Van Morrison: The Princess Theatre Torquay 28/10/2026

After Storm Austen had been battering the south coast in recent days, I was relieved on Wednesday morning to see that the wind and rain had abated and the trains were running on time. One of the reasons I like going to concerts in Torquay is because the train journey is so pleasant. Once you get past Exeter the train runs right along by the sea with some great views from the train window. I couldn’t check into the hotel until 3pm, so I left my bag at reception and went for a saunter along the seafront. There were hundreds of people out and about, walking their dogs, and enjoying the late October sunshine. I sat outside a café enjoying a glass of wine and watching the world walk by, until finally strolling back to the hotel. 

Once I checked in, I had a nap until 5.30 when I met up with Jane, and we walked to a pub/restaurant place called the Offshore Bar where John had booked a table for three. We ordered some food and it was great to have a chat and a catch-up, but the service was painfully slow. Time was getting on and I had told Mary we would see her in the theatre bar. We were just on the verge of walking out when the food finally arrived, and it was actually quite delicious. After that we hurried to the Princess Theatre which is another reason I like coming back to Torquay because it is a lovely little theatre right next to the harbour. We met up with Mary, and it was nice to meet her friend Annie for the first time, so our little gang was now complete.

Unusually for a Van concert there was a support act this time who was a West Country singer called Andy Quick who played guitar and sang three songs, but I must confess that I didn’t pay a lot of attention to him. After he finished his short set, I went outside into the fresh air until it was time for Van the man. Van’s eight-piece band shuffled on stage which consisted of Sumudu and Jolene on backing vocals and percussion instruments, David Hayes on bass, Bobby Ruggerio on drums, Dave Keary on guitars, Paul Moran on trumpet, Chris White on saxophones and other wind instruments, and John McCullough on keyboards and piano. Then the band announced, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, Mr Van Morrison!’, and on strolled Van looking as dapper as Bill Nighy on a night out. As in Bath when I last saw Van he began with one of the greatest songs of all time Into The Mystic. This great opening was followed by three songs from the recent Somebody Tried To Sell Me A Bridge blues album which were Kidney Stew Blues, Snatch It Back And Hold It, and a song I didn’t recognise, but Jane told me later was called Can’t Help Myself originally by Sonny Terry & Brownie McGee. All those songs I thought were Ok, but the next song for me was a highlight of the night, from the great Remembering Now album. Van sat at the keyboard and performed Haven’t Lost My Sense Of Wonder. 

In the pub later we all agreed that it sounded even better live than on the album with Van repeating ‘Peace Be Still’ accompanied by Chris on sax. After that ethereal experience it was back down to earth with Symphony Sid which isn’t one of my favourite songs, but Sumudu breathed new life into it with her excellent vocal ability. I have seen Van perform Enlightenment on countless occasions, but I never tire of hearing it, unlike some other songs I could mention. Dave was excellent on steel guitar as was Van on harmonica. Another great song with a spiritual message was Full Force Gale. Green Rocky Road is always great to hear, but especially so in Torquay with Chris excelling on flute and Van bring the song to a close by repeating ‘And she moves on solid ground, she moves, she really moves’. The mood changed again then with Going Down Geneva/Brand New Cadillac which I’m not all that enamoured with. After that Van reminded us that we’re all going to die with Precious Time. It’s good to know the fire's still in him, and the passion it burns ‘til hell freezes over and the rivers run dry. Ain’t Gonna Moan No More was hip to the tip as ever, with Van telling us about his heroes Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Jon Hendricks, Satchmo, and even Willie the Shake. The low point of the show for me was Broken Record which I have never liked. The next song was a nice surprise. Van said he was going to sing a skiffle song that was originally by Dickie Bishop who I had never heard of before. It was called No Other Baby with Dave playing some real twangy rockabilly style guitar and Van and Chris both playing sax. This was followed by an old favourite Cleaning Windows, and he had to perform Moondance beneath October skies. Two more songs which the Torquay audience obviously enjoyed were Wild Night followed by Real Real Gone. The finale was as usual Gloria. Van left the stage and the band played on as I made for the exit.

Annie, Mary, Me, John, Jane.

