Arts & Culture - Y Celfyddydau a Diwylliant

You Always Know Where You Stand With A Buzzard.

by Michael Kennedy.

On August 24^th 2011 Wales lost one of it’s most important & influential musical heroes  : Clive John (aka Clint Space).

His passing was marked with a small piece in the local paper which would have been missed by the casual reader. Yet Clive John was responsible for bringing psychedelia to the Welsh music scene. Transforming successful beat group, The Bystanders, into prog-rock music legends, MAN.

Born of a Pembrokeshire family, but educated in Merthyr, his interest in music led him to form The Bystanders with Micky Jones, when they amalgamated two local bands : The Crescendos & The Rebels in 1962.

By 1965 the band were signed to Welsh record label Pylot, releasing the single, “That’s The End”. The following year they found themselves on Piccadilly, releasing five singles in two years, before moving to Pye for “When Jezamine Goes” and “This World Is My World” in 1968.

Clive at this time was listening to Frank Zappa and realised the limitations the group had imposed on themselves with their musical style. Their tight harmonies and note perfect tunes were rapidly becoming a thing of the past. His song, “Cave Of Clear White Light” (B-side of “Jezamine”) showed the direction the band were now going to take.

1968 saw the emergence of Man. The Line-up was Clive John, Micky Jones, Deke Leonard, Jeff Jones & Ray Williams. Over the next 43 years the line-up would change....and change again....and again ! The man-band was like a ship and the musicians were the passengers. The early ‘70’s were a helter-skelter of mad events which saw the group achieve a No.3 hit single in Europe with “Erotica”, get arrested as suspected terrorists, arrested for drug offences in Belgium, arrested for assaulting a policeman (finally being freed by the mayor of Ostend) and worst of all teaching Status Quo to play “Down The Dustpipe”.

Clive left the band in 1972, before briefly rejoining, finally leaving for good in 1973. He had become disillusioned with life on the road and the constant grind of gigging each night. But he had left a musical legacy of giant proportions and had helped mould the group into one of Europe’s most loved live bands, famous for their extended guitar solos and magical interplay between  Jones & Leonard’s lead lines.

1975 saw the release of Clive’s only solo recording : You Always Know Where You Stand With A Buzzard.  Clive was supported by a who’s who of Welsh music : Phil Ryan (Eyes Of Blue/ Man  / Neutrons), Andy Fairweather-Low (Amen Corner), Brian Breeze, Tommy Riley (Memphis Bend), Dave Charles (Airwaves) and former band-mate Martin Ace (Flying Aces / Man). Anyone who has ever seen the album could not forget it. A photo of Clive holding a giant orange, full beard and hair halfway down his back. It was on this album that he announced that from now on he was to be known as “Clint Space” and we were advised to pray to “The Great Knee In The Sky” ! Who said the ‘70’s were boring  ? Although not a commercial success the album is full of great music and sounds just as vital today as it did back in 1975, but  I am still trying to figure out “Hold Your Ferret Aloft”.

Despite turning his back on professional music and concentrating  on a very successful building business in Swansea, Clive still played. You could see him weekly with The Tremblin’ Knees at the Coach House on Wind Street, or joining up with his former Man band-mate, Micky Jones, to play as Contraband, he could be seen with Opening Time and The Blues Bunch and when Man were in town he would always join them up on stage for a jam.  

In later years Clive had suffered with emphysema. It was this that would finally take his life.

 Personally, I’ll remember Clive as a fellow musician who always had time for a chat, a laugh and, if asked for, advice. I was lucky enough to have seen him play with The Tremblin’ Knees and Man. I was privileged to have stood next to him and have a few keyboard lessons in the basement of The Coach House in between songs, and I’ll always remember being called something unprintable when I asked him why the guitar sounded funny on “Overflow” : “That’s discord son........discord”  Well, I was only 17 (and a drummer).

