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news summary 2006

This is the news summary for 2006.

Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec

January 2005

2006
January
On Sunday 2nd January Robbie McIntosh, Ady Milward and I met up for an afternoon of blues to Dylan to Hank Williams at the Park Hotel in Weymouth. Robbie was on blazing form, and it was the perfect way to start the New Year.

On Saturday, 7th January the Ben Waters Band played at a private party in a 12th century tithe barn in Farnham Surrey. Good gig, but it was f-f-fairly cold.

Weysia 2006 took place on Sunday 22nd at Weymouth Pavilion Ocean Room, Weymouth. This concert marked the anniversary of the first Weysia event on 23rd January 2005, when £20,000 was raised for the victims of the Boxing Day Tsunami. Profits from Weysia 2006 will go to the aid of victims of the Pakistan earthquake of October 8th, in which some 73,000 men, women and children were killed and more than 3 million left homeless. Thousands more lives are still in danger as winter sets in.

Once again Dorset’s music community rallied round to give its services free of charge in order to raise funds. Local businesses and individuals were also keen to help with cash donations and raffle prizes, and staff at the Pavilion worked for free in order that as much as possible of the funds raised could go straight to the charity organisation.

The concert started at midday with a fine set from The Crack, who were followed onstage by a succession of excellent local bands. The afternoon session was finished off with an appearance from Billy Bragg, who played a couple of his songs before being joined by the Rosetta Life Band, whose set included a live rendition of the hit single ‘We Laughed’. That line-up then morphed into Robbie McIntosh’s Steamer Ducks, finishing a fantastic afternoon with some high-energy blues and r&b.

Gothic Chicken began the evening session in their unique and wonderful way. The fun continued through the evening and was concluded perfectly by the newly-reformed Dolmen, who rounded the whole event off in rousing Celtic style. This précis does no justice to the succession of excellent bands that played that day. Check out the full line-up and more at www.weysia.co.uk.

We raised something in the region of £3,500 for the Disasters Emergency Committee. Thanks to all the bands, organisers, everyone who helped and to everybody that turned up on the day. What a fantastic way to raise money for the most deserving of causes. What a tribute to our thriving music scene in this corner of Dorset – Eleven hours of live music, all provided for free by local bands, all of the highest quality.

On Saturday 28th January the Ben Waters Band returned to the world-renowned 100 Club in Oxford Street, London. The regular band, i.e. Ben, Clive Ashley, Ady Milward and myself, was joined by Clive’s trombone-playing brother Ray and baritone man Pete Bettle, with guitar legend Elliott Randall completing the line-up. The place was rammed, the punters were right up for it, and we had a fantastic night. We were also being checked out by Ray Davies of Kinks fame, and he declared himself impressed with the band. We did sound pretty hot, if I say so myself!

On Monday 30th Julie Lewis organised a wonderful gig at the Centenary Club in Weymouth to raise money so that some friends of ours that have been through some tough times could have a holiday. Julie began proceedings, and was followed onstage by fiddle virtuoso Simon Swarbrick and percussionist Simon Hulker. Julie and Simon then joined r&b veterans Brahms & Liszt for a set that whisked us straight back to the band’s early days at the White Hart twenty-something years ago. Gothic Chicken were top of the bill, the only place that wonderful band could be.

February

March

Following the release of the Rosetta Life single ‘We Laughed’ in Ireland, Billy Bragg, Helena, Julie Lewis, Ady Milward, Ade Collis and myself flew out to Dublin on Friday 24th February to do the Late Late Show for RTE. We were miming to the original single with Helena performing a live vocal. Talk about easy gigs! We took full advantage of some splendid Irish hospitality and had a wonderful time.

We flew back on Saturday morning, and then Ady and I high-tailed it to Bridport for a Little Dixie gig at the Ropemakers. Despite severe Guinness lag we had a great night.

April

At the crack of dawn on April 1st we were off to Heathrow where we met Ben Waters on his return from the Caribbean, after which we all flew out for an 8-day jaunt in Germany with the wondrous folk at Sound’s Promotion. Once again we were treated to great gigs, great food, great beer, wonderful hospitality and all the other trappings that go along with playing in Germany. Or Finland. Or Norway, Belgium, Ireland, Zambia, basically anywhere outside UK, where most musicians are treated like mobile jukeboxes with a drink problem.

