17th November 2019

Winging it at the one rehearsal.

I was piling up the pressure on myself by adding an unfinished song that I had written about some of the memories of Jimmy and Pete and specific things that were said and done.

 By now we had the venue booked. It was the Three Counties Hotel in Belmont where Paul had had his birthday some time ago. We booked the staging and Paul had sound and lights. 

  We had set the date for October the 5^th, a ticket agency was found, and of course extra security was arranged. After all, this was Hereford-England's wild West!

 I had a guitar rehearsal with Paul Cheshire and Paul Cobbold. 'Chesh' was a friend from Hereford back when Jimmy Scott was still a kid and Pete was getting into his first band. Paul Cheshire was a key man. 

Another guitar rehearsal saw me requisition a guitar player, Matt Warren, who I had used on my first track in Paul’s studio about two years ago. He is a young man with talent and good feel.

 These rehearsals were spread over the best part of a month. In reality, three rehearsals of about 5 or 6 hours in total. 

I had learned a lot. I had also done the unthinkable again. On the last guitar rehearsal, I had got another one of my songs into my 'set'. This was a slow acoustic song. I played it on my 2008 Martin guitar with mellow bass to accompany me and the two guitarists playing small roles to give the song some atmosphere and shape. The song was called 'Postcards'. It was again about Jim and Pete and how they are still, fantastically, in my life. 

Now I am singing and playing guitar on three songs. How did that happen?! I guess they just needed to be sung. It felt like they were desperate to escape!!

 A full band rehearsal was called for late September. Everything was loaded in and set up by a small group of us and the organisation of the rehearsal got underway. I had never fronted a band on guitar in my life. I needed to get 'my sound' but I didn't know what it was.

 We played the Steve Winwood song and I could hear very little that I liked. We were playing to a wall some twenty five feet in front of us, and I simply had trouble hearing my guitar or voice. In the middle of the rehearsal, my amp blew a speaker and started to flap a little (not that I noticed during the run-through).

 By the end I had to make a few split decisions. The show date, my debut in my home town, was coming up soon. There was no way I could just busk it. 

I had organised a projector and operator from the Friends of Lyde who were the beneficiaries of the show. I wanted as many pictures of Jimmy and Pete as I could get and some live pictures of them in concert.

 It wasn't long before it dawned on me that there were a few key people who should have their pictures up on the screen with Jim and Pete. One of them was my long time tight friend Bryan Morgan. He had driven the van and set the gear nearly fifty years ago and on October the 5th, show day, it was the third anniversary of his death.

 Meanwhile I set out to finish lyrics to my two self-penned songs. I had to improve everything, and fast. 

M.D.C.

8th November 2019

(L-R: Paul Cobbold. James Williams, and the show off,

Martin Chambers. Photo by Alan Bayley.)

I had made up my mind, and this celebration for James Honeyman Scott and Pete Farndon had to be done. A couple more shows and I would be home for many months. Chrissie was heavily involved with getting her 'Valve Bone Woe' album out in September, James would be touring The Rails' new record (as was Carwyn), and Nick was enjoying family time and his own pursuits.

 First thing, I had to get a band, a venue, and a date. I contacted my friend Paul Cobbold, with whom I had begun to work with on my album. I had worked in a band called Karakorum with him from the end of the 60's until 1973. The band started as a trio, Paul on left handed Hofner 'violin' bass and James Williams on guitar. James and I had played in blues bands from 1967. My musical journey started from there.

Playing with Karakorum at the Hereford

United football ground with Mott the Hoople,

Heads Hands and Feet, Amazing Blondel,

and Frumpy (a band from Germany).

Photographer unknown.

After a brief meeting with Sally, the representative from the community of Lyde, we fixed the date for September 7^th at the Left Bank near the old River Wye bridge. Paul and I agreed that the left Bank venue had a harsh sound. I made the point to Sally that this was all about the music and the venue was too small and didn't hold the sonic quality or the audience capacity that was needed. Sally was great and she was very supportive. 

 A few years ago, Paul Cobbold had put on a show for friends at a hotel venue at the edge of the city. It had a large ballroom and was the perfect venue for our tribute night. Paul had also contacted a local production company who supplied the stage that had to be assembled. Things were looking good!

 Paul and his partner Sue Watkins front a band called Mode-X, and they sang all sorts of cover songs including Kid. Sue was also a great organiser so things progressed well.

Yep that was me back in 1970.

 Photo by Alan Bayley

 I mentioned I wanted to play four or five songs with Mode-X and then play guitar and sing the Steve Winwood song 'Can't Find My Way Home'. What was I thinking?  I'm no guitar player.  I'm no singer. Some way down this bumpy lane I would realise how much I had to improve to stand a chance of pulling this off. So, not shying away from the importance of this evening to me, I ramped up the pressure adding a song of my own for the Jim and Pete 'celebration night'. A half finished song about 'us boys' called 'Back in the Day'. 

