Bath Acoustic Club

I am delighted to announce that our September guest spot will be occupied by the divine Rosie Upton, and also she will be accompanied by what she describes as the "sublime" guitar of Jeff Gillett. I can do no better than to include her programme entry from Sidmouth Folk Festival:

Rosie Upton originally from Derbyshire but now based in the west country has spent half a century on the folk circuit appearing in clubs, festivals, radio and TV. She has developed an individual style based on English traditional songs and even a few b***y ballads. Her rich voice is particularly well suited to the occasional blues as well as hard-hitting songs of social and political comment, including songs written by her late husband Pete MacGregor originally from Bo’ness, West Lothian. She combines passion and integrity with an entertaining presentation. Rosie’s CD album “Basket of Oysters” received critical acclaim including “it spotlights Rosie’s unwavering integrity as song carrier and her continuing intense commitment to her art” - Living Tradition.

She has been a booked guest at the following festivals Chippenham, Cornwall, Sidmouth, South Petherton, Stonehaven, Trowbridge, West Somerset and many others as well as appearing in Mick Ryan’s most recent show “The Innocent”.

Her latest album “Threads and Yarns” released in March 2026 on Wildgoose Records is a mix of traditional ballads plus songs written by Pete MacGregor, Mick Ryan, Mike Danver Scott and Henry Clements. It features Jeff Gillett and Joe Sartin on guitar, Steven Faux on violin, Gill Redmond on cello and vocal harmonies Bryony McGinty and Joe Sartin.

It will be a memorable evening!
Floor spots available as usual, and admission £2.
Jim will be swanning around the Scottish highlands and islands, so it will be yours truly in (sort of) charge!!
See you on 1st September!

What we lacked in quantity, we more than made up for in quality at the August meeting of the Bath Acoustic Club. It turned into one of our most enjoyable sessions. We were led by that irrepressible dulcimer- and hurdy-gurdy-ist Damian Clarke, whose enthusiasm and insistence on audience participation (his father would have approved) was infectious.

Damian, singing as well as playing most of his pieces (including a spot of Irish at one point), gave us Dougie Maclean’s Caledonia, his own song A Million to One, The Sally Gardens, Linden Lea, Ride On, popularised by Christy Moore, Meet Me on the Corner, Sloop John B, and finally O’Dwyer’s Hornpipe, which he played with an amazing degree of speed and accuracy. He is a very impressive musician.

We had begun the evening with tributes to Paul Metsers (Ripple Away) and Archie Fisher (Western Island), before listening with rapt attention to Andy Popplestone’s wonderful rendering of Jeanie of Bethelnie, followed by Sir Patrick Spens and later Martin Simpson’s Delta Dreams. We are really fortunate to have Andy as a Club regular. His wife Pat, then gave us two of her own poems, Harry the Hasty Hedgehog and the rather sad and wistful Wallflower.

The Popplestones were followed by the first dulcimer of the evening, wielded by Hilary Davies, who gave us A Tankard of Ale, Jenny Pluck Pears, Emma’s Waltz and, later, Henry Reid’s Breakdown. The Two Oak Sons, making a welcome return, gave us The Cuckoo’s Nest, the powerful and haunting Morecambe Bay, followed by Hard Times Come No More. There was some beautiful integrated guitar playing there. John, wielding a new (for him) 12 string guitar, gave us Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain, Do Nothing till You Hear from Me, then Percy Mayfield’s Lost Mind, a blues, beautifully played, on Jan’s Martin Guitar. Then Anna gave us several of her own songs, Worlds Away, with its interplanetary implications, the song for her grandchildren, In Wonderland, and the song about a not-quite Wild Affair. Anna’s heart shines through all her songs.

After Damian, Jan gave us Martin Carthy’s version of The Female Highwayman, with its message for all us men, followed by the Watersons’ All the Little Chickens in the Garden. Finally, “Silver” Sam gave us two of his own songs, The Knights of Yore (who knew Sir Lancelot went on crusade?) and the wonderful, if sad, Chanson Guimauve, which dealt with growing older, and is the French for marshmallow, I discovered. For sheer enjoyment (and education), the evening was hard to beat.

