A Night Of Black Country Cant & Cag
(the sound of the region in spake & song)
HISTORY
Spoken word performances started at the Lamp Tavern in Dudley on 11th February 2005. Following that event Greg Stokes put the following on the Kates Hill Press website.
CREATIVE CO-OPERATIONS
CO-OPERATION ACROSS THE GENRES
MUSIC: GOJO MUSIC (Gary O'Dea, Garry Oliver), RACHEL MAINSTONE
POETRY: BILLY SPAKEMON, BRENDAN HAWTHORNE
LITERATURE: PAUL McDONALD, GREG STOKES
THE ALTERNATIVE BLACK COUNTRY NIGHT OUT
On Friday 11th February 2005 at the Lamp Tavern in Dudley, a new phenomenon was born.
2 local music acts, 2 local poets and 2 local authors got together to blast out their stuff and show that the creative arts in the Black Country are alive, kicking and relevant to now.
Security (Al Perry and Johnny Green) weren't due till 7.45 for doors open at 8.00. By 7.30 with the acts arriving, the room was already filling up. By the time it bost off at 8.15, the Brewhouse at The Lamp was heaving,
Billy Spakemon was compere for the night giving us a some of his poem in dialect and a song about a bargeman coming home.
Walsall author Paul McDonald followed reading from his immensely funny Surviving Sting.
Next up was Wednesbury poet Brendan Hawthorne reading a selection of poems including some from the recently published Urban Dawn.
Greg Stokes was next up reading an excerpt from his latest novel A Pack of Saftness
Rachel Mainstone finished off the first half with a powerful set of her own works.
Billy bost off the second half in a second tay shirt finishing with the poignant "Council Boy"
The batting order for the second half mirrored that of the first with Paul reading from his second novel Kiss Me Softly Amy Turtle, Brendan reading more material from Urban Dawn, and Greg Stokes reading from his first published work Black Country Stories and Sketches. The night ended with a storming set from Gojo Music.
A bostin night was had by all and a new phenomenon was born!
HISTORY
It started
on a cold December night in Langley. Agents O'Dea and Spakemon had just
left the FBI HQ...
No Greg, we'd just come out of the Barlow Theatre in our Langley and we was just
sayin how we should put a gig on with music and poetry to promote the artistic
endeavour in the area and how yoe could have a stond there to sell the books and
how we should try puttin it on at the Lamp in Dudley cos it was supposed to be a
good venue. And within a matter of hours the room was booked for 11th February
2005
Christmas came and went. Brendan Hawthorne, resident poet at the FBI
in Langley was co-opted into the little group. Early in the new year Greg
delivered a new load of books to Billy Spakemon who said that Gary had asked
Walsall author Paul McDonald to do a reading at the gig. Greg said
"ooh, ah could have a goo at that" or words to that effect and Gaz
said "Ar" or words to that effect. Gaz said we'll get that
Rachel Mainstone ter do a bit an all so Gaz's mate Gaz went in the Beacon where
her works an asked her an her said "ar", or words to that effect.
Mid January Gaz, Gaz, Greg, Billy n Bren met at the Rose and Crown Tipton to
work out the batting order and the media blitz.
Towards the end of January, Paul, a professor at the uni, got back of his
holidays an he said "ar" or more probably a word to that effect an
all, so that was it, the line up was complete
which was just as well cos he was second on.
Late January the line up met for the first time in its entirety for the photo
shoot outside the Lamp. This was followed by an anarchic session on WM the
following Sunday...
We thought that if we got 30 or 40 to turn
up we'd try putting another one on sometime. Once word got out we had to make
it all ticket and it had sold out very quickly with new dates to follow.
And yoe thought it went so well it all must've bin so meticulously planned.
Following that incredibly successful first night, Creative Co-operations went on the porduce 10 shows, 8 at the Lamp, and 2 at the Newhampton Inn in Wolverhampton.
Credits for the shows are as follows:-
Poetry:
Brendan
Hawthorne: Lamp Tavern - 11/02/05, 04/03/05, 22/04/05, 20/05/05
30/09/05
Newhampton Inn - 05/08/05
Ian Henery:
Newhampton Inn - 03/06/05
Sue Hulse:
Lamp Tavern - 19/08/05
Laurence Inman: Lamp Tavern -
22/07/05
Billy Spakemon: Lamp
Tavern - 11/02/05, 22/04/05, 20/05/05, 17/06/05,
22/07/05, 19/08/05, 30/09/05
Newhampton Inn - 03/06/05, 05/08/05
John Stevenson: Lamp
Tavern - 17/06/05
Music:
Dan
Bradley:
Lamp Tavern - 20/05/05
Newhampton Inn - 05/08/05
Perry
Foster:
Lamp Tavern - 30/09/05
Gojo'
Music:
Lamp Tavern - 11/02/05, 04/03/05, 22/04/05, 20/05/05
17/06/05, 22/07/05, 30/09/05
Newhampton Inn - 03/06/05, 05/08/05 (G. O'Dea compere)
Rachel Mainstone: Lamp Tavern -
11/02/05, 04/03/05, 22/04/05
Paul
Murphy:
Lamp Tavern - 19/08/05
Jayne
Powell:
Lamp Tavern - 17/06/05
Alex
Vann:
Lamp Tavern - 22/07/05, 19/08/05
Newhampton Inn - 03/06/05, 05/08/05
Writers:
Anthony Cartwright: Lamp
Tavern - 30/09/05
Newhampton Inn - 03/06/05
Steve
Grey:
Lamp Tavern - 19/08/05
Joel
Lane:
Lamp Tavern - 17/06/05
Paul McDonald: Lamp
Tavern - 11/02/05, 04/03/05, 22/04/05, 17/06/05,
19/08/05
Newhampton Inn - 03/06/05
Barry
Morris:
Lamp Tavern - 20/05/05
Jeff
Phelps:
Lamp Tavern - 22/07/05
Newhampton Inn - 05/08/05
Greg
Stokes:
Lamp Tavern - 11/02/05, 04/03/05, 22/04/05, 20/05/05,
17/06/05 (compere), 22/07/05, 30/09/05
Newhampton Inn - 05/08/05
Special Guests:
Zaza
Murray:
Lamp Tavern - 04/03/05
'Uncle Des' Stokes Lamp Tavern -
30/09/05
Following the September show Gary O'Dea left to pursue music projects. Laurence Hipkiss then joined Billy Spakemon and Greg Stokes to form Roosterkatespake and carry on with the shows.