| 2005
ALL THE LATEST.... ## December 24th - The Canadian satellite radio channel
Galaxie have just published their "Top Spins of 2005", and their
"Folk/Roots" channel features only three UK acts in their
"international" (i.e. non-Canadian) section: Richard Thompson at number 3, Jez
Lowe and The Bad Pennies at number 23 and Old Blind Dogs at number 25. Full results at
www.galaxie.ca - fantastic news to end the year with!!!
## December 22nd - As Jez and
the band take to the hills for the Christmas break, we came up with some statistics - Jez
played a total of 145 gigs in 2005, including 56 solo shows ( a surprise to us that it was
so many) and 53 Bad Pennies shows, plus a dozen with Jake Walton, and a handful with James
Keelaghan. Amongst this total were 23 festival appearances, starting at last January's
Celtic Connections, and finishing at Bedworth in November. December has been the only
festival-free month of this year. This total excludes gigs by the rest of the band, such
as Kate's Sweetgrass tour, Andy's gigs with Simon Haworth and Sean's gigs with Diesel
Therapy and The Brakes (with Andy also). So, on to 2006, and around the world in 40
days!!!
## December 20th - SIGHT
RHYMES is now out in the UK - all copies sold mail order have now been mailed, hopefully
in time for Christmas. However, none were available at The Bad Pennies gigs in the West of
England last weekend (at which Jake Walton made a guest appearance, we hear...). There is
still time for copies to be sent by express mail in time for the weekend. The band are now
off the road until February ( excepting Celtic Connections) and Jez is out solo throughout
January. He also has further recording sessions for the BBC Radio Ballads programmes
coming up.
## December 12th - NEWS
BITS.... As we wait for the release of SIGHT RHYMES, Tantobie Records confirm that a North
American version will be available on the band's February US tour.... Boston's folk radio
station W-UMB has just published its top 100 folk acts for 2005, as voted for by their
listeners. Understandably dominated by US and Canadian performers, there is a handful of
UK entries - Richard Thompson at 9, Kate Rusby at 58, The Beatles (!) at 71, Jez Lowe at
83, Dougie MacLean at 84 and Sandy Denny at 87. See www.umb.org for the full list... The
link from this site to Jez's weekly Northern Echo newspaper column is no longer working,
though the column itself continues - this is being looked into.... Sessions for the Radio
Ballads BBC shows are set to resume in the New Year. It has been suggested to us that over
a dozen new songs by Jez are ear-marked for inclusion... Finally a cryptic note for anyone
attending Bad Pennies UK gigs in recent months. Two cows, named Biro and Bingo, were sent
to Africa with money from the pens sold at these shows.
## December 10th - SIGHT
RHYMES - the new DVD release from Tantobie Records is scheduled for release on December
19th, just in time for Christmas!! Close to the wire or what? The usual manufacturing
backlog at this time of year has meant that a delay was inevitable, but, as you will see
from the mail order page of this website, Tantobie are doing their best to respond to a
frighteningly HUGE amount of enquiries about the availability of SIGHT RHYMES before the
last posting date before the holiday. Please note, the disc is for PAL-compatible DVD
players only at this point - Region 2 - and the North American version will not be
available until the New Year. The film itself is great, we think, a 90 minute documentary
of on-stage, off-stage and archive footage, offering a unique insight into where the songs
of Jez Lowe have come from, and how The Bad Pennies have taken them around the world over
the last 15 years. It's a lot of fun, and tremendous value for money, we have to say.
## December 8th - Jez has
spent the week recording songs for the forthcoming BBC Radio project based on the
"Radio Ballads" series of the late 1950's. Seven hour-long shows will be aired
in late February 2006, and Jez is involved in several. This week's recording sessions had
Jez backed by John McCusker (whistle and violin), Andy Cutting (melodeon), Graham Taylor
(guitar) and John Tams and Barry Coope (vocals). No details yet on the subject of the
songs or the programmes. Others involved in the project include Dave Burland, Julie
Matthews, Kate Rusby and Karine Polwart. More recording will be taking place over the next
six weeks.
## December 4th - As we wait
to see whether the new Jez Lowe DVD SIGHT RHYMES will be released in time for Christmas,
we were given a sneak preview last Thursday... There are around a dozen live performances
from various places, including the Roslyn Chapel concert and the Compass Club in Whitby,
featuring songs like CURSED BE THE CALLER, GLAD RAGS AGAIN, OLD BONES, DOVER DELAWARE,
REGINA INSIDE and GREEK LIGHTNING. There is a solo version of THE BERGEN from an American
TV show, studio performances of YOU AND YOUR GOLDEN VANITY and DONNINNI DOOLALLY, plus
fascinating footage showing the history of The Bad Pennies, with lots of archive footage,
plus featurettes on the making of HONESTY BOX and DOOLALLY, and an "on the road"
feature, which cuts nicely from a famous UK bridge to a famous Australian one. The label
"scrapbook" belies the classy and entertaining 90 minute documentary, narrated
by Jez himself, which had us rivetted throughout. Watch this page for updates on
availability.
## November 26th - NEWS BITS -
Suddenly it's all happening - The Jez Lowe and The Bad Pennies DVD release is imminent, a
90 minute "Video scrapbook" of live performances, interviews, archive footage
and on-the-road hi-jinx, titled SIGHT RHYMES, and available soon!! Watch this space...
## The collaboration between
Jez and John Tams (and others) will be a BBC Radio series, based on Ewan MacColl's
pioneering programmes of the late 1950's, "The Radio Ballads". Jez is among
several writers who have come up with themed songs that will be presented in a
documentary-style show, based on MacColl's original format. According to a friendly bad
Penny, Jez's new songs are certainly worth hearing and recording begins on December 7th
for broadcast in March 2006.
Jez and Jake Walton finished
their reunion tour in the Scottish Borders last night, with the enterprise being
pronounced an unqualified success. They appear at the Radio Britfolk benefit concert in
Otley tomorrow night - this too will be broadcast next year at www.radiobritfolk.co.uk.
Jez is back with the band at Bedworth Festival today.
YOU HEARD ALL THIS HERE
FIRST!!!
## November 19th - Jez Lowe
and Jake Walton are on the road in the UK, together for the first time in 15 years. Here's
a set-list sent in from their gig in Byfleet, Surrey last Thursday night.. Set One -
BEYOND THE VALE / OLD BONES / MUSIC MAKERS / TODD'S DANCE - MONFARINA / GALLOWAYS / REIGN
OF THE FAIR MAID / LIMPING DRINKER'S POLKA / GALECIAN DANCE TUNES. Set Two - PATRIK'S SONG
/ GO AWAY JOE / SONG OF WANDERING AENGUS / APPLEBY GALLOP - BOUREE / LONG IRON / WEST WIND
/ YOU AND YOUR GOLDEN VANITY . Encore - WEAR YOUR LOVE LIKE HEAVEN. Have to say, not what
we were expecting, with as much new stuff as old Walton/Lowe material, but all were
equally received by this audience with great enthusiasm. The tour lasts another week
around the UK.
## November 14th - Set list
from Jez's solo gig last weekend in Wakefield includes SONG OF THE INDIAN LASS and OLD
HAMMERHEAD - interestingly, this was introduced as a new version of the song, re-written
specifically for a forthcoming BBC Radio series. This is probably a Radio Britfolk
project, not the BBC at all, but we'll keep you posted. Meanwhile ex-Bad Penny Jez Luton
showed up on a BBC TV programme last week, playing for Cornish holiday-makers.
## November 11th - Another
venue change - Next Monday's gig at Stirling Folk Club is now at the Aura Coffee bar at 51
King Street. Meanwhile Jez's current run of solo gigs will end in Wakefield on Saturday,
and the tour with Jake Walton startts next Wednesday in Banbury. In the meantime, Andy May
will be playing for Riverdance in Germany, Sean Taylor will be "in the studio"
and Kate Bramley will be back at Roslin Chapel near Edinburgh directing "A Christmas
Carol".
## November 7th - The venue
for Jez and Jake's gig on November 19th has changed to St Mary's Social Club, Batley,
Yorkshire. This and several other venue changes and updates have just been added to the
gig-list page. The tour of Holland in April 2006 is now confirmed, and details added also.
In case you missed it, by the way, the Bad Pennies track on Jez's last Radio Britfolk
programme (all still available on the archive of their website) was the medley of Felton
Lonnen and Here's the Tender Coming from Fellside's VOICES CD.