PS I apologise for the quality of the photo, (although I think it's rather atmospheric!). Damian is going to send me a better one in a few days' time!

August's feature spot is on my mind, and I have great pleasure in telling you that that spot will be occupied by Damian Clarke, master of all things hammered and cranked, (if that is the correct term for the action of playing the hurdy-gurdy!). We are lucky enough to have two dulcimer players amongst our regulars at BAC, and we look forward to hearing Damian play the hammer variety, with it's "other worldly" sound, (to quote Jim!). Anyway, Damian is a brilliant player and entertainer, and we haven't seen him for a long time, so come and allow him to give yer lug 'oles a treat!!

Please note that, from now on, we are now officially kicking off at 7.30pm, and sounding the curfew at 10.30!

Floor spots available as usual, so please come and sign in by 7.15 if you want to play, and please don't leave guitar cases on the landing.

Admission £2

See you on 4th August!

Yesterday, a sultry summer evening provided the setting for Bath Acoustic Club to be entertained by one of our favourite regular performers, Mr Terry Helyar. Terry is well known to many as an accomplished musician, who managed to impress an audience of talented people with his prowess on two guitars, a melodeon, and a harmonica, as well as singing a number of songs, including his own.

He gave us a varied selection: A Love as True as Mine, I Wandered by a Brookside, Follow the Heron Home, Our China is Broken, I Hope that I Don’t Fall in Love with You, and Mike Scott’s deep and moving The Saviour’s Messenger, which I had not heard before. Later, Terry returned to send us off appropriately with Home Lads Home. There was great depth as well as breadth in these songs, which seemed to me to be conjured up from a life of experience and feeling. Terry is a modest man, but he opened up a wide world last evening. Thank you, sir!

We started the evening with Alan Bell’s Windmills (the old romantic ones, not the modern turbines). Then the wonderful Jon Asprey gave us two of his very best: Closer, which is my all-time favourite of his, and The Life Class. There is great poetry as well as music in his compositions. He was followed by another John, who played a blues, The Key to the Highway, which seemed to fit the hot, lazy weather, and That Look in Your Eye. No one can tell it like John.

Then Paul Crocker, who had just purchased another dulcimer, albeit a small one, treated us to Van Morrison’s Moondance, and another blues, his own St James’s Wine Vaults Blues, which fitted the occasion perfectly. Garth gave us two songs from his encyclopaedic repertoire: Duran Duran’s Say a Prayer, followed by Patti Page’s Changing Partners from the 1950s. How does he manage to remember them all (and play them so well)?

Hitching a ride with Terry, Steve Goodfield paid us a welcome visit and gave us two excellent songs: Bob Dylan’s You’re Going to Make Me Lonesome When You Go, and Leonard Cohen’s Fine for a While, both beautifully delivered. Then Rosie Upton, who will be headlining in September, gave us her late husband’s song Sunflower in her rich, resonant voice, followed by Careless Love. Rosie was followed by Mandy Woods, who will also be returning for a set later in the year. Mandy gave us Just Once More, followed by her deeply moving tribute to a former canine friend of long standing, My Silent Soulmate. Lovely.

After Terry’s set and a short refreshment break (hydration?), our own Jan restarted the evening with Fakenham Fair. It was enough to make me want to give the wheel of fortune a whirl myself! She followed this by the (I hope) less than serious Red Eyes (Formation Drinking Team) from Peter Skellern and Richard Stilgoe. Then Fred Sanders gave us (predictably) a Beatles’ song, She’s Leaving Home, followed by his own Distracted, both sung and played in his gentle, polished manner.

Catherine sang us one of her summer songs, La Luna, composed after a holiday in Spain, and played with a Spanish guitar flourish, followed by Mary Chapin Carpenter’s Don’t Need Much to be Happy, to remind us how fortunate we really are.

