Roger Watson : 7th May 2010
Report by Roger Johnson (no relation)
Maybe it was down to post election night blues. Whatever the reason the stop at homes missed yet another first rate night at Hove Folk Club.
Our host, Robb Johnson kicked the evening off in the usual way with a couple of songs before introducing our uniformly excellent floor performers. Jonathan was this time accompanied by Bethan on fiddle and they included a spirited rendition of that well known folk song, Bankrobber and later two of Robb’s songs. A special treat was a set from Sue and Will on fiddle and uilleann pipes including tunes from England, Scotland and Ireland. Another of our regulars, Mike, had also added an extra instrumental voice and the cello made for a fuller sound. All thoroughly enjoyable.
And so to our featured guest. To many of our host’s fans, Roger Watson is the quiet man in the Irregulars who sits and plays some rather tasteful melodeon. But he has a long history in folk music and amongst his other claims to fame was a founder member of Muckram Wakes and The New Victory Band. I first met up with him almost 40 years ago when he played at Nic Jones club in Chelmsford so we do go back a long way.
Roger is a big man with a big voice, which he needs to sing above the melodeon on which he usually accompanies himself on. His speciality is in writing new words to old songs giving them perhaps even more relevance to a modern audience. As examples, the dashing blade in Lovely Joan becomes a yuppie in a fast car, Peg of Derby relates to the closure of Rolls Royce and Lowlands (which starts I dreamed a dream) is related to Martin Luther King in particular and bigotry and intolerance in general. I think my favourite, being an adopted son of Sussex, was Spencer the Rover where our hero becomes a man forced on the road to seek work away from his family. Add in a couple of instrumental pieces, throw in a few original songs and it makes for a great evening. And to cap it all off encore with Billy Joel’s Piano Man.
Cheers, Roger
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