## November 1st - NEWS BITS
There's a special gig at
Cork's Wine Bar in Otley, North Yorkshire on November 27th, as a fundraiser for Radio
Britfolk, featuring Pete Coe, Kate Bramley, Steve Tilston, Phil Snell and Jake Walton and
Jez Lowe. The gig is being recorded for transmission on www.radiobritfolk.co.uk at a later
date.
Another cover version, and yet
another fine version of THE BERGEN, by Kirsten Gustafson, from Anchorage, Alaska, on her
new album "Land o' the Leal.
There are three new lyrics on
the SONGS page of this website - WORKING DIRTY, CLEVELAND IRON and MY BLOOD RUNNING - that
are not available elsewhere... along with all the lyrics to "Fighting The Tide",
including THE SUN AND THE MOON AND ME and ALL TRAWL, both of which have become concert
favourites.
## October 30th - Another set
list, Bad Pennies this time, from last night's gig in Chapeltown near Sheffield... and an
unusual list...SET ONE - WILL OF THE PEOPLE / OLD BONES (both Jez solo)/ GLAD RAGS /
CURSED BE THE CALLER / ANOTHER MAN'S WIFE / LONDON DANNY / IN MY TRADE / VIKINGS / ALIBI
CHILD / HARD LIFE FOR A ROVER // Set Two - LATCHKEY LOVER / SUGAR WATER SUNDAY / REGINA
INSIDE / KEEP THEM BAIRNS AWAY / ANDY'S TUNES / GULL'S EYE / HOI POLLOI / THE BERGEN /
BACK IN DURHAM GAOL / PROPPING // Encore - GREEK LIGHTNING.
## October 28th - Set list
from Jez's solo gig at The Cutty Wren folk club in North Yorkshire last night - Set One -
WILL OF THE PEOPLE / OLD BONES / ARMSTRONG'S ARMY / THE SUN AND THE MOON AND ME / ANOTHER
MAN'S WIFE / DONNINI DOOLALLY / GALLOWAYS / LAST OF THE WIDOWS / VIKINGS. Set Two - A SKIN
TOO THIN / IDLE TIME / THE BERGEN / BIG MEETING DAY / HAD AWAY GAN ON / GREEK LIGHTNING /
BLACK DIAMONDS - Encore - CALICO.
## October 24th - Lots of
enquiries (Christmas is coming) about the rumoured Bad Pennies DVD that was mentioned some
time ago. Nothing firm to report, except that it is HOPED that this item will be available
soon - it's not, as has been suggested, a mere "In Concert" film of the recent
Roslin Chapel gig, rather it is a "scrap-book" of old film, videos, photos,
interviews and more, with exclusive soundtrack recordings etc. Sounds a lot of fun.
Meanwhile, it is confirmed that the recording session that Jez did with James Keelaghan
last month was for the song MY BLOOD RUNNING, the Lowe/Keelaghan song that was such a big
hit on the pair's US Canadian gigs a few years back, and again last summer, though it was
left out of their gigs in Australia last year. We imagine that it will be released on the
forthcoming Keelaghan album. Also, some good reports from last weekend's Bad Pennies
shows, with a few additions to the set-list, notably a revival of IN MY TRADE from the
(sadly neglected) HONESTY BOX album. Finally, some big band gigs coming up, with some
tickets still available for next weekend's show at Newton Chambers Hall, near Sheffield,
which promises to be a blinder, plus a return to Dartford Folk Club next week, always a
highlight of the band's year. Some solo gigs for Jez coming up too - watch out for those
new songs he's slipping in - all details on the gig page of this site
## October 20th - NEWS BITS -
Jez and the band have been booked again for next January's Celtic Connections festival in
Glasgow, following their sell-out show at The Tron last time... Change of venue for Jez's
solo show at Marske folk club next week, now relocated to The Duke William in Skelton, up
in North Yorkshire... no more details on that John Tams rumour (see below)...
## October 15th - Jez Lowe and
The Bad Pennies return to The Davy Lamp tonight, the venue in North East England where
their double live CD was recorded back in 2000. The line-up of the band has changed since
then of course, though Kate joined the group later that year... We're expecting a gig
report and set list from this show in the next few days...a wild rumour reaches us
meanwhile, that Jez is working on a project with celebrated British folk hero John Tams!!!
No idea at this point what this might be, but it is frankly one of the most exciting
tit-bits of rumour that we've come across for some time. Once again we say, watch this
space...
## October 8th - NEWS BITS - A
bunch of cover-versions are on the way, including a take on OLD BONES by UK band
Isambarde, and a version of BIG MEETING DAY by a New Zealand band - more details when we
get them.
## Jez's final programme for
www.radiobritfolk.co.uk will on their site from next week, and will maybe include a
"rare" Bad Pennies track, the first time Jez has included one of his own
recordings in what seems to have been a popular series.
## There'll be a special
fund-raising gig for Radio Britfolk on November 27th in Otley, Yorkshire, featuring a
bunch of performers actively involved in the project, including a solo set from kate
Bramley and a set by Jez and Jake Walton - watch the gig-list on this site for details.
## October 5th - Jez and the
band played a "live" acoustic set on W-PKN radio from Bridgeport Connecticut
last night, an hour-long selection of songs from their current stage set. They have three
more US shows before heading home to the UK early next week.
## September 30th - An
interview with Jez, recorded at Niagra Falls (!!) last night, will be broadcast on the web
at www.wbfo.org at 7pm East Coast time tomorrow, Saturday, courtesy of American local
radio station W-BFO. The programme is called Celtic Kaleidescope. It is to promote a
benefit concert this coming Monday, featuring The Bad Pennies, in aid of Niagra Falls
School of Music.
## September 29th - The
set-list from the Bad Pennies' gig in Louisville Kentucky last night included a few
surprises, including band versions of VIKINGS, OLD BONES and Kate's own song WALKING HOME.
They were joined at various points during the show by local percussionist Paul Whitty.
Thanks to Jenny for sending this info. The band are now heading to Canada for this
weekend's Brandford Folk Festival.
## September 24th - Jez and
the Bad Pennies have started their short North American tour with an appearance at the
Cincinnati Celtic Music Festival in Ohio, where Jez last appeared solo in 2001. They move
on south to Kentucky later this week, then head to Brandford Festival in Ontario next
weekend. All dates are up on the gig-list page of this site. There are several radio slots
along the way, many of which are available on-line - we'll try and give advanced warning
of these as and when. Meanwhile, Kate Bramley's latest programme at
www.radiobritfolk.co.uk starts this coming Monday, with Jez's next show following a week
later. Also, watch out for Sean Taylor's guest-slot on bass on the forthcoming new album
by Vin Garbutt, due on October 6th.
## September 18th - NEWS BITS
- The recording session that Jez did two weeks ago with James Keelaghan was for the
latter's forthcoming solo album, due next year... Andy May was also in the studio this
last week, recording music for the BBC TV series "Distant Shores", along with
Danny Thompson, Maartin Allcock and Peter Knight.... A cover version - Peter Collins has
THE NEW MOON'S ARMS by Jez and Bev Sanders on his new album... The Bad Pennies are still
on the road , with a couple of solo gigs for Jez at Croxdale and Gainsborough this week,
before they head off to Cincinnatti Festival next weekend - see gig-list page.
## September 6th - The Bad
Pennies played as a FIVE piece last weekend at the Dunstable Folk Festival, with Jez,
Kate, Andy and Sean joined by percussionist Cormac Byrne from the band Uiscedwr - he was
due to play with them last month at Trowbridge, but had to miss that one at the last
minute, but was in fine form last Saturday, and helped the band along in a three encore,
hour-long set. Judging by all the emails we've had since, it's to be hoped that there'll
be more of this in the future! Meanwhile, more excitement, with the news that at this very
moment, Jez is in a recording studio with James Keelaghan, who is currently on a UK tour.
More details on that tasty tit-bit when we have them!
## September 2nd - This
website has had a bit of an overhaul - more details of upcoming shows on the gig-list
(including a solo concert on September 21st at Castlehills Community College in
Gainsborough, Lincs that was previously unlisted!), with full information on the North
American tour at the end of this month. New photos on the "pinboard" page too.
Also, there are three Jez Lowe LPs on ebay this week, GALLOWAYS, OLD DURHAM ROAD and BAD
PENNY - collectors items, it has to be said!
