Big Summer Sing. Summer School is the culmination

of a year’s work and is also a chance forthe best instrumentalists to meet dailyin their ensembles and orchestras andto give high profile concerts in topvenues like Arundel Cathedral andBexhill’s De La Warr Pavilion.

“I loveeverythingaboutSummerSchool andI’ve been forthe past sixor sevenyears,” saysLuca Hallam,aged 14, in

Year 9 at Lewes’ Priory School who’slearned recorder (descant, treble, tenorand bass) to Grade 8 and plays the fluteand piccolo in a county jazz band and

a woodwind sinfonia. She joined theStarfish charity too in Year 7 and enjoysbeing a lead singer in bands.Luca’s mum Carmen Slipjen grew up

in Holland and is still amazed thatmusic tuition here can start so youngand on school premises. “The wonderfulthing is that they make it so easy foryour child to get involved. I cannotimagine how Luca would have got thisfar without it.”

CaitlinOneill, aged12, plays inLewesYouthConcertBand andwill studyGrade 5musictheory next

term. She recently raised £200 forComic Relief by busking on Cliffe Bridgewith her friend Phoebe. Caitlin has anapp on her iphone that identifies tunesand finds sheet music for her. She says: “I don’t really plan to do thisprofessionally but it helps me learn howto study and it’s fun.”Her mum Clare O’Donoghue says:

“We think we’re very lucky to have this. It’s life-changing in that it affects allher learning.”

1IsaacReeves, aged15, anotherPriorystudent,started‘kinder-music’classes onSaturdaymornings

when he was five, took up the cello inYear 3 at Southover primary school andhas just passed the audition for SouthDowns Youth Orchestra. His father, Lewes photographer Tom

Reeves told LME: “I never learned toplay an instrument myself and I’vealways admired people who can makemusic and enjoy themselves. As long asIsaac can do that, we’re happy.” CF

support musiceducation sign up to the Incorporated Society of Musicians national campaignwww.protectmusiceducation.orglobbyNorman Baker MP:normanbaker@cix.co.ukCouncillor Ruth O’Keeffe:rok@supanet.com or text 07941151989 contactMusic.service@eastsussex.gov.ukwww.esms.school-portal.co.uk01273 336770followf: eastsussexmusict: @eastsussexmusic #esccmusic buy concert ticketsVia the concerts’ administrator:irene.shilling@eastsussex.gov.uk

callum huseyin, aged 19, plays clarinet andsaxophone, composes and wants to be a conductor.Currently on his gap year, he conducts the Lewes YouthConcert Band every week and will take a music degree atKings College, London from September. He attendedChailey School near Lewes. He says: “I came to East Sussex when I was 12 and

one day, like everyone at school in this county, I heard aninstrument demonstrated in assembly. It was ClareMoisan on the clarinet; I signed up and she’s been myteacher ever since.The ESMS is so wonderful, I can’t quitebelieve it. The music service has transformed my life andgiven me the most amazing opportunities. The fundingthing is scary because without the service I definitelywould not be where I am now.” Earlier this year Callum

successfully auditioned atGlyndebourne to play thesaxophone in Imago thecommunity opera, with the AuroraOrchestra. Young musicians likeCallum were paired withprofessionals. “That was excellentand incredibly interesting, to workalongside professional musicians.”

“BASICALLY MUSICIS GOOD FOR OUR CHILDREN. IT’S GOOD FOR THEIR BRAINS, THEIRCONFIDENCE ANDTHEIR SOCIABILITY– THEY MEETPEOPLE AND MAKE FRIENDS”

MAKING WAVES Young people who’ve been through ESMS are already achieving remarkable things.Here’s some names to listen out for

juliette gregg, aged 20, is a violinist and won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music afterattending Priory School and Sussex Downs College. In herfirst year at the RA, she remains leader of the East SussexYouth Orchestra and will attend the week-long summerschool. Juliette, whose mother is a flute teacher, hadviolin lessons at school from the age of seven and alwaysdid Saturday morning orchestra.She says: “I was recommended to go on a chamber

music course when I was 14 and after that I got moreserious about becoming amusician. At Sussex DownsI took music, maths andchemistry A levels and wasa student in the Academyof Music there. It’s amazingto be part of such a bigmusic community at thatage, unique really.Everyone knows each otherand the pre-professionalcourse prepares you verywell. I’m one of only twoviolinists in the RA’s firstyear who didn’t go tospecialist music school orcome from abroad.”

george ellis, aged 20, plays the tuba and hasjust won a prestigious £1000 prize for brass players at theGuildhall School of Music and Drama where he’s a thirdyear student. As a pupil at Cavendish School inEastbourne he was taught by Jane Humberstone whonow runs the Lewes Music Centre. He says: “It feels a long time ago now, but I remain

very grateful to the music service in East Sussex for theirgreat work which has allowed me and many others togain places at such prestigious institutions.” Congratulating George, Richard Sigsworth, acting

head of ESMS said: “It’s always great to hear the success stories of former pupils. The East Sussex Music Service plays an important role in nurturing thetalents of musicianslike George andensuring their skill isdeveloped to the full.We hope his successinspires other youngpeople to considerlearning to play an instrument.”

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The LME is sitting in Starfish HQ,situated by the river on thePhoenix Industrial Estate, talkingwith Steve Franklin who, along

with Eiain Paxion, is one of the twocoordinators of the project. “When we first arrived here in July 2012,

the building was a dump. It has taken theefforts of more than 70 people – friends ofStarfish, parents and kids – to get the placeup and running. It has cost us £30,000 torenovate – a third of which has beenfundraised by the efforts of Union Music,Waterloo and Neville bonfire societiesand many others. We will be fully openfor business at the end of July and willhave four rehearsal rooms plus arecording studio (live room/control room),plus band storage facilities and officespace. We will also be offering PA andlighting hire. We have got a five-yearlease but the developers Santon can giveus a six-month notice to quit at any timeduring that period. We were fully aware ofthis when we moved in.”Running a not-for-profit community

venture is not easy at a time ofGovernment cuts. “So what we decided

to do,” says Steve, “was to find abuilding that we could run the projectfrom which could also bring in acommercial income so that wewouldn’t have to rely for our corefunding on either national or localgovernment grants.” Starfish is seeking to evolve into a

Community Interest Company –effectively a youth club whose profitsgo back into the project. Apart fromanything else, over its lifetime Starfishhas built up around £40,000 worth ofmusical equipment assets.Starfish has an interesting history

dating back to 1998 when thelegendary musician Herbie Flowers(left) staged a two-day “Rockshop”event in Lewes – something hecontinues to do in schools all over

Britain every year. This inspired a group of

young people In Lewes to try andstart up their own music project– Starfish – with Nick Flowers,Herbie’s son, as coordinator, withthe help of the ESCC YouthDevelopment Service [now calledTargeted Youth Support] whoprovided core funding for threeyears. Starfish established their HQin the YMCA building in WestgateStreet and staged their first evergigs at The Needlemakers and theAll Saints Centre that same year.

By 1999 Starfish had 70members. Steve Franklin came inas coordinator in 2000 afterpreviously working for five yearsas a music technician at The BRITSchool in Croydon – the first freePerforming Arts and TechnologySchool in the country.

The following year, Starfishwas considered such a successthat the project was extendedwith further funding which

allowed them to add extra weeklysessions, set up and run a recordingstudio and hold engineering andpercussion workshops. Unfortunatelythe YMCA is not well sound-proofedwhich led to noise complaints fromlocal residents and a real threat toStarfish’s survival. Fortunately theproject found a new home at PriorySchool before relocating last year totheir new HQ.One of the reasons why Starfish has

proved so valuable to young musiciansin Lewes over the years is that theygrow up with the project, as Steveexplains, which provides them with achance to develop their talents over anextended period and learn many othervaluable life skills along the way.“Starfish is aimed at a target group

of young people aged 10-18. Most ofthem register as individuals and weplace them in bands. They are alldifferent. Some have musicalexperience and are already playing an instrument while others don’t even know what instrument they want to play.“Lots of young people have the

perception that playing music is onlyfor the gifted and for the few who getto be on ‘The X Factor’ but we thinkmusic is for everyone and should be acommunal thing. Starfish is not a fame school.“Starfish is all about empowerment.

