Will Varley & The Southern Rust, The Thekla, Bristol, April 2025.

I first became aware of the music of Will Varley about three years ago through a mutual friend. After being impressed with his songs on youtube I bought his 2015 album Postcards From Ursa Minor. I enjoyed every track on that album, and thought to myself, “Why isn’t this guy more famous?, he is just as good as Ed Sheeran or George Ezra or any other of the modern crop of singer-songwriters”. I subsequently acquired two more excellent albums 2016s Kingsdown Sundown and the most recent 2021s The Hole Around My Head. I also saw a great solo live show at the Tree House in Frome, and Will’s performance on the Leftfield Stage with his band at last year’s Glastonbury. Will’s band is called The Southern Rust. When I saw they were hitting the road for a Spring tour and would be playing The Thekla in Bristol I knew I had to get myself a ticket. It was a beautiful sunny warm afternoon when I arrived at Temple Meads station. 

I had two hours to wile away before meeting my friend Pete, so took a leisurely stroll to the harbourside where I found the Thekla. It is a former German cargo ship which was launched in 1958. It ran aground on the Norfolk coast in the 1970s and then spent seven years rusting away in a dock in Sunderland before it was purchased by Vivian Stanshall of The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band who sailed it to Bristol and converted it into a Night Club and theatre. Last year it celebrated it’s 40^th anniversary as a famous venue. I think this is the first time I have ever been to a gig on a boat. 

After that interlude I sat outside a pub by the harbour called The Ostrich basking in the sunshine and watching the world go by. It was quite idyllic. Eventually it was time to meet Pete at another nearby pub called The Golden Guinea in Guinea Street. This street is very interesting historically. It is named after the African country of Guinea and has unfortunate associations with the slave trade. Pete pointed out to me 10 Guinea Street which was featured in the TV series A House Through Time. I met Pete around the campfire at Glastonbury about 12 years ago. He is a member of our annual Quiz team The Glastafarians. Anyway, we had a drink and a chat about Glasto and other important matters until it was time to make our way to The Thekla.

Stephen Kellogg

It is quite a small ship of only 52 metres, but quite roomy inside. Strangely for such a small vessel it is quite easy to get lost on board with all the various levels, decks, doors and corridors. It was packed with people in front of the stage, but Pete knew a gallery upstairs where you could look down on the stage, so that is where we watched the show from. When we arrived there was an American singer-songwriter called Stephen Kellogg on stage. I didn’t know anything about him but quite enjoyed what songs we heard. I think he and Will have toured together in the states.

Will Varley

Finally, it was time for Will Varley & Southern Rust to take the stage. I did intend to write a setlist, but soon gave up on that idea because I didn’t recognise all the songs. Will has a new album coming out in May called Machines Will Never Learn To Make Mistakes like Me and I think he featured some of the new songs. Songs I did know included Send My Love To The System from the Ursa Minor album, A Different Man because I have watched the video several times recently, the very political We Don’t Believe You, I was very impressed with a new song which I think is called I’ll Be Home Before The World Ends. I filmed a couple of minutes of that song (See video below), 

I especially enjoyed Only Louise which I think is a new song, Pushing Against Us from the last album, and Talking Cat Blues which a lady shouted out as a request when Will forgot the words to the song he was singing. Will was on great form and in good humour. It must be exhausting playing a tour like this, travelling to a different town every single night, but he seems to enjoy it, and the audience certainly do, singing along with songs they knew. We had to leave just before the end because I wanted to catch my train at 10.25. I was a bit disappointed not to hear Seize The Night. I’m sure he sang it as an encore, but I was already on my way to Temple Meads station. It had been a brilliant day in Bristol. Thank you very much Will Varley & Southern Rust.

 

Will Varley: I'll Be Home Before The World Ends. Thekla, Bristol, April 2025

The Influence Of Sam Cooke On Van Morrison.

A couple of years ago I wrote a piece on here about the influence of Hank Williams on Van Morrison. Tonight, I thought I’d write about another great American singer who has been very influential on Van and his music, and that is Sam Cooke. What has prompted me to do this now is because last week in Nottingham I was unable to remember the name of the Sam Cooke song Laughin’ and Clownin’ when Van sang it. That is inexcusable because not only is it included on Van’s The Prophet Speaks album, but he also performed it at the previous Van concert I attended. It must be my age, anyway I hope this makes amends. Laughin’ and Clownin’ is a song Sam wrote for his 1963 album Night Beat. Sam was especially important in inspiring Van to become a singer in the first place. As Van told journalist Dylan Jones in 2023, “I never had any ambition to be a singer at all. It worked out for me because I practiced. I worked at it, stretching my voice, influenced by the vocal gymnastics of Sam Cooke”.

