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THE BOWSTRING WAGER- Worldwide release 22nd June PRESALES NOW OPEN

“The building of a new bridge across the river has changed 19^th Century Tyneside forever, with new trade, new industries and thousands of new workers and their families pouring into the region. They bring with them all the hopes, problems and intrigues that such an influx inevitably does, and Evan Piper, head of the Gateshead Police Force, finds himself in the thick of it, with Irish labourers, local businessmen and shady Dutch racketeers all making demands upon his time and his loyalty. He is captivated once more by an exotic woman with the voice of a siren and a will of her own, as well as by the wild and yearning fiddle music ringing out from every tavern along the quayside. Deathbed revelations, a thunderous horserace, perplexing plots and gruesome street battles lead him to a deadly confrontation on the very bridge that seems to be the focus of it all. And everywhere the sound of jigs, reels and ballads as a backdrop.

The fifth novel by award-winning singer and writer Jez Lowe once again resonates with the songs and music of his native North-East England, as well as leaning into his Irish ancestry and his instinctive grasp of social history.”

The new album from Jez Lowe – OUBLIETTE – for Tantobie Records  (TTRCD123) has twelve new songs on CD, complete with song lyrics and notes, and with musical assistance from Jez’s long-time band The Bad Pennies.

Tracks are – Old Man’s Eyes, Oubliette, Freebody’s Wake, Elephant Rock, A Message From A Mandolin, Taggerman, Barry and The Anthracites, Hardanger Engel, Get Your Skates On, Sanctuary Land, The Frozen Roman and Chewy Moved.

The Keeker Seam is Jez Lowe’s  FOUTH novel, following on from “The Dillen Doll” in 2017, “The Corly Croons” in 2019 and “Piper’s Lonnen” in 2022, and continues the adventures of Evan Piper, as he returns to mid-19^th Century Tyneside with all its curious characters and outlandish ways, plus of course the rich tradition of music and song that erstwhile “Stranger from the South” finds so captivating.

A quote from the rear cover text –

“A 19^th Century village in County Durham is blighted by an all-too familiar tragedy, an explosion down the mine, but this time with a curious twist that sends waves of surprise and confusion across the region. It is left to a newly arrived young policeman to solve the mystery, in the face of hostility from the mine-owners, suspicion from the miners and their families and an over-arching web of prejudice that reaches out from a distant foreign land. Only a scattering of odd characters and Tyneside eccentrics reach out to help him, along with a mysterious woman who captivates all those who come in contact with her.”

The long awaited 2023 collection of Christmas and festive songs from Jez Lowe and the Bad Pennies! It’s an end-of-year tradition, and has been for a dozen end-of-years or more, for The Bad Pennies to head out across the wintry roads of the UK to deliver our version of a North Country Christmas to halls and theatres from one end of the country to the other. It’s never the easiest time of year to be touring and traveling, and we’ve been snowed in, marooned, abandoned and forsaken on more than one occasion, but the shows themselves have been invariably uplifting and enjoyable, for both ourselves and, we hope, for the audience as well.
Each year demands new songs, new jokes and new stories, and this album features a selection of those songs, recorded in live performance over several years at various venues. Our ever-present special guest Benny Graham is featured throughout, and thanks also to occasional Bad Penny Kari MacLeod who joins us on fiddle and vocals for a song or two.

THE SONGS:

Snowed In

Snow Dancing

Yule Do

The Bells Are Ringing

Christmas In Australia

Danitsa

Ice Cold In Alnwick

Almost A Silent Night

Forever Three Kings

Thor’d Out

That Snow Joke

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Audio CD EP- companion to the 2022 Novel Piper’s Lonnen featuring Andy May and Jez Lowe

Jez Lowe’s third novel, “Piper’s Lonnen”, published by Badapple Books in July 2022.
The bleak hills of Northumberland boast many myths and legends. Tales of blood-soaked battles and ghost-ridden tragedies told in Border Ballads and local folklore have long been common currency among North Country folk. Even stranger sagas, telling of shape-changing Braags, blood-thirsty Redcaps and slithering Yottuns have haunted these wild lands for generations.
But in an enlightened Victorian age, can such stories really explain the abduction of a skilled musician, or the appearance of outlandish figures emerging from the hills to terrorise the people of remote towns and villages? Or is there something more earth-bound and yet equally sinister at the roots of the mystery?
Reluctant to risk their own reputation on such a curious investigation, the Tyneside Constabulary once more call upon the services of the stranger from the south, Inspector Evan Piper, to delve deep into this rural conundrum. “Use a Piper to find a piper” is their wry maxim, as they dispatch the wary young man into the wild unknowns of the Borderlands, towards the forbidding track known as Piper’s Lonnen, with only a hard-drinking Hexhamshire labouring lad and a parson’s wife as his companions.

A REAL “SO-LOWE” ALBUM AT LAST!

