Folk fans finally find place to call their own

The Riverside Folk and Acoustic Club - held at the Stourport Boat Club in Dunley Road - is set to start the proceedings at 8pm on Friday, February 4, with a concert by Stourport band Sack The Juggler.

The launch follows a number of "open mic" nights to raise cash for the venture - the latest of which will take place on Thursday, January 13.

Musicians are invited to come along and play a set, with audiences paying to watch.

Web designer Gary Davis -

one of the men behind the club - said the events had already proved a success, with about a dozen acts and more than 100 people attending.

"We've been very impressed with the response so far - it's been super," he said.

"We're not expecting quite so many people in January because it's usually a quiet month, but there's a lot of enthusiasm in the town for it."

The club is the brainchild of Gary, along with Stourport residents Mike Jones, Dr Bruno Brown and Matt Worley - who own the music shop Worley's Strings and Things in the town's Lombard Street.

Gary used to run the Galleon Acoustic Club at the same venue and he said the aim of the new event was to bring top artists in the field to the town and give local musicians the opportunity to perform to an audience.

"The attendances died off with the old club because it was on a Sunday night mainly," he said.

"This is more of a relaxed atmosphere whereas that was a case of 'turn up and listen quietly.'

"It's folk songs where you sit and listen but people can chat as well and it's okay."

After the launch next month, the venue will see a big-name acts perform every other Friday, while the open night will continue on alternate Thursdays.

The new event will run alongside the venue's r'n'b club which takes place once a month, the next date being Saturday, February 19, when Evesham rock band Torque take to the stage.

Internationally renowned singer/songwriter and instrumentalist Steve Tilston will kick off the concerts on Friday, February 18.

Steve is a folk star in his own right but has also penned music for other artists including Fairport Convention.

And another major name in the folk scene - Martin Carthy - who wrote the arrangement for Simon and Garfunkel's late-60s hit Scarborough Fair - will play on Friday, March 4.

The duo The Jamesons will also head a special day-late St Patrick's Day celebration on Friday, March 18, with their unique blend of traditional and contemporary songs which will have an Irish twist for the occasion.

For more information on the club and listings, visit: www.riversideclub.co.uk. Anyone who wants to be added to the mailing list should email their details to: gary@adrem.fsnet.

co.uk or call into Worley's Strings and Things.

Punkpop icons to stop off at NIA

PEOPLE can expect an "atomic" show in Birmingham when the legendary Blondie drop in on the city as part of an extensive UK tour.

The influential band - fronted by the iconic Deborah Harry - have spanned the decades with their music and a mass of hits from their February 1978 number two debut Denis Denis to last year's Good Boys from their latest album The Curse of Blondie.

In between, they have stunned fans with a score of catchy tunes, including the number ones Heart of Glass, Sunday Girl, Call Me, Atomic and Maria.

Now, following on from the success of sell-out tours in 2003 and last year, the band has announced a full UK tour this year.

It kicks off in Cardiff on Tuesday, November 15, and takes in Birmingham NIA Academy on Thursday, December 15.

Tickets for the Birmingham gig are £30 and are available by calling 0870 909 4144, 0870 735 5000 or by visiting: www.bookings direct.com

For more information visit: www.blondie.net

Deborah Harry fronts the iconic pop punk band, Blondie.

REVIEWS

with Joby Mullens

VARIOUS - PUNK FOR PUDSEY

(out now)

SOME of the Worcester area's finest bands plug in their guitars and rock out in the name of a good cause on this 11-track-album for Children in Need.

Featured groups include B Movie Heroes and Kenisia, both of which have earned considerable success touring the UK and Europe - the former recently supporting The Clash's Mick Jones' new band Carbon/Silicon at a Worcester gig.

Other bands featured are Pete's Sake, Fargo, The Fallout Theory, Fletcher and Backwash.

If you like your music with a hard edge, you'll love this. Worth checking out just because it is for charity!

Priced £3, it's available from Face the Music and Market Hall Records - both in Worcester.

ROBBIE WILLIAMS - MISUNDERSTOOD

(out December 6)

Mr Angels (or, as Liam Gallagher affectionately refers to him, the fat dancer from Take That) has had his fair share of hits both as part of said boy band and as a soloist.

He seems to have taken his foot off the gas recently though... okay, previous single Radio was a just-about-listenable 1980s pastiche but this insipid ballad from the film Bridget Jones 2 really is unpalatable.

At least Take That's songs provoked some sort of a reaction, this is just so incredibly tiresome it could be used to send children to sleep. Best avoided.

THE OC MIX 2 - VARIOUS

(out now)

NOT having ever watched the programme following the fortunes of a group of Orange County residents, I couldn't possibly comment on its merits.

Suffice it to say that it presumably has a loyal following of slavering hot-blooded males judging by the adverts showing an abundance of shapely women...

Nevertheless, this second CD of music from the programme should appeal to viewers of the programme and music fans in general.

Featuring some great tracks from the likes of Interpol's epic Specialist and Las Vegas band-of-the-moment The Killers' Smile Like You Mean It plus the more-decidedly-upbeat than-usual Saturday Morning track from Eels.

Also contains slower numbers such as the country twang of Patrick Park's Something Pretty and hippy groove of Dios Malos' You Got Me All Wrong to add to the mix.

It tails off near the end as Jem destroys McCartney's Maybe I'm Amazed but manages not to ruin the compilation completely.