## August 31st Two gig reports
- First from John Langan of Oxford - "Couldn't believe the Bad Pennies' set at
Towersey on Friday night. Although a long-time admirer of both Jez solo and with the band,
I was astounded at what a hard-hitting, powerful unit hit the stage and never let up for
the entire set. They were the most energetic and original act all weekend. I just can't
get over it." Second from John Radistock of Swindon - " Great one-man show from
Jez at Malmesbury Town Hall last night, despite the heat. Songs from right across his long
career, (when is he going to record the new one he started with, it was really great?)
with three highlights being a great Donnini, a rocky Skin Too Thin and a heart-breaking
Too up and too down which made me rush to buy the album afterwards. He managed to change a
sizeable hall into an intimate club atmosphere. Is it true he has moved to the south west
to live?" Thanks to both Johns for reporting.
## August 25th - NEWS BITS
## Radio Britfolk will run
part 4 of Jez's series A CALL FOR THE NORTH COUNTRY starting next Monday. There's a link
on the front page of this site direct to Radio Britfolk. Although Jez is not playing any
of his own records in the series, there's a chance that the very last episode in a few
weeks will include a rare Bad Pennies track to round things off, according to the upcoming
edition of Folk On Tap magazine.
##If you were impressed by Tom
McGuinness's artwork on the new TENTERHOOKS CD, don't forget his exhibition is still
running at Bishop Auckland Town Hall. Another artist, Anthea Gage, has an online
exhibition at www.antheagage.co.uk that includes a piece of work inspired by Jez's song
THE BERGEN, that is worth checking out
##The summer festival routine
of hectic weekends followed by weekdays of vanishing without trace (or to Jake Walton's
place in Cornwall at any rate) continues with the Bad Pennies' first appearance at
Towersey Village Festival this weekend, since 1997.
## August 22nd - Last night's
concert at the Roslin Chapel livd up to its promise - an AMAZING venue, with Jez and The
Bad Pennies in good form. The whole thing was filmed and recorded, though no specific news
on what the footage will be used for. Meanwhile another superlative review for TENTERHOOKS
to be found at www.folking.com
## August 19th - NEWS BITS
##Excitement building for the
Bad Pennies' Roslin Chapel gig on Sunday, with an appearance at Marymass festival the day
before. The Roslin show will be videoed, as was previously reported. Tickets can still be
reserved by emailing jez@jezlowe.com
A build-up also to the Jez
& Jake tour in November - the two men are rehearsing this week, and we've heard a
preview!! If you were expecting a mere re-run of old songs and a few solo numbers, you're
going to be surprised...
## www.radiobritfolk.co.uk
will have the next programme in Jez's CALL FOR THE NORTH COUNTRY series up and running
soon, maybe next week, with lots of other good stuff to check out too. The feature on Nick
Drake was especially illuminating.
##Copies of TENTERHOOKS - THE
ART EDITION are being sent out to US radio stations later this week, and the album is now
available on-line to US buyers. Australia soon...
## August 17th - The good
people who run the box-office at Roslin Chapel have let us have another batch of tickets
for next Sunday's Bad Pennies' concert at this amazing venue, just south of Edinburgh.
Email jez@jezlowe.com to reserve tickets or to get details of buying on-line or by post.
Also in Scotland, THE SCOTSMAN daily newspaper ran a GREAT review of the new TENTERHOOKS -
THE ART EDITION CD last Monday, though calling it Jez's best ever album caused some
dissention here at The Midnight Mail....
## August 14th - Jez's solo
concert at Bishop Auckland Town Hall last Friday was a sell-out, and was touted as the
official launch of the new TENTERHOOKS re-issue. Artist Tom McGuinness, who's work is
included in the CD booklet (and who was in the audience) has an exhibition running at the
Town hall for the next few weeks, and which is quite enthralling. As well as copies of the
new album, it was noted by our correspondent that copies of a Bad Pennies promo CD, with
five "live" tracks, were also on sale. Some interesting stuff currently being
offered on ebay too, including a copy of the 1983 LP THE OLD DURHAM ROAD, and an
autographed postcard...
## August 12th - NEWS BITS -
Jez Lowe has a rare solo gig tomorrow (Friday 12th)at Bishop Auckland Town Hall, County
Durham. It's an unofficial launch of the new CD, TENTERHOOKS - THE ART EDITION, and
coincides with an exhibition at the same venue, of the work of local artist Tom
McGuinness, who's pictures are included in the CD booklet. The CD itself is getting some
airplay, now that promo copies are starting to filter through, both in the UK and in North
America.
## The Bad Pennies join Jez
for two appearances at Saltburn Festival on Saturday. All the festival performances are
being recorded for a special album, to be released later in the year.
## Channel 4 TV in England
broadcast a programme earlier this week, highlighting the "best" and
"worst" places to live in the UK. We're not sure what criterea was used to
determine the results, but Jez's hometown of Easington came tenth in the latter category,
with its only saving grace being that the movie "Billy Elliott" was filmed
there. We Beg to differ!!!!!!!
## August 5th - Only a very
few tickets left for the Roslin Chapel concert on August 21st. As it's part of the
Edinburgh Fringe Festival, things are getting pretty busy, but see the CD page of this
site for info on how to get tickets, and be featured in the film of the concert! Meanwhile
there are no festival appearances scheduled for Jez and the band this weekend. Andy is at
the Folkworks Durham Summer School (all this week), Kate is in Edinburgh directing the
play "The Apprentice", Sean is at home with the new baby, and Jez is with Jake
Walton in Cornwall. A very busy time looms on the horizon, however...
## July 31st - Congratulations
to Bad Pennies' bass-player Sean Taylor and his partner Sarah, on the birth of their
second son, Oscar, over the weekend. All are doing fine. Sean's fatherly duties meant he
was unable to accompany the band to their two festival gigs, at Hardraw on Saturday, where
his place was taken by the man he replaced, Simon Haworth, and at the group's sell-out
show at Sidmouth on Saturday, where the stand-in was the man that Simon replaced back in
1998, Jez Luton! In fact the Bedfoed Hotel in Sidmouth was the place where Mr. Luton made
his final bow with the group exactly seven years ago, so it was somewhat ironic that he
should re-appear on that very same stage in their hour of need. Both deputy bass-players
came away with full marks and much gratitude - Sean will be back at his post in time for
Saltburn festival in a couple of weeks.
## July 27th - According to
Tantobie Records, it seems likely that the Roslyn Chapel concert on August 21st will be
filme for a proposed commercial DVD release later this year. Anyone who wants to be in the
audience, and therefore in the film, should get their tickets now!! It looks like being
quite a show in a spectacular venue!!! More on this as we get it.... In the meantime, Jez
and the Bad Pennies follow a well-received set at last weekend's Trowbridge Festival with
their first visit to Sidmouth Festival for seven years with a concert next Saturday. They
are also at the Hardraw Festival in North Yorkshire the previous evening.
Two corrections - Cormac Byrne
did not appear with the band at Trowbridge after all, but could possibly be included in
the line-up at a later date. Also, The Guardian did not have a piece on radio Britfolk
after all - no reason given for that.
## July 22nd - NEWS BITS -
Those who pre-ordered their copy of TENTERHOOKS - THA ART EDITION should have received
their copy by now. It's been pointed out that the tracks from BANNERS have been remixed
with Jez taking lead vocal on most of them, which was not the case on the original BANNERS
CD in 1994. It seems that it is Jez's original "guide-vocals" that have been
brought to prominence at the re-mixing and remastering stage. Jac Howard is credited as
lead vocalist on "Weave and Worry", which has different lyrics from the Bad
Pennies' version on LIVE AT THE DAVY LAMP. Tantobie Records point out that copies are
available world-wide from the on-line ordering page of this website.
## Jez and The Bad Pennies are
at Trowbridge Festival this weekend, with Cormac Byrne from the band Uiscwdur guesting on
percussion. Rehearsals have been taking place over the last couple of weeks.
## The Roslin Chapel gig on
August 21st is attracting a lot of attention, but there are still tickets available, again
available on-line from the CD page on this site.
## An extra gig this week for
the Bad Pennies, on Tuesday at Newcastle's Tall Ships Festival. Andy and Sean's band The
Brakes are also appearing.
## At www.radiobritfolk.co.uk
you can currently hear part 2 of Jez's CAL FOR THE NORTH COUNTRY show, and part 1 of
Kate's series A SENSE OF PLACE. Britfolk Radio is spotlighted next Monday in the UK
newspaper The Guardian, by the way, as part of it's Media Section.
