Welcome to HowdenLive

THE END OF AN ERA: It is with some sadness that we need to announce that Maggie Smith at Touchwood, more than ably assisted by Steph, will no longer be selling tickets for Howden Live events from Touchwood, the Shire Hall will be taking over that role. In the early days of Howdenshire Live Arts Maggie was one of a few ticket outlets in Howden, as time went by it made sense to focus ticket sales in one place and the ticket selling box office legend at Touchwood was born. For 17 years, possibly one or two more, the number of shows Howden live have presented per year has averaged around 20, thats a lot of tickets!
Anyone ringing up with enquiries about an event, or going in to Touchwood to buy tickets, were met with unfailing courtesy, patience and good humour. Maggie was our first port of call for many folks and perfectly represented the volunteer ethos of Howden Live. A long (ish) time ago Maggies husband Mike coined the phrase “Enjoying live entertainment in the company of others” A fundamental principle to which we still adhere to today and will continue to, Maggie has been an integral part of that, thank you, we’ll miss you.

 

 Doors for all shows are 7.30 for 8pm unless otherwise stated. Please not that as well as tickets being available online here they are also available from the Shire Hall Box Office on:

01430 432510

2018!  The Autumn Season……

 

LIVE/WIRE

September 1st   £17.50

 

There’s a good reason we keep inviting Live/Wire back……They are simply….Awesome!! Live/Wire is The AC/DC Show. The hugely successful and unique six-man tribute to rock music’s greatest band AC/DC, complete with cannons, a wall of Marshalls’ and over two hours of High Voltage Rock ‘n’ Roll in a show critically acclaimed for its closeness in look and sound to the real thing.

Originally fronting AC/DC was legendary front man Bon Scott, a wild man of rock and roll, whose untimely death shocked the World in 1980. This event came at a time when the Band were sampling global success for the first time. Dave delivers songs from the Band’s first half dozen albums from Dirty Deeds to Highway to Hell with Bon’s inimitable attitude, style and charisma.

AC/DC turned to Brian Johnson in order to fill the void left by Bon. Brian’s searing vocals Iced Back in Black, one of the best-selling rock albums of all time! Podge Blacksmith, a double take for Brian, gives a vocal masterclass which is un-paralleled in his half of the show and brings it bang up to date with more classic tracks right up to AC/DC’s hugely successful recent album, Rock or Bust.

The thundering freight train of a rhythm section keeps it all meticulously together with Dan as the metronomic Malcolm Young on rhythm guitar. Ed as the mercurial Cliff Williams on Bass Guitar. Paul behind the kit as Phil Rudd and Chris Slade rolled into one. With the Rhythm section ‘locked in’ the freedom of the stage and the music is given to Simon as Angus Young who delivers an uncanny performance with meticulous detail in appearance, energy and his note for note heartfelt renditions song after song. Simon honed his craft over many years and is a livewire during his two-hour plus Axe fettling duck-walking extravaganza of bedevilled Rock and Roll. 

The band aim to put you slap bang in the middle of the show with hit after hit, and you are expected to join in ! There’ll also be one or two gems thrown in for the aficionados!
We’d be hung, drawn and quartered if we didn’t play all the classics, Back in Black, Rosie, Highway to hell are all there, and the songs keep on coming until the cannons fire ceremoniously to bring the evening to a superb crescendo. If by this time you are still standing…we salute you! Long Live AC/DC…… Long Live LIVE/WIRE!!

BUY TICKETS HERE.

THE HOWL and the HUM.

Sandra’s Wedding. Fiona Lee

September 15th   £10

The Howl & The Hum are a miserable disco who write Bond themes for films where Jimmy is still hung up on that girl. They combine dark hypnotic pop with post-punk influences, pierced with lyrics that make you call your mum the next morning.

Following acclaimed sets at Neighbourhood Festival and Loopallu and a debut tour of the Scottish Highlands in 2017, the York-based 4-piece embarked on their first headline tour in England in early 2018 to coincide with the release of new single ‘Portrait I’. Following this the band are releasing a series of new songs leading up to their first festival season featuring appearances at Latitude, The Great Escape, Live at Leeds, Standon Calling and the BBC Biggest Weekend.

“The Howl and The Hum are a seriously great band, from whom you will be hearing a great deal more in the coming months.”