The first time I heard Van sing a Sam Cooke song was right back in the early seventies when Bring It On Home To Me was included on It’s Too Late To Stop Now which I rate as possibly the greatest live album ever recorded, and that version of Sam’s song is one of the standout tracks. (Listen to video below) Van revisited it on the Roll With The Punches album in 2017 featuring Jeff Beck on guitar, but I much prefer the earlier version.  Another great live album is 1994’s A Night In San Francisco which features two Sam Cooke compositions You Send Me and That’s Where Its At, both as part of medleys. 

You Send Me which features the splendid vocals of Brian Kennedy is teamed up with In The Garden and Real Real Gone. The lyrics of Real Real Gone state, ‘Sam Cooke is on the radio and the night is filled with space, And your fingertips touch my face, You're a friend of mine, And I'm real, real gone’. Not only that, But Van also says, ‘I got hit by a bow and arrow’. I like to think that this is a reference to Sam’s fabulous song Cupid which says, ‘Cupid, draw back your bow, And let your arrow go, Straight to my lover's heart for me’. That’s Where It’s At is featured in a medley with So Quiet In Here. Some Van fans might be unaware of another nice version of That’s Where It’s At which Van recorded in 1994 with The Holmes Brothers at Pete Gabriel’s Real World Studio and released on an album called A Week Or Two In The Real World.  You Send Me can also be heard along with Real Real Gone on Van’s quite recent Live At Orangefield album. It also gets a mention in the title track of 2016s excellent Keep Me Singing album, ‘Little things that count in life, Just to know my people got soul, Sam Cooke singing 'That's Where It's At', And 'Let The Good Times Roll'. I was surprised recently to find out that Van has performed the Sam Cooke classic Twisting The Night Away in concert. You can hear him performing it at Groningen, Netherlands in 1992 on youtube if you want. 

I can’t think of any other Sam songs that Van has recorded on official albums, but I’m sure that his lyric writing has been influenced by Sam. For instance, Sam recorded a song in 1961 called Exactly Like You on an album called My Kind Of Blues. Sam didn’t write it, but I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if it inspired Van to write Someone Like You. On that very same album Sam sang a song called Out In The Cold Again. Van recorded a song with exactly the same title in 2016. Coincidence? Sam also had a hit in 1963 with his version of Little Richard’s Send Me Some Loving. I am sure it was an influence on Van when he was writing Vanlose Stairway. I better stop now before I start scraping the barrel for more Sam and Van connections, but I bet there are lots more Cookeisms hidden away in Van's songs. Let me know what I have missed. 

I think it was an absolute tragedy when Sam Cooke was needlessly shot dead in 1964 at the age of only 33. A great loss not only to music, but to all of society. As Van might say, the best was yet to come. With powerful songs like A Change Is Gonna Come and covering songs like Dylan’s Blowing In The Wind he could have become one of the leading lights of the Civil Rights movement and a force for good in the world. In 2016 the Northern Ireland radio broadcaster Ralph McLean asked Van, “What is the magic of Sam Cooke?”, and Van replied, “Well, he’s still inspiring and he’s still an influence and have you found anything better? I haven’t, do you know what I mean. I haven’t found anything better yet, or with that kind of edge”.

Van Morrison - Bring it on Home to Me

Van Morrison: Royal Concert Hall Nottingham 18/3/2025.

It had been eight months since me and my niece Lee saw Van one sunny summer’s evening at Westonbirt Arboretum, and now the long dark Winter was finally over, the sun was shining and suddenly it was the Celtic Spring. Time to cut loose and blow a fuse around the regions again, so the day after St Patrick’s Day I got on the train, the train, the train for Nottingham to see the Belfast Cowboy once again. I had chosen Nottingham because it was a chance to catch up with Dave my old friend of over fifty years. I remember watching Van with Dave at Glastonbury 1987, one of his greatest ever performances. Another reason I was keen to see Van again was the glowing reports of his recent concerts in Belfast. The days of big pre-concert fan gatherings in England seem to be a thing of the past, but in Wetherspoons we met John who I last saw at Cheltenham Jazz Fest two years ago. (The food in Wetherspoons was disgusting by the way. I will never go there again). Outside the concert hall it was also nice to have a quick chat with another Vanatic James who I hadn’t seen since Liverpool Irish Fest in 2018.

