March 1986: In Hamilton Road
And here we all are, coming down Hamilton Road behind Suffolk's finest. There was a rumour at the time, which I've heard repeated since, that there were police marksmen on the roofs; I don't know how true that might have been. Sophie is easy to spot, Sue is carrying the banner and Mim is somewhere behind it.
March 1986: At the War Memorial with Gale
At the base of the War Memorial on the seafront, reading from left to right, we have Sue's left elbow, Sophie, sporting a mere selection of her vast collection of anti-war badges, Mim with the balloons, and Gale, Sophie's mum, who inspired us to become a band in the first place. We are standing next to the War Memorial on Felixstowe sea front, a local monument which, for some reason, has made no further appearance in the band's history until, in 2007, it became the inspiration for one of the songs on the new album.
Playing for the Orwell High School Barbecue
Were we ever that thin? Was Mim's hair ever that long? Well, I suppose the answer to both those questions must be 'yes'. I can't for the life of me remember, now, how we ever got involved with a school fete but we did.
Actually, it probably had something to do with the very simple fact that Orwell High School was the establishment which, at that time, Sophie adorned with her presence.
These appear to be now the only record of us with the instruments we later discarded - although Sophie's guitar has been known to make special guest appearances on rare occasions.
Cambridge Folk Festival
What a wonderful display of sunburnt knees! And how awkward we look with microphones - we've never liked using stand microphones; they do seem to get in the way of our contact with each other when we sing. The knees, we're afraid, we can do nothing about. On the other hand, it's clear that a cappella is beginning to take over.
Steamboat Folk Festival 2005
And I hear you ask, why the music stand? Don't you people know what you're singing by now?
Well, we do know what we're singing, as you can tell by the bottom photo, particularly: Sophie is looking away from the stand, Mim is looking at Sue and Sue seems to be looking at the tankard on the table. It's one of those historical accidents, really. When we were playing instruments in the street it was a way of keeping spectators and passers-by at a safe distance from potentially vulnerable (and expensive) bits of kit and, somehow, even after we stopped playing and started singing, the music stand came too. On this occasion, it was much too high but, I suppose because we weren't actually looking at it or using it in any meaningful way, we never really noticed until we saw the photographs!
2006 Steamboat Folk Festival
Well, we look a whole lot more confident (and thinner!) in this one than we did the year before! And Sue is looking at that tankard again ...
Looking back at the set list, this was the year we started finding songs which would make people laugh.
2006: Choose your winter festival and we'll sing for it!
Everyone enjoys Christmas carols - up to a point - the point in question being somewhere around the 12th December! When the cheerful sound of "Oh, come all ye faithful" bursts upon your eardrums, all those nostalgic, anticipatory feelings come back again. Until the ninety-fifth time you hear it. That's the great thing about our annual pub session, it doesn't stop at carols. Anything and everything from Frosty the Snowman to sea shanties can and will occur! And "Fairy Tale of New York" is practically our signature tune now!
While Shepherds Watched ...
We have always been very insistent that the name of the band has absolutely nothing to do with the number of personnel so, to prove it, here we are, joined by our old friend Roy Everett for a rousing rendition of "While Shepherds Watched" to the tune "Lyngham", otherwise known as "the curly tune". It can be a trifle confusing to go back to the four-part version when you are used to our own, three-part, arrangement, but we have always enjoyed incorporating as many other people as possible into our songs. It can be a bit scary when they have perfect pitch, though!
May 2008: Elmhurst Park, Woodbridge
We were delighted to be invited to take part in the 4th Suffolk Folk Festival, as one of five bands providing music in Woodbridge's Elmhurst Park on the Sunday afternoon. The weather could have been better, but although grey, it was at least dry, and there was a fair-sized audience, so we weren't singing to one man and his dog!
Not an easy day for singing, it must be said, but very enjoyable nonetheless. The radio microphones worked well in an open-air situation - too well, perhaps, because the crosswind meant that we practically had to lurk at the back of the stage to keep the noise down!
August 2008: A Slight Delay
What with one thing and another, Mim spent rather more of 2008 in the company of the Ipswich Hospital Orthopaedic Department than she would have wished. A knee operation in May was followed by a fall on the way to work resulting in what they call a Colles fracture of her left wrist (if you don't know what a Colles fracture is, you really don't want to - it's very nasty indeed) which wouldn't be too much of a problem if it weren't for the fact that Mim is left-handed. Oh whoops! And she still had to finish the arrangements for our Christmas set.
Butter wouldn't melt ...
Singing for Havering Folk Club (now Haverfolk) at their Christmas Dinner
May 2009: Woodbridge
It was a beautiful day, just the sort of day you dream of for an outdoor event. The sun was shining, the birds (and the bands) were singing and, this being Suffolk, a nasty little breeze was doing its best to monopolise the microphones ... again.
And it was Whit Sunday, so of course we were going to wear white.
Sophie commandeers the Mixing Desk as we record "Time Out Of Mind"
August 2009: Selling the Album
"Time Out Of Mind" finally came out on 1st August 2009. It does look a little nefarious as Mim collects the cash for our first CD sales in a hotel car-park in West London, particularly with our friend Mark looking on in those shades! But it's all perfectly legitimate really. We'd all been to a wedding and the transaction was taking place as we prepared to go our separate ways.
2010: Preview Club, Southend
The Preview Club pretty much defies description. It is a genuinely open mic gig - and David Anton, whose baby it is, has run it, week in and week out, since 1984, offering a stage to just about any kind of music you can think of, although even he might be just a little surprised if the Halle Orchestra turned up in full force. He'd find a way to do it, though!
Prev
Next