## July 17th - IT'S OUT
ALREADY!!! Tantobie Records are now mailing out pre-orders and review copies of
TENTERHOOKS - THE ART EDITION - the album's official release date is actually August 8th,
but copies are now available from this website, and by sending a cheque for £12.50 (made
payable to LOWE LIFE MUSIC)to PO Box 25, Peterlee, County Durham SR8 3SX UK. The album
will be available outside the UK in a couple of weeks, but can still be bought on-line
from the CD page of this website. There's almost 80 minutes of music on the CD, sounding
amazing after the re-mastering, with a great full-colour booklet, including lyrics, notes
and some amazing artwork. All in all a great addition to the Tantobie catalogue.
## July 12 - TENTERHOOKS - THE
ART EDITION PRESS RELEASE - Tantobie Records TTRCD 106 - 805397010621 Street date 8th
August 2005 - Tantobie Records continue their re-issue series of Jez Lowe's back catalogue
with the release of TENTERHOOKS - THE ART EDITION, a deluxe package featuring Jez's 1996
album, originally available on the American label Green Linnet, now presented with special
new art-work by esteemed County Durham artist Tom McGuinness. The new edition comes with
no less than SIX bonus tracks, taken from Jez's 1994 album-project BANNERS, commissioned
by East Durham Arts Council as a celebration of the region's coal mining heritage, written
and produced by Jez, with around 200 local musicians from every stylistic background. Long
unavailable, BANNERS was hailed as "one of the folk albums of the decade" by the
Daily Telegraph in 1999. TENTERHOOKS was given a four-star review in "Q"
Magazine upon its release in 1996, and Tom McGuinness's work has earned him an
international reputation as one of the leading artists of our time. TENTERHOOKS - THE ART
EDITION is a unique collection and a worthy addition to Tantobie Records ever expanding
catalogue of work by Jez Lowe.
## July 9th - NEWS BITS - Jez
was at the Durham Miners gala today (Big Meeting Day) where he performed with Benny Graham
on melodeon and Chuck Fleming on fiddle - songs were BLACK DIAMONDS, HIGH PART OF THE
TOWN, LAST OF THE WIDOWS, BACK IN DURHAM GAOL (Durham prison actually overlooks the site
of the gala!) and THESE COAL TOWN DAYS. The trio performed "ensemble" for around
three hours as the banners and brass bands arrived for the celebrations.
## Michael Black (brother of
Irish songstress Mary Black) has recorded YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU WHEN YOU GO (by Jez
and Bev Sanders) on his upcoming new solo CD, we hear. More details as and when...
## The debut gig by Andy and
Sean's band The Brakes, last weekend at washington Kite Festival, was very well received.
The Brakes will join Jez and The Bad Pennies at the Tyneside TALL SHIPS FESTIVAL in
August, details soon...
Kate Bramley has relocated to
Edinburgh for the duration of the Fringe Festival, where she is directing a play called
THE APPRENTICE at Roslin Chapel, near Penecuik. The Bad Pennies are set to play a concert
at this same venue on August 21st - tickets still available from the CD page of this very
website!!!!
## July 5th - This Saturday is
Durham Big Meeting ("It's only once a year....") and Jez will be playing in the
market square from around 9.30 in the morning (!) along with Benny Graham, Johnny Handle
and Chuck Fleming. They'll all be providing music as the brass bands are getting prepared
prior to marching across the city to the riverside, as well as at other locations
throughout the day.
## July 2nd - Radio Britfolk -
a new internet station operated and produced by a collection of leading UK folk
performers, is up and running at www.radiobritfolk.co.uk, and the first programme is part
one of Jez's series A CALL FOR THE NORTH COUNTRY. There will be seven shows in Jez's
series altogether, along with programmes by other performers involved, including Kate
Bramley, who's show is to start in a few weeks time. Jez's programme will feature a
collection of songs old and new, from North East England, performed by many of that
region's leading acts (though NOT Jez himself) like Vin Garbutt, Bob Fox, Marie Little,
Johnny Handle, Kathryn Tickell, Lindisfarne, The Witches of Elswick, Alex Glasgow, Nancy
Kerr, and many, many more. There's lots more great stuff on Radio britfolk, so check it
out
## The CD page of this site
has details (including the cover artwork) of TENTERHOOKS - THE ART EDITION, and how to
order a copy in advance - take a peek!
## June 30th - Jez was
interviewed yesterday on Sacramento radio station K-XJC, and the entire interview, which
is around one hour long and includes four live performances, is currently available
on-line at www.capradio.org. Look for the programme called INSIGHT, and follow the links
to a photo of Jez and click on "Listen here". The interview took place just
before Jez's two-hour performance/workshop/lecture at Sacramento University.
## June 27th - NEWS BITS .....
The Sunderland Kite Festival takes place this coming weekend at Washington, in North East
England. Not only does it see the debut of Sean and Andy's new band The Brakes on Sunday,
but Jez will be back in the UK just in time for a Bad Pennies' show on Saturday afternoon.
Both events are free, and there's much more music going on around the site too. Meanwhile
Jez and James Keelaghan are still in California, recovering from last weekend's Kate Wolf
Memorial Festival, which as well as playing their own main-stage duo sets, saw them
on-stage with John McCutcheon and socialising with The Duhks - photos are promised! There
are two more US gigs for them this week, before Jez heads home. The Lowe/Keelaghan
composition MY BLOOD RUNNING seems likely to be included on James's next album, due early
next year.
## June 23rd - Report from Jez
Lowe/James Keelaghan gig in San Francisco last night - at The Freight and Salvage,
Berkeley, California. (All titles duets unless stated)- First Set - HILLCREST MINE-BLACK
DIAMONDS MEDLEY ~ MY SKIES ~ DREAM OF STEAM AND FREEDOM ~ HARVEST TRAIN ~ DOVER, DELAWARE
~ SWEET MISSOURI WATER (James solo) ~ VIKINGS (Jez solo) ~ OLD BONES ~ GLADYS RIDGE -
Second set MY BLOOD RUNNING (co-written song by Jez and James)~ RED RIVER ~ THE BERGEN ~
TIME WE LEFT TOWN ~ GULL'S EYE (Jez solo) ~ FIRES OF CALAIS (James solo) ~TOM TOM ~ I
WOULD I WERE ~ YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU - Encore - MIRABEAU BRIDGE. "Gig seemingly
enjoyed by both audience and performers equally!" Thanks to Dorothy Harrison for
sending this in.
## June 21st - While Jez is in
America with Keelaghan, the rest of the Bad Pennies are far from idle. Sean is gigging
around North East England with Los Twangeros and Diesel Therapy, and is soon to be
featured on the forthcoming album from Vin Garbutt. Andy is in Denmark working with a
bunch of young Danish musicians , and both he and Sean are limbering up for their debut
with The Brakes in a couple of weeks. Kate meanwhile is preparing for a summer's residence
at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where she'll be directing a play called "The
Apprentice". Meanwhile, Jez has a solo appearance at Durham Big Meeting ("It's
only once a year...") on Saturday July 9th, along with two of his heroes, Johnny
Handle and Benny Graham. They'll all be playing as the brass bands set up in the market
square from 10am.
## June 19th - Jez and The Bad
Pennies are at Middlewich Festival in Cheshire, England this weekend, before Jez zooms off
for gigs with James Keelaghan in California, starting at The Freight and Salvage in
Berkeley on Wednesday - tickets still available, see our gig-list for contact details for
this and other US gigs this month . It will be the last jez and James gigs for a while,
due to both men being so busy elsewhere in the near future, so catch them while you can.
Meanwhile, Jez's series on Radio britfolk is now officially called A CALL FOR THE NORTH
COUNTRY, and the first installment, entitled "North Country Voices" will be
aired from July 1st - watch this space! Finally, Jez was among around one thousand people
who last Friday morning, attended the funeral of Joe Scurfield, leader of the amazing
Newcastle-based group The Old Rope String Band. Joe died in a hit and run incident in
Newcastle last week. Check out www.oldropestringband.com for tributes and messages.
## June 15th -NEWS BITS
##There's a new internet radio
station starting on July 1st, based here in the UK and dealing entirely with folk music in
all its various forms, but of course available all around the world on-line. Jez is among
many UK folk performers involved, to the extent that he will be presenting a series
devoted to the music of North east england, and featuring the many local performers from
his neck of the woods. It is a follow-up to his very successful BBC Radio 2 show A SONG
FOR GEORDIE, broadcast in 1999. Excitement is building about this new radio station, and
we hope to have more info about it in the run-up to its official launch.