2020 album from Jez Lowe, all on his lockdown lonesome, playing all the instruments, singing all the songs… Including a homage to a sporting hero (SHAKING MONTY), a touching tribute to a folk legend (LOUISA’S CHOOSING), a couple of nods to the rock bands of yesteryear (LOON IN THE MOON  and HIGH HANDENHOLD), one of his most striking protest songs (THIS IS NOT MY TRIBE), a duet with a pit-shaft (COAL MOUNTAIN) and what could be the ultimate Tyneside love song (TALK TO ME DIRTY IN GEORDIE)… And more besides… Twelve new songs from the Crazy Pagan in the striped sweater.

Jez’s 2nd novel is now available…

The story delves into the background of the circle of songwriters who came to be known as The Bards of the Tyne. Their work chronicled the life and times of Newcastle and the characters who lived and worked there, and many of the songs they wrote continue to be sung to this very day. But in “The Corly Croons”, a hidden mystery is discovered, a deep intrigue beneath the comic songs and gentle ballads that entertain the packed music-halls and penny-gaffs that were so popular around Tyneside at that time. The unravelling of that mystery is the story that Jez tells in the book.

The classicm  second  CD from The Mile Roses- Contemporary Folk with a nod to Nashville!

This is TTRCD119 on Tantobie Records that features THREE of Jez Lowe’s esteemed Bad Pennies and features guest appearances from two more! 12 original, catchy songs including one co-write with Jez himself… not to be missed!

Track listing:

1- Blue Skies
2- Herring Boats
3- One Day Love
4- Hold On
5- Land of the Brave and Free
6- A Millions At Sea
7- The Oak and the Ash
8- Girl In Forget Me Not Blue
9- Reign of Fear
10- The Rose Under The Hill/ Shores of Fife* co-write with Jez Lowe
11- Water for Whisky
12- Split Screen

http://www.themileroses.com/video.html

The Dillen Doll is the debut novel from Jez Lowe, set at the turn of the 19th Century and bringing together characters from various folk songs of the period. Dolly Coxon, the mysterious  heroine of the well known Tyneside song Do Li A embarks on a journey that will change her life forever.(Released 4 Dec 2017)

The Dillen Doll (Tantobie Records TTRC117) features a suite of traditional songs from North-East England inspired by Jez Lowe’s debut novel of the same name that itself draws on historic songs and stories of the region as part of the narrative.(Released 4 Dec 2017)

The brand new studio album from songwriting supremos Steve Tilston and Jez Lowe.

Two of the UK acoustic/folk scene’s finest songwriters – Steve Tilston and Jez Lowe – put their heads together and ‘The Janus Game’ is the thought provoking result. A serendipitous meeting in the US amid their prolific individual touring schedules instigated a collaboration between two award wining songsmiths, consummate musicians, and personal pals, that blossomed into a joint UK tour filled with songs and music, chat and banter and intimate insights into their approach to their craft. A natural extension of the song-swapping and packed-house performances was to take the music into the recording studio.

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14 classic and comic tracks drawn from Jez’s much loved Christmas tour repertoire, from Jez Lowe and the Bad Pennies

Format: CD
Tracks: 14
Released: December 2015
Tantobie Records TTRCD 114

Jake Walton & Jez Lowe

Format: CD
Tracks: 14
Released: 2001
Tantobie Records TTRCD 101

When first released on vinyl in 1986 Folk Roots placed Two A Roue as no.4 recording of the year, stating “There are so many catch tunes on this album,that it is almost an epidemic”. Out of print for a decade it has constantly been requested by fans to be re-released on CD. So, at last, here it is complete with three bonus tracks.

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Format: CD
Tracks: 15
Released: August 2003
Tantobie Records TTRCD 104

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Format: CD
Tracks: 12
Released: July 2004
Tantobie Records TTRCD 105

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Tantobie Records – TTRCD 108 – 2006

Solo CD from Kate Bramley, produced by Jez Lowe  featuring The Bad Pennies and Edwina Hayes as guests 

Format: CD
Tracks: 11
Released: May 2007
Tantobie Records TTRCD 109

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Live album plus bonus ‘Song for Geordie’ DVD

Format: CD
Tracks: 17
Released: September 2008
Tantobie Records TTRCD 110

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The Jez Lowe ‘HEADS UP’ compilation featuring 18 essential Jez Lowe tracks.

Format: CD
Tracks: 18
Released: October 2012
Tantobie Records TTRCD 112

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15 brand new Jez Lowe songs on this stunning  album produced by Jez and David de la Haye, with guest musicians Rod Clements, Ian Thompson, Andy May, Kate Bramley, Kari MacLeod, Martin Douglas, Maggie Holland, Laura Bell, David de la Haye and Paul and Christine Stockton.

Format: CD
Tracks: 15
Released: November 2014
Tantobie Records TTRCD 113

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