We are trying to teach them to play an

instrument but when you play with aband you also learn other skills – teamwork, negotiation, practice regimes,diary planning – which are transferableto the rest of your life. We use theimage of an iceberg; above the water isthe band and below the water is all theother stuff that you need to make aband work. “We have a role in safeguarding

young people. Those of them who feela bit different, feel safe here. All ourmembers are encouraged to leave theirproblems and issues at the door and tomake the most of their musicalopportunities.“We take a long-term view. They

come in as juniors and there is anoticeable change in them over the years as they gain in experienceand confidence.“Some musicians who have passed

through Starfish have gone on to workprofessionally in the music businessbut 99.9 per cent don’t. Yet learning toplay an instrument stays with them forthe rest of their lives.” CF

EwordsLEjohn may EphotographyLEcarlotta luke

STVRFISHIf you’ve got or had a young adult in your house who is interested in music and wants to play, chancesare you know all about Starfish – a remarkable organisation now in its 15th year which provides accessto equipment, rehearsal and recording space and tuition for budding musicians at cheap rates

“One of the thrills for me about doing this job isseeing how young people develop as musicians

and personally. Also, I am really proud about thestrong, positive memories we create that

will really last. They’re going to be 60 years oldand still reflecting on the first time they got up on stage at the

All Saints. We have people from year one of the project who still pop in to say hello because I think they really appreciated

their time with Starfish”. steve franklin

point taken carpet on the wall holly from plastic lies

www.starfishlewes.co.ukUnit 1a, Phoenix Works, North Street, Lewes, BN7 2PE

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Each year sees a new crop of bands emerge under the Starfishbanner. These four are making waves and we subjected them totheir first-ever press interview. All were enthusiastic about thefacilities, equipment and support that Starfish provides.

Can’tdrawWe caught Can’tdrawat Starfish for theirregular weekly Tuesdayrehearsal, which has

become even more important to them since they’ve justleft school. They feel the weekly practice is vital inhelping move the band forward. Mia was absent butJulian, Euan and Ayo all chipped in. They all work together to write their own songs but

they are not sure how to describe the music they make.Ayo says: “It might be called slightly Indie but we didn’twrite it with that intention. We just play the music. It’sall within the same genre but we don‘t know what thatis.” I suggested that they might be inventing a newgenre. Their ambition with the band is to “try and take it as far as possible.”They have done quite a few Starfish gigs and are generally agreed that the last one

they played was appalling: “Anything that could have gone wrong did,” says Euan. “I went out of tune and so did the keyboard.” Julian said he screwed up on the drums,which he only plays on one number anyway. We had a good laugh about that. I suggested it’s good to get that out the way. They’re hoping to get some recordingsdone soon so as to pick up more local gigs and “see where it takes us.”

Julian Gower (bass)Euan Crockett (guitar) Ayo Okojie (vocals) Mia Taylor (piano)

BLANK FRANKThe LME is sitting ona sofa in AdamCampbell’s frontroom. The band hasjust come back from

Lewes’ twin town Blois in France where they played a gig and arehaving a break while Zacky’s in California. By default, Adam is theirspokesman. So where does the name Blank Frank come from? “We used to have a really terrible name – the Fridge Magnets –

when we played school concerts. We decided to pick names out ofa hat. One of the pieces of paper was blank, the other said Frank.”Normally Blank Frank practice on a Thursday and they really like

the new rehearsal spaces and the fact that Starfish has got loadsof really good equipment, including eight drum kits.Adam also sings and plays bass and guitar and thinks he will set

up some new bands when he gets to Varndean college in theautumn as he want to also experience being a front man.His father Dirk is a well-known multi-instrumentalist who has

recording studio upstairs in their house. I asked if he found thisintimidating but he said it was the opposite – really good.The band play their own original music, many of the songs

being joint efforts. “Emily is good at writing lyrics and Jack andGabriel are the main generators of new ideas.” Asked about theband’s future, Adam says: “I am sure if our music is accepted wecould do well.”As for describing their music, he says someone in France called

it ‘acoustic rock’ which he thought described their genre but saidhe didn’t think you could compare their music with anyone else’s.Blank Frank enjoyed their trip to Blois but said the audience

“all like heavy rock stuff so when we got up there we thoughtthey’re not going to like our music. They just stood there and didn’t dance but they did listen. I think dancing is a good way toget into our music.”

Adam Campbell (drums)Jack Sussams (rhythm guitar) Gabriel Littlewood (lead guitar) Zacky Frizell (bass)Emily Lampard (vocals)

CALPOL KILLED MY UNCLE

Anyone who has been in a band knows how difficultit can be to come up with a decent name. For thosenot in the know, Calpol is a brand of medicine forbabies and young children. Luke said he came upwith it when he was “just spouting rubbish.” Maisiewas keen to point out that she had not joined whenthe band was named and had no say in the decision.They agreed they would change it if they could thinkof something better.The LME had barged into their rehearsal room

and sprung the interview on them which they tookin their stride. Isaac the drummer was absentsomewhere. The three others had been friends atschool. Luke and Charlie had a band which Isaacjoined and they then invited Maisie and “the othersinger we had just disappeared.”

Luke Hurlock (bass/guitar)Maisie Ashford (vocals/bass/kora) Charlie Evans (keyboard)Isaac Flower (drums)

HALF BUILT HOUSESo how did yourname come about?‘“We werestruggling for a

name”, says Giacomo, “and we were playing in a cemeteryand someone was building a massive house just above it”.Eddie interjects: “Somehow I made the jump from beingsomething we saw to being our band name.”You’re one of the principal songwriters, Eddie, give us the

names of some of your songs: ’Six Feet’ (“that’s quite a dark one”), ‘Open Ground’, ‘Quit While You’re Ahead’, ‘TooMany Times’. G and E were in the same year at school and have been

working on their music at Starfish for two years, playingaround with lots of people before teaming up with thepresent line-up.How do you characterise the music you’re playing?

“We struggle with that. Indie Rock maybe,” says Giacomo.

“But there’s a lot of kind of jazzy chords in it,” says Eddie.What do you guys like listening to? “Our guitarist is into

heavy rock, I’m into jazz, “says Eddie. “I’m into anything” saysGiacomo.” Miles Tewson is into some pretty weird stuff.”What performing experience have you had so far?

“Mainly Starfish gigs. Mainly people sitting down on blankets,listening. The Lamb and the Con Club gigs were two of thebest ones we’ve had so far. The later we play, the better itgets. It is quite dancey-type stuff but it’s a bit disappointingwhen everyone’s just sitting down,” says Giacomo.“We’ve recorded two songs so far at the Foundry Studios

in the Phoenix and we’re recording some more at Miles’guitar teacher’s studio.“Are your ambitions just to enjoy it or do you want to

make it in the music business? “If we can get it going” saysGiacomo. “I enjoy doing it and I wouldn’t be too upset if weend up trying to go for it.”

Giacomo Luke (bass)Eddie Lansley (guitar/vocals)Miles Tewson (drums)Miles Mortimer (guitar)

Their original songs have been described as ‘alternative pop’ says Maisie but Charlie doesn’tlike that label. The band as a whole listen to a wide variety of music including heavy rock, jazz,electronic and funk.Maisie is playing the kora, an unusual African instrument that she is being taught by a

teacher from Mali. She took it up she says because “it just sounds really beautiful.”With their present line-up they have only done a couple of gigs. At their last performance

says Charlie, “We were quite worried because the band on before us were very photogenic.Isaac was late and some songs weren’t finished so we had to improvise.” So how would youdescribe the music you play. “We don’t know”, says Charlie. “We have no idea.”