##The new CD TENTERHOOKS-THE
ART EDITION is almost ready - we have seen the booklet, which comes with a lovely little
cameo on the front, of a couple in an old-fashioned bar-room looking out at us in a
somewhat non-curious manner. There are other great pictures by artist Tom McGuinness
throughout, plus period photos of Jez and of the old Bad Pennies line-up inside. There are
no fewer than EIGHTEEN tracks on the CD, though we haven't heard the full thing yet
##Our spies are everywhere!!
Someone identifying themselves as "a Mike Silver fan" spotted Jez and Jake
Walton in a bookshop in Tintagel, Cornwall, last Monday morning. When challenged, Jez
identified himself as "Jake" and introduced Jake as "Jez"... you get
the picture...
## Fellside Records have
released 50 copies of Jez's 1993 album 'Bede Weeps' and these are now available from the
cd page priced £12......
## June 8th - Tantobie Records
inform us that Jez's albums HONESTY BOX, DOOLALLY and PARISH NOTICES - ART EDITION are now
available via Apple I-Tunes as downloads, either as whole albums or as individual tracks.
This is quite a coup, as I-Tunes current folk choice is very limited, and the potential
for expanding Jez's listening audience is quite considerable. Meanwhile TENTERHOOKS - THE
ART EDITION is still scheduled for an early August release. The art-work is currently in
the hands of Bryan Ledgard, who was responsible for the DOOLALLY booklet. Jez himself is
still on the road doing solo gigs in England.
## June 5th - Jez's set-list
from a solo gig at Wickersley, South Yorkshire last night, sent in by Susan Troughton -
SET ONE - A SKIN TOO THIN, OLD BONES, A SMALL COAL SONG, LATCHKEY LOVER, YANKEE BOOTS,
BALLAD OF TASKER JACK, VIKINGS. SET TWO - WILL OF THE PEOPLE, GULL'S EYE, DONNINI
DOOLALLY, HAD AWAY GAN ON, GALLOWAYS, THE BIG FEAR, YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU. Encore -
BAIT UP.
Jez is due to be interviewed
by Tim Moon on West Yorkshire Radio station BCB 96.7 FM tomorrow (Monday) at 8.15pm,
probably by telephone, as he's somewhere on the South Coast at the moment, we're told.
## June 3rd - Two new music
books feature Jez prominently and in famous company. Celebrated British journalist Colin
Irwin has just published IN SEARCH OF ALBION, with best part of a page devoted to Jez,
following an interview late last year. Another well-known UK music writer John Tobler is
about to release his NORTH STARS tome, which has a full chapter on Jez. More details when
we get them about these two publications
## June 1st – News
bits… As well as gigs with James Keelaghan in California later this month, Jez has
also been invited to deliver a lecture at the University of California in Davis, near
Sacramento, about his writing and the industrial heritage of North East England. Very
impressive, you have to admit, and it may even be open to the public, so watch this
space….## Lowe Life Music is trying to track down recent cover versions of Jez Lowe
songs in Australia, namely GALLOWAYS and ALICE (we’d like to hear that one too, our
favourite track from BRIEFLY ON THE STREET). Anyone who can help contact jez@jezlowe.com
…..## TENTERHOOKS – THE ART EDITION comes in at two seconds under the 80 minute
CD high water mark, according to those in the know. We hope to get our preview copy later
this week…. ## Sean and Andy’s pet project The Brakes gets a high recommendation
from Jez in his upcoming GEORDIEWATCH column for the English magazine Folk On Tap, due
soon… ## Kate is directing a play all this summer at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival,
more details of which will appear here soon. It will be her first foray into theatre work
for a couple of years. She’ll be commuting to the band’s festival gigs
throughout July and August…
## May 29th - The two
set-lists we have received for Bad Pennies shows this weekend, in Liverpool and Scotland,
include two of Jez's earliest songs which have been treated to new band arrangements,
these being CURSED BE THE CALLER and A HARD LIFE, both released on the 1983 album THE OLD
DURHAM ROAD (now deleted) but part of Jez's solo repertoire from his earliest gigs in
1980! Not much from DOOLALLY in these recent sets, we notice, only SUGAR WATER SUNDAY,
REGINA INSIDE and GULL'S EYE (what, no VIKINGS?). Meanwhile the latest monthly newsletter
from Jez hints that the forthcoming tracks from BANNERS, to be included on the TENTERHOOKS
ART EDITION re-issue, will have Jez on lead vocals on more songs than on the original CD
release. His original vocal tracks, used as a guide for the guest singers in 1994, may
have been restored in the remixing process.
## May 25th - BANNERS returns
… Tantobie Records have acquired the rights to Jez’s 1994 CD BANNERS, and five
songs from the album will be included as bonus tracks on the forthcoming re-release of
TENTERHOOKS – THE ART EDITION. These are SLOGANS OF LABOUR, WEAVE AND WORRY, BIG
MEETING DAY, EVERLASTING DRUM and A LONG WALK HOME. All have been re-mixed from the
original tapes. The album itself came out on the EDC label in 1994, and has been
unavailable for years, though a couple of the songs were re-recorded for LIVE AT THE DAVY
LAMP and on the LOWE LIFE 5-track single.
## The decision to include the
BANNERS tracks is a bit of a surprise, as a mere month ago an American radio station
played a couple of what they said were out-takes from the TENTERHOOKS album that were to
be featured as the bonus cuts on the re-issue. These were CHILDREN OF BOLIVIA and a solo
version of SONS OF THE CENTURY from a 1994 BBC radio programme. It is thought that getting
clearance to use some of this out-take material was threatening to delay the project, and
then coincidentally word came through that Northern Recording Studios, where BANNERS was
recorded, was closing down, and all the old multi-track reels were being dumped. The
master-tapes were rescued at the last minute apparently, days after Jez got back from
America, and the decision was taken to use these instead.
## May 23rd - Note a new solo
gig for Jez on June 2nd at Lewes Folk Club on the south coast of England, a replacement
for the cancelled show at Broadstairs the day before. Jez is in the studio completing work
on TENTERHOOKS - THE ART EDITION. We should have the Tantobie press-release on the final
track-listing for this release later this week. Note also that he'll be doing an interview
with Tim Moon for his radio show on Monday June 6th - more details to follow. There are a
bunch of Bad Pennies gigs this week, including Cleethorpes Festival, before the band lies
low for much of June as Jez does his solo stint.
## May 17th - Advance tickets
are now on sale for the Bad Pennies' Edinburgh Festival gig on August 21st at The Roslin
Chapel near Penecuik, as featured in the novel THE DAVINCI CODE. There are only 100
available (and quite a few have already been snapped up), so anyone interested can get
more info by emailing jez@jezlowe.com as soon as possible. All tickets are £10 each .
## May 15th Another set-list,
from The Bad Pennies' gig at Stourport last Friday - Set One - SUGAR WATER SUNDAY, ANOTHER
MAN'S WIFE, THESE COAL TOWN DAYS, HOI POLLOI, DOVER, DELAWARE, VIKINGS, REGINA INSIDE,
HIGH PART OF THE TOWN. Set Two - BACK IN DURHAM GAOL, CURSED BE THE CALLER, GULL'S EYE,
ALIBI CHILD, ANDY'S TUNES, KID CANUTE, GREEK LIGHTNING, TOM TOM, PROPPING. Encores - YOU
CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU and LONDON DANNY. Thanks to "Prendergastly" for sending
that in. First time band versions of VIKINGS and CURSED BE THE CALLER, we notice. We also
got the US Radio playlists for last month, and notice VIKINGS getting an amazing number of
plays during Jez's recent tour.
## May 13th - Jez is featured
on the brand new CD by North East based singer Marie Little, released this week on the
Greenage label. He's credited as playing "second guitar" on three tracks. It's
not known when or where these were recorded. Jez also appeared on a couple of Marie's
earlier albums.
## May 9th - Last Friday's Bad
Pennies' gig at Whitby Compass Club was filmed and you can now see a performance of SONS
OF THE CENTURY from this show by clicking on the link on the main page of this website,
which will take you to www.whitby.tv/compassclub/benjez.htm with lots of other good stuff
to look at too.
## May 8th - Jez's publishing
company, Lowe Life Music, tells us that his instrumental piece HOMEFIRES has been used
lately on the BBC 1 TV programme "Country File" as incidental music. For
non-British readers, this is a documantary-style programme about animals and life in the
British countryside, not about country music! Whether the version used is the TENTERHOOKS
version or the original from the long-deleted BANNERS album, it is not known. The same
music was used on another BBC TV show years ago, we seem to recall.