We had a riot with Little Dixie at the Three Horseshoes in Burton Bradstock on Thursday 13th April. Mutter Slater, Ady and I were joined by ace guitarist Phil Rosenberg, who was on blinding form. I had such fun that I decided to leave my bass at the gig to continue to soak up atmosphere.

I joined Robbie McIntosh, Ady Milward and keyboard ace Steve Burholt at the Park Hotel, Weymouth on Monday 17th April for a wonderful night of blues, r&b, country, soul…all the good stuff. Steve played with us in the Steamer Ducks for a number of years, and it was great to catch up with him again, musically and socially.

The Ben Waters Band travelled to The Hague, Holland on Friday 28th April to take part in that lovely city’s festival celebrations at an English-themed pub called The Fiddler. Our struggle to find the venue was ended when we were given a motorcyle-police escort to the gig, blue lights flashing, the whole deal.

The gig itself was fantastic. Ben hit the rock’n’roll switch straight from the off and a pan-European audience responded instantly. The pace was kept up through to the wee small hours, and the party continued from there.

May

I celebrated May Day with Robbie McIntosh, Clive Ashley, Nick Gomer and Ady Milward at the Park Hotel in Weymouth. It was a wonderful afternoon as Robbie led us through works from Bob Dylan to Hank Williams to The Kinks, Freddie King, Blind Faith and tons more goodies.

The Ben Waters Band returned 100 Club in Oxford Street, London on 6th May. Ben, Clive, Ady and myself were joined by Clive’s trombone-wielding brother Ray and sax supremo Derek Nash. The place was absolutely mobbed and the atmosphere was wonderful, and I must say the band was in fine form.

Brahms & Liszt regrouped at the compact and bijou Sailor’s Return in Weymouth on Saturday 13th May. The line-up was Tim Broad and Grant Day (guitars), Nick Gomer (harmonica), Rob Davis (drums) and myself. I was playing my brand-new (well, second-hand) Ashbory 19-inch scale fretless bass. I’ve been after one of these for a while, and I wasn’t disappointed – it looks like a toy, but it sounds like a double bass. Amazing thing.

The Ben Waters Band made its début at The Concorde Club, Eastleigh, near Southampton on Wednesday 17th May. The Concorde is a well-established venue on the British jazz circuit, but they loved our set of full-on boogie, blues and rock’n’roll.

On Saturday 20th May Little Dixie returned to the Sailors Return in Weymouth for another night of proper soul, blues and new country, mixed with Mutter’s wondrous original material. I love playing at the Sailors – it’s got that playing-in-your-mates-front room vibe.

Little Dixie returned to the Park Hotel, Weymouth on Friday 26th May, followed by a gig at Ropemakers, Bridport on Saturday 27th. On both occasions Mutter Slater, Ady Milward and myself were joined by ace guitarist Phil Rosenberg.

We’re spoilt rotten for guitar players around here. For example, on Sunday 28th I was back at the Park with guitarist extraordinaire and all-round diamond geezer Robbie McIntosh. On this occasion we were joined by Ady, harmonica ace Nick Gomer and Robbie’s old buddy and Paul McCartney Band fellow member Wix. It was a truly wonderful gig.

June

The Ben Waters Band played at a 21st birthday party in a big tent near Sherborne on 3rd June. On Sunday 4th I was back at the Park Hotel in Weymouth with Robbie McIntosh, Nick Gomer and Ady Milward for another afternoon of full-on blues/roots fun. Once again the McIntosh was on blazing form.