Starfish Bands 2013

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We pick up the storyaround 1962 whenArthur is at ReadingUniversity studyingphilosophy. He had

been singing since he was a boy but itwas the classical lessons he took at thattime that unleashed his voice’s truepotential. He was in three groupsplaying folk, trad jazz and modern jazzrespectively. His first major public gigwas in 1963 when he sang ‘St LouisBlues’ with jazz musician Acker Bilk atthe London Olympia which he says,“gave me my feeling of what it was liketo sing in front of a big audience.”Around the same time he was alsoinvited to the Marque Studios to recordtwo vocal tracks for a Reading Ragflexidisc being produced by PaulSamwell-Smith of The Yardbirds.‘I took it round all the management

and agent companies in London andthe general comment was: ‘Great voice,shit music’. So I thought, oh dear, mycareer is over.” In fact it was about totake off.Feeling disillusioned, Arthur decided

to return to Reading and on his lastnight visited The Kilt, one of the firstnew-fangled discotheques in London.At the bar (by chance?) he met PhilipWoods, the engineer of the ReadingRag record who grabbed his hand andsaid: “Dear boy. How would you like tostart a rock empire in Paris?”. I said“Wonderful”. He said: “Could you bethere in twelve days?” I said: “I don’thave a band”. He said: We’ll just put onetogether” and we did.“Over a period of three months we

got pretty damn good. We played sevennights a week, three sets a night andalso two sets on Sunday afternoons inthis old club in Montmartre called TheBus Palladium which was decoratedwith art nouveau paintings and angels.”It quickly became the epicentre of Parisnightlife that year (1965). Arthur’s madantics were featured on French tv andthe club was visited by Salvador Dali,Roland Kirk, Ornette Coleman amongother celebrities and crowds of beatniks.“Because we were playing so many

sets, we didn’t have time to rehearse soI just began making stuff up and trying

out costumes. The make-up startedwhen a seven-year child in theaudience suggested I black out myteeth. The audience went crazy.“We were staying in a hotel full of

ladies of the night who were alwaysscrewing and partying all night. Onemorning I woke up and found outsidemy room a crown of candles. I wore itat the club and that was the beginningof the fire helmet.”Back in England, Arthur formed the

original Crazy World with Vincent Crane(Hammond organ and piano) andDrachen Theaker (drums). Their firstalbum on Track Records reached theTop Ten in Britain and the US andspawned the single Fire, which wasNumber One in Britain and Canada in1968 and has become Arthur’slegendary and enduring signature track.“The fire helmet was developed

through conversations with the artistMike Reynolds who lived in the sameplace as Vincent Crane and myself. Wehad long talks about paganism andmysticism. The fire helmet had curved,lyre-shaped horns arranged around asort of pie dish which was filled withpetrol to a depth of about two inches.The roadie would stand on the side ofthe stage and flick matches into it untilit caught fire. When it went, it was kindof explosive. Sometimes I caught firetotally, sometimes just a little andsometimes not at all”.“Initially I used to wear it on-stage

when I sang a track called Nightmareand then the show would end withfireworks and smoke bombs. But whenFire took off on Track Records webrought all the elements of our showbehind it – the fire helmet, the longflowing robes, the black and whitemakeup, the projection screens and Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp who ranTrack made it ahuge hit.“I had quite a

close relationshipwith Jimi Hendrixand we did a lotof gigs with him.Our first majorconcert outsidethe underground

scene was supporting theExperience at the SavilleTheatre in London. It was amemorable gig because thepromoter Brian Epstein, TheBeatles’ manager, wasfound dead in his flat thatday and the second showwas cancelled as a mark of respect. “Jimi came to a point that he wanted

to move on from the Experience and hedecided he wanted to form a band withVincent Crane on keyboards togetherwith the Experience and myself onvocals. That came about because I wasliving in New York and Jimi used tocome down to The Scene club and I would jam with him there. It wasreally good. But at that point Vincentwas going into a mental home and I decided to go in another direction andthen I heard Jimi was playing with theBand of Gypsies. Instead of gettingbigger he went back to his roots.“I explored theatre in rock in a

complete way with the huge costumesand stage act of the Crazy World andthen I had a band called thePuddletown Express and I used toperform naked and make improvisedmusic. That lost us a lot of fans. I wasalso arrested in Sicily for stripping offon stage in front of 15,000 people.Arthur then formed Kingdom Come

and recorded three albums with afloating group of musicians. They were one of the first bands to usesynthesisers and a drum machine aswell as a mellotron and a theremin.“The band was like an expression of

my inner quest and, at a certain point Idecided to go off on my own journeywhich led me to study Gurdjieff andSufism during several spiritual retreatsand to travel to Israel, Turkey, Moroccoand Burundi. When I came back from

The Crazy World of Arthur Brown is back in action. A new album is being mixed as we speak, due for release inSeptember when the band will set out from Lewes on a British and European tour, plus some confirmed dates inthe US. This new incarnation of the band features Jim Mortimore (bass) and Sam Walker (drums) – two localmusicians who graduated from Starfish – plus Lucie Rejchrtova (keyboards), Nina Gromniac (guitar) and the dancerAngel Flame. It’s a powerful combo that provides a strong musical setting for the stunning voice and arrestingpresence of the legend that is Arthur Brown.

Arthur, the ‘God of Hellfire’, is widely acknowledged by the likes of David Bowie, Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel, MarilynManson and many others as one of the key pioneers of theatre in rock. His spectacular voice, which ranges overthree-and-a-half octaves, remains as strong as ever and his remarkable career and life story extends over a diverserange of projects and influences, much of it tied-in with a long and profound spiritual journey.

EwordsLEjohn may Eimage LEluke insect

An Exclusive Interview With The God Of Hellfire

Africa in 1977 I recorded four albumswith Klaus Schulze (formerly ofTangerine Dream) and did a 42-city tour of Europe in 1979 using justsynthesisers and a drum machine.” [He also made a guest appearance inKen Russell’s film of Tommy in which he played The Priest.]The next phase of Arthur’s life was

spent in Austin, Texas where he lived for15 years with his wife and son, studyingmartial arts, gaining a degree incounselling and running a painting anddecorating business with Jimmy CarlBlack, the drummer of the Mothers ofInvention – called appropriately Blackand Brown. “Many of our clients wouldask us to sign their walls when we’dfinished painting,” Arthur recalls.“To clean my body of all the

chemicals from the paint I fasted forabout a year-and-a-half. I then touredin England with a band from Texas andhad a brain haemorrhage as the fastinghad undermined my constitution. The haemorrhage put me into a placewhere I was in the present moment andcouldn’t get out of it. Everything wasimmediate and everything was now. I was no longer able to stand the heat inTexas and that’s when I came toEngland and Lewes became my mainbase of operations.“Lewes is a very creative town with

a rebellious spirit. Musically it’s verydiverse and I love all that. It’s also a verybeautiful town and I love walking onthe Downs.”Did it occur to you that is was highly

appropriate that the ‘God of Hellfire’should settle in a place with such astrong bonfire tradition?“Well flames are great aren’t they?

Flames with black and white makeupare even better.” CF

“WELL FLAMES ARE GREATAREN’T THEY? FLAMES WITHBLACK AND WHITE MAKEUP

ARE EVEN BETTER”

“SOMETIMES I CAUGHTFIRE TOTALLY, SOMETIMES

JUST A LITTLE ANDSOMETIMES NOT AT ALL”

www.arthur-brown.com

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It’s the end of the day and I’msitting in the atmospheric premisesof Union Music Store just startingmy interview with Jamie and StevieFreeman when Lilly the dog jumps

on my lap and vigorously licks my nose.I feel welcomed.They opened the shop on the 15th of

November 2010 in the quirky, folksybuilding in Lansdowne Place – formerlyan antique shop and then a cafe – andpacked it full of CDs and vinyl, musicalinstruments, books and magazines,posters, t-shirts and cowboy boots.Union focuses on a sizeable niche ofroots music – folk, country andAmericana – which ranges fromfolktronica to guitar rock to traditionalfolk and old-time country.The shop has earned plaudits

from the national press as a classicindependent record shop, ticket hub andlive venue. The stage may be small buttheir in-store gigs have featured majornames from both sides of the Atlantic.In addition, they have become activepromoters in several of the town’s majorvenues and have an eponymous recordlabel and busy recording studio.It is clear right from the off that

Jamie and Stevie complement eachother and share a passion for music andattention to detail. They don’t quitefinish each other’s sentences but theycertainly bounce off each other’sstatements and ideas. Jamie speaks forboth of them when he says:“Everything we do is a joint venture.