Tom Robinson BBC Radio 6

“The Howl and The Hum are much more than just four lads armed with guitars and a handful of songs. Their sound has depth, imagination and creates an emotive mood. Their lyrical content is like a stream of subconscious poetry which paints dramatic pictures. They’re one of the main names on any movers-and-shakers list when it comes to new bands. We’re buzzing about them and I know the rest of the world will be too when they indulge in their masterpieces.” –  Jericho Keys, BBC Music Introducing in York and North Yorkshire

 

Sandra’s Wedding: My well-thought-out finale to 28 bands in 28 days has suddenly been thrown into turmoil. Having set aside the last two days of my new music feature for a singer/songwriter from New Zealand and a rock ‘n’ roll combo from Finland, I happened to notice, late last night, that an outfit by the name of SANDRA’S WEDDING had started to follow me on twitter. Of course, I reciprocated and was immediately taken aback by the outrageous claim in their Twitter profile (courtesy of a review by Radio York), that the band was ‘a cross between The Beautiful South and The Smiths’. Could it possibly be true? I held my breath, followed the links, and played the first song, “This Heart”, from 2017’s Northern Powerhouse album…….it was love at first listen!

As I worked my way through the album, it became apparent that there was an ace lyricist at work here – anyone rhyming Fray Bentos with asbestos in the middle of a pop song called “Death by Hanging” is top drawer in my book – and that I urgently needed to discover just who the mystery wordsmith was. It also dawned on me that it would be a dereliction of duty not to include Sandra’s Wedding in 28 bands. I certainly couldn’t scratch either of my last two acts (hey, I’m not wasting the hard work I’ve put in), so I’m just going to pretend that it’s a leap year and that February has 29 days this year and therefore 29 bands!

The wedding singer (and songwriter), by the way, is Joe Hodgson and he is backed by Jonny Hughes, guitar, Tom Hill, bass and Luke Harrison on drums. The band hails from Goole and describe their debut album as featuring ‘sepia-tinged songs focusing on love, loss and life in a Northern town’. They credit The Byrds, Randy Newman, ABBA, and, it should go without saying, The Smiths and The Beautiful South among their many influences!

 

FIONA LEE, is an emerging singer-songwriter from Yorkshire (the bottom of my street to be more precise) with a compelling voice which belies her years. Her songs tell tales of teenage life with both innocent simplicity and impressively mature observations. Having taught herself to play guitar, she discovered her true voice at a local acoustic night; since then she has been performing her songs publicly at every opportunity.

Click here to buy tickets.

 

 

SHERBURN,  BARTLEY & SANDERS.

SEPTEMBER 29th    £10

Following a chance meeting at Whitby Folk Festival in 1993, Chris Sherburn (concertina) and Denny Bartley (vocals and guitar) have been bringing their unique sound to audiences across Europe and America, creating one of folk music’s most enduring partnerships. In this time, they have recorded 7 critically acclaimed albums. Their obvious rapport has made them one of the busiest acts on the folk scene in the guises of their duo work and their well-loved line-up as Last Night’s Fun. Their soul stirring songs, exhilarating tunes and quick wittedness, ensures that no two concerts are ever the same.

Chris and Denny have now teamed up with Emily Sanders (fiddle/viola and vocals) and have become a well-established trio, for the first time blending vocal harmonies and strings to underpin Chris and Denny’s unique sound.

Emily originates from Staffordshire and was a founder member of the acclaimed Isambarde. They recorded 5 albums and came to the attention of Phil Beer who recorded and produced their last album. Emily has also toured with Simon Fowler’s (Ocean Colour Scene) acoustic folk line up, Merrymouth and regularly appears with Pete Morton and Chris Parkinson.

A new album featuring Chris, Denny and Emily (and other guest musicians) is currently being mastered as we write – check the website www.chrisanddenny.co.uk for release dates and more information.

 

BUY TICKETS HERE

 

THE SEX PISSED DOLLS

October 13th    £17.50

All-female, all-action rock band The Sex Pissed Dolls exploded onto the scene late 2014 and  have been wowing audiences and festivals with their edgy, high octane performance of classic rock and punk mixed in with their own original material. 

The girls have been in much demand and have played main stage Isle Of Wight Festival 2017, accepted an invitation to perform at The Formula One British Grand Prix, headlined many other festivals appearing with such names as Texas, Rod Stewart, Razorlight, James, The Buzzcocks, Adam Ant, The Pretenders, The Kaiser Chiefs and The Damned to name but a few. 

They have recently been invited to feature on Paul Young‘s new TV show Rocktales with Shaun Ryder (Happy Mondays), Erasure and The Buzzcocks. 

