The Cheltenham Underground

It's with great sadness that I learn of the passing on Thursday 28 January of singer-songwriter, musician, poet, story-teller and friend Paul Murphy.

Through his music he could move you to tears one moment and have you howling with laughter the next as he sang songs of the 'Mole Man' of Hackney and how "God helps those who help themselves from supermarket shelves."

In his band The Destroyers he was the wild, whirling, twirling ringmaster while his 12-piece band whipped up a cyclone of Balkan gypsy-jazz and folk, tossing the audience from one side of the room to the other.  At Birmingham’s legendary Songwriter’s Café he was the eminently hospitable curator and host, encouraging and supportive of all genres and abilities.

I had the honour of performing there twice, in 2012 and 2014. Originally SWC had traveled over the years to venues such as Fibber McGhee’s, Scruffy Murphy’s and the Songbank. However, at the point I came to play, it had now found its home (quite literally) in the back garden of Paul’s house.

He had created a wonderful, magical environment where a small bridge led over a stream to his beautiful treehouse. Before the show, a small bonfire would crackle and spit as audience members and artists would sit on logs scattered around eating a delicious meal cooked and served up by Paul and his SWC partner Valeria Rispo.

Then everyone would find their seats in the treehouse (close to 50 in total) and sit back and listen to the music unfold. It was welcoming, comforting, inspiring. In short, it was Paul Murphy.

At the end of the night, having performed, having heard others perform and with Paul’s gentle words of encouragement still fresh in your mind, you’d leave there feeling enriched.

As an entertainer he was a rare breed; as a human, rarer still. His warmth, generosity and energy, all of which he possessed in almost supernatural abundance and which seemed too much to be contained by one human alone, could instill in you a confidence and belief that you could achieve anything you wanted as an artist, musician and person.

It inspired you to just be better.

I was very fortunate to have him play many Cheltenham Underground shows over the years. He still remains the only artist to have pulled an all-nighter at one of our secret house shows, all wide-eyed and still singing and telling tales at 7am with a glass of red in hand.

And on his first ever show for us (coincidentally exactly 5 years ago on 28 January), he was and is the only person I've seen single-handedly silence late-night bar Slak post-11pm as it filled up with those emptying out of the local pubs and looking to have a dance. They hung on his every word. Just him and his guitar.

He was a passionate campaigner and believer in social justice. It was that passion that meant he was still posting on Facebook about these issues up until his final days and it was that passion that kind of fooled me.

The logic went that if he's still finding time to post about these things, to implore us to care about other people and to support their plights, then maybe his health wasn't too bad right now. Perhaps it wasn't troubling him too much for him to be able to focus his attentions and energies on others.

In hindsight, a rather foolish conclusion to come to because that was exactly who Paul was. His love, support and compassion for others, carried forth by that seemingly limitless wave of energy he possessed, outweighed all else.

And what of that "warmth, generosity and energy, all of which he possessed in almost supernatural abundance and which seemed too much to be contained by one human alone"?

Does it disappear along with the magnificent vessel that contained it for so long?

No.

It flowed and will continue to flow through all who knew him. You'll see it for years to come in the stories, poems, songs, music and campaigning of the countless people who had the pleasure of knowing him.

It's very easy to be sad on a day like this. Once that has subsided a little, I hope all who knew him can think also of how fortunate we were to have shared time and space on this planet with him and to have reveled in his artistry. I'll miss him very much.

RIP Paul.