We are passionate about gettingeverything right. We’ve never get into

anything together that we can’t do well. We’re constantly working. I’m notsaying that we’re the best but to ourability we’re going to make absolutelyevery effort to make it good. It’sexhausting.”Jamie has his own band, the Jamie

Freeman Agreement, plays drums withanother – Salter Cane, acts as recordproducer but earns his living as agraphic designer. He arrives from workon a lightweight, carbon-fibre racingbike sporting a mod haircut and talks ofhis long-time passion for soul. Stevie describes herself as a

‘shopkeeper’ – which underplays her

vital role in both the realisation of UnionMusic and its creative development. “I had a bit of a nugget of an idea,” saysJamie, “but Stevie’s got a knack ofactually making things happen. If it had just stayed with me it wouldhave remained a nugget.”

“I used to own a lingerie/burlesqueshop,” says Stevie, “and Jamie and I hadstarted doing burlesque nights withbands – mainly swing or gypsy jazz –and we were both interested inpromoting music. During this periodwe’d also been over to Nashville acouple of times because we had friends there.”

Nashville in Lewes

continued )

A LITTLE BIT OF

early ghost

Stevie and Jamie both dug Nashvilleinstantly: “Nashville’s amazing becauseyou go to a cafe to get a sandwich andyou literally bump into Emmylou Harris,”says Jamie. “Last time we went there wewere walking into a cafe and Jack Whitewas walking out. It’s a weird town.Nashville musicians live and work there and they’re treated with respect.There’s no paparazzi.” “We went to the Station Inn

[a legendary bluegrass and roots musicclub] and saw the fabulous all-starcountry swing band the Time Jumperswith Vince Gill. He’s country royalty. He’ssold millions and millions of records andthere he was playing guitar in his flip-flops on a hot evening in a place thatonly holds 200 people.“The Union idea,” says Stevie, “came

about because what we loved over therewas the small cafes which had littlestages and there was always a guitarleaning up in the corner so people couldplay music. We went to the Ernest Tubbrecord store [417 Broadway] and therewas a little stage at the back whereeveryone had played including DollyParton and Patsy Cline.

“We wanted to bring a bit ofNashville back to Lewes and make a link between American and Britishroots music. They are the United Statesand we are the United Kingdom. Ourname comes from that and it has stronghistorical and political overtones.”

stevie and jamie freeman

EwordsLEjohn may Eimages LEbob russell

9

Their first two releases were an EP bylocal singer Zoe Brownrigg Not Once

Did I See Your Face and Jamie’s albumJust You. Then another band Hatful ofRain arrived with a complete albumthat was recorded somewhere else.Jamie and Stevie styled the whole

thing up and Jamie made a video thatgained them national airplay. Since

then they have recorded an album byindie folksters The Self Help Group.

“What we love about the young bandsin Lewes like the Ouse ValleyCollective, Early Ghost and EasyCompany is that all these young folkare embracing the whole idea ofskiffle and Depression-era music.Mainly acoustic based, their attitudeis: ‘We may not be able to play theseinstruments perfectly at the momentbut let’s just get together and make arighteous racket’. It’s the same sortof thing that happened in the late 70swith punk and it’s so the new Indie.We love the fact that this is the musicthe young kids want to play. If youare down about everything else,music makes you happy. It doesn’t get much better than playing musicwith other people.”

UNION

STORE

LABEL

Lewes Roots jaime regan

the long hill ramblers

9

the ouse valley collective

IN-STORE ENTERTAINMENTFrom the very week they opened theybegan running in-store gigs on theirtiny little stage. The roll-call of acts todate includes The Long Hill Ramblers,Porchlight Smoker, Dusty Stray, BlameSally, The Toy Hearts, Mad Staring Eyesand the Redlands Palomino Company. Iasked them to recall some of theirfavourite magic performances.Jamie’s first choice was Ethan Johns,

multi-instrumentalist and second–generation producer [his father was thelegendary 60s producer Glyn Johns]who has made records for Tom Jones,Laura Marling, the Kings of Leon and theKaiser Chiefs amongst many others.“It was magical. The place was

packed and people were queuing rightdown the street. He was there for anhour, played five songs and then had a Q & A session and anybody could askanything. He was absolutely delightful.“Another special one for me was

Malcolm Holcombe. He is a considerablesinger/songwriter with a very troubledpast – one of those guys who’s been tothe brink but was saved, as I understandit, by the love of a good woman. Shedragged him back, slapped him aboutand got him shipshape. So he’s stillgot all the baggage which comes outin his songs and in his performance.Man, what a voice. The three of uswere in tears.”Stevie chose Carrie Elkin, a

folk/country singer from Austin,Texas. “She turned up tired from hertouring, this tiny little beautiful lady.

She came in and said: ‘I feel just like I’m athome’. She sat on this chair and we made hera cup of herbal tea. It was lovely straightaway and then she got on stage and hervoice was unbelievable. You could see everymuscle was straining. She just gave iteverything.”“Phantom Limb – a six piece country soul

band from Bristol – were also unbelievable,”says Stevie. “Their singer Yolanda Quartey has such an incredible voice she almost blewthe roof off.”So what comes next? Their weekly in-

store gigs are booked up to Christmas andthey have gigs booked up to next March2014. They are producing three

albums between now and early 2014 –second albums from Jamie and Hatful ofRain plus a debut album by Kate Pollock,formerly of the great Lewes band Big Sugah.Stevie is now on the board of the AmericanMusic Association in the UK. CF

A LITTLE BIT OF

Nashville in Lewes

annabelle chvostek

Jamie and Stevie promote at least one giga month or two “if we’re crazy for it”.(Above) larkin poe, a folk-rock bandfronted by sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell from Georgia, playing at All Saints; (bottom) JT Nero andAllison Russell of birds of chicago.

phantom limb

www.unionmusicstore.com1 Lansdown Place, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 2JT

01273 474053

danny schmidt

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ethan johns

carrie elkin

John Hancorn is one of Lewes'sbusiest choral conductors, although hisother professional career as a baritonesinger at Glyndebourne, Covent Gardenand the Welsh National Opera hasshown him life at both ends of aconductor's stick. “My background as aprofessional singer is enormouslyvaluable when you’re training a choirbecause you’re dealing with singers,” hesays. “Hopefully you can get the bestout of them. You can help them whenthings get difficult and motivate them.”Today, he's best known for his work

with the East Sussex Bach Choirperforming St Matthew Passion andother works, who combine with theBrent Singers to perform at theBrighton Early Music Festival. He alsoworks with Academy Voices at the EastSussex Academy of Music and teachesmusic at Christ’s Hospital.Yet this classical maestro talks with

relish about his other influences. “I wasborn and brought up in Scotland until I was 11. Mum and Dad weren’t reallymusical and I just played football. It wasonly when I moved to Stonegate andwent to school in Tunbridge Wells that Istarted strumming a guitar. It was allNeil Young, James Taylor and The Who

for me – still is. I had a reallywonderfulinspirationalmusic teacher atschool namedDerek Watmough.I always hope Ican be half asinspiring to mystudents as he was.”“To be a good

choirmaster Ithink you’ve got

to get on with people, you’ve got to begood at motivating groups and you’vegot to be organised. I love music. I lovethe repertoire that I’m doing andhopefully I imbue that sense of loveinto them and inspire them to greaterheights. I hope so. You need to be very positive of spirit, very dedicatedand single-minded. Sometimes you’vegot to be a bit canny when it’s not quite working. “I like sitting down and planning. I’m

not very good when people putobstacles in front of me. I just think let’sdo it. I like pulling it all together. I don’tthink it’s an ego thing. I just like doingit. It’s energising.“A choir is like any other group.