Following their 2017 critically acclaimed ‘Daughters Of Anarchy’ Tour the quintet will embark on a number of UK dates in early 2018 before appearing at summer festivals throughout the U.K. And Europe. 

The girls also plan to shoot a video for their single ‘Maniac’ which was recorded at Peter Gabriel‘s famous Real World Studios and was produced by Steve Brown (Manic Street Preachers, The Cult, George Michael). 

The SPD are currently the subject of a movie which is currently being scripted about the rise and impact felt in the male dominated music world of five girls fronted by the Hypnotic Nancy. The movie is scheduled to be shot at various locations throughout 2018 with a release date later the same year.

One of the most photographed, most talked about and certainly one of the most entertaining live bands to emerge in the last twenty years.

BUY TICKETS HERE.

MARTIN CARTHY & JOHN KIRKPATRICK

& Jack Parker

OCTOBER 27th       £15.

National treasures Martin Carthy & John Kirkpatrick embark on a rare UK duo tour next autumn. These two leading interpreters of English folk traditions – folk guitarist/singer Carthy and squeezebox virtuoso/singer Kirkpatrick – are long-time collaborators in a variety of seminal musical projects: from John’s iconic 1976 Morris tunes album Plain Capers through Steeleye Span to Brass Monkey.

Their enduring enjoyment of playing with each other shines through in their performances – warm, natural and charismatic. Pure English folk pedigree! 

For more than 50 years, BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Martin Carthy has been one of folk music’s greatest innovators, one of its best loved, most enthusiastic and, at times, most quietly controversial of figures. His skill, stage presence and natural charm have won him many admirers, not only from within the folk scene, but also far beyond it.

Trailblazing musical partnerships with, amongst others, Steeleye Span, Dave Swarbrick and his award-winning wife (Norma Waterson) and daughter Eliza Carthy have resulted in more than 40 albums, but Martin has only recorded 10 solo albums, of which Waiting for Angels (Topic TSCD527) was the latest. A ballad singer, a ground-breaking acoustic and electric-guitarist and an authoritative interpreter of newly composed material, Martin always prefers to follow an insatiable musical curiosity rather than cash in on his unrivalled position. Perhaps, most significant of all, are his settings of traditional songs with guitar, which have influenced a generation of artists, including Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, on both sides of the Atlantic.

John is one of the most prolific figures on the English folk scene, performing solo, in duos, acoustic groups and electric bands, and has established an enviable reputation as an instrumental virtuoso (melodeon, Anglo concertina and button accordion), as well as a leading interpreter of English folk music. He has been a member of the Albion Country Band, Magic Lantern, The Richard Thompson Band, Umps and Dumps, Steeleye Span, Brass Monkey, Trans-Europe Diatonique, and Band of Hope, as well as numerous ceilidh bands.

As songwriter, composer, choreographer, and musical director, he has contributed to over sixty plays in the theatre and on radio. And as featured artiste, band member, or session player, his music can be heard on over 200 different commercial recordings.

Praise for Martin:  `Arguably the greatest English folk song performer, writer, collector and editor of them all’ Q Magazine

 ‘Carthy is a master of the ballad of substance, songs that tell stories, whether they are traditional, his own or from contemporary writers.’ The Telegraph

Praise for John: English Folk Dance and Song Society’s Gold Badge 2003

(Awarded for his outstanding contribution to English Folk Music)

“Kirkpatrick’s buoyant presence and lust for this music sounds more rampant than ever”Colin Irwin – fRoots 2009

BUY TICKETS HERE

STEPHEN DALE PETIT

NOVEMBER 10th     £12.50.

Stephen Dale Petit was so good on his first visit to Howden last year we just had to invite him back again. 

In the age of the TV talent show and the corporate pop cabal, Stephen Dale Petit is leading the resistance. He’s a man on a mission, sworn to establish the blues as the dominant force in popular culture. He’s a riot-starter and rabble-rouser, blowing out speakers with the “thrusting hooligan anthems” (Mojo) of his acclaimed studio work and igniting a new venue each night with his “raw, fresh energy” (The Times). He’s a genre spokesman and bluesman savant, whose BLUnivErSity lectures reboot the old masters for the modern age, while rallying new recruits to the cause. No wonder that Guitar & Bass cited Petit as “proof positive that the blues can move forward in the 21st century”.  

All the best bluesmen come with a backstory, and at 46, Petit has walked a winding path to the head of the modern scene. If his 1969 birth in California’s Joshua Tree desert was prescient – he was delivered by a passing doctor with a passion for the blues – then the acquisition of a Gibson SG at the age of twelve confirmed his calling. “The reason I’m on the planet is to play blues guitar,” Petit told BBC News. “I’m on a mission to spread the word about the blues and about the guitar – especially to young music lovers.”

