Hove Folk Club

Pete Atkin: 3rd April 2009
Report by Roger Johnson

The first sell out for Hove Folk Club!!

It was none other than '70s cult singer Pete Atkin, perhaps best known as Clive James’ song-writing partner, who had drawn fans in from far and wide (I think Nottingham was the furthest I learned of!) to our little room above the Eclipse. Knowing that a crowd was expected, landlord Toby had kindly removed all the tables to let us maximise the space and we had found something like 60 seats in varying shapes and styles. People started arriving from 7.30ish, all very friendly and many of them long time Pete Atkin fans. And what a friendly bunch they all were.

Anyway, after our host had given us a few songs (the mandatory new song this time being "Someone Else Can Save the World") and a brief contribution from two very brave floor singers, Pete takes to the floor. He explains that he is travelling light, so only a guitar and no keyboard this time, and he's had to re-arrange some of the songs to suit the accompaniment - before launching into his first song "Master of the Revels", which he segued into "Have You Got a Biro I Can Borrow", both played beautifully. I knew then that this was going to be something special. Songs old and familiar or newer and less so flowed in Pete’s easy style and, taking the hint from Robb, we were given the premiere of a new song, with a working title "Night Surfing Blues". My favourite from the first set has to be "Sessionman’s Blues", but nothing was less than first rate.

Pete’s second set was for me even better though with some of my very favourite songs:  "Touch has a Memory", "Thirty Year Man", "Beware of the Beautiful Stranger" (inevitably, I guess) before finishing with some requests ending up totally appropriately with "Perfect Moments". All in all a lovely evening – my only regrets that I hadn’t asked for "Driving Through Mythical America" and that I was too tired to stay behind for a chat with Pete afterwards.

Here's to the next time!

Web site: www.peteatkin.com

Wikipedia entry: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Atkin

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