We all met up outside and agreed that it had been a very enjoyable concert. After some of the setlists I have seen recently, I thought the show exceeded my expectations. We all went for a last drink in a pub which I think was called Viva before going our separate ways. I’m looking forward to the next time already. This morning I had a nice surprise while waiting for my train. Who should come strolling along the platform but Sumudu!. I thanked her for the concert, and we had a little chat. She was happy for me to take a photo, what a nice lady she is. That brought a very enjoyable visit to Torquay to a close.

Sumudu.

PS: I’d like to dedicate this review to our dear friend and long-time Van fan Fumiko who sadly passed away in June this year.

PPS: Thank you very much to John Prideaux for the photos.

Nightfall by Quercus.

It was in 1992 that I first became aware of June Tabor. I bought a compilation album of folk music called Folk Heritage 2. I still listen to that album quite regularly because it is packed with great music by the likes of Richard Thompson, The Albion Band, Martin Simpson, Dick Gaughan, Martin Carthy, Nic Jones, The Watersons and many others. One of my favourite songs was a wonderful acapella version of Eric Bogle’s great anti-war song The Band Played Waltzing Matilda by June Tabor. I can’t say I paid much attention to her career after that until a Yorkshire friend of mine gave me a copy of Ragged Kingdom by June Tabor and Oysterband. It is a great album. Two tracks particularly stood out for me, the soul classic Dark End Of The Street and their version of Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart. 

Two friends told me recently that June was playing in Bradford On Avon in December with a group called Quercus. I thought I’d get a ticket for that. I had never heard of Quercus, So I ordered an album by them as I wanted to know what to expect on the night. A couple of days ago Nightfall the second album by Quercus popped through my letterbox. The album was recorded just down the road from here at Coopers Hall in Frome and released in 2017 on the prestigious German ECM label who are renowned for great jazz and experimental music. The artwork on the album’s cover is by the Czech artist Jan Jedlička. He has worked with ECM on more than 40 albums. The artwork does seem to capture the melancholy mood of the songs. 

I thought Quercus was an odd name for a group, so I looked up the meaning and Quercus is the name of a genus of trees including the oak tree. The album’s title of Nightfall is taken from a poem called In Memoriam (Easter 1915) by the poet Edward Thomas who was slain during the battle of Arras. Quercus are a trio of vocalist June, Huw Warren on piano, and Iain Ballamy on tenor and soprano saxophone. Huw has worked with June for many years as pianist and music director. Iain is a composer and one of the most distinctive saxophonists in world jazz. He is also a visiting professor currently at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Royal Academy of Music and the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. 

The tracks on the album contain two instrumental compositions by Huw and Iain plus Bernstein & Sondheim’s Somewhere from West Side Story, Bob Dylan’s Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright, the jazz standard You Don’t Know What Love Is written by Don Raye & Gene De Paul, and six traditional folk songs. A common theme running through the song selections would seem to be of loss in various forms. You would think that the world of modern jazz and traditional British folk songs would make strange bedfellows, but I find that Nightfall is a perfect marriage of the two genres. Robbie Burns Auld Lang Syne is usually sung by inebriated groups of people on New Year’s Eve. Here it is transformed into a sparse bluesy arrangement beginning with Huw’s piano joined by June’s smoky vocals and then Iain’s sax. Once I Loved You Dear (The Irish Girl) is a 19^th century lament for a lost love who is bound for America. 

On Berrow Sands is an eerie warning of the treacherous tides in the Bristol Channel. The cries of the seagulls represent the souls of the sailors who have perished there. Christchurch is an instrumental composition by Huw. You Don’t Know What Love Is was originally written for a film in the 1940s but has been covered by many jazz artists from Miles Davis to Billie Holiday. June interprets it as well as anyone. I love how she puts emphasis on certain words or phrases to bring out the emotion in the songs. The Manchester Angel refers to the Angel Inn in Manchester where soldiers were recruited in 1745 to fight with Bonnie Prince Charlie as his army marched south. A soldier meets a pretty young doxy but then deserts her to join the ill-fated adventure. Dylan’s folky Don’t Think Twice It’s alright is transformed into a seven-minute sparse jazzy blues epic. When the rooster crows at the break of dawn heralds a bleak reality. You just kinda wasted my precious time is sung quite angrily by June. 

