First Time On Grass

This is a very brief flashback post, tenuously inspired by the recent Royal Wedding in the UK.

I’ve just uploaded one song from one of the only two musical albums I’ve ever been involved in creating.  In 1993 I made a solo album called ‘So Serious’.  Most of it is not very good and is sixth form poetry at best, although I did record a cover version of Peter Gabriel’s Washing of the Water, which I recently aired on a closed Facebook group, called ‘Nightshift’.

However, two years later, I was involved in a live recording of a short-lived traditional jazz band.  It was final gig of a quintet who used to play at the Golden Fleece public house in Wells-next-the-Sea.  The members were John (Sax, Clarinet, Vocals), Ian (Guitar, landlord at the time), Nigs (Drums and heckling), Gavin (Harmonica) and myself (keys – i.e. piano).   For one night only we were called the Warham 5, as the venue was the Three HorseShoes in Warham, just outside of my hometown of Wells-next-the-Sea, in Norfolk.  It was during a beer festival at the pub.  My brother and father were in the audience.  I was 24 years old at the time.

The title of the live album came from a comment that John made the performance, about this being the first time we had played on grass – actually, AstroTurf.  But with at least one pot smoker in the band, this had a double-meaning and caused riotous laughter from the mostly drunken audience.

Anyway, here is one track from the album, entitled ‘Royal Garden Blues’, which is probably the most royal thing I’ve ever been involved in.