John Madden

SECRET HOUSE SHOW: August 29 - Mark Morriss and Simon Mole

Pics courtesy of Jessica Stone

Writer and music maker Chris T-T is one of the UK’s most consistently acclaimed underground artists. Active since 1997, Chris has released nine albums, including a trilogy about London: The 253 (2001), London Is Sinking (2003) and Capital (2008), as well as influential political protest record 9 Red Songs (2005) and most recently The Bear (2013). He has written for Dark Mountain, Louder Than War, Huffington Post, NME.com, New Public Thinkers and for four years wrote a weekly column on the arts in The Morning Star. He has spoken at TEDx, Boring Conference, SOAS, Brighton Digital Festival, Interrogate! at Dartington Hall, AIM Music Connect, Leeds University, Great Escape Convention, UC Falmouth and many others. “A national gem of a songwriter.” THE INDEPENDENT Emerging from roots in late 90s lo-fi and psych-folk, Chris first gained acclaim for sarcastic, city-obsessed urban folk. More recently he has developed into an influential figure of UK songwriting; crossing barriers between punk, psych-pop and English folk, inspiring a generation of successful home-grown artists. Chris has played shows around the world with artists such as Ben Folds, Elbow, The National, Divine Comedy, Bellowhead, Walkmen, Frank Turner, Delgados, British Sea Power, Arab Strap, Carter USM, Marcus Brigstocke, Madrugada, Robyn Hitchcock, Stewart Lee, Iain Sinclair and many others. He has played piano for Tom Robinson, Jim Bob (Carter USM) and Frank Turner. In 2010 Chris instigated the #IAmSpartacus global Twitter meme, as an act of civil disobedience in support of Paul Chambers’ Twitter Joke Trial. Chris has also performed on the fourth plinth at Trafalgar Square for Anthony Gormley’s One & Other project; re-soundtracked live cult Japanese film Battle Royale for Soho’s Other Cinema and composed music on commission for the Natural History Museum and the World Health Organisation. In 2011, Chris took his one-man show Disobedience to Edinburgh Fringe Festival, singing new versions of A.A. Milne’s 1920s childrens’ poems. In 2012, his blog entry criticising the Olympics Closing Ceremony, Not Just Shit But Dangerous brought 65,000 readers to his site in two days. Chris T-T’s 9th album The Bear, recorded with his band lineup Hoodrats, was released by Xtra Mile Recordings in October 2013. “One of the great underground artists of our time.” JON SNOW “Outstanding, indispensable genius. A modern-day Blake.” THE SUNDAY TIMES

THEM SPITFIRES

Them Spitfires, formed in 2012, feature Wing CommanderCharles Horatio Friendly on guitar and vox, Flight Lt. Ronald B. George on Bass/backing vox and ‘Gurkha’ Steve on drums.

Their shared vision is to produce ‘Exceedingly good’ Mooch Punk and Dustbin Mod (Mod music which sounds like it’s being played in a Dustbin), and fill a very obvious void for those that enjoy stripped down early 60’s garage, British invasion R’n’B, delta blues with a heavy nod to the post punk sensibilities of the Jam and Gang of Four.

The band are yet to release an official EP or album, with plans to do so later this year, however a very limited run of the bootleg of “The War Room Tapes EP” was leaked by an enemy spy in 2014.

www.soundcloud.com/themspitfires

NEIL MORRIS He released his debut solo EP 'Fair To Average' in 2004 followed by his first full length album 'A View From The Cheap Seats in 2009, another EP 'Distant & Distracted' in 2011 and has his second full length album 'Dyed in the Wool' out on 3rd April 2014 whereupon he hit the road for his longest tour to date. Since going solo he's toured the UK 9 times and played shows with Carlos and The Jackal, The Dawn Chourus, Oxygen Thief, Ben Marwood, My Name is Ian, Jackrabbit Parole, Adam Boucher, Jim Lockey & The Solemn Sun.