The Rosetta Life band (Billy Bragg, Helena, Robbie McIntosh Ady Milward and I) played at the Three Horseshoes in Burton Bradstock, near Bridport, Weymouth on Friday 23rd June. It was a wondrous night at Adrian and Sarah’s superb little boozer. Johnnie Walker of BBC Radio fame was at the gig as a guest of my old mate and erstwhile Custer’s Last Blues Band founder member Dave Miles, and Walker declared himself well impressed with the evening’s entertainment. He followed this up by playing the Rosetta song ‘The Light Within’ on his Radio 2 show on Monday 3rd July. The gig at the Shoes served as a warm-up for the band’s appearance at the Beaminster Festival in the town’s Public Hall Dorset on Friday 28th June, where once again we played the three songs from the ‘We Laughed’ CD, plus Billy’s anthemic statement of personal commitment ‘I Keep Faith’ and a selection of Helena’s and Robbie’s original material. Robbie, Ady and I also had some fun with a few numbers from the Steamer Ducklings set, letting rip with our interpretations of works from the likes of Freddie King, The Boxtops and Chuck Berry.

You might be aware the Rosetta Life Band is the band that recorded the song ‘We Laughed’, written by Maxine Edgington and Billy, which got to no.11 in the UK charts. Maxine was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer some time ago, but the medical experts that predicted her life expectancy back then didn’t reckon with her sheer determination to live every moment to the full. You can get more details of the Rosetta Life hospice charity movement at www.rosettalife.org.

July

The Ben Waters Band made its third annual visit to Lulworth Castle in Dorset, an absolutely idyllic setting, on Friday 7th July. Blues duo Harry Skinner and Dave Saunders kicked off the night, followed by a blistering hour-long set from Ben, Ady, Clive Ashley, Ray Ashley (trombone), Pete Bettle (baritone), Tony Farinha (guitar) Ralph Cree (percussion) and myself. Top of the bill was Procol Harum, still fronted by Gary Brooker whose voice and piano skills are as wonderful as ever. Their huge 1967 hit A Whiter Shade of Pale was the first record I ever bought, making the event particularly poignant for me. The night was a huge success, and congratulations go to Ben and the people at the Castle for putting the whole thing together.

On Saturday 15th July I had a double-header at the Gillingham Festival in Gillingham, North Dorset. I played first with the Barrelhouse Blues Band with Paul Hart (guitar), Clive Ashley (sax) Mark Skerritt (piano) and Alan Edwards, and thoroughly enjoyed the band’s funky/spacey take on the blues. The Ben Waters Band topped the bill, with Clive, Ady Milward, Ben and me being joined by Pete Bettle on baritone sax, Lee Badeaux on tenor sax, Tony Farinha (guitar) and Ralph Cree (percussion). Ben and the band were on blazing form and the audience responded accordingly. Lee and Tony play regularly with bands like the Big Town Playboys and the Werewolves of London, but they were both blown away by the sheer energy produced by the Ben band. A great, great day.

August

The Ben Waters Band set off for the Great Woods Park Festival, Beausejour, Manitoba, Canada on Saturday 6th August. It was the first time I’d ever been across the Atlantic into North America, and it was a fascinating experience. We flew into Toronto (business class, due to a great bit of blagging by Ben) and on to Winnipeg, where we were met by the festival organisers, Ron Madjeski and Tom Bowler (crazy name! Crazy guy!).

Ron, his partner Karen and Tom have been running the festival for eleven years in an absolutely idyllic setting just outside Beausejour. The Brokenhead River runs through the site, bald eagles snatch fish out of the river, chipmunks nick your leftovers and the horizon goes on forever.

As for the music, blimey! Wonderful blues/roots bands from Canada and the USA. The standard of musicianship, particularly within the rhythm sections, was frankly intimidating. The strange thing was that when we shuffled onstage to knock out our bunch of dodgy 12-bars, they loved it! Ben will go down well with any audience anywhere because he’s a world-class player, a great entertainer and a specialist in his field, but it was strange to get complements from scarily good rhythm section players. Apparently we’ve got a uniquely British sound that they find appealing (or perhaps they were just being kind). Monty Python’s big in Canada too!

A day and a half back in Blighty and then it was off to Finland . Unfortunately our flight out of Gatwick was delayed, meaning that we missed our connection at Amsterdam and had to wait seven hours for the next flight to Helsinki (the first-class lounge softened the blow), where we were due onstage at the Storyville Happy Jazz Club at 10pm. We eventually got there at midnight after 19 hours travelling and went straight onstage, where we played straight through until 3am . I woke up the next day at ten to seven and had no idea whether it was a.m. or p.m. I eventually worked it out by the way the shadows were moving on the wall of the hotel across the road.