You’ve got to keep it sweet, keep itmotivated, keep renewing it. We’re allgetting older and finding youngervoices is really important but its tough. I think you’ve got to have goodprofessional and community links andyou’ve got to look for new programmesand for new young soloists andorchestra players. “I love making things happen in

Lewes”, says John, who came to livehere in 1980 after joining theGlyndebourne chorus. “It's a great townbecause people are basically up fordoing things here. It's not staid. We must change the idea of a choralsociety just being a group in dinnerjackets in a concert-hall. We need tolook sharper and take on other sorts of music.” John has been rehearsing

the Phoenix Cantata with its composer,Helen Glavin, whose music has almost always been about telling stories.Sometimes, the narratives are about

the land and the elements and have aspiritual quality; and sometimes her

Ewords /Emain photosLEjohn warburton

Since earliest times, singing in choirs has been part of recorded human history. Lewes inparticular was famous for the quality and varietyof the monastic music sung in St Pancras’ Priory,whose ruins overlook the site of the Gentlemen OfThe Road Stopover. The brilliantly illuminated Lewes Missal-Breviary,

compiled by theCluniac monks ofthe Priory, is amongthe most importantand completewritten records ofEnglish music as itwas sung and heard800 years ago. Today,this irreplaceabletreasure is preservedin the FitzwilliamMuseum inCambridge, but its

music was performed within the priory walls asrecently as May this year.Sadly, manuscripts such as the Lewes Breviary

only contained church music. Comparatively fewfolk songs and dances were written down untilmuch later times. But old music in Lewes is stillsung by an ad-hoc choir consisting of anyone whoturns up to the Lewes Saturday Folk Club for asingaround evening.An historic tale of Lewes’s industrial history, the

Phoenix Cantata, is about to be sung by some ofthe town’s many choirs, when they perform thismajor new choral composition next year. Three ofthe choir leaders, including the composer, havebeen discussing this new piece, and Lewes’s uniquemusical strengths.

All toge

“A choir is like anyother group. You’vegot to keep it sweet,keep it motivated,keep renewing it.We’re all gettingolder and findingyounger voices is

really important butits tough.”

john hancorn conductingsir john tomlinson

12

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out of the foundry in my vision, intothe landscape, and that's as much apart of the cantata theme: ourconnection with nature. I researched alot of the myths and legends of thisarea, and even the theme of war comesinto it quite a lot. It's very elemental –the power of water and fire. It includesthe legend of the phoenix, played by asoprano, being consumed by fire andreborn. She's a symbol of hope andregeneration for all of us.”None of these large-scale

performances could happen withoutLewes's willing singers, most of themamateurs. John Hancorn knows theirimportance. “It's really important toremember that these good peoplecome, week in, week out, out of choice.They pay a subscription and, essentially,they want to sing. So it becomes a bitof a family. Many people live solitarylives and the choir becomes animportant part of their social calendar.”

Helen particularly needed a choir ofmen to represent the workers of thePhoenix foundry in her cantata. But,outside the Welsh valleys and footballchants, men are seen as unwilling tosing together.

“I had this idea of the EverymanEnsemble, and we put it out to thecommunity in about 2010. We put lotsof posters up, saying 'Singers Wanted',hoping that somebody would come. Wehadn't even looked at the first rehearsaldate. It was the start of the World Cup.” “So on a very hot Sunday afternoon

in June, John Hancorn and I were at thefoundry with the piano. We thought:'We will get two fellows. Put the chairsback!' And then, suddenly, all these menstarting coming, on bicycles, by footand by car. In the end, we had about 26 men which was extraordinary. It wasphenomenal. Even Glyndebourne were

thinking, 'How did you get all thosemen?' We're very proud of this choir.”As well as next year's first complete

performances of the Phoenix Cantata,Helen Glavin will also be marking theeight-hundredth anniversary of Simonde Montfort's short-lived victory at theBattle of Lewes. “Because of theEveryman Ensemble, I had an idea for achoral piece with a male choirembodying the spirit of the soldierswho fought. I think we're going toperform it at the Town Hall on May13th, the date of the eve of the battle.” Choral conductor Nick

Houghton often works with JohnHancorn, notably in a recent choralworkshop for amateur singers, whereEnglish composer Thomas Talliss's

massive motet in forty parts Spem InAlium was sung. Several choirs inLewes come under his direction: theEast Sussex Community Choir whichhas about 100 members and performsthree concerts a year; the LewesChamber Choir which is unique in thatthe members work on music but don’tdo concerts; the Lewes Singers (left)who sign services in English cathedrals.He is also head of the East SussexAcademy of Music.For Nick, Lewes has qualities

matched by nowhere else. “People ofLewes are pretty active, and manypeople are in several choirs. Certainly,the Community Choir has becomelarger in the last few years. Importantly,Lewes is also very good at turning outas an audience. I notice that choirsquite often choose to perform in Lewesbecause we're good at coming toshows, or putting up posters.”More than that, choral concerts in

the town often feature world-classorchestras, accompanying the singersin historically-informed style. “We are accessible from London andvery near to Glyndebourne”, says Nick.“The Orchestra of the Age of theEnlightenment often plays here and the London Philharmonic Orchestra isoften the orchestra at the opera house.Many members of both theseorchestras live in Lewes.” CF

thernowmusic is about the people whose hardwork and sacrifices made the modernworld. Her awareness of Lewes's ironfoundry at the Phoenix Works, part ofwhich is today a gallery andperformance space run by Artemis Arts,provided Helen's inspiration for thisvast new piece. “It was directly inspired by an

iconic photograph of the foundryworkers in the 19th century.There's a group of men and boysstanding, watching red-hot ironbeing poured into a mould”.“I did a lot of research in the

County Records Office to get thefeel of the foundry in Lewes. ThenI heard all these former workersstanding up to talk about theirexperiences. “I have a personal connection.

My father and his brothers, whenthey emigrated from Ireland, hadworked in a foundry. When I was littlemy father would tell me that thefoundry was like working in hell. It wasan unbelievable experience for him.“But Helen's music takes a wider

theme, too. “Although the source of thecantata was the Phoenix Ironworks andthe people's stories, it very soon moved

“In the end, we hadabout 26 men whichwas extraordinary. It was phenomenal.Even Glyndebourne

were thinking, ‘How did you get all those men?’

We’re very proud of this choir.”

“I notice that choirs quiteoften choose to performin Lewes because we'regood at coming to shows,or putting up posters”

overleaf )Lewes Choirs listed

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angels with attitudeLed by Ali Bishop. For women: a community choir with a wide choice of musicLinklater Pavilion, Thursdays 7.30pm, £5.

t 01273 476716 w http://goo.gl/hokLe

archwayLed by Sue Richardson“From Ellington to Supertramp”, neither music-reading nor audition necessaryLewes Town Hall (Fisher St. entrance), Thursdays 7.45pm, £7.

t 01323 897590 w www.thearchwaygroup.com

a tempo voicesLed by Andrew ThomasInformal singing and piano teaching groups in a supportive environmentLewes Community Fire Station, Thursdays 7.30pm. £8.

t 07973 675046 w http://goo.gl/8jhrL

east sussex community choirLed by Nick HoughtonNon-auditioned, standard choral repertoire, three concerts each yearSussex Downs College, Mondays 7.30pm, £43 per term.

t 01273 812144 w www.eastsussexcommunitychoir.org

the everyman ensembleLed by John Hancorn and Helen GlavinNon-auditioned, male choir, strong community aims,often sings music with a local themeSt John sub Castro hall, alternate Thursdays, 7.45pm, £5.

t 01273 401973 w www.thephoenixcantata.comthe-everyman-ensemble.html

lewes singing circleFour choirs led by Angela Spencer at Christ ChurchA Cappella Fellas:Male voice choir, Thursdays, 8pmInner Harmony: Learn and sing world songs of peace and friendship, 2nd Wednesday, 8pmSinging Circle: Members only, songs and harmony from many traditions sung in a circleSinging for Larks: Uplifting songs from around the world on Tuesday mornings, 9.15am

e info@lewessingingcircle.comw www.lewessingingcircle.com

lewes voice worksLed by Paul & Carol KellyDiscovering your voice; a training choirChrist Church, alternate Thursdays, 7.30pm, £10.

t 07709 939780 w www.lewesvoiceworks.org

lewes vox community choirLed by Katie RobertsCommunity choir, repertoire from many traditions,harmony singing taught without printed musicElephant and Castle, Thursdays, 7.30pm. £6.50 or £27.50 for five.

