A different sort of evening at The Belle Vue

17:32

There were fewer singers and musicians than usual this evening as various people were away ill or doing other things. However, the pub was packed. Perhaps news of our previous successful visit to The Belle Vue had spread, or perhaps it was because the nearby Nags Head was closed for refurbishment!

The level of background noise made subtlety difficult, so we focused on the sing-along and the loud. The level of applause made it clear that we were appreciated and Karen received very favourable comments from the clientele when she went round the pub with the raffle tickets.

Melodeons were clearly the order of the day in respect of tunes. Dave H did a great job in leading many of these, playing much of his repertoire as Rosie wasn’t well, and Simon wasn’t available. His fiddle came out for a couple of my mandolin pieces; his Smoking and Drinking song was also well appreciated.

Dick’s fan club (and groupies?) had turned out in force and he was encouraged to dig into his slightly blue book for Man on the Moon, Brian Bohru and The Lusty Smith. He’d probably have been persuaded to sing all night if it hadn’t been for his lift home.

We had a visiting singer, Jim, who’d been brought up very close to Belle Vue but now lives in Yorkshire, close to the Theakston brewery. Naturally, he sang Keith Marsden’s Theakston’s Old Peculier for us. He would also have sung Bring Us a Barrel if Dick hadn’t sung it earlier. He also did a shanty which went down very well with singers and audience alike.

Dave F’s sing-along contribution was Meet Me On the Corner. Coincidentally, I had been listening to Lindisfarne’s Greatest Hit that day with a view to us learning the same song. What’s more, it was the first song that Steve played in public. Dave also sang Billy Joel’s The Downeaster Alexa. Perhaps he’ll expand his Billy Joel repertoire to include Uptown Girl one day, with Alison in the Chrissie Brinkley role.

In similar vein, Karen and Steve sang Machine Gun Kelly, Steve sang Black Velvet Band, Night Rider’s Lament, I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight and This Old Town, and Karen and Roger gave us Medicine Wheel, The Great Divide and Country Roads. Tons of applause for these! Roger also played Josphina's Waltz by Scandanavian musician Roger Talroth.

We’ll be back at The Belle Vue on 5th November. We’re considering digging out the amplifiers and microphones for the occasion so we can deliver the necessary musical fireworks.

The Old Ship is closed on the 8th, so we’ll be at The Prince Albert in Frieth for the next two weeks.

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