Discography :

Singles –

That’s The End / This Time (The Bystanders / February 1965)

(You’re Gonna) Hurt Yourself / Have I Offended The Girl (July 1966)

My Love-Come Home / If You Walk Away (The Bystanders / October 1966)

98.6 / Stubborn Kind Of Fellow (The Bystanders / December 1966)

Royal Blue Summer Sunshine Day / Make Up Your Mind (The Bystanders / May 1967)

Pattern People / Green Grass (The Bystanders / July 1967)

When Jezamine Goes / Cave Of Clear White Light (The Bystanders / February 1968)

This World Is My World / Painting The Time (The Bystanders / April 1968)

Sudden Life / Love (Man / January 1969)

Daughter Of The Fireplace / Country Girl (March 1971)

Day Tripper / Slow Down (The Knees / February 1975)

Albums -

Revelation (Man / January 1969)

2oz Plastic With A Hole In The Middle (Man / September 1969)

Man (Man / October 1970)

Pause For A Hoarse Horse (Home / 1971)

Do You Like It Here Now, Are You Settling In Alright ? (Man / November 1971)

Greasy Truckers Party (Various Artists / April 1972)

Be Good To Yourself At Least Once A Day (Man / November 1972)

Christmas At The Patti (Various Artists / July 1973)

The Golden Hour Of Man (Man / October 1973)

You Always Know Where You Stand With A Buzzard (Clive John / September 1975)

Greenfly (Man / December 1986)

Live At The Rainbow 1972 (Man / 1990)

Birth Of Man (The Bystanders / August 1990)

Perfect Timing : The UA Years (Man / July 1991)

Keep On Crinting (Man / 2006)

Oystermouth Gain Top Wales Band Support

By Dylan Hart

Oystermouth Radio today announced the assistance of two of Wales premier bands. Cardiganshire and Pembrokshire duo Paper Aeroplanes and London based Karnataka, whose founder member and guitarist Ian Jones is originally from Mumbles, have endorsed music to support the introduction of the communities brand new and only Mumbles based online community radio station.

Rich Llewellyn and Helen Howells - Paper Aeroplanes

An Oystermouth Radio spokesman today revealed the support of the bands with a promise of a lot more to come when the station begins limited live streaming throughout December with a live launch due in early January 2012.

Karnataka

Oystermouth Radio already have a wide range of talk programmes on their station already which is based at Dunns Lane and its output can be reached here at http://www.oystermouthradio.com

Welcome to Oystermouth Radio

Oystermouth Radio is a community radio station, based in Mumbles. We are currently posting a variety of pre recorded audio programmes on our website so you can start www.oystermouthradio.com/listen.html now.

We will be officially launching our live broadcast in early 2012

OTP Raise A Grand Sum For The Ostreme

By Joel Bennett

The Ostreme Theatre Players took their partners by the hand alright and raised a whopping £975.69 for their spiritual home, The Ostreme Centre, a couple of weeks ago.

Five Piece outfit Whisky in the Jar provided the music while theatre members and friends danced the night away in yet another excellent fund raising event which included prizes for best fancy dressed attendee.

Follow the Ostreme Theatre Players  

For all Otreme Centre bookings and enquiries you can contact:
The Ostreme Centre, Newton Road, Mumbles, Swansea SA3 4BA.
Office hours 10am - 4pm Monday to Friday
email: ostreme@btconnect.comor telephone 01792 362444

Joel Bennett was talking to Anna Parton

Images courtesy of Ostreme Theatre Players

Mumbles Talent Across the Wider Community

Uplands Arts are a well known amateur dramatic society based in Swansea who exclusively perform the works of Gilbert and Sullivan. What people may or may not realise however is the large contingent of Mumbles folk who have contributed to this wonderful organisation, who in turn have provided so much entertainment over its lengthy existence, which is fast approaching a staggering seventy years.

Behind every voluntary orgaqnisation there simply has to be a strong management structure and Uplands Arts are no exception with Vice Chairperson Audrey Evans from Newton and Thistleboon's Margaret Nicholls who has stood as Secretary for a remarkable thirty - six years.

