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LIFE AND TIMES |
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(01462 456811
07724 186124 |
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LIFE & TIMES |
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PERSONNEL
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LIFE AND TIMES are: |
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GRAEME MEEK BSc(Hons), Cert. Ed. Ø
Voice Ø
Hopf
Acoustic Guitar Ø
Epiphone
Acoustic Guitar Ø
Epiphone
Thunderbird IV Bass Ø
Wilson
Rapier Bass Ø
Fylde
Bouzouki See http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/graeme_meek Graeme’s traditional idiom songs form the
mainstay of a Life & Times performance. One of his songs has been
performed by John Kirkpatrick and another has
been recorded by Carolyn Robson. A third has
been used in a film submitted to the Cannes Film
Festival and a fourth was used by BBC Schools
Radio’s Singing Together.
Other songs have been used as publicity for a |
Graeme is a member of the
E.F.D.S.S. |
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BARRY GOODMAN M.Ed. Ø
Voice Ø
Saltarelle
Connemara Melodeon Ø
Castagnari
Tommy Melodeon Ø Hohner Melodeon Ø
Lachenal
English Concertina See www.myspace.com/musocallersinger
With over 30 years
in folk behind him, he has been described as a Folk
Polymath. Besides Life & Times he calls and plays for the E-Ceilidh band Time of Your Life.
Has also called with other bands including Random,
Grand Union, Stomp, Fendragon, The Woodpecker Band,
Moondance, Laughing Gravy.
Has called at Sidmouth, Towersey, Wimborne
and Rhythms of the World Festivals. Has
danced with Ampthill’s Redbornstoke Morris since 1977 and has been a
musician for The Outside
Capering Crew, Rockhopper Morris and Bedfordshire Lace.
For many years he has been MC and caller for The
Hertfordshire Folk Association's annual Summer Dance Festival for
children at Hatfield House. Serves on the Festival's organising committee and
also runs Folk Dance Workshops for teachers and children. Is involved in the New Roots young musicians’ competition. Has been an
MC at Sidmouth, Towersey, Chippenham, |
Barry is a member of the
E.F.D.S.S., Folk Arts England and FolkWISE |
BIOGRAPHY
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Formerly a trio, Greg Lindsay (flute) left
in the late 1980s and was replaced, briefly, by Sara Fox (who became Sara
Hack and a member of Time of Your Life) Before Graeme and
Barry decided to continue as a duo. Life & Times has also occasionally
featured Debbie Chalmers on fiddle in performance. Life & Times
celebrated their Silver Jubilee in 2008. Prestigious Mentions Life & Times
feature in the Guinness
Who’s Who in Folk and in The Official Music Maker Folk Music of the British Isles
catalogue. Highly Regarded Folk Performers Who Have Used Our Music Ø
ASHLEY HUTCHINGS (founder of STEELEYE SPAN) Ø
JOHN KIRKPATRICK
(former member of STEELEYE SPAN) Ø
CAROLYN ROBSON (former EFDSS Education Officer) Both John
Kirkpatrick and Carolyn Robson have performed Life
& Times’ songs. John played The Bridge of Iron at The Ironbridge
Gorge Museum (he would have played more if there had been time!). Carolyn
sings the song The
Ghost of Lady de Grey (which appears on Life & Times’ CD
Charivari) and she has also recorded it on her own CD:
Dawn Chorus (Reiver
Records RVCD03). Ashley Hutchings et al’s CD: The Grandson of Morris On concludes with Barry and the
band performing his own tune Four Up. Radio and Life & Times Life & Times’
music has been featured on national radio and local radio stations around Other Users of Our Music The song Brickmaking has
been included in a Berkshire Education history package, music from Shropshire Iron
has been used for a promotional video by a Shropshire Theatre Company and
Barry’s tune Plaiter’s Polka appeared on TV’s The Canterville Ghost. In October 2006, Life &
Times were approached about the use of their song The Bedfordshire Clanger in a short film by Dunstable-based Five Feet Films,
which it is hoped will be shown on Channel 4 TV at some time in the future. Around
the same time it was proposed to include the song The Markyate
Highwayman in a history project in Ferrars
Junior School, Luton (named after the Wicked
Lady: she of the film and of the story in the song). At Hogmanay 2007,
Graeme’s song The Stonehaven
Fireballs was reproduced in the brochure that accompanied the age-old
ceremony at Stonehaven,
Grampian. Who Writes The Music? Although Graeme
has been the main songwriter for the duo, Barry has also contributed songs
and tunes. Graeme has occasionally taken on commissions to write songs. In
1986 he wrote a few songs to assist in a bid to open a museum in a
Bedfordshire town. One of those songs A Working Boatie Man
appears on their CD Charivari (recorded in April 2001). In 2003 he
wrote a song for the opening of a restored bridge in a Bedfordshire village
and The Bridge
Down The Meadow together with Barry’s tune Over The Bridge have proved to be
very popular well beyond the village for which they were written. Graeme
celebrated his 25th year of writing Bedfordshire songs in 2006. Can Anyone Find Our Music Printed Anywhere? Luton Museum &
Art Gallery published the song book of Strawplait & Bonelace in 1984 and much of Life & Times’
material has been reproduced in Bedfordshire County Life Magazine since 1999.
