Pete Hartley: sometime dramaturg, perennial scribbler
I couldn't believe my eyes. It was in the bargain LP display stand in Woolworths. My newly adopted favourite rock band were more successful than they'd ever been, having just clocked up a number two single and album, and here was a hitherto unreleased recording among the budget collections of compilation albums, popular classical orchestras … Continue reading Hallmarked from Woolworths
Spend some time at one of the lesser-known and more laid-back delights of Lancashire.
This is where it all began for me. This album spawned a life-long love and addiction, but it germinated far more than that. This was the mystical key. This was the ledger that unlocked the cauldron of creativity, this was the testament that told of the way to traverse the path through pain and pleasure, … Continue reading Bursting at the Seams
The memoir of a mill worker who wove his dreams into reality, 1902 - 1934.
A solo album is almost never a solo enterprise, and the musicians that are assembled here is one of the best kept open secrets of the prog-rock heyday. On board were Miller Anderson from The Keef Hartley Band; Rick Wakeman from Yes; Roger Glover from Deep Purple, and Jon Hiseman once of John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers.
As filmed by a man with eight legs I have to confess it was a stalking. I looked her up on Facebook and drove across the moors to where I’d worked out she would be. Rawtenstall. I parked the car and unleashed my camera. I was by myself but not alone. My viewfinder located lusty … Continue reading The Union of South Africa and East Lancashire
One objective of fictional dystopia is to offer a hope of readdressing the hypocritical myopia in the real world. This album does that, putting duplicitous morality to the fire, ripping the finery off the self-righteous and unmasking the two-faced flag-bearers of bigotry.
A simple and invaluable tip to help you to prepare for a public performance.
From the Witchwood is a mesmeric musical forest. It is of its time but has enough validity to stand contemporary playing. Sadly, there are songs on here that still need singing for the worst of reasons, but joyfully there are others that can be sung because they are stunningly delightful.
One ring at the heart of the Shire. A seven-mile walk that starts where it ends.
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