Dick informed us last week that 30th April is Devil’s Night, so Karen suggested that we should get some devil-related songs together for this evening. Wikipedia tells us that 30th April is Walpurgis Night, a pagan holiday. I must have missed the references in Dick’s songs: Blow Boys Blow, Broomfield Hill and The Lusty Smith!
After Karen had sung her first devil-referencing song, Black Crow, we thought out loud about other songs we might sing. At the mention of Devil Woman, Bob claimed that he’d rather eat key parts of his anatomy than sing a Cliff Richard song. Naturally, the rest of us treated him to an almost complete rendition of Summer Holiday.
A big welcome to John from Dunstable, who arrived a little later and missed this hilarity. However, his only song for the evening was coincidentally the 1962 Cliff Richard hit – Do You Wanna Dance. I believe Bob is still in one piece.
The next reference came from Rosie & Alan, who’d hastily put together a version of That Ole Devil Called Love. Dick apparently enjoyed this so much that it brought a tear (pronounced tier) to his trouser leg. Other devil and mystical references were:
- Who Will Buy My Besoms (Delia)
- Silver Dagger (Karen and Roger)
- Ballad Of Cursed Anna (Bob)
- Ghost Riders In The Sky (John C)
- Angie Baby (Rosie and Alan)
- Prize-Winning
- Rare Old Times (Karen and Roger)
- If I Were A Carpenter (Bob)
- You Are My Sunshine (Bob)
- Carrion Crow (Stuart)
- I Drew My Ship into the Harbour (Delia)
- Almaz (Rosie and Alan)
- Pernod Waltz (Alan)
- The Nightingale (Rosie and Alan)
Most featured song-writer of the evening was our own Steve Laughlin, who unusually sang 4 of his own songs:
The other original material was:
Another highlight was Stuart's rendition of Truro Agricultural Show, with what sounded to me like an authentic accent despite him being from the other side of the Tamar. Delia sang 2 songs that took me back to my youth: the Seekers' Morningtown Ride, which was in the charts in 1966, and Early One Morning, that was part of the Singing Together programme on BBC Schools radio while I was at primary school.
The tunes were:
A big welcome to Dave B for his first visit. It’s a while since we had a banjo at the club and was it was good to hear him play The Boys of Bluehill and The Fairy Hornpipe on it. He later showed his versatility by playing Parson’s Farewell and Portsmouth on recorder and then the 1700’s dance tune Jenny Pluck Pears, accompanied by a surprised Alan on guitar.
It was nice to see Paul again. He played two sets of tunes on the melodeon: Rico’s & Swiss and the jigs Uncle’s & St Lawrence jigs. In between, he sprung a surprise by singing Will Ye Go To Flanders My Molly-O. This lovely interpretation was one of the highlights of the evening. 
His version of Dave Metser’s Ripple Away had the usual suspects joining in on the choruses. He had sung his own song, Gone Too Long For Returning, at Henley last week, and made a big impression on those of us there (despite the background noise). At Dave H’s request, he repeated it in quieter circumstances and was equally well received. From his place in exile, Simon played a set of tunes starting with The Lass of Richmond Hill.
Roger M had mentioned that he liked John Kirkpatrick’s marathon Belinda Brown, so Rosie dug out the songbook gave us an unaccompanied version. Later, she and Alan took us to the 1960’s with Sony Bono’s Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down). Their tunes were the reels The Musical Priest & Star of Munster and the jig My Darling Asleep.