Petit’s own epiphany hit hard. Rewind to his adolescence in the early-’80s and his formative influences were growing daily, taking in the vintage US heavyweights (Robert Johnson, Elmore James, Son House) and the British upstarts (Cream, Zeppelin, Yardbirds). Soon, he began his own precocious march on the Californian club circuit, playing five nights a week, cutting heads with senior players, jamming with titans including B.B. and Albert King, and immersing himself in the genre’s ethos. “The blues is a beautiful thing out of the cesspool of human nastiness,” Petit told Classic Rock. “This music was forged in horrific conditions. It was really the wail of a soul of a subculture of society in America. As a teenager, I was scared by it – but I couldn’t escape the pull.”

By the early-’90s, the bluesman’s love of the British boomers had lured him to the epicentre – London – for a period whose dazzling highs were offset by desperate lows. Collaboration and friendship with musicians including Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Mick Jones and David Gilmour should have been his springboard, yet as the drugs flowed, Petit floundered, losing his momentum to addiction and dangling his talent by a thread. “It got to basically living on the street,” he recalled. “It was the blues that saved me. There was a moment when the choice was pretty clear: ‘Am I just going to be a drug addict and is my passion going to be washed down the toilet…?’”

Following that moment of clarity, Petit clawed himself back from the brink, regaining his confidence as a performer by busking in the bearpit of the London Underground, and attracting both a grass-roots fanbase and a media profile. “People started asking if they could buy the music they were hearing, and I didn’t have anything,” he says. “So I set about recording Guitararama.”

Guitararama proved to be the line in the sand. Originally self-financed and released in a limited pressing of 5,000 units, the buzz prompted a reissue in 2008 (with distribution from Universal) and pricked up the ears of media tastemakers. Suddenly, this former best-kept-secret was a regular guest on BBC Radio 2 (try 2011’s The BBC Sessions for a collection of his appearances) and a fixture in the music press, who declared Petit’s incendiary Firebird fretwork to “occupy a stunning middle-ground between the fire of Freddie King, the instinct of Jimmy Page and the soul of Clapton” (Classic Rock).

By 2010, The Crave upped the ante (included by Classic Rock in the Top 50 Albums Of The Year), while in 2013, the man in the hat raised the bar with Cracking The Code. Patently Petit’s most ambitious release to date, the album was home to his most ferocious originals, from Get You Off to Riot City, bolstered by A-list guests including Dr John, Mick Taylor and Hubert Sumlin. Tracking his solos mere days before his death, Howlin’ Wolf’s iconic guitarist gave Petit a glowing endorsement, “If a lot of people could play like you, shit, I’d sit back and smile”, and the wider reaction was just as receptive, with Cracking The Code deemed “rampant perfection” by The Blues.

Somehow, throughout this dizzying rise, Petit stuck resolutely to his guns. In 2007, the bandleader began spreading the word though his famous BLUnivErSity lecture tours, speaking at the UK’s universities and reeling uninitiated students into the genre with his charisma and insight. In 2010, he pulled together a crack squad of high-profile musicians, including Chris Barber, Ronnie Wood and Mick Taylor, in a successful bid to protect the iconic 100 Club (a venue that Petit dubs his “spiritual home”, having played there on more than twenty occasions).

That same year, Petit hit the High Voltage Festival in London for a decibel-limit-defying set that was bottled by the legendary Ronnie Lane Mobile Recording Unit. The resulting album – Live At High Voltage – was initially issued in 2012 in a vinyl-only, limited-edition run, before its near-mythical status sparked the 2014 digital reissue. “This is hands down the greatest live record you’ll ever hear,” raved The Blues in a 10/10 review. “Even The Who didn’t quite reach the intensity of Petit and friends.”

True to his word, this is a man on a mission. And in 2016, with Petit returning from double-headlining with blues-rock titan Walter Trout, there’s no mistaking a man who means every line, every lick, every fleck of spittle and drop of sweat. “I want to see the blues become mainstream,” he says. “I want to see it become common currency in the discourse of modern popular culture. I want to see it become blues city.”                                            

BUY TICKETS HERE

 

ANIMALS & FRIENDS

NOVEMBER 24th  £20

Featuring from the original Animals John Steel and Micky Gallagher(The Blockheads, The Clash, Paul McCartney) plus Danny Handley andRoberto Ruiz . Following their critically-acclaimed and hugely successful tours together in 2008, 2011 and 2012 this legendary combination of musicians will once again be performing on the same stage together. With over 20 global top ten hits, The Animals remain a seminal rhythm and blues band who still command great respect. Expect a fantastic concert of pure classics including House Of The Rising Sun, We Gotta Get Out Of This Place, Baby Let Me Take You Home and more. After over 50 years the legend still grows.

