TAMWORTH FOLK CLUB GUEST NIGHT - November 2002

Kelly's Heroes and Steve Swoffer

A cold night out in November might not be the best prospect to look forward to but the night of the 22nd at The Gamecock was certainly one which I will remember and would not liked to have missed. Malcolm Robinson had been kept busy at the door with ticket sales and was juggling with the amount of tickets which had to be saved due to last minute phone calls to reserve them. In fact the room was just comfortably full and no one spilt any beer squeezing throughout the isles.

It fell on Steve Edkins (who else) to compere the proceedings and he introduced our own small but perfectly formed Steve Swoffer to start the evening. I have to say that Steve with the addition of a P.A. sounded just great, even his jokes were more audible (I wonder if that is a good thing).
He gave a very good performance with some new songs to compliment his favourite repertoire which was very well appreciated by all the audience.

The main guests for the evening were Kelly's Hero's and they set themselves up at the head of the room. When all the lights were put out I thought the "snooker table lights" had fused, but they had their own lighting set up which proved very effective, as they were only two floor mounted coloured spots shining upwards, at first I thought they were fan heaters. I can imagine the subtle effect this kind of lighting could have on The Old Castle Band, your comments are welcomed.

Kelly's Hero's are a band that many people have seen or heard over the years, but forget the impact that a live performance can give, They started up with a very upbeat version of I'm a Rover, which we have heard many times at our usual singarounds, but it just sounded so different with the excellent guitar and accordion accompaniment.

Tony, the lead singer relates stories and recalls tales from his boyhood which skillfully links the tunes together in his own inimitable way with hand gestures to compete with any Italian. The songs were very different in their content and the backing was certainly a very professional job, Tony even sang a song that The Corrs made famous which he insisted they stole from him, he sang it as it should be played.

Half time came all too early with the raffle and a look at the amount of paperwork on the tables, advertising future events made it look like exam time at college, if any one remembers such times.

The second half began with Steve Swoffer once again giving his all, aided by the P.A. and his choice of songs were wonderful. He would have to leave directly after his set as Michael Jackson was baby sitting and he was a bit worried.

The main guests back on, and Kelly's Hero's version of Irish reggae was a great foot tapping experience. With songs such as Carrigfergus, and back home in Derry the North had a good airing and at the end of the night after great applause, an encore of Whiskey in the Jar and a rousing set of tunes brought the evening to a finish. A great night out once again, with thanks to our organisers, looking forward to January 31st 2003 for the next one.

R.D.C.2002