The Beds., Herts., Bucks., & Cambs., folk
magazine Unicorn
has also printed many of Graeme’s songs over the years. His songs have also
appeared in several other folk publications including the NWFFC Newsletter
and Joe Smith’s Midlands Folk Diary: the only song ever printed in that
publication. Shows for Schools In 2006 Life &
Times branched out in a new direction, taking our traditional idiom music
into schools to teach youngsters about our history, traditions and heritage.
Our friends The
Tollhouse Company ceased touring their shows at the end of 2005 so
our new venture is intended to fill that gap with a similar style of
performance (though with our own particular stamp) complete with visual
presentation and drama. If you’ve previously enjoyed the performances of The Tollhouse
Company or if you’d like the KS1, KS2 or KS3 (up to Year 8)
children in your local school to try acting a Mummers’ Play or have a go at
Morris or Molly dancing, look at our sister site on www.lifeandtimes.org.uk
for more information. We currently have several shows: Hats Off To
History - available at any time - and Winter Days, a winter show
available from November 1st to the end of December tri-annually
(next in Nov-Dec 2009). A new pair of winter shows Year’s End and The Cold Days of
Winter will be available from November 1st to end of
December 2007 and January 1st to end of February 2008 respectively.
In addition, there is a new Hats Off To History II (or More Hats Off To History)
available in 2007-8. A new winter show Frost and Rhyme will be available in Nov-Dec
2008. Barry’s Award As a regular
contributor to EFDSS events, promoter of folk in education and host of the
children’s dance festival every summer at Hatfield House, in 2006, Barry won
Hertfordshire’s Bill Ranscombe Award for services
to folk in the county. Recordings (see our Life & Times main website for more details) Ø
Charivari Wixamtree
WIX 051 Ø
Shropshire
Iron Fellside
FE071 Ø
Strawplait
& Bonelace
Fellside FE043 Ø
A
Select Few (dance
music) Some other recordings that
include our music: Ø
Grandson
of Morris On (Ashley Hutchings et al.) Ø
Dawn
Chorus (Carolyn Robson) Reiver Records RVCD03 Ø
Keep
Dancing EFDSS Recordings EDCD07 (dance music) What Else Can We Say? Ø
Life
& Times appear regularly at Hitchin
Folk Club, Radio 2’s 2005 Folk Awards Best Folk Club, where they are
resident artists. Ø
Life
& Times have represented Bedfordshire at The EFDSS National Gathering in Cecil Sharp House,
London. Ø
Several
of Life & Times songs and tunes are now incorporated into traditions,
mainly, but not exclusively, local to Bedfordshire. See Traditions
below for more details. Ø
Life
& Times’ first recording Strawplait & Bonelace was sponsored by The Eastern Arts Association. Ø
Many
Life & Times songs and tunes can be seen displayed in pubs, libraries and
museums in Bedfordshire and beyond. Ø
Life
& Times have appeared the length of the country from Hartlepool to Wadebridge. Ø
Life
& Times are founder members and form two fifths of the E-ceilidh/barn dance band Time of Your Life who have been performing since
1984. Oddest Performance Venue A live BBC Radio Bedfordshire broadcast from Bedford Sewage Works! |
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SONGS
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Many of Life & Times’ songs and tunes
chronicle the history, legends, customs and folklore of the area in which
Graeme & Barry live, and particularly the county of Bedfordshire. A flavour
of this can be had from the following descriptions of some of the duo’s
songs. Charles Wells and Josephine Grimbley
concerns the story of Chief
Officer, Charles Wells, who gave up a promising sea career to return home and
marry his sweetheart, Josephine Grimbley, and to
establish the Bedford
Brewery that still bears his name. (Known as Wells & Youngs from October 2006). The Ghost of Lady de Grey. Lady Elizabeth de Grey was the daughter of the owner of
Wrest House, a country mansion in Silsoe,
Bedfordshire. Her father took a dim view of his daughter’s elopement with a
humble coachman from The George Inn. In a hasty escape, she fell from a
carriage and drowned in a lake. Her ghost returned to The George where her
happiest times had been. There are still stories of ghostly appearances at
the hotel which still stands in the village. This song is also sung by Carolyn Robson and is recorded on her CD
Dawn Chorus,
Reiver Records RVRCD03. (Recorded on the CD: Charivari) Plough Monday Song
tells of an ancient tradition which took place on the Monday after Twelfth
Night, the first working day for agricultural workers after Christmas.