Emmelene is an instrumental sax composition by Iain. The only Emmeline I know of is Emmeline Pankhurst, but I don’t know if it refers to her. The Shepherd And His Dog is like an aural sketch of a pastoral scene from early morning to dusk. The Cuckoo is a song which was collected from a Dorset gypsy singer called Caroline Hughes. It is another song of betrayal. Iain and Huw’s accompaniment to June’s vocals is perfect, almost like the song of a thrush and cuckoo in flight. Somewhere is another standard that has been covered by many people, but June manages to breathe new life into Sondheim’s words. A perfect song to bring this album to a close. I have loved listening to this music for the past few days and I’m really looking forward to seeing Quercus on December 12^th in Bradford On Avon.

An Evening Of Kate Bush Music In Bath Abbey.

It was a pleasant sunny October evening when I caught the train for Bath. The train was packed with young revellers heading to the city for a night of hen nights and suchlike, but I managed to find a seat for my sister Margaret when she boarded at Bradford On Avon. It was good to have a bit of a chat and a catch up, and we soon arrived in the fine historic city of Bath. Outside the abbey we were amazed to find a queue of at least a hundred yards long already waiting for the doors to open. This is because unlike most concerts the tickets didn’t have seat numbers, so it was first come first served for the best seats.  At my advanced age I wasn’t prepared to stand in a queue for over an hour, so we repaired to the nearby Crystal Palace pub. It is a nice pub, but the price of two G & Ts was outrageous, so I won’t be returning there in a hurry. Eventually it was almost showtime and we made our way back to the abbey. It was a sold-out show of 1,200 people and when we arrived all the seats facing the front were taken. We had to sit at the side where our view was partially obscured by the pulpit. Never mind, they also had quite big screens at the side so that everyone could see and hear the concert which began at 7.30. 

The first thing to say is that this group of musicians are no amateur tribute band. Let Me In are a collective of first-rate professional musicians. In previous years they have performed cathedral tours of the music of Radiohead and Pink Floyd. The ten-piece band includes Lydia Gardiner, Eleanor Kinsey, Amelia Harrison, Lucia Carmignani, Colleen Curran, Alfie Woods, Bruce Higgs, Daniel Anketell, Josh Semans and Musical Director Ewan Steady. They are augmented by the Mike Nowland String Quartet. The sound they produce is quite wonderful. I’m sure even Kate herself would enjoy this performance from her great body of work. I was especially impressed with the singing which didn’t just copy Kate’s voice but interpreted the emotion of her words beautifully. I was a bit ambivalent about holding music concerts in places of worship, but listening to this music in such ethereal surroundings is akin to a spiritual experience, so that is ok. In between the songs they played short extracts from interviews that Kate gave during her career. One thing I learned from the concert is how little I know about Kate’s music apart from the big hit songs like Wuthering Heights, Running Up That Hill and Cloudbusting. 

I bought her first album The Kick Inside when it came out in 1977, but sadly the only other album I have is Aerial from 2005 which I’ve hardly ever played. The band played the Ninth Wave Suite from Hounds Of Love in its entirety, but I never recognised it. I was going to give you a setlist, but after writing down Them Heavy People, The Man With The Child In His Eyes, Lionheart, Army Dreamers, Babushka, and Breathing I gave up on it. We left before the end because I was keen to catch the 10.33 train. It had been a very enjoyable evening. Probably the nearest I’ll ever get to seeing Kate Bush live. The tour continues around the country ending in the Norman splendour of Peterborough Cathedral in December, so if you are an avid Kate Bush fan I think you should get yourself a ticket.

PS, This is a good excuse to replay my favourite Kate Bush video which is Cloudbusting. 

In The Garden, Part 8

I wasn’t going to do any more garden blogs this year, but sitting in my kitchen on this glorious Sunday October morning and looking out at my little garden I thought it looked amazing, like a firework display in broad daylight, so I thought I should show you a couple of photos. The cosmos plants just keep on giving. Every time I go out there and cut off the dead flower heads it just seems to encourage more flowers to open. The Apricot Star dahlias look like a sunburst as well. Just recently the Guernsey lilies have also opened in all their revelation. I don’t know a lot about gardening. Most of the time it is just guesswork and hoping for the best, but I am very pleased with this years results.

