Bed and breakfast en-suite accommodation in the Yorkshire Dales, Reeth, Swaledale,  N.Yorkshire  Tel: 01748 884 210

This is a very special gig. It is very rare to see an artist of the calibre of Colin Blunstone in such a small venue.

No one sings like Colin Blunstone, the mild mannered man from St. Albans, who became one of Britain's most respected and popular vocalists. Lead singer with The Zombies his distinctive voice manages to be both sweetly angelic and deceptively strong and was a key element of the bands sound.

 Now Colin takes a short break from the iconic Zombies to tour with his fabulous solo band featuring songs from his fifty year musical career from She's Not There with The Zombies, to solo hits I Don't Believe In Miracles and Say You Don't Mind and on to What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted with Dave Stewart and the unforgettable Old and Wise with the Alan Parsons Project.

 "Colin Blunstone's voice is one of the greatest British vocal sounds of the 20th. Century", Sir Tim Rice, The Evening Standard.

 Several slightly more rare tracks will be played live for the first time along with a selection from his brand new album now being recorded under the working title of On The Air Tonight. Pete Billington leads the solo band on keyboards (Jamie Cullum, Alison Moyet and Kid Creol) with Chris Childs on bass (Thunder, Go West, Beverly Craven), Pat Illingworth on Drums ( Dave Stewart, Jeff Berlin, Hugh Masekela) and Tom Toomey on guitar (Zombies, Toomey Swarbrick).

 "Colin Blunstone's solo oeuvre seems more relevant today than ever, by turns breathy, ethereal and operatic",  Billboard.

Probably the most quintessentially English pop voice of it's generation", The Times.

A not to be missed evening of outstanding music.

When Brian Jones died in 1969, Mick Jagger looked to John Mayall's lead guitarist Mick Taylor to replace him in the Rolling Stones. The critics say this was a brilliant move as it led to a five year period in which many say, the Stones produced their best ever music. His first gig was at Hyde Park when he stepped out
on stage in front of a mere 250,000 people.
 

They recorded a string of classic albums over that five year period including; Let It Bleed, Get Yer Ya Ya's Out, Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street.
While both Jagger and Richards received the lion's share of credit for these aforementioned albums, it was the guitar work and unaccredited song writing contributions of Mick Taylor that helped make these records so special. Immediately after his departure from the Stones in 1974, Mick joined the Jack Bruce Band for a while then in the mid to late '70s he guested on guitar for other artists' recordings including Ron Wood's Now Look, Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells, Gong's Expersso II and Little Feat's Waiting for Columbus.

Mick spent the '80s playing and touring with the likes of Alvin Lee, John Mayall (again) and even Bob Dylan. Since then Mick has toured and recorded several albums with his own band. This is a very rare gig at such a small venue.

Please note this is a blues gig.

Mick discussing riffs with Jimi Hendrix

STRAWBS

Being of a certain mature age, I have seen many, many bands in my time. Without doubt, one of the best is the Strawbs. Their gigs are a joy mainly due to their constant hard work, passion and outstanding musicianship.

I guess what sets the Strawbs apart from many other bands is that they cut their teeth on British folk music and even had the pleasure of working with folkie chanteuse Sandy Denny before she joined Fairport Convention. As soon as they added keyboard player and big hair lad, Rick Wakeman, the Strawbs went the way of wizard rock, creating some of the most painstakingly arranged and dramatically performed Progressive Rock to come out of the UK.

They were originally known as the Strawberry Hill Boys starting out as a bluegrass band, but eventually moving on to other styles - folk rock, a flirtation with glam and settling into progressive rock. They first hit the charts in the UK and Europe in the early 1970’s with the albums Grave New World and Bursting at the Seams. Hit singles followed with the anthemic Part of the Union and Lay Down, both were popular chart toppers.

Dave Cousins is the superb frontman and undoubtedly the heart and soul of the band being also the main songwriter and lead singer. Cousins' deep, epic songs are the cornerstone of the band's appeal, delivered in his unmistakable vocal style and accompanied by characteristic twelve or six string acoustic guitar. Cousins’ hard-working ethic is what the Strawbs are all about. One thing is certain, they enjoy themselves on stage, which is infectious and so does the fans.

No loud P.A. so this one gets a very strong recommendation.

Thursday 29th March - £14.50

Jacquie McShee's Pentangle