Nigel amused us with Stanley Accrington’s Circles in the corn (I always wondered how they did those), followed by All Things Are Quite Equal, which is hard to disagree with. Andy Popplestone then pinned our ears back with the powerful Good Morning Mr Colston, followed by Jeremy Taylor’s satirical Closing Time. He was followed by his lady wife, Pat, who was making her first visit in a while with her observational poem Driving in the Country, which touched on the unusual antics of cattle, but was apparently a true story.

The songs and the singing certainly caught the mood of the evening. It also helped that we started, and finished, about half an hour earlier than before, and we agreed to stick to this revised timetable in future. Many thanks to all for another memorable evening.

What can I say? Our July feature slot will be occupied by an act ideal for what will, (OK, MIGHT!), be a lovely warm summer's evening ... the lovely, warm Terry Helyar! (I was going to say "a lovely HOT summer's evening, but I thought he might get the wrong idea!)
Anyway, seriously, we all know Terry, he of the smooth, chocolate voice and cool guitar playing, and it will be great to see and hear him doing an extended set. He's a nifty songwriter, too, and of course he will no doubt bring along his trusty melodion. It will be a relaxing, fun night!

There will of course be floor spots, as usual, so if you want to play, please arrive and sign in by 7.45 latest. If the list fills up quickly, as it usually does, and if everyone is in place, we can start a bit early, and gain a bit more time to fit everybody in.
On this subject, we are considering formally starting earlier, at 7.30pm, with an official end time of 10.30pm. Opinions, please!

Again, as usual, no guitar cases etc., to be left on the landing, and still £1 admission!! See you on Tuesday, 7th July!

Despite being banished to the basement, the June edition of the Bath Acoustic Club managed to dazzle, albeit in a psychedelic haze of colour. I think that the St James’s Wine Vaults received a better offer for the upstairs Gallery, but I have been assured that we will be back in the daylight in July.

We celebrated the return of Trevor Valentine, who had made the lengthy journey across the Severn Bridge to be with us again, and led us in a number of crowd-pleasing songs, beginning with The Leaving of Liverpool and ending with The Wild Rover. In between, he impressed us with a number of songs from his recently composed musical, including Kite and Anchor, Father and Son and, my favourite, Fireflies. He also included Clare to Here and the (award-winning) Sailor’s Dream in his set, just to remind us how much we had missed him. Please come back soon, Trevor!

We had begun the evening with the late Stan Rogers’ Forty-five Years, regarded as one of the very best love songs, before the ever-enjoyable Fred Sanders gave us the autobiographical Neal Avenue and his version of the Beatles’ I Saw Her Standing There, ornamented with his own elaborate prelude. Then the wonderful Andy Popplestone gave us the powerful Victor Jara, followed by Dylan’s One Too Many Mornings.

A slight rearrangement of the furniture heralded the arrival of the massed (well two) dulcimers of HP Sauce (Paul and Hilary). They played Wayfairing Stranger and Angelina Baker. I love the sound of a dulcimer, and the sound of these two is more than twice as enjoyable. Also enjoyable was Garth’s performance of Nic Lowe’ Indian Queens and Creed Bratton’s All the Faces.

Then Kate and Richard gave us Tha’ Looks a Proper Swell and The Jacobite Lass, both sung and played delightfully. Another delight was Catherine, who gave us my favourite of her own songs, Meet Me at the Meadow, followed by her most recent composition, Two Thousand Heartbeats, although I can’t quite imagine rolling in the flowers at Great Chalfield, but Heigh Ho! Then Anna, clearly in holiday mood, gave us her own Sardinia, followed by At the Shoreline.

After Trevor’s set, the second half witnessed an invasion by The Peekies (Chris and Christina) from Stroud, who gave us their own sombre A Cold Wind Blows, followed by She Ran Away. Despite the serious inspiration of abusive relationships, we focussed on the strength of the female spirit and enjoyed their performance enormously. We definitely need more Peekies in Bath!

The irrepressible “Silver” Sam then sang his delightful hymn to Anna (see above), whom he first met at the Minchinhampton Folk Club (I think I should charge for advertising) You are my Heart’s Delight/My Minchinhampton Maid, followed by his masterful rap on Statistics. That man is amazing! Bryony, who just gets better and better, sang us (quite beautifully I thought) My Greenwood Laddie and Like his Mother Used to Do.