Margaret Nicholls Uplands Arts Secretary since 1975

Margaret kindly gave Mumbles Matters an insight into Upland Arts, their forthcoming programme and just some of our community members who help make things happen up along Mumbles Road,

“Uplands Arts is a Gilbert & Sullivan (G&S) society which performs in Taliesin Arts Centre during the last week in September every year.
Bronwen Beckett, daughter of Audrey Evans from Newton always thrills everyone with her portrayals of the soprano principal roles. Jonathan Lycett, also well known for performing in Newton St Peters and all over Swansea, is playing the tenor lead partnering Bronwen in HMS Pinafore.
 

Bronwen Beckett and Johnathon Lycett
 

This year there are two shows for the price of one Trial by Jury, which was given a preview in a concert in June in St Peters Church is the other popular G&S which people can see in Taliesin from 28th September until 1st October at 7-15pm. Tickets available £12.00 each (concessions on 28th only).”

Mumbles Matters would like to thank Margaret for her insight into Uplands Arts and wish the society all the very best for their forthcoming programme and by the sound of it, the next seventy years and beyond. You can find further news concerning Uplands Arts here at Mumbles Matters as we get it or for further and fuller information about this great organisation you can visit their Website by clicking here http://www.uplandsarts.co.uk/

Trial by Jury
And HMS Pinafore

Wednesday September 28th to
Saturday 1st October 2011

ABERYSTYWTH

By Sarah Evans
 
Welcome to our heritage
Line wobbling in the square
Rakish seaside jollity
The prom sweeps with sublime Victorian gables
Seagulls scream til they're blue"icecream"
Clouds cast over the bay
Obscuring the camera on the hill
Student crisses the pelican cross
Blown away one year
The paint clean off
Licked at by cats and dogs
National Milk Bar Heroes down their milk.
Opposite the cinema museum with rolls of film
Vital to the past
and postcards of a circus elephant bathing
The locals aint happy
Drown their emotions in a watery grave
Of the lost village on the horizon
"Are we still friends?"  
The stray asks the girl
On the front, solo in the sun
exlir, express your life.

When Mumbles was ‘The Mumbles’

By Cyril Gwynn       When Mumbles was ‘The Mumbles’, ‘tis not so long ago, Since I was but a nipper going to school, When fishing craft and dredger would anchor in a row, And the boy who couldn’t swim was dubbed a fool.   Then Mumbles was The Mumbles, especially Southend, Where the smallest kid could holler ‘Ship Ahoy!’ And knew the cut of every craft that sailed around the Head, For the sea was then a Mumbles fellow’s joy.   To days of thrilling rescues my memory often runs, When Coxswain Billy steered the ‘Charlie Medland’, To ‘Doctor’ and ‘Barney’, the old man’s stalwart sons, In the crew who sailed the lifeboat ‘round the headland.   When ‘Jasper’ on the lighthouse all passing vessels warned To shape their course away from Mixen Sands, When Mr. Clough held classes where Mumbles ladies learned To fit themselves for posts in many lands.   When Apsey Peachey’s cabhorse was waiting at The Dunns, To meet a fare at every downward train; To Langland or Caswell was then a horse’s run, For motor cars were few, let me explain.   When Alderman Morgan Hopkins ‘The Ship and castle’ kept, And dredgers ‘round ‘The Pilot’ span a yarn, When ‘Smoker’ or ‘Hammer’ on Woolacot’s tallart slept, And ‘Owen’ went to roost in someone’s barn.   Then Bracelet and Limeslade were backed by living green Where wild things lived and never came to harm. Corn grew in the dingles where dwellings now are seen ‘Twixt Limeslade and Langland lay a farm.   When Billy Howell’s tea shop nestling on the beach, Was washed in each sou’wester by the tide, When Mabel Higgs had donkeys on Langland’s sandy reach, And used to charge a penny for a ride.   Yes, Mumbles was The Mumbles but twenty years ago. Now paving stones have covered up the furrough, And Mumbles isn’t Mumbles, for I would have you know, ‘Tis ‘Oystermouth’, a section of ‘The Borough’.   An extract from The Gower Yarns of Cyril Gwynn published by the Gower Society