Soon enough the reality dawned on me that I had a mountain to climb.

M.D.C.

6th November 2019

Hello again everyone, and my apologies for the long gap in posting a new blog. 

 The rain is belting against my window as I write to you and the guns have moved off the escarpment to the north of me. The Spaniels and Labradors have finished the clear up of murdered pheasants across the meadow and the land can breathe again.

 As usual it's been insanely busy with so much still to do here with the conversion work at my barn. Dressing stones, walls to erect, and continued gathering of my archive. 

  It's been over three months since the Pretenders did a show, and what a show it was in the beautiful countryside way outside Boston, Massachusetts. We ended on a high after a strange conclusion to our European shows. This occurred at a festival someway outside of Oslo in Norway. Something went out of kilter timing wise between Chrissie and I mid show. We managed to rope it in ok but it was a strange one. Not the best way to finish summer touring. Fortunately, the Boston show put it all to rest. I can still find no explanation for it!

  By chance I met up with James Honeyman-Scott's sister Lynn Scott in June or July and she mentioned to me that the 'Friends of Lyde' had asked if it would be possible to use Jimmy's name to help raise some money for works to be carried out in the community of Lyde. Lyde is a small village where Jimmy is buried.

After thinking about it, I felt it could possibly be put together. The fundraiser had to be a musical evening to celebrate both Jimmy and Pete. 

This had to be good.

  With summer shows over I approached some key people in Herefordshire to put a band together. These people had either known Jim (and/or) Pete, or had played in bands with them and shared a hide out with them back in the day.

  As it approached, it seemed to get harder and turned out to be the most important and frustrating gig of my life, not to mention nerve-racking to the point of sleeplessness.

  I will describe this celebratory gig in my next blog post!

  In the meantime, here's a random picture of a sign in my home town of Hereford. Remember this: 
In the 1960's it would take over 4 hours to get to London in the van! In the early 17th century it would take a stage coach more than 12 hours to deliver the 'London Letter'. 

But then again, parking was a doddle.

This blog will continue soon. Honest.

M.D.C.

17th June 2019

Well, ‘hello to you all’.

After taking a long break from touring and spending time building a new space for my barn swallows, seven species of bats, and the c.1840 cider press, we at last got down to some work.

The Pretenders supporting Fleetwood Mac at Wembley Stadium, June 18, 2019. Photo Credit:@tealbassmusic

A new album was recorded after I had planted some seeds with Chrissie about getting together with James Walbourne to get some new songs written. As some of you may know, I have deferred from recording for a while. The reason was Chrissie had to make the albums she made. This new one had Stephen Street in the chair and that was a big plus for me. I completed my parts in four days. I guess my parts are a little ‘off the cuff’. I haven’t as yet heard the finished article (album).

Last year, on our way to a festival in Portugal a delayed flight gave me some time to talk with John Lydon at the bar of the airport lounge.

An ambush of drums.

John is an interesting guy and got more interesting as more drinks arrived because of a delayed flight. Like the ska band, the Specials at the Arroya Seco festival in Pasadena earlier in the year, John’s band Public Image were great. He showed his usual quick-witted presence and forceful vocal attack.

Sound check at Wembley Stadium.

This year we were asked to perform some shows in Europe with Fleetwood Mac.

I had seen them first at a tiny club called the Top Spot Club in Ross-on-Wye in 1968.

The first show there was with a blues band called Black Cat Bones. A few months later they had the band Chicken Shack in support.

 

The piano player in that band was Christine Perfect. That night she played the song ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’ that was a recent release by Etta James. I stood no more that a few yards away as she sang and played the piano. She became Christine McVie after marrying John McVie bass player with Fleetwood Mac.

I was wearing a bib and brace outfit, like a man who paints the inside of your house. The outfit combined with the bowler hat made me look like a Clockwork Orange gang member... 

he he he he he he. (Photo credit: Justin Welch)

I got to play on the bill with Fleetwood Mac in 1970/’71 at the Winter Gardens in Weston-super-Mare in my band Karakorum. Over the years I have got to know Mick who is a wonderful gentleman.

Photo credit: Justin Welch

So…last night we played the first of our two Wembley Stadium shows.

The date, 16th of June. It was the 37th anniversary of my best friend, James Honeyman-Scott’s death.

With regard to my book and album,

I will finish my book this year and also try and complete my album.

There is no release date as yet. Between the conversion of my home, working on the latest Razorlight and Pretenders albums, and touring duties, time has been a bit pressing to put it mildly.

My room, the Tudor Suite at the Gore Hotel, London.

Much love from the Gore Hotel in London.

I can’t wait to get home on Saturday after our last festival show in Oslo.

Be good to yourselves.

M.D.C.