In contrasting style, Phil Robinson gave us the Carter Family’s My Dixie Darling, followed by Johnny Cash’s Big River, before Nigel gave us two rather remarkable numbers, The Abattoir, followed by his own CO2, which I thought were excellent, although perhaps an acquired taste!

Finally, the one and only John G. gave us That Look in Your Eye, followed by God Bless the Child, which he does like no other. A wonderful note on which to end my review.

I have great pleasure in announcing that our feature slot for June will be occupied by Trevor Valentine. We haven't seen Trevor in a while, and will be delighted to welcome him back! He is a gifted songwriter, entertaining performer - and multilingual as well!! Over the past 2 or 3 years, he has visited us accompanied by guests from USA, which has been fun but, speaking personally, I'm looking forward to hearing him solo!

As regulars will know, we have had a full list for floor spots for months now, so be warned! You are advised to sign in by 7.45 latest to give us the best chance of fitting everyone in. Music theoretically starts at 8.00, but if the list is full and everyone is settled, we can kick off a bit earlier, to give us a few more minutes.

No guitar cases etc to be left on the landing, please. Admission continues to be £1 for the time being.

*sings* June is busting out all over ... (lovely girl, June!)
See you on the 2nd!

This week’s session of the Bath Acoustic Club provided another superb musical feast, with many outstanding performances. We were led by Strange but True, the duo which consists of Rob Winder (vocals and songwriting) and Mick Mangan (guitar, vocals and songwriting), and they are very good indeed.

They began with Sixteen Tons, then Rob’s sombre Waiting for a Train, followed by Mick’s Changeover Day (incidentally the title of their new EP/CD), which refers to the ingress and outflow of holidaymakers in the summer in Cornwall. Next came the Nightingale, Make me an Angel and the inevitable Midnight Special. Later Rob and Mick returned to close the evening with When We Sing Together. It was noticeable how much the audience enjoyed joining in. I have heard Strange but True several times before, but they seem to get better and better. Last night they were truly impressive.

The evening had begun with Allan Taylor’s bleak but somehow beautiful Roll on the Day, before Catherine gave us her latest song In the Eye of the Beholder, the second half of which is apparently still in production. She followed this with Del Shannon’s Runaway, with bells on her toes. I cannot really do justice to this, but we all loved it!

Paul Crocker appeared solo for a change, although he did play his baritone dulcimer for his second tune, Ode to Joy, by some German composer. This followed the traditional Irish air, The Banks of the Lee. Kevin Hart started with Leonard Cohen’s Who by Fire, followed by his own song, Down to the River. Matt Bragg was another who sang contrasting pieces. First was G K Chesterton’s The Rolling English Road, set to music by Maddy Pryor, followed by The Who’s Substitute.

Rosie Upton gave us Henry Clements’ Needle and Thread, followed by Carriden, both from her excellent new CD. Garth gave us The Cure’s In Between Days, followed by Bob Dylan’s It’s All Over Now Baby Blue. Then the wonderful Jon Asprey favoured us with a rare visit to sing two of his best songs, Farther Down the Road, followed by Back to the City. Just wonderful.

After the break, the ever-excellent Fred gave us two of his own songs, It’s Been Easy and Please Don’t Send Me Away. His guitar work seems to get more intricate each time I hear him play. Simon Taylor, appearing solo, gave us Bob Lind’s Oh How the Nights Do Fly, followed by his transcription of Steely Dan’s Bad Sneakers. I gather there is more Steely Dan in the pipeline, to which I certainly look forward. He really was splendid.

Then, when next Anna sang “I’m So Happy”, you really knew she was. She followed her song I’m Home, with Orange Blossom Nights, recalling Spain, with Sam flaunting his Spanish guitar skills alongside. Then Sam himself sang They’re in Love, followed by My Fare Home, inspired by a busking Irishman at the Cheltenham Races. Sam seems to find inspiration everywhere, and manages to craft it into some amazing songs.

