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LATEST NEWS

 

3 Sep 2008:  JK ON TEACHERS TV
As schools go back after the summer holidays, some folkie teachers out there might be interested to see this, available either as a broadcast programme or as an on-line resource:
http://www.teachers.tv/video/21938.

For the last few years, I have been secretly wandering around Primary Schools in Bristol giving short concerts to pupils of Year 5 (aged 9 or 10, I think. We didn't have Year 5 when I was at school!). To begin with these excursions were in a duo with Paul Burgess, but economic necessity has caused more recent outings to be just by me solo.

Apart from giving the children a chance to see a real live musician standing there blasting out the traditional native music of their country, the idea was also to stimulate their creative writing. More recently, these concert spots have been followed by song-writing sessions in the individual classrooms, using one of the tunes that I'd sung earlier.

You can now see this process at work in a programme made by the Bristol based company Available Light TV, filmed last year at Westbury Park School. The Headmaster there, Alan Rees, who appears from time to time explaining the educational context of what's going on, has been the brains behind this project of getting live music into schools. Sadly, he has now just retired from teaching, so these opportunities for aspiring folk singers may now have come to an end.

But you can see me popping up half way through the thirty minute film, looking relentlessly jovial for the cameras, working with the children on a song to the tune of one of Fred Jordan's songs - "Polly's Father". The subject is linked to their classroom project that term - healthy eating - and concerns the growing of vegetables on their window sill.

Once you've recovered from the shock of witnessing this strange turn of events, please note that here is someone who will obviously have a go at anything, and rest assured that no offer of work will be dismissed out of hand without full and mature consideration!

31 Jul 2008:  STRIVING FOR STARDOM...............
Ardent Steeleye Span fans may well have noticed a certain squeezebox player, often mentioned in these pages, popping up to join them as a surprise guest at their SPANFEST last weekend at Stanford Hall, near Rugby. Accordionist also present at the warm up gig at Nettlebed the previous Thursday.

We didn't do anything from my time in the band - 1977/78 - but had bags of fun nevertheless. Next year will see Steeleye's 40th birthday, so wild celebrations and more guest apparances are distinctly on the cards.

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I also joined in on several numbers with Maddy Prior, in her solo set featuring material from her latest CD - "Seven for Old England". Maddy is touring the album in October, with a small band that includes my son Benji, and I will be joining them at a special gig at Cecil Sharp House in London on Thursday October 23rd. The event will be recorded for BBC TV as part of The Folk Proms.

14 Jul 2008:  CARD PAYMENTS CEASE
Here at the hub of the Squeezer empire, the board have decided to stop the system whereby we can accept payments for CDs, etc, by credit or debit card. The natty little device that regular fans will have seen Sally whipping out on the record stall just doesn't get the mobile phone signal it requires half the time, and the whole set up is far too expensive to run for the small amount of use it gets.

So from now on, for the time being at least, we can only accept payment in cash or by cheque.

11 Apr 2008:  GOING SPARE - IT'S OUT!
Finally re-issued after many years in the wilderness, the 1978 LP on Free Reed Records is now available on CD, with two extra bonus tracks.

All songs and tunes by John Kirkpatrick, with contributions from Nigel Pegrum, Stewart and Colin Goldring, Bill Caddick, Derek Pearce, Alan Harris, Sue Harris, chorus vocals by Martin Brinsford and Fi Fraser, and, on the two bonus tracks, Richard Thompson, Simon Nicol, Dave Mattacks, and Dave Foister.

Track listing:

The Gas Almost Works
Dan the Dustman
Saint George
What do Doggies Do when they get
Bogies up their Nose?
Three Slip Jigs
What Do You Do In The Day?
Burning the Water
Jogging Along with my Reindeer
As the Sun was Setting
Eddie Baker's Muckspreader
Pepper in the Brandy

PLUS:
Both sides of the Dingle's single from 1980:

King Neptune's Lament
Jogging Along with my Reindeer

£8.00 plus p + p - details on the merchandising pages.