w http://brightonvox.wordpress.combrightonchoirslewes-vox

the paddock singersLed by John Hancorn & Ruth KerrWomen’s non-auditioned choir with strong teaching of a classical and light repertoire. A new mixedgroup, the Paddock Youth Singers, has just been formedThursdays, 8pm, £50 per term.

t 07786 252145 w www.thepaddocksingers.co.uk

esterhazy chamber choirLed by Sandy CheneryThirty auditioned members, experienced singers, serious choral repertoire from all erase choir@esterhazy.org.uk w www.esterhazy.org.uk

lewes chamber choirLed by Nick HoughtonPurely for the enjoyment of singing: no concerts aregiven. Also runs larger-scale workshopsNext workshop: 18 January 2014, St Michael's Church.

t 01273 472489 w www.leweschamberchoir.org.uk

the lewes singersLed by Nick HoughtonVery experienced singers, with Lewes performances, and major cathedral-sung servicesNot actively recruiting

east sussex bach choirLed by John HancornLarge amateur choir, high standards of historicallyinformed performance, sings with orchestraRehearsals Saturdays and Thursdays, St John Sub Castro hall.

e heidehughes@gmail.com w http://bachchoir.org.uk

pro musica chamber choirLed by Kathryn Sargent and Ray MaulkinAuditioned choir, wide classical repertoire, good social environment, three concerts per annumPhoenix Centre, Mondays, 7.30pm. £45 per term.

t 01273 474617 w www.promusica.org.uk

schola cantorumLed by the Director of Music at St Pancras Church, LewesMixed-voice adult choir for Catholic services, choral scholarships available by auditionSt Pancras Church, Sunday services and other rehearsals.

e parochus.lewes@gmail.comw www.schola.stpancrascatholicchurchlewes.co.uk

sussex harmonyLed by Rachel JordanA non-auditioned West Gallery folk choir singinghistoric, traditional church music in costumeSt Michael's Church South Malling, Thursdays 8pm.

t 01273 476837 w http://sussexharmony.org.uk

voiceworks company of singersLed by Haley StevensNon-auditioned, training through listening, holisticapproach, several concerts per annumAll Saints, Mondays 11.30am. £45 half-term, £85 full term.

t 01323 729379 w www.voiceworkshops.co.uk

golden age singersLed by Muriel HartEspecially for people aged over 50 who would love to sing. No auditionFriends' Meeting House, Thursdays, 2.15pm.

t 01273 471334w www.cowbeech.force9.co.uk/LDSF/LDSF5.htm

rock choir Led by Charlotte Fane-BarnettArrangements of modern-day songs, local branch of national organisationSt Pancras Catholic School, Thursdays, 7.30pm. £25 per month, £100 per term.

t 01252 714276 w www.rockchoir.com

Ecompiled byLEjohn warburton Eadditional researchLEjack lawrence Lewes' choirs for adults sing and perform a wide variety of material from the earliest music tomodern rock, through classical masterpieces to rare treasures. New singers are welcome inmany of the ensembles listed on this page. Where fees are quoted, these are to cover costssuch as hire of halls, printed music, accompanying performers and performing rights

THE CHOIRS OF LEWES

lewes singing circle

esterhazy chamber choir

Photo: Ash Mills

BLONDE BEERBrewed with the aptly named ‘Sussex Hop’ - originally

discovered growing wild in a hedgerow in Sussex but now cultivated as a variety in its own right. It is supplemented

with Cascade hops grown in the UK.

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he Sussex Sessions is a new EP from the prolificLewes-born songstress and songwriter IsobelAnderson, performed and recorded with her musicalpartner Ruby Colley, who is based in Hastings.

They first met after playing together on Glastonbury’sAcoustic stage in 2011These re-workings of traditional folk songs add to a back

catalogue which began with an eponymous introductory 4-track EP (2007), two full-length albums of originalcompositions – Cold Water Songs (2010) and Dark Path(2011), and Stories of the City (2012), a CD she produced aspart of a community arts/oral history project for her PhD. A further CD of new songs called In My Garden is due forrelease in autumn this year. Isobel is just 28 but has already achieved a great deal

academically and musically. She is as much a sound artistas she is a singer/songwriter. She has a depth andseriousness in her nature that has been shaped by troublesin her personal life, of the heart and of the body. There is anache in her singing voice, a keening for lost souls, with asprinkling of the supernatural tempered by a harsh dose ofreality.From the get-go Isobel was singing and performing at

school – as the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute andin Miss Stoner’s choir at Southover Primary School, and atPriory School playing Adelaide in Guys and Dolls andperforming at rock concerts. Back in her bedroom she was listening hard to the

“confident women” on Motown Records from which she learnt how to do trills and runs with her voice. She idolised Jimi Hendrix and learnt from and loved the“beautiful gloomy” voice of Beth Gibbons of Portishead. She played clarinet through secondary school, learning

to manage her breath and training her voice like aninstrument. She also took up guitar lessons as she wantedto be an independent singer and took a GCSE music modulefor which she wrote a song (“a bluesy, trip-hoppy thing”).When she was in sixth form, she sang with a band called

Sister Ben, named after a real-life nun her dad met whiletravelling round Ireland in a mini, playing gigs andrecording. Bob Taylor played bass with the band and theylater formed a blues duo which played with Herbie Flowers

Isobel Anderson

EwordsLEjohn may

and physics. She then obtained an Arts and Humanities ResearchCouncil scholarship to spend threeyears working on a PhD thesisconcerning the links betweennarratives and places.Her first project Last Night’s Party

was based on Irish folklore about girlsbeing abducted by a fairy king. Theywould hear this beautiful music, whichwould draw them to a party wherethey ate amazing food and dancedwith the king. It felt to them that theyhad only been away one night butwhen they returned they found theyhad been away for seven years andtheir homes were very different. Isobelturned the story into a sonicperformance piece staged in BelvoirPark Forest in Northern Ireland.For her next project called Stories

of the City, about an area of Belfastformerly known as Sailortown thathad been completely demolished to make way for a motorway, shejoined forces with fellow Queen’s PhD student Fionnuala Fagan. Theyjointly interviewed the area’s formerinhabitants – known as The SailortownRegeneration Group – and for fourmonths collected their memories. They used the transcriptions of theseinterviews as the lyrics for a collectionof songs designed to tell the story ofthis forgotten part of Belfast. Thesewere performed at an exhibition at theMetropolitan Arts Centre in the city aspart of an installation of shrinescelebrating the ghosts and memoriesof this vanished dockland scene.Isobel is currently working on a

new sound work inspired by OliviaLang’s book To The River whichdocuments a journey she made fromthe source to the mouth of our ownRiver Ouse.During the first two years of her

PhD, she developed severe tinnitusand chronic pain in her body forwhich she continues to receivetreatment. This has led her to take aleave of absence from her studies andreturn to Lewes for the time being.She considers these problems as

“a mixed blessing. It has opened up aninternal world and made me awarehow that communicates with theworld outside.” Her upcoming albumgives voice to these experiences. CF

in Edinburgh, supported Eric Bibb atHailsham and Peter Green in Abbevillein France. Song writing was initially an escape

from an abusive relationship at thattime, which happily she escaped bygoing to Cuba at the age of 18 tostudy Spanish at the University ofHavana. She had studied Spanish fortwo years beforehand but hadforgotten everything by the time she arrived.