## May 6th - THE BRAKES is a
new part-time Newcastle-based band featuring Andy and Sean from The Bad Pennies along with
five other musicians, including members of The Kathryn Tickell Band, and they will make
their debut at the Sunderland Kite festival on July 3rd. "Folk-funk" is how they
describe their music, and their appearances will no doubt be rare, due to their
commitments with Jez's and Kathryn's bands, but we'll certainly be announcing them here
whenever they happen. Jez had a sneek preview of a rehearsal, and described them as
"Moving Hearts on Newcastle Brown Ale! Excellent!" Watch this space... .
## May 4th - Some more from
Tantobie Records on the upcoming TENTERHOOKS reissue. The album will be mastered next week
at The Audio Loft by Ron Angus, who also did DOOLALLY's mastering job. There should be
FIVE bonus tracks, though exactly what they are, no-one is letting on. There is much
behind-the-scenes shenanigans over these, we gather. The artwork, as previously announced,
will be by Tom McGuinness. The album will be launched at a Jez Lowe solo show at Bishop
Auckland Town Hall in early August that coincides with a McGuinness exhibition at that
same venue. Meanwhile, check out the new Tantobie page on this website, with some
interesting background info about the label.
## May 2nd - The Bad Pennies
were back in full-swing at Wath last night - the first BAND version of GULL'S EYE in the
set, we hear, and Jez showing little sign of wear and tear after the gruelling US tour,
with the band on top form.
## See the CD page on this
site for some special offers on mail-order CDs, including PARISH NOTICES and the newly
available GALLOWAYS.
## Kate plays a rare solo gig
at Whitby Yacht Club on May 7th, the day after the Bad Pennies gig in Whitby (see gig
page).
## April 30th - Jez completed
this long US tour last night in Dallas Texas, with a reportedly 100 minute long set at
Uncle Calvin's, with the following set-list - WILL OF THE PEOPLE / OLD BONES / LONDON
DANNY / LATCHKEY LOVER / GULL'S EYE / DONNINI DOOLALLY / HIGH PART OF THE TOWN / SONG OF
THE INDIAN LASS / VIKINGS / MILITARY ROAD / ANOTHER MAN'S WIFE / TENTERHOOKS / YOU CAN'T
TAKE IT WITH YOU / TOM TOM. What exactly that opening song was, we have no way of
knowing... He flies back to appear with the Bad Pennies at Wath Festival in England on
Sunday.
## April 25th - We hear from
Tantobie Records that Northern Recording Studios in Consett, County Durham will close for
good at the end of this week. This is very sad news indeed, as they have provided a good
service to the North East England music scene for many years, having been started by a
bunch of redundant steelworkers /part-time musicians in the mid-1980's. Jez recorded there
many times, including sessions for BANNERS, mixing for LIVE AT THE DAVY LAMP and as
recently as last year, the entire DOOLALLY album was recorded there. Other folk artists
who were regulars include Bob Fox, Jed Grimes, and many more.
## A set-list sent in from
yesterday's show at The Flying Cloud in Toronoto, Canada, includes CALL FOR THE NORTH
COUNTRY, THE BIG FEAR, GULL'S EYE, a rare solo BACK IN DURHAM GAOL and an encore of the
late Cyril Tawney's GREY FUNNEL LINE. Thanks to Alun Davis for sending that in.
## April 24th A new cover
version to report - Canadian band Atlantic Union have their version of Jez's VIKINGS on
their new CD "The Whole Dance", released by Blue Island Records. Jez himself
plays Toronto tonight, moving on to Westport and Ottowa, before heading back down to the
USA to complete this long, long tour.
## April 23rd - Among the list
of new gigs about to be added to the tour list page on this site, one very interesting
date caught our eye, especially for those of you who have read the novel THE DA VINCI
CODE.... Jez Lowe and The Bad Pennies will be in concert at Roslin Chapel in Scotland on
August 21st, as part of the Edinburgh festival. This venue figures prominently in this
book.
## Very sad to hear of the
passing of English folk songwriter Cyril Tawney yesterday. The writer of songs like GREY
FUNNEL LINE and SALLY FREE AND EASY was very encouraging to Jez when he was first starting
to write songs. A sad loss.
## April 21st - From Joan
Freeman in Massacheusetts we learn that Jez played the following songs on W-UMB radio in
Boston yesterday - I SAW HANDS, CALICO, DOVER,DELAWARE, and VIKINGS. He was at a concert
in Boston the night before seeing Canadian band The Duhks (who have DOVER, DELAWARE on
their new album). The W-UMB broadcast should be on their website archive soon.
## April 19th - more on those
promo CDs currently doing the rounds in America during Jez's tour. there seems to be THREE
altogether, one from booking agent Nancy Carlin, featuring 5 tracks lifted from DOOLALLY,
a recent "live" compilation with SUGAR WATER SUNDAY, REGINA, WORKING DIRTY,
ALOYSIUS and DOVER, DELAWARE, and an older "live" set with SUGAR WATER SUNDAY,
REGINA , TEARDROP TWO STEP and GREEK LIGHTNING. It was this last one that was being sold
earlier in the tour at Jez's gigs, but seems to have been withdrawn after a week or so.
Lots of people had asked about this, so now you know what we know.
## April 17th - Jez is in
California this weekend, before heading back to the East Coast in mid-week to start the
next leg of this mammoth tour with a lunchtime appearance on Boston's W-UMB Radio on
Wednesday. Advance notice that his first UK gig with The Bad Pennies on his return to the
UK is at Wath Festival on May 1st, where the band have been asked to appear at the end of
the final concert, due to Vin Garbutt having to cancel due to his current illness (Get
well soon Vin!). Meanwhile Tantobie Records say that copies of GALLOWAYS will be available
from the CD page of this site mail order from May 1st.
## April 13th Various bits -
## Jez was recently nominated
for best songwriter in the Indie Acoustic Project awards in the US. Well, he didn't win.
Congrats to those who did, all of whom are US acts unknown to us.
Jez's gig in Broadstairs next
month is OFF - the venue has sadly had to close.
##Jez was at the great Johnny
D's in Boston last night, and the set-list from Judy and Mike Flanagan (thanks) is pretty
much as the one below, with the addition of TASKER JACK, TENTERHOOKS, and the inclusion of
GULL'S EYE in the main set. MILITARY ROAD is still included. Jez got the audience to
applaud UK singer-songwriter Kirsty Magee, who was in the audience.
## April 10th - Just a
reminder that Jez is at Johnny D's in Somerville near Boston Mass., THIS Tuesday 12th, not
a week later as previously announced. The Jammin' Java gig originally set for that date is
now cancelled. The radio appearance on W-DIY in Bethlehem PA this coming Wednesday is also
postponed due to this scheduling change. Jez is in Virginia tonight and Delaware tomorrow
- see gig page on this site for full details. Back in England Andy May and Simon Haworth
have some duo gigs coming up this month (Guisborough Globe on April 15th for example) and
details of Kate Bramley's US tour are below. Sean Taylor is also gigging in the UK, and
we'll try and find some details of those before too long.
## April 9th - Set list for
Jez Lowe's solo concert at The Fiddle and Bow, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, last night -
GLAD RAGS AGAIN / OLD BONES / LONDON DANNY / LATCHKEY LOVER / DONNINI DOOLALLY / HIGH PART
OF THE TOWN / DOVER,DELAWARE / VIKINGS / PROPPING / MILITARY ROAD / BALLAD OF TASKER JACK
/ SPITTING COUSINS / LAST OF THE WIDOWS / BLACK DIAMONDS / GULL'S EYE - Jez did a 20
minute phone-in interview with Erica Funke for a Pennsylvania radio station during the
week, centred around the new 4-track promo CD which has been sent out to promote the
current US tour.
## April 7th - Dates for Kate
Bramley's US trip with Sweetgrass are as follows - 13 april 6-8pm The Spice of Life,
Hamilton, MT 14 april Corvallis High School, Performing Arts Center, Hamilton, MT 15 april
7-9pm at The Broadway Cafe, Butte, MT 22 april 6-9pm at Leaf n' bean, Bozeman, MT 23 april
8-10pm Symes Hotel and Hot Springs, Hot Springs, MT
## April 3rd - Jez is in
Canada, where his solo tour opened in Vancouver on Friday. Jez did an interview with Radio
DJ Andy Donnelly prior to the gig (by phone we assume, as Andy is with an Edmonton
station), and then was joined at the gig by transatlantic duo Kate Bramley and Tim Readman
- Tim is working as Tantobie Records North American representative these days, and Kate is
en route to the Sweetgrass tour which starts in Montana this week. No news on which songs
Jez is including in the set for this tour so far. Our correspondent says that among the
CDs for sale at the show were copies of GALLOWAYS and copies of a promo CD sent out to the
media for this tour, featuring four "live" tracks. No more details on that. Jez
heads south to gigs in the USA later this week, and returns to Canada later in tour. He's
emailing short reports from the tour as part of his weekly column in the Northern Echo
newspaper, which can be viewed from the "links" page of this site.