DATE: Friday 22 May

VENUE: The Frog and Fiddle, 313-315 High St, Cheltenham

DOORS: 8.00pm

***The hometown launch showfor the long-awaited debut LP from Andy Oliveri*** ‘A king is nothing without his armour..’  A fitting statement that reflects the heart-on-sleeve conviction and fragile disposition displayed by musician Andy Oliveri throughout his debut record ‘Pay Your Respect To The Rose’.  Over the past year, Oliveri has finished recording and mixing the record.. As a body of work, it stands as a delicate portrayal of lost love and a brutally honest insight into the compass of emotions that follow. Much like the lyrical themes throughout, the writing for the album was done alone and built solely around voice and guitar. Original sessions for the record were planned as a stark reminder of earlier releases, giving the songs room to breath and the tender delivery of the heartfelt lyrical content to shine through. After a year of shows with a band to road-test the new material, Oliveri found that he could explore his own ideas through vast arrangements and sounds to create a unique piece of self-expression. Whilst the instrumental landscape of the record is a progression from previous releases, the writing represents the strong roots in the intense sentiment, maturity and captivating character Oliveri demonstrated in his early work. Echoes to his previous output is also evident in the cast of performers and arrangers enlisted to work on the record. The mix of friends and musicians who shared the vision of the material both on tape and in the live shows rendered the DIY aesthetic which is revisited anew in the organic approach to recording. The bulk of ‘Pay Your Respect To The Rose’ was recorded live over two days at FCH Chapel with longtime friend and collaborator Marcus Jenkins. The natural reverb of the chapel gave the songs a new depth whilst adding a haunting and earthly overtone to the record. The personalities of the characters that appear throughout the eleven tracks were later fleshed out by the eclectic palette of musicians during the year that followed the initial sessions.  “This wasn’t an easy record to make” states Oliveri, both in regards to the autobiographical subject of many of the songs and the amount of time spent making the record. Whilst past releases have been recorded in a matter of hours or days, ‘Pay Your Respect To The Rose’ is a different beast.  An emotional journey through the exploration of lost love, but at the same time a creative journey of an artist who has overcome these trials and is showing a new sense of liberation.  **Plus support from BOAT TO ROW** “a band to get your ears involved with” This Is Fake DIY “my bit of treasure at Cambridge Folk Festival” Sue Marchant, BBC Cambridge “one of the West Midlands most exquisitely talented folk acts” Brumnotes Magazine Birmingham quintet Boat To Row have earned an outstanding live reputation since their beginnings as a solo project in 2009. They combine a genuine ease in each other's musical company with an energetic, skilfully crafted sound. Their songs play host to winding tales, journeying through light and shade. Expect an intricate set woven with strings and vocal harmonies, layered with an ever-expanding collection of instruments.  They have supported Slow Club, Willy Mason and Johnny Flynn and have toured with Dog Is Dead and Gemma Hayes. They recently joined Jim Lockey And The Solemn Sun and Devon Sproule for dates on their UK tours. This summer saw appearances at 2000 Trees, Lunar, Wood, Behind The Castle, Moseley Folk, Green Man and Cambridge Folk festivals. Crossroads, Grassmarket and Loyal Light EPs have paved the way for new single ‘Tightrope’. Released on Nocturne Records, it has enjoyed BBC Radio 2, BBC Introducing, BBC Shropshire & Cambridgeshire, Amazing Radio and BBC 6 Music play.  £5 in adv from WeGotTickets or £6 OTD 

DATE: Friday 8 May 2015

BROOKE SHARKEY London based singer-songwriter Brooke Sharkey was raised between France and England. At the age of 16, her musician Father gave Brooke the best piece of advice, which was go out on the street and start busking the first few songs she’d written. Since then brooke has released 2 EPs and her Debut album ‘One Dress’ released in December 2012 recorded at Livingston studios in London. She went on tour the UK, France and Italy with her backing band. Brooke has lured a considerable audience with her intense and expressive style, drawing the listener into her ever more narrative songs with a spacious backdrop of chanson, blues, folk and Latin music. Her current band consists of Adam Beattie on electric guitar and backing vocals, a singer/ songwriter in his own right who often shares the bill with Brooke.

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‘She’s sure to stop you in your tracks…Really is so beautiful…’ Mary Anne Hobbs BBC Radio 6 Music ‘Brooke has an incredible voice, amazing control and grace’ The Observer

--- ADAM BEATTIE Scottish-born and London-based folk singer-songwriter.

'Superb! A great ear for melody and a natural talent for lyric writing.' - Bruce MacGregor, BBC RADIO SCOTLAND 'Incredibly Beautiful' - Mary Anne Hobbs, BBC Radio 6 Music 

--- EMI MCDADE Performing since April 2013, McDade has been finding her feet as a musician and exploring the world of music. After the release of her first single, she’s performed on stages such as BBC Introducing, Bedford Live, Guildhall, The Fleece, The Wardrobe and many others, and has recently supported artists such as JP Cooper, Fiona Bevan and Kal Lavelle.

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BEN CIPOLLA Ben Cipolla is a young, singer-songwriter from Wiltshire. He began as a 14 year old busker, and has performed his own music ever since. He was spotted busking in 2012 by Radio 2 presenter Clare Teal, who says he is writing ‘terrific songs’. Ben duetted with Clare Teal at the Marlborough Jazz festival, played alongside Eliza Carthy at the Weymouth OlympicCeremony and performed at Glastonbury 2014. Ben has also formed an eight-piece band who play a collection of soulful covers, as well as his own material. The Ben Cipolla Band were voted 'Best Newcomer Of The Year' by the Marlborough Jazz Festival 2014 and their debut will be available towards the end of April. 

VENUE: Frog and Fiddle, 313-315 High St, Cheltenham