We had three great gigs at Storyville and then it was back to the UK , and another gig with Ben on the boat on Thursday 24th August as it cruised around Poole Harbour on another beautiful summer night.

My son Jack has started playing bass, so on Monday 28th, his 13th birthday, I gave him his first bass. I don’t know who was more chuffed, me or him!

The Ben Waters band topped the bill of a day of music that night in Maumbury Rings in Dorchester, a Roman amphitheatre and a fantastic setting.

September

Little Dixie did their first gig in a while at the Three Horseshoes in Burton Bradstock, Dorset on 15th September, and it was a cracking night. Mutter, Ady Milward and myself were joined by Clive Ashley on sax and guitar ace Phil Rosenberg.

On Saturday 23rd the Ben Waters Band topped the bill at Blues At The Fort, an annual blues festival in an amazing setting, a Napoleonic Wars-vintage fort set atop a ridge of hills north of Southampton (as opposed to south of Northampton). We were preceded onstage by a couple of blues/boogie type outfits, one from Swindon and one from Sheffield, but I must say that we would have taken the roof off the place had there been one. We got a tremendous response.

October

The Ben Waters Band made its ninth visit to the Cork International Jazz Festival on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th October. We played in the Metropole Hotel’s main ballroom, top of the bill on both nights, both nights sold out, with the whole room dancing from front to back from the first number.

What’s more, after all these years, we finally made it onto the official festival T-shirt! Hurrah! The ultimate accolade.

November

On Tuesday 14th November the Ben Waters Band began initial recordings for the proposed new Ben CD at Jools Holland’s Studio in London. Ben, Ady Milward, Clive Ashley and myself were joined by Derek Nash and Richard Hymas, and we put down a dozen or so basic tracks in two days, which surpassed all of our expectations. The majority of the new material reflects a fertile new songwriting partnership between Ben and Richard that remains true to Ben’s boogie/rock’n’roll roots while taking that format into a new direction altogether.

On Thursday 9th The Ben band headed off for our third weekend residency this year at Storyville Happy Jazz Club in Helsinki, Finland. Three nights on the trot playing from 10pm to 3am certainly puts a band through its paces, but we got a great reception every night. The bar staff have become firm fans, which is always a great sign.

The Ben Waters Band played at the Upwey & Broadwey Memorial Hall on Friday 24th November. The gig was sold out weeks beforehand, and great fun was had by all. This was followed by a return to The Concord Club, Eastleigh, near Southampton on Wednesday 29th.

December

The Ben Waters Band played st the The Minerva Theatre, Chichester, West Sussex on Friday 1st December, another gig that gave the band an opportunity to air the new songs written by Ben and Richard Hymas.

The Ben band returned to Mr Kyps, in Parkstone, Poole, Dorset on Sunday 17th December for this excellent venue’s Christmas party. It was a fantastic concert, made all the better by a guest appearance from Ed Deane, a truly wonderful guitarist.

Ed also joined us for the band’s recording at Maida Vale studios in London for Paul Jones’ BBC Radio 2 show. The show went out on January 25th.

We had our own Ben Waters Band Christmas party at Beaminster Town Hall in Dorset on January 29th. Ben, Ady, Clive and myself were joined by Clive’s brother Ray on trombone and Pete Bettle on baritone sax. The place was mobbed and, after a slightly dodgy start due to technical problems, we had a riot.

Little Dixie played at the Ropemakers in Bridport on Saturday 30th December, and Mutter Slater, Ady, Chris Rickard and myself saw out 2006 at the Three Horseshoes in Burton Bradstock. Two blinding gigs to see out an amazing year.

It was a pretty remarkable year for all sorts of reasons. It started on a balcony at Somerset House in London with Billy Bragg and the Rosetta Life band, playing to an estimated 10 million viewers. That band also went out ‘live’ (i.e. miming and half-cut) on RTE television in Ireland . There were hugely successful fundraising gigs at the Weysia and John Spencer gigs, and we had trips to Germany, Austria, Canada, France, Ireland, Holland and Finland (three times) with the Ben Waters Band.

 Chris Lonergan

© 2004 Galeforce Media Solutions, Dorset