 

You Too Can Start an Independent Record Label

It's no big secret, the trick of how to start a record label definitely involves some cash and most definitely involves some talent. If you want to know the secret to how to start and run your own label then here it is, talent. You have to have something to sell your business pitch with. It doesn't matter what your particular genre is, you need to get out there and discover your first million. Yep, I am talking about dollars.

If you are just sitting around trying to figure out how to start you own independent record label then you are wasting your time. Get out there and try to find "the" band or "the" person that is worthy of a record deal. Go to clubs, rummage through MySpace, hang out at bars with live music, there is talent all around you so find it.

Do you have friends or a band already in mind? If you do then you are one step ahead of the "how to start a record label" game. Two or three bands would really be optimal when beginning your own record label. For those of you who don't have someone in mind, then you have some work to do.

A good way to search for talent is to have an idea of what you are looking for. If you are going to learn how to start and run your own record label then you must be able to find the gap. There is a gap somewhere and you need to find it. Keep in mind, you are searching for someone who is marketable, a true money maker.

If you can't quite pinpoint a gap, then identify a target market you think you can penetrate and go for it. Who would have thought that the Backstreet Boys or 98 Degrees would have made it big? Well, the guys from their record label were definitely on to something. Teenage girls were where it was at and boy did those guys stumble on to something big and man did they make a profit! Believe me, that is your first step in how to start a record label.

Just like with any other business, you are going to have to sell your product. And you can't sell your product until you have your product. So, this is your first lesson in how to start your own independent record label. In this business, you are going to have to think outside the box and when you do that, you will be ready to start your own record label.

Author Bio
The former owner of an independent record label, current owner of Platinum Millennium publishing & national music industry seminar speaker/panelist. He's also the author & creator of 40+ best-selling music business books, reports, courses, audio products & more "How to" resources, that helped 1000s of people like you to success. Go to www.TheUltimateRecordLabel.com for more info.

KITE Flying High

By Andrew Bowen

KITE Theatre Group was started in February 2009 as “Kreative Imaginations Theatre Experience” by local children’s entertainer Andrew Bowen (AKA “Mr Bubbles”) in St Catherine’s Church Hall, Gorseinon on a Tuesday evening. The idea was to develop a children’s theatre group which was affordable in today’s precarious financial climate, allowing members to pay for sessions weekly upon attendance. This appealed to many people who preferred to pay weekly rather than facing the shock of a large bill for a whole term in advance as most other groups require. It also catered for children’s whose parents could not afford per-term payments. The intention at that time was to run the one group for a couple of years and “see how it goes!” However, within four months, Llanelli KITE was born, having both junior and senior groups.

Over the next few months Neath KITE junior and senior groups were created. In October 2010 KITE Theatre Group produced a full production of The Wizard Of Oz at Penyrheol Theatre, which received considerable praise from it’s audience and the media. The following February saw our KITE trip to see Wicked the musical in London’s West End … 65 of us on two busses! Sadly, a few months later due to falling attendance figures Gorseinon KITE was closed down (we never quite managed to compete with another long-established local group). However, in the wake of that closure Mumbles KITE was born, closely followed by Swansea KITE in Swansea City Centre.

Kreative Imaginations Theatre Experience at the Pier and In Production 

At the time of writing this we have 107 children between the KITE groups, some of whom have been with us almost from day one!

In October 2011, Swansea KITE will be moving from it’s current location into The YMCA, Swansea (St Helen’s Road), and will include a new “Senior Group”. October will also see the start of a range of new KITE Dance classes in the YMCA, starting with 3 “House Dance” (the latest craze of HipHop/ Street Dance) classes, plus 3 tap dance classes. For both there will be a “Minis” class for 4, 5, 6 and 7 year olds, along with Junior and Intermediate classes. Unlike the theatre sessions, these classes will be paid in blocks of 6 weeks in advance … £24 for 6 x 50-minute classes. We have scope to open senior classes once we know there is enough demand.