Sam Carter Sings Nic Jones, Pound Arts Centre Corsham 25/9/2026.

Two weeks ago I was privileged to see Richard Thompson play in Bradford On Avon, and last night an equally picturesque small Wiltshire town played host to another singer-songwriter and virtuoso guitar player, namely Sam Carter who was performing at the Pound Arts Centre in Corsham. Sam won the award for best newcomer at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2010, and BBC folk show presenter Mike Harding said that Sam was one of the most gifted acoustic guitarists of his generation.  He has been compared to such luminaries as John Martyn, Roy Harper, and Richard Thompson. This year Sam has taken time out from promoting his own songs to pay tribute to and spread the word about one of his own heroes of acoustic guitar and trad folk songs Nic Jones. Back in late June I reviewed Sam’s album ‘Sam Carter Sings Nic Jones, Live At Celtic Connections’, and when I saw Sam was playing in Corsham I knew I had to go and hear these great songs performed live. My friend Cara called for me at 5.30 and less than 30 minutes later we arrived in Corsham which is a beautiful little town full of period listed buildings where even peacocks wander the streets. Queen Camilla once lived here before her divorce and move to nearby Lacock. Her home Middlewick House was sold to Nick Mason of Pink Floyd fame who still lives there. Another music link to the area is Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studio in the nearby village of Box. 

In the Methuen Arms.

We met our friends Jane and John and spent a very pleasant hour or so in the courtyard of the Methuen Arms which is a splendid pub/restaurant/hotel on the High Street. Eventually time was getting on, and so we made our way to the Pound Arts Centre. This is a wonderful asset to the cultural life of the town and is housed in a restored Victorian school. The small auditorium is perfect for an evening of great folk music. Sam came on stage shortly after 7.30 and treated the audience to a great evening of Nic Jones songs beginning with Barrack Street from the classic Penguin Eggs album. This was followed by Master Kilby from Game Set Match, an album I particularly cherish because Nic signed my copy for me when I had the pleasure of meeting him in 2013. 

Another song from that album performed brilliantly by Sam was Clyde Water. In his career Nic mainly sang traditional songs which he put his own arrangements to, as well as songs written by the likes of Harry Robertson or Paul Metsers. I think that is why I like Ruins By The Shore so much as sung by Sam because it was Nic himself who wrote the lyrics, and I think the words are quite powerful and prophetic. Seven Gypsies is a song with a driving rhythm where Sam proves he is well capable of  replicating Nic’s astonishing ability. I have always felt sorry for those gypsies though, they didn’t deserve to be hanged. Other great songs from the evening included Courting Is A Pleasure, Ploughman Lads, Billy Don’t You Weep For Me, Annan Water, (In lots of Nic’s songs the hero or heroine meets a watery end!), Farewell To The Gold, and Oh Dear, Rue The Day. There may have been others that I have forgotten. Sam saved the best for last with the fabulous Canadee-I-O and Harry Robertson’s two great whaling songs The Humpback Whale and The Little Pot Stove. What a wonderful evening it had been. Thank you to Pound Arts for being a great venue and thank you especially Sam Carter for playing so brilliantly and bringing the great music of Nic Jones to new audiences. There are still a few dates left on Sam's tour, so I urge you to get a ticket if you can. PS, Thank you John Prideaux for the photo of Sam..

Richard Thompson & Holly Carter. Bradford On Avon, 13/9/2026.

The small and picturesque Wiltshire town of Bradford On Avon came alive on Sunday night with a visit from a music legend, namely Richard Thompson who in the 60s with his friends in the band Fairport Convention invented the genre known as English folk rock. Richard and his wife Zara Phillips were appearing at the Wiltshire Music Centre which is a modern purpose-built little venue with perfect acoustics. The support act was a singer-songwriter guitar player called Holly Carter who was accompanied by another guitarist/bass player called Joe Wilkins. I wasn’t aware of Holly previously, but she played an excellent set of songs, many of which had a powerful political message. 

Holly & Joe.

