Posted by Kevin Boyd, 21 November 2023
The second half of the Remember Me To The One Who Lives There tour with Jon Wilks made its way to the Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool last night. The basic structure of the evening was similar to some of the earlier gigs on the tour. Familiar ground was occasionally covered but there were enough unusual and distinctive detours to make everything feel fresh and interesting, and the whole thing felt a little bit tighter and more structured than previous shows.
The first half covered Russell Quaye and the City Ramblers Skiffle Group playing at the Skiffle Cellar in Greek Street, Soho in the 1950s; Martin’s delight at discovering that ‘the call-up’ (conscription to the armed forces) was scheduled to end in the late-50s; a frustratingly brief mention of meeting two of The Beatles in Bob Dylan’s hotel room (we never learned the extent of their interaction or, crucially, which two Beatles were involved); meeting Dylan for the first time in late-1962 (Martin believed it was ’63, but Jon insisted it was ’62 – Jon is definitely right!); the infamous samurai sword incident; playing The Spinners’ Liverpool folk club in 1961; the rivalry between The Spinners and The Campbells (and, by extension, The Dubliners and The Corries); Bob Dylan not quite learning the guitar to Scarborough Fair; Dylan liking Lord Franklin and Scarborough Fair, leading to the writing of Bob Dylan’s Dream and Girl From The North Country; playing the Hammersmith Apollo with Paul Simon (in 2000) and the long conversation they had after that gig; Martin being asked by Ruth Barrett* to sing Scarborough Fair for the 2014 Remember Me BBC drama.
* Martin was a little unsure of the surname here – I heard (and my notes read) ‘Ruth Garrett’, but I may have mis-heard – either way, a quick IMDb check confirms the surname as ‘Barrett’. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2418470/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cr10
In the second half they discussed the ‘travis picking’ (or ‘clawhammer’, as Martin sometimes refers to it) guitar technique; the influence of Big Bill Broonzy on Martin’s guitar playing; Martin’s love of Brownie McGhee; the Les Cousins club in Greek Street and some of the people who played there; Paul Simon first visiting the UK and offering his services as a resident folk singer; Simon moving to the same address (184 Haverstock Hill) as Martin and Dorothy Carthy; Davey Graham and the DADGAD tuning; how Martin’s frustration with DADGAD led to him developing his current CGCDGA tuning; playing Old Tom Of Oxford with the Bampton Morris team; how CGCDGA is similar to standard cello and viola tunings; the significance of the ‘milk-white steed’ in traditional songs; his two stints playing with Steeleye Span; how he loves the Steeleye Please To See The King album; re-joining Steeleye in the late-70s with John Kirkpatrick and the ‘elves incident’ (“No elf shit”); playing electric guitar; how old (traditional) songs tell ‘uncomfortable truths’; re-writing the ending to Prince Heathen; the song Cruel Mother – Jon referenced Cecelia Costello’s version and Martin referenced Lucy Stewart’s version; Martin’s 64-year career; Napoleonic songs.
First Half:
- Greek Street (Jon Wilks)
- High Germany
- Scarborough Fair
Second Half:
- October Song (Jon Wilks)
- Lovely Joan
- The Dream Of Napoleon
- When I Was A Little Boy
The tour continues into December, with a couple of dates now added in January 2024:
Jon discusses the song Cruel Mother in more detail with Rosie Hood in the Old Songs podcast here:
You can hear Martin’s version of Scarborough Fair from the 2014 BBC drama Remember Me below:
Come Sing It Plain... 