Next, Andy Ranshaw gave us a beautiful instrumental, South Wind, which we have previously heard on the dulcimer, followed by another good crowd-pleaser, Whiskey in the Jar, to appropriate audience accompaniment. Simon Meeds gave us Mike Starkey and Dave Marshall’s Southern Star, followed by Tom Mossman’s Lasso the Moon, with some pretty nifty guitar playing to go with it. Finally, Nigel gave us one of Mick Ryan’s hymn arrangements.

Apart from the overall excellence, the evening impressed on me the eagerness of all the audience to sing along whenever practicable. We really all do enjoy making music!

A full house at the Bath Acoustic Club on Tuesday enjoyed another great performance from an over-full performers’ list. Sadly, despite starting early, this meant that many performances were limited to one song each.

We were led by the truly excellent singing and playing of Kate and Richard Harris, who have long been among our favourite floor singers. Kate had put together a beautifully chosen list of songs, which she sang in her delightful Scottish accent, accompanied by the impeccable guitar (and accordion) playing of Richard. They began with Follow the Heron by Karine Polwart, before taking us to Violet Jacobs’ Baltic Street in Montrose. Suzanne (not the Leonard Cohen version) followed, then Penny for the Ploughboys by Colin Cater (with a polka to follow, but sadly no Morris Dancers), Mick Ryan’s Love is Life, before an unexpected Help, from the Beatles. At the end of the evening, Kate and Richard left us with Our Town, and me with some very fond memories.

We had started the evening in a Scottish vein, with the Gaelic love song Sine Bhan (Fair Jean) and some excellent chorus singing by the assembled Sassenachs! Who knew that so many understood Gaelic? The massed dulcimers of HP Sauce (Hilary Davies and Paul Crocker) then enchanted us with The Unquiet Grave/Star of the County Down, and Hyfrydol, which was composed by Rowland Hugh Prichard, though well known by churchgoers as a hymn tune. Garth gave us Yesterday’s Wine, by Earl Okin, followed by Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues.

Matt Brag gave us two of his own songs, Up To You, followed by his take on Hamlet. Amazing! Rosie Upton, fresh from recording her new CD (Threads and Yarns), sang us two songs from it, The Bloody Gardener and the late, great Mike Scott’s Men Bu**er Off. Terrific! Terry Helyar gave us Our China’s Been Broken and The Parting Glass, which is always worth a hearing. Honoured visitor Simon Meeds gave us Tracy Chapman’s Last Night, followed by On Shining Wings. Lovely.

Bryony gave us the suitably seasonal Easter Tree, followed by her own take on Linden Lea. Sue Skinner, whom we haven’t seen for far too long, popped in to sing, appropriately, On a Wing and a Prayer, and her own version of The Selkie Seal.

Rob Winder, paying us a visit prior to his appearance as part of Strange But True’s feature spot next month, sang an outstanding set consisting of Bonnie Susie Cleland (which is a serious discouragement for Scots lassies who wish to marry Englishmen!) and that splendid shanty, The Bulgine Run, which I haven’t heard sung for many years. Rob and Mick Mangan as Strange But True have recorded an EP of songs which will be available at their gig with us next month, profits to charity.

Kevin Hart started off the second half of the evening with a couple of his own songs, No Money and Back in Bed. Anna let down her hair, being careful not to get caught in the undertow, before enjoying a Hot August Night. Catherine, celebrating 25 years at her salon in Bath (she must have started as a child), gave us the Congregation of the Damned, followed by the topical Space Oddity.

Matt Cook gave us The Devil that you Need. “Silver” Sam then sang us his own wonderful The Noisiest Crisps. Simon Taylor and Mike Fossett, making I believe their first visit to us, gave us a song about separation, Seven League Boots. It was good to hear Mike’s fiddle. Two Oak Sons, mellow Americana as ever, gave us Louisiana, before the wonderful Andy Popplestone reminded us that The Times They Are A-Changing. Finally, Nigel informed us of the real reason for the eruption of Vesuvius and the destruction of Pompeii. It apparently involved aliens and a child’s nappy. I was going to add “you couldn’t make it up”, but Nigel did!

Another wonderful evening, and yes, Jan, I did turn to mush!