She soaked up the music of Cuba,jamming in night clubs with jazzbands, watching remarkable rehearsalsin crumbling colonial buildings,attending slightly scary rumba partiesin alleyways. Her apartment’sbedroom had a hole in the wall whichlet the cats and cockroaches in. “TheCubans”, she said, “talk like theirsinging. The only music you everheard there was Cuban – samba, son,rumba, salsa. It changed my guitar-playing style.”At 19 she began a three-year music

degree at Dartington in Devon, livingon campus and in Totnes. It was acourse that mixed composition,performance and ethnomusicologyand brought together art, theatre,dance, music and writing forperformance.She met a boyfriend and they lived

together for three years in Londonduring which time she worked as anadministrator for a hip hop theatrecompany at Sadler’s Wells, at theSociety for the Promotion of NewMusic and at the London College of

Music. “I hated it. Part of me wasslowly dying. But it did spark someideas as I met sound artists andelectro-acoustic composers”. Around this time she hooked

up with Passenger (Mike Rosenberg)and went on to sing backing vocals on several of his albums, which have charted worldwide. A jointcollaboration will appear on his new album.Sound art attracted her and she

applied to Queen’s University, Belfast,to do a one-year MA in Sonic Artswhich involved some hardcore maths

T

www.isobelanderson.com The Sussex Sessions is available to stream and download from

www.andersonandcolley.bandcamp.com

ruby colley & isobel anderson

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A SENSE OF PLACEEwordsLEshirley collins

Sussexsongscape

George ‘Pop’Maynard Ned Adams Noah Gillette

There is a theory that music reflects the landscapeit’s written in. Certainly it is true that the landnecessarily once governed the occupation of itsinhabitants, whether as shepherds, farm labourers,

carters, fishermen, poachers, blacksmiths, or in times of war,soldiers and sailors, pressed away to join the armies andnavies – all of which gave rise to hundreds of folk songs. Many of the stories of the songs take place in a familiar

landscape, opening with the lines ‘As I roved out one Maymorning’, setting the scene for whatever story is going tounfold, and preparing the listener for an encounter;perhaps with a long-lost sweetheart who had foughtabroad for seven years and had come home virtuallyunrecognisable; or a seducer; even Napoleon Bonaparte; or,if your luck had run out, the devil, whom you might outwit,or death himself, whom you couldn’t. There were love songs and ballads, songs about work –

carting, harvesting, shepherding and sheep shearing,poaching and hunting; others celebrating various highpoints of the year – old May carols, Harvest Homes,Christmas and New Year carols. Hundreds of these were sung across Sussex, and noted

down by collectors from the mid 1850s up to the 1970s.The earlier collections are in books; the more recent ones,are, happily, on sound recordings, allowing us to hear theauthentic voices of the singers themselves, their characterand their accents.Using even a tiny selection of these genuine folk

songs, a path can be traced across Sussex. We can set off on the journey well over a hundred years back with two songs whose melodies have become part of ournational consciousness. The first was sung by Harriet and her husband Peter

Verral, an agricultural labourer who was born in lewesin 1854, although when Ralph Vaughan Williams met themin 1904 on one of his folk-song hunting expeditions, theywere living in monksgate, near Horsham. One of theirsongs Our Captain Calls dated from the Napoleonic Wars,and its tune so impressed RVW that he later set the JohnBunyan hymn He Who Would Valiant Be to it. Next to thetitle in the New English Hymnal which RVW edited are thewords: Tune – Monksgate. And the second was The Banks of Green Willow, which in

1907 in billingshurst, Mr & Mrs Cranstone sangto the composer George Butterworth, who later used it asinspiration for his orchestral piece of the same name. Also living in horsham was the remarkable Henry

Burstow, a shoe-maker and a radical free-thinker, whoknew over 400 songs by heart. His songs were noted downby the collectors Lucy Broadwood and RVW at the turn ofthe 19th-20th centuries. One of his most beautiful songs isGilderoy, which dates back to the late 17th century.In more recent days, Mabs Hall and her son Gordon Hall

lived in Horsham, next door to Henry Burstow’s home in

Spencer’s Road. Their repertoire of songs and (especially)ballads, seemed boundless – as was Gordon’s voice. Gordoninvariably lit up a cigarette when he started a song, andjudged the length of a ballad, not by its number of verses,but by the number of cigarettes he got through whilesinging it! Come Write Me Down.On to lodsworth, to acknowledge another fine

Sussex singer, Henry Hills, a farmer, whose songs werenoted down by W. Percy Merrick in 1899. His A Sailor’s Lifewas recorded by Fairport Convention on their album‘Unhalfbricking’ 1969. To lower beeding, where All Things Are Quite

Silent, was noted down from Ted Baines by RVW in 1904.The story of a man snatched away from his sweetheart by apress-gang is one of the loveliest and most poignant songsever found in England.But from now on we’ll stay with material recorded as

recently as the 1950s, when the BBC set up a project to collect songs still being sung throughout the countryside ofthe British Isles. In the South-East, Bob Copper, Sussex singer, writer and

parish historian of genius, and Peter Kennedy, son of theDirector of the English Folk Song & Dance Society, wereappointed to the task. The singers, of course, knew more than one song,

but I’ll choose just one from each, and we start atfittleworth in November 1954, where Bob Copperrecorded a beautiful Deep in Love from a housewife, Mrs Gladys Stone. And it was there that Bob also metGeorge Attrill, a road maintenance worker as he was cutting back grass at the roadside with a swop-hook. He sang The Broken-Down Gentleman to Bob that sameevening in his cottage, as they sat supping George’s home-made parsnip wine.On to copthorne, home to one of the finest

traditional singers in England, George ‘Pop’ Maynard. Hisdignity and the sweetness of his nature were clearly therein his singing, which in spite of his old age when he wasrecorded, was still beautiful and had a rare grace. His Pollyon the Shore, recorded by Peter Kennedy in 1955, inGeorge’s cottage, dates from the Napoleonic Wars, andgives a graphic and bloody account of a sea-battle, while atthe same time is a love song with a noble tune. It wouldtouch any heart.Heading away towards balcombe, where in 1963

Peter recorded Harry Upton singing Canadee-i-o, the songthat was always sung on the last day of shearing in thebarn known as Toad’s Hall at blatchington. Thesong had been handed down from his father Frank Upton,who was a shepherd all his life. His sister Mrs Wheatlandtold how they sang all around the villages at Christmas andadded. ‘We’re living in the same place now, Blatchington, butinstead of it being the country place it was, it’s now a largecouncil estate, and ours was the last farm cottage to be

pulled down. Before that, it was all farming land, a thousandacres of cornfields and sheep grazing’.A few miles away, and nearly ten years earlier, Bob had

met Lily Cook, in September 1954 in north chailey;in her kitchen she sang The Lark in the Morning. It was hisvery first recording for the BBC, and he felt it was a mostre-assuring start to his journey.A couple of months later, down towards the coast at

hammerpot, near angmering, Bob found JimSwain, a carter, and recorded The Banks of Sweet Mossen,which Jim had learned from an old shepherd atfelpham. It was unique – no other version of this songhad ever been heard before or since.Heading along the coast to hastings, where in

November 1954 Bob recorded Ned Adams, the cox’n of the Hastings lifeboat, singing The Bold Princess Royal.‘When Ned sang’, wrote Bob, ‘you could smell the sea’. From Noah Gillette, a retired, illiterate fisherman in st leonards, Bob heard the remarkable ballad aboutNapoleon’s demise The Bonny Bunch of Roses. Noah hadlearned it by heart from his grandmother who Bobreckoned was alive at the time that the ballad was writtenand being sold on the streets following Napoleon’s death. A direct link with an historic event. Inland now to east dean, where in 1952 Peter

Kennedy met the blacksmith Luther Hills who sang TheFoggy Dew, the recording made in Luther’s smithy.And not far from lewes, in November 1952, Peter

came across a group of gypsies camped on a grass vergeoutside the village of laughton. He recorded manysongs from them, but the jewel, the most precious, wasCome Father, Build Me A Boat, sung in true gypsy style bysix-year old Sheila Smith. With this recording, this little girlmemorably and so sweetly sang her way into the history ofEnglish folk song. A trip to brighton now where gypsy Mary Ann

Haynes had settled, and earned a living as a flower seller.Mike Yates recorded her in 1974, and one of her songs The Female Drummer, mirrors to a great extent the life of Phoebe Hessell, a female soldier who lived out the endof her life in Regency Brighton on a pension of half aguinea a week from the Prince Regent himself. She isburied there in St Nicholas Churchyard, her memorial stone cared for by admirers. Oh yes, and a Brighton bus isnamed after her.And finally, to the Copper Family of rottingdean.