As The Independent noted recently – 

“Though the band has changed, the songs remain eternal… alongside covers of Ray Charles and John Lee Hooker classics, they ensure that the nostalgic element comes with an enjoyably abrasive edge”.

Featuring from the original Animals – John Steel & Mick Gallagher (The Blockheads) Danny Handley and Roberto Ruiz.
In 1964 a wave of new energetic rock and roll swept over the youth of the world. On the crest of this wave was The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and of course The Animals. From the banks of
the River Tyne came the North East’s offering; a brand of rhythm n blues that the whole world seemed to grasp greedily.
The Animals were the second British band to top the American charts after The Beatles with the now multi-million selling and legendary anthem, ‘House of the Rising Sun’. The band subsequently
achieved over twenty global Top Ten hit records, many of which gained the Number One slot in various parts of the world. In Britain alone, the band had no less than twelve chart entries.
The Animals were the first British band to tour Poland and Japan.                                                                         

 Have a look’n listen, click here….

BUY TICKETS HERE

 

THE REVOLUTIONAIRES!

& The Juke Joint Kings.

Saturday December 1st      £12.50

So good we booked them thrice! Without doubt one of the very best bands ever to have appeared on the Shire Hall stage and they are in some illustrious company believe me…

Established within the ‘hotbed’ of the North East music scene in the UK, they power out jumpin’ hot rhythm & blues in their own indomitable hard hitting style.

Primarily, they are influenced by 1940’s and 1950’s R&B. In particular, Louis Jordan, Big Joe Turner, Little Richard, Chuck Berry and Roy Brown but have adopted a harder and more aggressive approach, synonymous with modern blues artists such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Duke Robillard, Jools Holland and Mike Henderson which helps create their own high energy sound.

Over the last decade, The Revolutionaires have established themselves on the UK and European Rockin’ circuit, as well as the Blues scene.

They have toured extensively both in the UK and abroad, performing at festivals in Ireland, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Holland, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Malta and Dubai.

Highlights include performing at festivals with artistes such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Sting, Tom Jones, Hugh Laurie, Jimmie Vaughan, Robert Cray, Walter Trout, Eric Bibb, Albert Lee, Snake Davis and Dave Edmunds.

Now also touring with their Big Band project which consists of extra horns and pianist, The Revs are hitting the Festival circuit with this power house line up and big sound.

They have recorded five CDs to date containing a collection of Hot Rockin’ R&B tracks. Each CD captures the ‘rawness’ and sheer energy of the band, who like to give their performances a ‘hard-edged’ vibe!

BUY TICKETS HERE.

DR FEELGOOD

& Martyn Barkers Tea Band

DECEMBER 22nd   £20.

Formed on Canvey Island in Essex in the early 1970s Dr. Feelgood remains one of the most popular and exciting live rhythm and blues acts in the world. The raw and uncompromising style of their performance resulted in the album Stupidity that immediately went to the number one position in the U.K. charts.

Dr. Feelgood have also enjoyed global success with a string of hit singles including Roxette, Back in the Night, Milk and Alcohol, Down at the Doctors, She Does it Right, Going Back Home and See You Later Alligator – which gave the group their first gold record.

The last album to feature Lee Brilleaux  – Down at the Doctors, was recorded live at the Dr. Feelgood Music Bar on Canvey Island, (now the site of the Oysterfleet Hotel) just two months before he died.

The current line up features the rhythm section Kevin Morris on drums and Phil Mitchell on bass (both 35 years), Steve Walwyn on guitar (28 years), and Robert Kane (formerly of the Animals) the most recent addition – joining in 1999.

Julien Temple’s film Oil City Confidential released on 2^nd February 2010 tells the story of the bands formative years featuring the Wilko Johnson era.

May 2011 saw the digitally re – mastered re release of Chessmasters originally released in 2000 on EMI Records … the band’s tribute to the Chess label, home to many of the finest blues artists of the 20^th century and the first Dr Feelgood album to feature Robert on vocals.

The band continues to tour extensively throughout the World.

BUY TICKETS HERE