Ploughboys with blackened faces paraded a plough around local pubs, singing
and begging for money; and were often accompanied by dancers. The tradition
was continued by ploughboys of Thurleigh,
Bedfordshire, into the 20th century and, it has been revived
around the Ampthill area by local Morris teams Bedfordshire Lace and Redbornstoke Morris, accompanied by the Brafront Guizers who perform
their Plough Play. (Recorded on the CD: Charivari) The Life and Times of Henry Claydon,
Highwayman. Henry Claydon
was a highwayman who plied his trade on the Watling
Street, but lived in the Bedfordshire village of Flitwick.
He made quite a success of his “trade” until one of his companions turned
“King’s Evidence” and betrayed him, leading to his eventual execution at the
end of the 17th century (or was it a rope…?). The song is told
from his own point of view and a framed copy of it
can be seen on the wall at Flitwick Library. (Recorded on the
CD: Charivari) Dunstable Downs Midsummer’s Day Song is based on a custom which used to take
place on the downs until the early or mid 19th century. At dusk on
midsummer’s day, huge bonfires were lit to celebrate the solstice. They were
seen for miles around and burned late into the night. Similar customs
apparently still exist in some other parts of the country. (Recorded on the
CD: Charivari) All In The Wintertime is a song which effectively explains the story behind the
Mummers Play performed by Bedfordshire’s Brafront Guizers. It was written when it became obvious that after
several years of performing the play, audiences were amused but still
mystified by its content! (Recorded on the CD: Charivari) The Witch of Conger Hill tells of an old custom in the village of Toddington, Bedfordshire. It is said if you venture up
onto Conger Hill, an old castle mound, on Shrove Tuesday and put your ear to
the ground, you will hear an old woman or witch frying her pancakes. The
custom persisted into at least the 1970s when school children were taken up
onto the hill to listen. The practice ceased with the introduction of The
National Curriculum! A framed copy of this song can be seen in Toddington Library and also next door, on the wall at The
Oddfellows Arms which is on the corner of Conger
Lane. The tune of this song is used for a dance by The Outside Capering Crew who appear on the CD: Grandson of Morris On. (Recorded on the CD: Charivari) More details on the stories behind Life
& Times’ songs can be found at Graeme Meek’s Bedfordshire Songs website. |
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MP3 SAMPLES
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Click on each of the songs named below to
download a short mp3 sample of it. Unless you are on broadband, each sample
may take a few minutes to download but all samples are below 1Mb. Ø
Dunstable Downs Midsummer’s Day Song Ø
The Life & Times of Henry Claydon,
Highwayman To hear complete versions of these songs
log onto our myspace website at www.myspace.com/broadsidesrevisited. Violin accompaniments on these recordings
are provided by Debbie Chalmers, schooled by Joe Broughton. Recordings made
at SRT, St. Ives, Cambridgeshire, April 2001. |
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TRADITIONS
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There are a number of living traditions
that now include Life & Times’ music. Ampthill, Bedfordshire’s Redbornstoke
Morris has adopted the song Toddington Tour as
an integral part of their dance tour of the village in July each year and
print the words in their booklet that is available to spectators and
visitors. Other Morris sides now expect the song at the end of the
proceedings and are ready to join in the chorus. Barry’s song All in the Wintertime is
regularly sung at performances by Ampthill’s
Mummers Players, The Brafront Guizers. Plough Monday Song is
usually sung at the Plough Monday gatherings of Redbornstoke
Morris and Bedfordshire Lace at The Cross Keys, Pulloxhill,
Bedfordshire on Plough Monday each year. On May Day morning every year at
Katherine’s Cross in Ampthill Park, following the
dancing by Redbornstoke Morris, Bedfordshire Lace
and other invited Morris sides, Barry’s song Ampthill Sunrise
is always sung. Graeme’s tune One Man’s Morris together with
Barry’s dance of the same name is now performed by Redbornstoke
Morris as well as by Sarum Morris of Wiltshire. The dance display team, Outside Capering
Crew, use the tune of Witch of Conger Hill for one of their dances. |
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