We had great seats near the front in Row E. Promptly at 7.30 some of the band Dave, Sam, John, Neal, Chris & Matt shuffled on stage and started playing some instrumental numbers. I quite enjoyed it at first because they were funky and reminded me of Booker T & The MGs. I expected after a couple of tunes Van would come on and start the show, but they played for what seemed ages to me, and it became apparent that this was meant to be a support act. I got quite bored after a while, and then there was an interval. After what seemed an eternity, the band returned, and Dave Keary announced ‘Mr Van Morrison!’. “Thank god for that”, I thought to myself. 

The opening song was Only A Dream from the Down The Road album of 2002, with Van enjoying himself blowing saxophone in front of the eight-piece band who were Dave Keary (Guitar), Sam Burgess (Bass), John McCullough (Keyboards), Neal Wilkinson (Drums), Dana Masters (Vocals), Jolene O'Hara (Vocals), Christopher White (Sax & Reeds), and Matt Holland (Trumpet). 

Dana & Jolene.

Next up was Back On Top which has never been one of my favourite Van songs, but Matt made himself noticed on trumpet and Van blew his harp. The audience gave Days Like This a warm round of applause when they recognised it. I don’t like Broken Record very much and find it a bit irritating. All was forgiven though with Down To Joy which is the new single from Van’s forthcoming album Remembering Now coming out in June and eagerly anticipated by most Van fans because it is nearly all brand-new original songs. Down To Joy was featured in the Kenneth Branagh film Belfast and the band gelled together and performed it superbly in Nottingham. I much prefer it when the band all play together like this and not playing individual solos one after another. 

Chris & Matt.

I never tire of hearing Enlightenment which is one of my favourite spiritually uplifting Van songs. (See video below) When Van says in the lyrics ‘Enlightenment, don’t know what it is’ I don’t believe he means it like that because enlightenment is always being NOW and feeling the silence, which Van has sung about for decades. As Van says, ‘Wake Up!’. During Ain’t Gonna Moan No More Van just stood still, serene as the Buddha, surveying the audience as the band all took yet more solos. Cleaning Windows/ Be Bop A Lula is a fun song from the classic Beautiful Vision album. I have gone off the ‘read my Christmas Humphreys book on Zen’ lyric though, ever since finding out that Humphreys was the prosecutor in the Ruth Ellis murder trial and sent Ruth to the gallows. What sort of Buddhist is that?. Van then donned his electric guitar for the great hypnotic Green Rocky Road. Dave Keary also played some awesome guitar and Chris excelled himself on a reed instrument that I’m not sure what you call. 

I’m not that keen on Symphony Sid, but it gives Dana a chance to exercise her tonsils. I didn’t recognise the Sam Cooke song Laughin’ & Clownin’, but John told me what it was later. The upbeat Wild Night brought the audience to life and then it was Moondance which the audience enjoyed, but I have heard too often, and I’d heard enough solos for one night thank you very much. I’m not tired of hearing Wonderful Remark though which was one of the evenings highlights for me. Then it was Precious Time, a jaunty little song where Van reminds us that we are all going to die. Thank you, Van. However, Van tells us that the fire's still in him and the passion it burns, ‘til hell freezes over and the rivers run dry, so that’s good. I don’t know why, but when Van changed microphones and sat at the piano for the epic Vanlose Stairway his voice suddenly became stronger and clearer. I wished the crew had put the piano sideways on to the audience because with Van facing the audience from behind the piano you could hardly see him. That is a minor quibble though to another highlight of the show. 

For somebody fast approaching his 80^th birthday Van’s voice sounds incredible. The Nottingham audience instantly recognised Bright Side Of The Road and applauded loudly. I knew the show was coming towards a close when Van sang the Sonny Boy Williamson song Help Me which has been in the repertoire since the year dot. Van left the stage but soon returned to send the crowd home happy with the rousing Gloria. Van then departed for good. The band played on, but I was heading for the exit. I had heard enough solos for one evening. 

