Thursday 21 October, Sage, Gateshead, Hall 2 at 8 pm
Great songs of Ed Pickford sung by great Northeasterners, including MC Dave Normanton, Jim Sharp , Lucy Falkenau, The Keelers, Jim Bainbridge, Benny Graham, Johnny Handle (The High Level Ranters), Andy Seagroatt and Barrie & Ingrid Temple.
Ed cites Woody Buthrie and the Music Hall as some of his first influences and his songs (including Farewell Johnny Miner, Workers' Song and Pound a Week Rise) are sung across the world, including by Dick Gaughan, John Doyle, The Dropkick Murphies, Whiskey Priests, Tom McConville, the Demon Barber Roadshow and many others. The themes range from mining and political songs animated by a sharp concern for justice and workers' rights to Northeastern dialect reminiscences, to sharp and humorous glances at recent events (credit crunch) to whimsy (Hamster Sid, 'I became a juke box when I crossed the Irish Sea')... Ed's songbook is here and youtube channel, here, mainly songs that postdate the songbook.
The concert is the first in a series at the Sage organized by Kathryn Tickell; next up will be Bob Davenport.