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 Van's 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. 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.

Lindisfarne Lady Eleanor live 1978

R.I.P. Bill Fay.

Bill Fay in 1970.

I was very sorry today to hear that Bill Fay has died at the age of 81. As a small tribute to Bill I thought I'd republish this review that I wrote five years ago..................................................................... Today I have been listening to a CD that arrived a couple of days ago. It is simply called Bill Fay. It was first released in 1970 and it has taken me fifty years to discover it.  It was just over a week ago that somebody put a link on Facebook to an article in the New York Times. It was about an American songwriter called Joshua Henry who had set out in 2010 to find a long forgotten English singer who had made an album that he and his father loved. This singer was Bill Fay and nothing had been heard of him since 1971 when he had been dropped by his record label.  Ever since Joshua Henry tracked down Bill Fay and persuaded him to return to the recording studio he has made three albums. The latest called Countless Branches was only released in the last two weeks. Since his re-emergence from obscurity Bill Fay’s songs have been championed by such people as Jeff Tweedy of the band Wilko. Bill has even been persuaded to join Wilko on stage for a song and has made an appearance on BBC’s Later With Jools Holland. He has no intentions of touring to promote his latest work though. It seems that Bill didn’t mind the decades of obscurity because he was content to write songs and record them at home purely for the love of making music.

All this aroused my interest, because as you know I love finding long forgotten great music. I looked on YouTube and I liked the first song I heard called Be Not So Fearful which was included on his very first album. (I have shared that song to blogger if you want to hear it) I decided to see if this album was still available, looked on eBay and there it was. It had been re-released in 2008 on the Esoteric Label. Two days later it popped through my letterbox. Van Morrison fans might like to know that it was an ex-member of Van’s group Them Called Terry Noon who discovered Bill in the mid 60's. He had moved from being a musician to management, spotted Bill and brought him to Decca. One of Decca’s labels was Deram who had a subsidiary label for ‘progressive’ music called Nova and it was on this label that Bill Fay was released in 1970.

There are thirteen songs plus two bonus tracks from an earlier single release. I won’t go through the whole album song by song, because I won’t be able to think of anything to say about some of them. The opening track is called Garden Song and is like an ode to the joys of gardening with such lines as ‘I’ll wait for the rain to anoint my face’. It starts quietly but builds to a crescendo of instruments. It sounds like a whole orchestra was used on this recording. The Sun Is Bored also has huge swirls of orchestration which was quite the fashion of that era. At times I was reminded of an album called A Salty Dog by Procol Harum or McArthur Park or Scott Walker. Sing Us One Of Your Songs May has a military style drum beat intro before a deadpan spoken delivery of a melancholic anti-war song. Gentle Willie is also a song with a pacifist sentiment. Methane River is a great song, but the vocals are almost drowned out in places by a cacophony of trumpets. It’s a shame because there are some nice woodwind sounds during the quieter passages. The Room, Goodnight Stan, Cannons Plain and Down to The Bridge are all excellent songs. One of the bonus tracks Screams In The Ears is an account of going to a horrible party. Some Good Advice had echoes possibly of Nick Drake.

Bill Fay now.

I enjoyed the album very much indeed. My only complaint is that I think it is over-produced on some songs. Less is more.  Bill and just his piano would have been sufficient for some of the tracks. I think if it was recorded these days it would have a more stripped-back sound. Apparently, it was the follow-up album called Time Of The Last Persecution that led Joshua Henry to track down Bill Fay. Maybe that’s the album I should have ordered. There is no doubt though that Bill Fay is a very talented singer-songwriter and I am pleased that at the age of 76 he is finally getting the recognition he deserves.

Be Not So Fearful by Bill Fay.

A World Of Peace Must Come by Stephen Kalinich & Brian Wilson.

Brian Wilson was my first music hero. When all the other kids at my school were either Stones fans or Beatles fans, I was different and knew that The Beach Boys were the best group in the world. Although my music taste expanded as I got older, I still followed the ups and downs, trials and tribulations of Brian’s career with interest through the decades. I thought I was a bit of an expert on Brian’s life and music. Recently however I read about a recording Brian made in 1969 that I knew nothing about. I discovered that he had produced and played on a spoken word album by a poet called Stephen John Kalinich. The recording was completed in one day on August 22^nd, 1969, at Brian’s house in Bel Air California. It was Called A World Of Peace Must Come. I recognised the name Stephen Kalinich because he co-wrote three songs with Dennis Wilson, Be Still and Little Bird on the Beach Boys 1968 album Friends, and All I Want To Do on 20/20. Stephen and Brian couldn’t get a record company to release the album, and it was lost for decades until being rediscovered and finally released by Light In The Attic Records in 2008. 

I read more about Stephen on Wikipedia which told me that he was born in New York in 1942 and moved to California in the mid-60s where he became known as a poet and peace activist, appearing at such venues as The Troubadour in Los Angeles. He made a recording called Leaves Of Grass, but no radio station would play it, mistakenly thinking it was about marijuana, but it did bring him to the attention of Brian and Dennis Wilson. I decided I needed to hear this album, and the CD arrived here a few days ago. The album contains twelve tracks recorded at Brian’s house plus Leaves Of Grass as a bonus track. All the lyrics are written by Stephen. It begins with a few seconds of unmistakeable Brian Wilson harmony intro before Stephen recites the first poem Candy Face Lane. The album contains a very useful booklet with all the words, so you can read the poems while listening. 

I won’t comment on every poem, but I think they stand up very well against the Beat poets I know from this era such as Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, Gary Snyder, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti who are probably the only other American poets I can think of from the 60s. The themes are of spirituality, peace and nature.  Some tracks such as The Deer, The Elk, The Raven are performed as songs with some music accompaniment. On that track a dog can be heard barking in the background, which was probably accidental, but reminded me of Pet Sounds. On The Magic Hand there is a nice touch where Brian’s wife Marilyn Wilson sings a small section of Tears On My Pillow. My favourite track is Be Still which is based on the song which appeared on the Friends album. A critic described it as a ‘Unitarian hymn’ and interpreted the lyrics to be a description of the ‘sacred essence of life and the human potential to interact with God’. 

The words have a zen-like simplicity, but very profound. Although this recording was made 55 years ago, I think it is very relevant to today’s world. In 1969 America was going through a very dark time with the Vietnam war, political assassinations, and race riots. Today America and the world is facing equally dark times, but as in the 60s there is also a growing spiritual consciousness that opposes the darkness. Another track I really like is America I Know You (I urge you to watch video below) which points out that despite all the problems America is still a great country. Americans don’t need some jumped up real estate speculator telling them they need to make America great again. It is great already. They gave us the best music for a start. As in all countries there are big problems to solve, but the people have to solve them together and not be divided by hate.

I better stop now before I get too political. I am pleased I discovered this rare recording. I know it won’t be to everyone’s taste, but I think it is a very interesting piece of the Brian Wilson legend. This is what Stephen said about Brian on his birthday which I agree with..

‘Brian Wilson puts so much good into the universe. It could fill all space the positive impact of his melodies, harmonies, thoughts, and contributions to the consciousness of humanity is beyond what any scholar or critic could capture in words. The music speaks for itself, it produces joy and tears just by listening to it, it opens up the senses when you’re really down, it’s cathartic, it can help toward healing you. Brian Wilson has been a great friend to me and I’m so grateful for him and he touched so many other lives. God bless him on his birthday and the goodness he puts out into the universe regardless of all the struggles he has gone through himself. This is astonishing, not only touches me deeply, but it touches humanity and I’m so grateful that he was born and may he always be blessed’. Stevie Kalinich