Later in the pub I think we all agreed that it was a very enjoyable show, but didn’t quite reach the stellar heights we know Van is capable of. I had been hoping for Summertime In England which he had performed in Belfast, but you have to remember Van’s age, and I thought he probably wanted to save some energy for the next night in Birmingham. So, thank you Van Morrison, and a big hand for the band. PS, thanks to John C for  the great photos.

A big hand for the band!

Van Morrison: Enlightenment, Royal Concert Hall Nottingham 18/3/2025.

Pauline Boty, The Only Blonde In The World

I am really pleased to see that there is a programme on  BBC4 tonight called Pauline Boty, I am the 60s. I am glad that she is finally getting the recognition she deserves. To celebrate the occasion I thought I would  dust off this piece I wrote about  Pauline back in 2019..............................................................................A couple of days ago when I was researching a piece about Adrian Mitchell I read that he and his wife had adopted a child who was the daughter of their friends the artist Pauline Boty and Clive Goodwin. This aroused my curiosity because I hadn’t heard of Pauline Boty before, so I looked for info about her. What I found was quite fascinating for me because I have always been interested in people who had a brief flirtation with fame and then disappeared into obscurity, or made an important contribution to the arts and have been unfairly overlooked. Pauline was one of the founders of the British Pop Art movement along with the likes of David Hockney and Peter Blake who both went on to be world famous, but Pauline has been largely forgotten. Another thing I have noticed about Pauline is that she was extremely beautiful. This might have been to her detriment because she might have only been noticed for her looks and not for her work.

Pauline was born in 1938 and after attending art school in Wimbledon where her classmates called her ‘The Wimbledon Bardot’. She studied stained glass design at the Royal College Of Art. She wanted to study painting but couldn’t because admissions for women to that course were limited due to the institutionalised sexism of the times. That didn’t stop her painting in her spare time though. She was a bit of a polymath. As well as painting, Pauline also published poetry, acted, and also was a leading light in a group called the Anti-Uglies who protested against the brutalism of post-war British architecture. Pauline was one of the artists featured in a TV programme directed by Ken Russell in 1962 called Pop Goes The Easel. She acted at the Royal Court Theatre, appeared in Armchair Theatre on television, danced on Ready Steady Go and was one of Michael Caine’s girlfriends in the film Alfie. When Bob Dylan first visited Britain in 1963 it was Pauline who showed him around London.

Colour Her Gone.

It should be for her art that Pauline is remembered. I have looked at her work on the internet and am most impressed. Her paintings are bright and exuberant and sensual. There are two pictures featuring Marilyn Monroe called The Only Blonde In The World and Colour Her Gone which particularly caught my eye. There is another one as well called ironically, It’s A Man’s World which celebrates her femininity. I also liked a picture called 5 4 3 2 1 which took its title from a song by Manfred Mann. If there was an exhibition of her work near me I would certainly go along and see it.

Pauline’s life ended tragically young. After a whirlwind romance she married Clive Goodwin. In 1965 she became pregnant. During a pre-natal test it was discovered that she had leukaemia. She refused chemotherapy because it would harm her child and she died at the age of only 28 just a few months after the birth of her daughter.  Her daughter also died tragically from a heroin overdose in 1995.

After she died Pauline’s paintings were stored away in a barn on her brother’s farm where they remained, gathering dust for over thirty years. Pauline’s place in British art was largely forgotten until recent years. In 2013 a retrospective exhibition of her work was finally held in Wolverhampton and later Chichester. It is due to the sexism in British art that she has been overlooked for so long. The same applies to literature. The leading figures in British writing in the 50’s were called The Angry Young Men, what about the angry young women?. Also, the other day I looked in a poetry anthology I have called Children Of Albion published in 1969 which features 65 poets of the era. There are only five female poets in it, what a disgrace.

In the 1960’s, because of her looks everyone was in love with Pauline Boty. I read this by Sabine Durrant who said in 1993, “Even now, grown men with grey hair in dark houses in Notting Hill cry at the sound of Pauline Boty’s name.”

Postscript: Five years after I wrote this piece I am very pleased that Pauline is finally getting some recognition. This week I was watching the first episode of a new series on BBC by historian Simon Schama called The Story Of Us which looked at what shaped Britain since 1945 and Pauline's work featured quite heavily in the episode. I hope this might lead to a major exhibition of her work.

The Only Blonde In The World.