I particularly enjoyed a song about Stetson Kennedy who was an American author and human rights activist. He was a folklore collector during the first half of the 20th century and is remembered for having infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in the 1940s, exposing its secrets to authorities and the outside world.  I hadn’t heard of him before, so some of Holly’s songs were quite educational for me. Holly also sang a song My Hands Are Tied which was about Frank Little an American labour leader who was brutally murdered in Butte Montana in 1917, and nobody was held responsible for his death. I also enjoyed Holly’s cover of Song For Woody from Bob Dylan’s first album. One of the catchiest songs in Holly’s short but sweet set was What You See, a song inspired by a photographer called Tish Murtha. I shall certainly look out for more music by Holly Carter in the future.

Richard & Zara.

After the interval it was time for the main man Richard Thompson. I have seen Richard many times in the past and he certainly didn’t disappoint this appreciative Wiltshire audience. I didn’t write down a setlist, but from memory he performed Misunderstood, Genesis Hall from the Unhalfbricking album, Turning Of The Tide, Pharaoh, Johnnies Away On The Rolling Sea, (The audience sang along with that one) Walking On The Wire, If I Could Live My Life Again, Walking The Long Miles Home, Vincent Black Lightning 1952. Richard introduced his wife Zara Phillips about halfway through the show and they harmonised beautifully on such songs as Cocaine Walking, Booze Talking and Pipe Dream from the new album Hippies Thugs & Heroes, the fabulous Withered And Died and I Wanna See The Bright Lights Tonight, The Rattle Within, If You Don’t Want Me, I’ll dry my Tears And Move On, and Wall Of Death. There were a couple of other songs, but I can’t remember what they were now. 

New Album.

Richard and Zara left the stage, and he returned alone for an encore. I was hoping for Beeswing, but someone in the audience shouted out a request for Jimmy Shand which he performed. I don’t like this song very much, but he told a funny story about the accordion player Jimmy Shand. When he was staying in a hotel one time, Jimmy asked at breakfast for some honey and was given a tiny sachet of honey. Jimmy said sarcastically, “Oh, I see that you keep a bee”. The show finished about 10.15 and we were soon home, tired but happy after a most enjoyable evening. Congratulations to Wiltshire Music Centre for booking such a great artist as RT. I hope I attend many more concerts at this great little venue.

 

Rain & Fire.

It has rained here the last two days. The fifth heatwave of the summer appears to be over. Wessex Water which is our local water company brought in a hosepipe ban a few days ago, so I will be using my watering can for the foreseeable future for the evening ritual of watering the garden. The sparrows seem to have settled in nicely in the tree at the end of the garden. I put some bird food out for them every day and then sit in my kitchen watching them descending and ascending. The big event last week was the partial eclipse of the sun. On the news they were telling everyone not to look at the sun directly. We were advised to get special glasses. I must have watched hundreds of glorious evening sunsets over the years without the need for glasses, so I still can’t fully understand why you can’t watch an eclipse in the evening. 

Anyway, I wasn’t going to risk it, but you couldn’t buy the glasses around here in any shop. I had to settle for fetching an aluminium colander from the kitchen and holding it up to the sun and watch the reflection on my white garden wall. I saw 61 mini partial eclipses which was a bit underwhelming. It did go quite dark, the temperature dropped slightly and a breeze began. Birds flew by as if it was time to roost, but it didn’t seem like a major memorable experience. The following evening something happened which had a much bigger impact locally. We had a big fire on the hillside near the White Horse. It took several teams of firefighters quite a few hours to get it under control. Luckily it didn’t reach the White Horse itself, although it was heading in that direction.  In the light of day you could see the whole hillside is blackened. It is mainly grassland up there so it should grow back quite quickly with some rain. 

Compared to what people in Spain, France, Greece and other countries have suffered this summer it is nothing. Even elsewhere in Britain people have had worse fires with houses burnt to the ground. Climate change is the cause of it and is the major problem facing the world today. It can only be solved globally by all the countries working together. Some of the leaders of major countries are so stupid they deny it is happening and would rather start wars they don’t know how to finish. It is very frustrating, so before I start a political rant I’m going back to watching my sparrows. I didn’t think the photo of my Mirabilis Jalapa in my last gardening post was very good so I have taken another one. Cheers.