## March 31st - Jez starts his
solo tour of Canada and the US tomorrow night in Vancouver, but meanwhile there's a list
from his US agent of radio promo spots lined up in the next few weeks. These are - April
7th, 7pm Eastern - Radio WVIA in Pennsylvania; April 13th, 2.45 pm Eastern, WDIY Bethlehem
PA; April 20th, WUMB Boston 12 noon Eastern. All of these are available on the internet
through the station's websites. There'll be more to come too.
## March 26th - Jez's gig at
Johnny D's in Somerville, near Boston Mass. has been RESCHEDULED to April 12th, and his
gig at Jammin's Java's in Vienna VA has been CANCELLED. All details for his upcoming solo
US tour should now be accurate on the gig-list page of this site.
## While Jez is in America,
The Bad Pennies are far from idle. Kate also has gigs in the US later in the month with
her other band Sweetgrass (we will post her dates later this week), Sean is recording with
his other band Diesel Therapy in Newcastle, and Andy is in Germany teaching at a bagpipes
course. Jez and the band ended their UK stretch of gigs at Gosport Festival last weekend,
where we are told they managed to do perform two great sets without repeating a single
song, with Jez giving an "illuminating and witty" songwriting workshop in
between, according to our man on the spot.
## March 23rd - Just as Jez is
about head off on a solo tour of North America, we hear that The Bad Pennies are confirmed
to be accompanying him to two festivals on that side of the Atlantic later this year - The
Cincinatti Celtic Festival on September 24th, and a festival in Brantford(?) Ontario on
October 1st. There will be a few concerts, yet to be confirmed, as part of the same trip.
## March 22nd - Tantobie
Records say that the artwork for the release of TENTERHOOKS - THE ART EDITION will be
based around the work of County Durham artist and former coal-miner Tom McGuinness. An
excellent book about him was published in 1999 by Gemini Productions in the UK, which used
lines from Jez's songs as chapter headings etc. A major exhibition of McGuinness's work is
set to take place at Bishop Auckland Town hall in August, and it is hoped that the new CD
will be available in time for that - a concert by Jez in conjunction with all this is
being discussed.
## March 21st - NEWS BITS
##Some confusion over Jez's
gig at Johnny D's in Somerville on April 19th - it might be OFF (The Duhks are advertised
for that night). Jez is advertised for April 12th, when he will be Washington DC.
Confused? Watch this space.
## An important announcement
with regard to Jez's US tour: All those planning on attending the Sally Greenberg House
concert on Sunday 17th April MUST have reservations in advance or you will not be
admitted.
## The Bad Pennies are at
Gosport festival on Thursday and Friday this week with two concerts spots and a "Meet
Jez" workshop on Friday morning. By Saturday they will have left town!
## Jez has three gigs in
California in June with James Keelaghan, Berkeley, Santa Cruz and the Kate Wolf festival -
see the gig-list for details. It will be the only Jez and James gigs this year.
## March 17th - Advance notice
of the Jez Lowe/Jake Walton 2005 reunion tour has reached us from Oscar Music, Jez's
booking agent. The reformed duo will play their first official gig since 1989 (!!) in
Banbury on November 16th, followed by Benfleet (17th), Stoke (18th), Horsham (20th),
Runcorn (21st), Kirkaldy (24th), and Kelso (25th), with more dates, and more details to
come. The tour is no more tha a ten-day, UK-only jaunt, but is already drumming up a fair
bit of excitement, especially for those of us who remember the duo from the first time
around. Their album TWO A ROUE was among Folk Roots magazine's albums of the year when it
came out in 1986, and the expanded CD version from Tantobie is still a steady seller
today.
## March 15th – DOOLALLY
continues to make waves in North America with two impressive bits of news from across the
pond this week. Firstly, Canada’s Folk Roots channel Galaxie has the album at number
seven on their “high rotation/most played albums” chart for February 2005. South
of the border in the US, the Indie Acoustic Project has the album among its finalists in
their Best album of 2004 Awards, under the Male Songwriter category. Results will be
posted at www.indieacoustic.com on April 14th. ##
The Bad Pennies are just back
from Germany for gigs in the UK this weekend and next, before Jez heads off solo to
America for the entire month of April. There may be changes/additions to the schedule
later this week, plus some radio slots to make note of.
## 7th March - Better late
than never, we can report that a theatre play written by Kate Bramley in 1998, entitled
AMY JOHNSON, was successfully produced last month by a company called St Hugh's Players,
who are based in Lincoln, England. Judging by the programme and other information sent to
us, this was quite a large production, and is based on the true story of the British woman
who became a legend due to her daring exploits in the middle of the 20th Century. Kate
originally wrote the play for her own production at Edinburgh Festival, where we are led
to believe she will be returning in 2006 for more theatre work, Bad Pennies duties
permitting.
## 6th March - That W-UMB item
(see below) is to be broadcast on Wednesday March 9th at 7.25 am, Eastern Time. Jez does
indeed talk about VIKINGS, and it's only a small segment, but can be heard world-wide on
www.umb.org along with a lot of other good folk and acoustic music. Jez and the band have
just finished gigs in Southern England and are probably already en route to Germany for a
week of gigs and media things. Meanwhile, work forging ahead on the TENTERHOOKS re-issue,
according to Tantobie Records' man-in-the-know.
## 2nd March - We are told
that a copy of Jez's songbook, Volume 2, the red one, just sold on ebay here in the UK for
£26. Maybe that will persuade Lowe Life Music that it's time for a reprint.
## 28th February - Jez is due
to be interviewed (by telephone) on Boston's W-UMB Folk Radio at 12.30 on Wednesday
afternoon, East Coast time. It's on their "Morning Express" programme and can be
heard at www.wumb.org though at this point we're not sure if it will be going out
"live" or at a later date - the W-UMB website might be more informative. The
interview will be part of series wherein songwriters choose one of their own songs to talk
about how it was written etc. We THINK that Jez will be talking about VIKINGS.
## 23rd February - NEWS BITS
##The book "North
Stars" by esteemed rock journalist John Tobler, is slated for publication in early
summer. Jez is admittedly one of the less famous inclusions in the book, alongside more
well-known figures like The Animals, Bryan Ferry, Sting and Mark Knopfler, all of whom
share a North east of England heritage. Jez completed an interview with the author earlier
this week. The book is based around the TV show of the same name from late 2003, on which
The Bad Pennies were heavily featured.
## Rumour is that Jez may be
contributing to the next album by popular British folk-humourist Les Barker. The two are
old mates, and Jez guested as part of Les's group The Mrs Ackroyd Band at a festival or
two many years ago. Should be interesting.
##The latest email edition of
The Midnight mail, sent out to signatoies of the bad Pennies' mailing list each month,
mentions Jez's "mammoth" North American tour in April, and they aren't kidding!!
A new date at Jammin' Java near Washington DC has just been added. Jez also has a series
of gigs in California in late June with sometime-colleague James Keelaghan, with more to
be added. It will be their first duo gigs since a handful in Australia a year ago. James
is currently on tour in the UK, but as far as we know Kate Bramley has been the only Bad
Penny to attend a gig so far.
## 21st February - More
set-lists from gigs over the past two weeks. Highlights rather than list them all, but
thanks for sending them in due to Stan Foley and Julie Salmon, who inform us that among
the fairly standard sets on the recent UK gigs, Jez and the band found time to include
versions of LONDON DANNY, THESE COAL TOWN DAYS (a four-part harmony version apparently),
ALIBI CHILD (our favourite, we heard it too), and YOU AND YOUR GOLDEN VANITY, which we
have missed both times, Cropredy being the only other performance of this one. Jez and the
band are currently returning through the snow from last weekend's gigs in the South West.
Meanwhile word is that the Jez and Jake tour runs from November 16th to 26th here in the
UK.