The next couple of months will also see the start of our new Llanelli KITE Dance classes, plus our annual KITE entry in Llanelli Christmas Carnival, and our now annual KITE Pre-Christmas Party (Hollywood themed) and Awards Evening at The Manor Park Country House in Clydach. There will also be another trip to see a West End Musical in February, plus another couple of projects which we have been working on for some months.

Andrew Bowen - KITE Principal In Action

There has never been a more exciting time to join KITE Theatre Group. Please spread the word!

Images Courtesy of KITE and Mumbles Matters 

Mumbles Movies and Your Business

By Pat Newman

The all new and highly successful Mumbles Movies organisation moved into their new venue at All Saint's Church with a viewing of the feel good Italian movie 'Cinema Paradiso' this week.

The next movie title is yet to be decided but Mumbles Matters can reveal that the showing will be on Monday 17 October. We will, of course, bring all the latest activities concerning one of Swansea’s premier movie experiences here but you can also receive regular update from Mumbles including the upcoming movie dates, titles and other news by joining their Website free here at www.mumblesmovies.co.uk 

The Mumbles Development Trust project has enjoyed a long run of success at the Ostreme Centre but the move across the village was necessary as part of the organisation's restructuring and licence constraints.

What the community is however faced with is an improved organisation with new, trained personnel and the latest, state of the art cinematic equipment which is much the envy of cinema clubs and society's all around the wider Swansea community.

All Saint's (Theo's Coffee Shop) on Mumbles Road 

While All Saint's provides a closer, more intimate cinema experience Mumbles Movies also possess the know - how, experience and capability of appealing to the business community. Some of the ways in which Mumbles Movies can assist the business community is explained well on the Mumbles Movies Website

 “Mumbles Movies can offer cost effective publicity for your company, organisation or event. If you are looking for a long term relationship with Mumbles Movies then your company's name could be included in the name of the cinema e.g. The "A & B Mumbles Movies". As we show around 25 films a year and our posters and advertising is placed prominently around the village for around 10 days for each film then 250 days exposure would be achieved.”

Another way in which Mumbles Movies can help is as a support mechanism for a promotional or fund raising night or maybe even a private party. As a taster as to what this highly professional organisation can supply is listed here:

Sanyo HD projector, Sony bluray DVD player, 2 no Bose line array L1 model 2, 4 no Bose model B1 modules, 1 no Mackie 802 vlz3 passive mixer, Large widescreen 18' x14' stumpfl screen.

For further information on business opportunities with Mumbles Movies and all the other information that you may need for the ultimate community cinema experience visit the Mumbles Movies Website here at www.mumblesmovies.co.uk

Me, The Mind and The Music

By Amy Sinha

A lot of people envy those who work in a creative field or who are openly creative people.  But not everyone can imagine or even understand what goes on in the mind of  someone like this  Well, I am an example of someone who is openly creative, and let me tell you,  in my mind, it’s an extremely complicated place that can sometimes hold no peace..

Some people, like mathematicians, are gifted with numbers. Others, like Doctors are gifted with the ability of helping people in a physical way.  Being musical is a different type of a gift, it’s more of a type of expression.  But unlike with Maths or Medicine where there’s usually a right or wrong answer, being creative holds no such simplicity.  It’s all about perception!  And that is what makes for a complicated, sometimes imbalanced mind. You see things in completely different ways, and can even go so far as to set up new rules for yourself, that other people would find quite frankly, rather odd.