When we get to them and their unique centuries-longhistory of singing, I am persuaded that the landscapeshapes the melodies. The Copper tunes sound like anthems;they are beautiful, and with such a noble strength andsweep that they do truly resemble the Downs and make youfeel grounded, safe and home. The Bold Fisherman has allthese qualities, and opens with the line ‘As I roved out oneMay morning...’ CF

Photo: Katie Van Dyke

www.shirleycollins.co.uk

Earlier this year, The Contenders played their 100thgig, which we duly celebrated with Jack Daniels,cocaine and a bunch of Dutch hookers at ourluxurious home in downtown Plectrum Villas.

Like all iconic bands, we live in the same house, ours beingclosely modelled on that of The Beatles in the film ‘Help’ . Later, sipping mojitos beside the guitar shaped swimming pool (a Hofner President, since you ask), we reflected on this milestone.One hundred gigs equal about eight days and nights of

solid playing, and adding in rehearsal time more thandoubles this. Then there’s the setting up and breaking down,the schlepping of gear, the time spent individually practicingand writing. What, we asked, apart from the staggeringwealth, did we do it for? Being a Band of a Certain Age, weconcluded that the seeds were probably sown in childhood.Like many others, I was caught up in it early, beginning

with The Beatles andThe Stones on Ready Steady Go, thecrackly ebb and flow of Radio Luxemburg under thebedclothes and visits to the local electrical shop. It soldrecords alongside Pifco hairdryers and Morphy Richardstoasters and, every week, posted the Top Fifty in the window.Once, unforgettably, there was a display of three Eko Italiaelectric guitars in red, silver and green sparkle finish. Agedten, I would walk a mile into town just to stare at them,priced at 48 guineas each. It all just seemed so important.Adolescence, when it arrived, already had a built-in

soundtrack as various as its hormone-driven moods. Therewas music to mope introspectively to, swagger with,pontificate over and generally just be excited by. I discoveredthat Clapton didn’t actually invent the blues and also beganthe lifelong business of never quite forgiving myself for notbeing Bob Dylan. Mainly, I knew it was time to join in. Timeto send for the Bell Musical Instruments catalogue andprocure that first guitar! Well, what a disappointment. For a start, it hurt!

The guitars within one’s price range were mostly clunky,heavily-strung, high-action cheese cutters. Air guitar wasso much easier, being to guitar playing what conceptual artis to painting. You listened to Jimi Hendrix with a newfoundincredulous respect. After weeks, with lacerated fingers, I could just about stumble to the end of ‘This Land Is YourLand’. But I was beginning to think of myself as a possibleplayer, an insider. I knew somebody with a drum kit. Hecouldn’t really play but he became a mate just for owningone. I met other people who could, seemingly, really playand hung out with them. I read the music papers, went togigs, bought records, wrote atrocious songs, developed loftyviews, theories and hierarchies. Then, with some fellowenthusiastic incompetents, a band was formed and werealized that two guitars could be better than one; that,with the addition of bass and drums it was possible togenerate moments of real excitement, especially if you werenearly in tune. Then we did some gigs and found that

people seemed able to tolerate them, so we did some more. Then, in my case, I sold all my gear, got married andwent abroad.For a couple of decades, being in a band was something

I wistfully ‘used to do’, until an old friend, still playing, had aBig Birthday and insisted that some of us get up andparticipate. Almost immediately, the fuse was relit. A year orso later, The Contenders were formed from the residues ofother bands and the scourings of various saloon bars, andthe rest is rock ‘n roll history. We’ve worked at it, but asthere’s no pressure on us to do anything but have a goodtime, it’s easy to do just that. The 100th gig is a milestone. It shows that you’re no longer a box bedroom dreamer, butthe dreams have always begun in a million suburbanbedrooms and, if you’re lucky, they don’t have to go away. CF

Ewords /EillustrationLEpeter messer

Last Words

SNOWDROP17th November 9pmTHE DORSET

28th June 9pm

Live at theLAMB10TH MARCH 9PMSaturday

21st January 9pm

www.thecontenders.org.uk

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EditorialWelcome to the first issue Lewes Musical Express, a freemicro-newspaper devoted to documenting andcelebrating the musical culture of Lewes and environs. As residents know and as visitors will discover, Lewes is

a small town with a big music scene and a rich anddiverse musical culture. We believe it can justly claim tobe one of most important music towns in the South.Through the LME we aim to bring together the whole

of our musical community – linking the world of classical,opera and choral music to folk, jazz, rock, blues, reggae,electro, psychedelia and all the other genres.Lewes is rich in great venues, rehearsal spaces,

recording studios, noted musicians and exciting events.We are particularly proud of our youth music communitywhich we have highlighted and celebrated this issue.The town has one of the biggest cluster of guitar

makers in the country, hosts numerous choirs (which wehave also reported on), some fab djs, a vibrant folk musicscene, some great music teachers, agents, promoters,record shops, buskers and of course bands of all shapesand descriptions.Lewes loves its music. It seems sometime that every

nook and cranny, pub, hall or basement is in service as arehearsal, recording or performing space. Music is most definitely a major topic of conversation aroundkitchen tables and in the public bars. Even our MP has analbum out!We have noticed a distinctive and notable rise

in musical activity in the town over the last fiveyears and the occasion of the Mumford and Sonsgig seemed the right time to get a dedicatednewspaper off the ground.The birth of a newspaper is always a tricky

business which might be likened to trying tohold onto a slippery fish. Once started it developsa life of its own, throws up unexpected possibilitiesand problems, and pushes its producers to the end of

themselves and beyond, through states of despair andelation in equal measure. Happily all has turned out right on the night, thanks to our fantastic contributorsand the help and encouragement of so many people in the town whose enthusiasm for the project has been inspiring.We believe we are pioneering the idea of local music

newspapers (with associated websites) which can besustainably financed by the musicians themselvesthrough regular benefit concerts, by local crowd-fundingmechanisms and by financial support from localadvertisers, sponsors and grants.We hope the Lewes Musical Express will provide a

valuable platform and a publishing opportunity for youngjournalists, photographers and artists. and that the paperwill act as a springboard and focus for future events,including a whole-town Lewes Music Festival to be stagedin 2014.My sincere thanks to my partner on the project

designer Raphael Whittle, our great contributors and,lastly but not leastly, our advertisers and sponsors and thefirst members of the 100 Club named by Andy Banks andushered into life by Peter Finnigan. Your generosity hasbeen one of the key features that has enabled this paperto happen and we are in your debt. We welcome furthermembers and hope that you will enable us to continuepublishing on an irregular basis. We already have ambitious plans for Issue Two.

Musicians, contributors and advertisers please note. Let us know what you think. Now let’s party.

John May, Editor

www.lewesmusicalexpress.cominfo@lewesmusicalexpress.com

Editorial/Advertising: 01273 471505

Editor/Producer/Writer: John MayDesigner: Raphael WhittleTreasurer: Lindsey Shakoori

Editorial Assistant: Jack Lawrence-Cade

ContributorsSarah BaylissLuke Insect Carlotta LukePeter MesserNeeta PedersenBob RussellMike StonesJohn Warburton

Print: The Newspaper Club

The 100 ClubAndy BanksNick DaviesEd Mawby

Simon SmewingTony NormanManek Dubash

Pelham House/David AndersonColin LloydCharlie DobresNigel AtkinsonPhil PickettPete Mobbs

Caroline Dorling

LEWESmusical expressLaunch Issue Summer 2013

Eimage LEneeta pedersen

David Anderson, Jackie Blackwell, Jack Carey, Bill Collison,Charles Croydon, Peter Finnigan, Thomas H. Green,

Paul Harrison, Andy How, Miles Jenner, Keane, Abbi Mawer, Andrew Mellor, Richard Norris, Veronique Poutrel, Rupert Selby, Stuart Still and Alec Swinburn.

Big thank you

19

To toast the launch of the Lewes Musical Express newspaper we’re treating you to a bottle of premium red or white wine

throughout July & August, 2013 (one bottle between 2 people when both

ordering a main)

Just show this to your waiter in Bill’s Lewes anytime after 5pm and we’ll do the rest

Enjoy a bottle of wine on us

01273 476 918