## 17th February - Set list
for Jez Lowe and The Bad Pennies sell-out gig last night at The Sage, Gateshead UK. - GLAD
RAGS AGAIN / BACK IN DURHAM GAOL / SUGAR WATER SUNDAY / DOVER, DELAWARE / FANCY GOODS /
DONNINNI DOOLALLY / HOI POLLOI / REGINA INSIDE / ANOTHER MAN'S WIFE / GREEK LIGHTNING /
PROPPING - Encore - I'LL NEVER GET HOME/THE OLD DURHAM WALTZ. Jez said it was one of the
best gigs they'd done, and the new Sage building was truly spectacular. The band are in
Devon for the next five days.
## 15th February - Jez was
interviewed by Johnny Coppin for his Radio Gloucester folk programme at Cheltenham
festival last weekend. Broadcast is expected soon on the show's Sunday afternoon slot. It
included confirmation from Jez that he will be touring again with Jake Walton later this
year, something that has been mooted for quite a while. Jez and the band played two
hour-long sets at the festival, one of which was "unplugged", but no set-lists
have come through. Meanwhile Tantobie Records now say that the TENTERHOOKS re-issue could
come even sooner (see below). We'll keep you posted. Jez and the band were at the BBC Folk
Awards in London last night, very much as observers. Highlights from the ceremony are on
British TV (BBC 4) on Friday night at 9.30.
## 10th February - Two radio
events to report - Mike Harding gave a big plug to The Bad Pennies' upcoming UK dates on
his BBC Radio 2 show last night, and played what must be his favourite Jez Lowe song, A
CALL FOR THE NORTH COUNTRY, from 1993's BEDE WEEPS album. Also last night, on "Three
Counties Radio" in the south of England, Jez was interviewed by phone to promote
Friday's gig at Newport Pagnall, with BLOODSTAINED from DOOLALLY being the chosen track
this time.
##Meanwhile Tantobie Records
have slated a release date of September 2005 for TENTERHOOKS - THE ART EDITION, with both
the new artwork and the bonus tracks already chosen. There's also talk of one of the
tracks being included in a major compilation CD for release later this year.
##Click on to the Pinboard
page of this site for some new photographs, just sent in by ex-Bad Penny Simon haworth,
who's camera was always at the ready while he was in the group. Simon and Andy May have
some duo gigs coming up later this year, by the way.
## 7th February - UK gigs
begin in earnest for The Bad Pennies at the end of this week. Jez is busy promoting them
too, with some press and radio interviews having been set up by publicist Pat Tynan,
mainly for the Cheltenham festival and Sage Gateshead shows. It's the BBC Folk Awards next
week, and although they aren't nominated, Jez and the band are expecting to be there. It
will be his first time in attendance, having been in America at this time every previous
year. There was a warm-up gig for the group last week in Oswestry, and the song-list from
the show hints at a few surprises to come, which we won't spoil by giving the details just
yet.
## 1st February - A few
newsbits to start off the month -
## Jez was interviewed last
week by Canadian DJ Cal Coat for his WORLD BEATS show in Vancouver, as a trailer for Jez's
gig there on April 1st. More details of this at www.worldbeatscanada.com
##Two new releases from
Fellside Records - A debut CD by Jon Loomes, with whom Jez worked closely last year as
part of Huntingdon Hall's "mentor" scheme. Jon joined The Bad Pennies on stage
at a couple of shows around that time. His new album is out now, called FEARFUL SYMMETRY.
Fellside have also just brought out a budget-priced sampler called MEN FOLK ( WOMEN FOLK
came out a while back, you may recall), which features Jez's version of the traditional
song "Wheel of Fortune" from his 1980 debut album.
##There's a new Bad Pennies
promo disc doing the rounds - five "live" tracks - HOI POLLOI, DOVER DELAWARE
and SUGAR WATER SUNDAY, all recorded at Bishop Auckland Town Hall last December, plus two
solo tracks from WEAR FM Radio last year, ALOYSIUS and (surprise, surprise) WORKING DIRTY,
the latter having its first ever release, having been dropped from DOOLALLY at the last
minute. It's a nice little package, and a shame it's not more widely available.
##January 30th - Jez Lowe and
The Bad Pennies played to a sold-out capacity audience at Glasgow's Tron Theatre last
night, as part of the city's Celtic Connections Festival. It was a standard set from the
band, with no special guests or surprises, but was warmly and appreciatively received by
the audience, highlights being a relaxed group arrangement of LONDON DANNY, a stern medley
of BLACK DIAMONDS and SONS OF THE CENTURY (with reference to this week's closing of the
Ellington Colliery, North East England's last pit), a lovely REGINA INSIDE, Kate's only
song of the night, and a superlative solo set from piper Andy May. We hope to have photos
from the gig on this site soon.
##January 24th - Most of the
Bad Pennies were to be found hanging out at Celtic Connections in Glasgow at the weekend,
where piper Andy May was appearing in a live broadcast on Radio Scotland's "Pipe
Lines" programme. Jez and the band are scheduled to appear next Saturday at The Tron
Theatre, with a special Friday night slot at the Festival Club.
##January 21st - Yet another
cover-version to report, as mentioned in an album review in the US magazine DIRTY LINEN.
American group Molly's Revenge have a new Cd called "Four" that includes a
version of BACK IN DURHAM GAOL, as favourably recommended by the magazine's reviewer.
##January 19th - The new
edition of the great Canadian magazine PENGUIN EGGS is just out with a two=page interview
with Jez entitled "The Poet Game" that is worth checking out. Meanwhile Jez did
a radio interview yesterday for Wear FM, a local North east England station, talking about
DOOLALLY and the forthcoming gig at The Sage in Gateshead. He mentioned that the Bad
Pennies were currently holed up in Northumberland, rehearsing for this and Celtic
Connections concerts at the end of January.
##January 18th - Jez ended his
stint of solo gigs in London last night, having been joined by Kate Bramley - in town on
Bad Apple Theatre business - for a couple of songs at Twickenham on Sunday. It's band gigs
the way now save a solo at Newton Aycliffe, County Durham on March 1st.
## Meanwhile, two other items
to report - Jez was interviewed by esteemed journalist Colin Irwin last weekend, as part
of the latter's research for a new book on folk music he is currently writing... and also
the up-coming Canadian band The Duhks will release their new CD on February 8th, which
includes a great version of Jez's DOVER, DELAWARE, a sample of which can be heard at
www.theduhks.com if you care to check it out.
##January 15th - A song-list
from Jez's solo gig at Westhoughton Folk Club last night, sent in by Alan Bishop - SET ONE
- PROPPING / OLD BONES / A SMALL COAL SONG / DONNINI DOOLALLY / ANOTHER MAN'S WIFE /
BALLAD OF TASKER JACK / YANKEE BOOTS / VIKINGS. SET TWO - BALLAD OF JOHNNY COLLIER / LAST
OF THE WIDOWS / THESE COAL TOWN DAYS / THE FAN DANCER'S DAUGHTER / LATCHKEY LOVER / HAD
AWAY GAN ON / THE BIG FEAR / TENTERHOOKS / BLACK DIAMONDS. Encore - NEARER TO NETTLES
One more list, from
Chester-le-Street, sent in by Joan Salter - SET ONE - PROPPING / OLD BONES / CURSED BE THE
CALLER / LONDON DANNY / ANOTHER MAN'S WIFE / GALLOWAYS / MADDISON / VIKINGS. SET TWO -
LAND OF THE LIVING / GREEK LIGHTNING / THESE COAL TOWN DAYS / LAST OF THE WIDOWS / BIG
MEETING DAY / HAD AWAY GAN ON / THE OLD DURHAM ROAD / BACK IN DURHAM GAOL. Encore - TOM
TOM
##January 12th - At some point
during Jez's current travels around the UK, he has done an interview for an article to be
published in the Scottish version of the UK free daily newspaper METRO, to coincide with
The Bad Pennies gig at Glasgow's Celtic Connections Festival. Meanwhile, Jez is in
Maidenhead, West Houghton, Wortley, Twickenham and Croydon over this coming weekend.
##January 8th - DOOLALLY shows
up on the recently published list of albums played most on US Folk Radio shows for 2004,
with VIKINGS being the most played so far. Meanwhile Jez's current spate of solo gigs in
the UK seem to be an exercise in how many different songs from his vast repertoire he can
fit into his nightly sets. We'll try and list some of them later this week, but it
certainly is going down well with audiences, judging by the reaction we have so far
received.
##January 6th - Happy New
Year! Jez kicks off the year with solo gigs in the North of England this week.... |