Now I’ve reached a point in my musical life where I’ve started to write my own songs.  I’ve only been on this journey for three months and already I think I’ve learned more about myself than I have done over the last 10 years.  I do admit this is one of the most exciting times of my life.  However, it has also been a very intense period & my mind has had very little rest. Constantly keeping an eye out for inspiration and new ideas, spending a lot of time down Mumbles rehearsing with my band and finding sleep very difficult.  It is great to spend time with people who are like minded, but I know that constantly surrounding yourself just with musicians and creative people alike can be an emotional experience in itself. I can actually transport you to a whole other world and one not necessarily having any basis with reality as the “every day” person would see it. 

So, for those of you who dream about being openly creative?  Well, it’s an amazing rollercoaster of an emotional ride. If you think you can handle the feeling of nausea as well as exhilaration, then I whole heartedly recommend it. If not, a constant familiar but safe mind isn’t such a boring idea as it sounds and it’s actually one I’d love to visit ... from time to time.
 

Mumbles Musical Mile scores a hit

Festival fever hits Mumbles, as the village echoes to the sound of live music. This article by Dai Blatchford is published with kind permission from Swansea Life Magazine.

The hottest April on record provided the backdrop as the weather gods smiled on the first ever Mumbles Musical Mile over one of the recent four-day weekends. It may have been the one with a wedding in it, but in Mumbles it was all a bit of a whirl as people sang, danced, laughed and possibly even pogoed to an eclective diet of music and storming entertainment.
An innovation for this year, the festival was organised by a partnership of Mumbles Mostly Jazz & Blues Festival, Swansea Jazzland & Dave Cottle, Mumbles Development Trust and Swansea Music Arts and Dance (M.A.D). The innovation was that the entire festival was focused in the bars, pubs and cafés that are so central to the ethos of Mumbles. If you like, it was wall-to-wall musical entertainment, and believe it or not it was almost entirely free. The range of music on offer was similarly elastic, with jazz and blues complementing rock, flamenco and swing as the community came together to show what collective effort can achieve. From Newton Village through to the Pier and all other points of the compass, Mumbles became a festival village.
And that, of course, was the intention. There are precedents for the approach that have prospered in other areas. Laugharne springs to mind. Mumbles is bigger, with a wealth of cafés, café bars and pubs giving the ideal template for this approach. As in all festivals, though, it is difficult if not impossible to sample as many of the earthly delights as are on offer—there are simply so many. But the test of the Mumbles Musical Mile probably lies in what was added to the holiday weekend.
Mumbles Musical Mile appeared in this particular incarnation as a result of circumstances. A combination of increasing costs, overheads and the absence of sponsorship (Admiral had sponsored the festival for the previous six years) dictated a change of format. And, with the great British strength of making a virtue of necessity, the festival returned to its community roots. For the past six years organisers Terry Scales and David Townsend Jones have organised and run the Mumbles Mostly Jazz & Blues Festival. Economic pressures meant that this year for the festival to happen at all a lot of volunteers were required.
“The Jazz & Blues Festival established a reputation for presenting a programme of internationally acclaimed musicians as well as local artists,” explained co-director Terry Scales. “The festival regularly attracted over 2,000 people to the village but was never able to break even. This year we decided to see whether the support was there for a change of tack, with interested venues participating in a voluntary community event. It is worth pointing out that the fact that the festival happened at all was down to the enthusiastic commitment of local volunteers who distributed publicity and put up bunting throughout the village. Mumbles Community Council was able to help out with a small grant to help provide the bunting and marketing materials, but sadly despite a concerted effort it was not possible to attract a new sponsor.”
