Blues Aristocracy
"Don't get up, gentlemen. I'm just
passing through'.." Thus spake Mr Zimmerman a decade or
so back in 'Things Have Changed'. Our Bob went on to win an Oscar
and a Golden Globe with that song but doncha just love that line? The
Hat fantasises about where we can all use it – or maybe should have
used it in the past....you know what I'm talking about here...those
moments when you were lost for words and look back later and think,
like a lot of Dylan's lines,
'if only I had said that'!
However, The Hat has just had a technicolour notion. I think it is exactly the kind of sentiment your Maj, our Jubilee Lady would really really like to shout out to all the Drones that are lined up to shake her gloved hand over the next few Jubilicious weeks. How tedious it must get moving from gig to gig, eating the same cucumber sandwiches and watching the same lumpy riffs and dealing with the same rubbish sound systems....and then not being able to complain to the promoter or get a ticket refund. Maybe the Duke could back her up with a snappy "I used to care but things have changed" or 'it's not dark yet, but it's getting there'. I wonder how many times a week that lil ol' blues man sneaks up onto her shoulder and whispers in her ear, "Go on, go on gal. Start singing 'I gotta get outta this place'...you know, nobody will bat an eyelid. - and worse, they'll probably clap and cheer...."
Well of course, sadly, that isn't going to happen even though we would pay good money to see it. Maybe a special juke joint session or, better still, The Hat would be pleased to stand up and introduce her to a packed Picture House. What a rap with the Women of the Blues that would be! The Hat must stop now for fear he may be getting carried away and be confused with those millions of strange people who apparently dream about the Queen on a regular basis. So let's shift sideways and slip down the line of inheritance.....
I am, of course talking about the Hon.
Roland Augusto Jestyn Estanislao Philipps – that prodigious talent
known nationally and internationally as Todd Sharpville. He
is the brilliant Headliner at next week's Hebden Bridge Blues
Festival and we know it will be a storming performance. If you don't
already have your ticket
tucked away under your pillow you'd best get a move on as it's gonna
be a Hot Time In The Old Town that night. Go now. Go. Now.
Todd never seems to be phased by references to his royal connections, probably simply because he is smart enough and talented enough to know that his packed audiences flock to see him with his guitar and are quite happy to manage without a flash of ermine and any references to Baron Strange of Knockin (1299) or Jubilee Maj. However, he is not above slipping on the odd crown and geeing up the masses when the vibe is right. Check out his stuff on Youtube and the hoot of a right royal sketch with Leo Sayer, which he has been known to use as a show opener.
This
is one fine guitarist. His 1994 debut album immediately became Best
Blues Album of The Year and within twelve months he was voted Best British
Blues Artist ahead of Eric Clapton and Gary Moore. You don't get that
good by cutting ribbons and opening shopping malls. Having said that though, he could of course pack 'em in at the Palladium Royal Command performance. He has a magical
stage presence and he has gigged with everybody. Artists queue up to
play alongside him and there is a constant demand for his
songwriting.This is a musician whose credits list a spectrum of crazy
and diverse talent from Brian May, Pink and Robin Williams to Van
Morrison, Albert Collins, Taj Mahal and B.B King. It is a mark of how
widely his talent is respected that the list goes on growing.
So.
Here is a Royal Command from the Hebden Headquarters. If One does
not have tickets One will buy them now. One will then attend the
Hebden Bridge Blues Festival. One will have a Spiffing Time and It
Will Make One Very Happy. (I just put that last bit in as Paddy and
Jason have offered to properly Dub me and Cozy my cat when it's all over...whatever that
means)....
Pip
Pip!
The Man in The Hat