And the proof of the pudding? Well, Newton Road’s Café Valance hosted two acts offering something very different. On Friday they presented classically trained musician and well-known local pianist Rob Marshall supporting the vocal stylings of Jonathan Lycett. It was a performance roundly welcomed by a packed audience who thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Saturday saw the appearance of Jemma Krysa, a young singer/songwriter who has had a number one in Germany and appeared in Los Angeles supporting the Cranberries. “We had a full house on both nights,” said Andy Crouch of Café Valance, “so the festival was good for us. We’ve been doing our bit in helping to promote it for some weeks. That meant that we got quite a few people in from outside the village in addition to our regulars. When we have artists we like to have a range so that we can appeal to a wide range of customers. In fact Jemma went down so well that we have invited her back on 29 May to help the village celebrate Navy Days.”
Across the road at Jones Bar & Kitchen, Adam Jones was deli
and blues on saxophone to a full bar,” said Adam. “He was accompanied on piano and the music was so impressive we are looking to book them on a weekly basis. I noticed too that, apart from our regulars, a lot of the customers in the bar were new to us.”
Adam and Anna Robertson at the Kitchen Table had bands booked on three nights across the weekend. From Elyssa V Evans, playing as Wilson Evans, to The Gents to the Sunday night appearance of the Syncopated Sisters, the Kitchen Table was jammed to the rafters. “It was all good. Some great music across the weekend,” enthused Adam. “The Gents were phenomenal. Good fun and great guys. And on Sunday the Syncopated Sisters were a real find. They sang some great 40s doo-wop songs and acapella blues and jazz. The festival certainly seemed to bring people into the village. I was working most of the time but I was aware of life in the village that wouldn’t have been there otherwise. It was an entertaining weekend that certainly helped business.”
Sarah Crabbe at The Pilot featured Robyn Griffiths on guitar and on a separate night Kelly Angel, the little girl with the big voice. “There was an excellent turnout on both nights,” said Sarah. “It was interesting as there were a lot of people in on the music nights who came from outside the village. Saturday night was phenomenal and there were a lot of positive comments from customers about the new format and the range of venues. One of the best things for us was on Saturday night when a customer walked in off the street. He just happened to have his harp with him (blues-speak for ‘harmonica’). He started playing then ended up jamming with Robyn. It was tremendous and the whole place was jumping.”
Local Robin Bonham enjoyed a similar experience at Mumbles Rugby Club listening to Ted Crook and the Blues Highway. “There were some people from outside the village enjoying the band,” said Robin “but mostly it was our members. The band played two sets though and created a tremendous atmosphere in the club.”
Other successes were at local pubs the Park Inn with The Ladykillers, the Victoria with the Philanderers Swing & Blues Band, and the Salt with Felix Subway, described as “Syd Barrett meets Jethro Tull in bona fide psychedelia and pastoral whimsy”. There’s one for any 60s survivors still intent on walking the walk... And the spirit of Jazz and Blues was alive and doing very nicely, thank you, with stalwarts of the festival the Brian Breeze Rhythm & Blues Band and the Ray ‘Taff’ Williams Band. Playing at the Conservative Club, two giants of the blues and jazz guitar played storming sets to bring the house down before joining forces in a third set to blow everybody’s socks off.
General responses to the first Mumbles Musical Mile Festival were very positive. Customers whether local or from other parts of Swansea had obviously turned out to support the festival and clearly a good time was had by most. Landlords of bars and owners of cafés were obviously delighted with the turnout.
Performers too were impressed with the inaugural festival. “We played a mixture of swing, ballads and standards, with some musical theatre thrown in,” said pianist Rob Marshall. “Jonathan [Lycett] and I enjoy doing shows together. This one played to a full house and we both enjoyed ourselves. The general atmosphere was great and it was interesting to see the numbers of people wandering from place to place. It was obviously good for local trade and the movement of people through the village made the place come alive. I’d certainly be happy to play again next year at a similar event.”
One of the committed volunteers in the person of Karen Miller, who regularly does sterling work on behalf of Mumbles Development Trust and the village in general, found time to announce the winner of the ‘Design a T-Shirt Competition’ as Joe Broad of Oystermouth School. She then joined up with another tireless worker for the good of the local community, in the person of MDT chair Sylvia Beale, to enjoy the vocal versatility of the Syncopated Sisters. It turned out to be that sort of festival. Everybody joined in, in what was a triumph of community involvement.
How will the festival develop? Who knows? But even the longest journey begins with the first step, and that step was certainly taken over a long sunny bank holiday in Mumbles.