Romy at the Old Nun's Head

Lots of local pubs were busy last Sunday for the final of the Women's Euros between England and Spain but the particularly enthusiastic crowd at the Old Nuns Head included Romy from the XX seen here waving a Lionesses scarf. 

Music Monday: Filthy Boy

A big summer for Filthy Boy, playing festivals and getting national radio airplay for their new single That Life (from their album 'Smile that won't go down').



The young band, based in the Peckham/Nunhead area, played early gigs at the Ivy House and recently had a friends and family gig at the Old Nun's Head.

Singer Paraic Morrissey explained in Time Out, the video for their earlier single Jimmy Jammies was filmed in 'Deverell Street, off the New Kent Road'.



Yes there are comparisons with Nick Cave (maybe Tindersticks too). But if an Australian artist can channel a singer from the American South, why shouldn't a boy from South London?

Kit and Cutter Singers Night

Another great night Kit and Cutter night coming up tomorrow, the occasional folk+ night at the Old Nun's Head. Details as follows:

'With a passing nod to the hetroglossic Ulysses, for Bloomsday it will be, this month we have a multiplicity of voices arrayed for your delight. It's singers night, and who could be a more apt guest than a resident of the legendary Singers Club, Co. Monagan's Oliver Mulligan. And in the firm belief that different traditions speak to one another we are looking forward to welcoming African singer and kora player Mosi Conde.

Mosi Conde is a Djeli Deni (young griot) from Guinea Conakry’s leading musical family: Sekouba ‘Diamond Fingers’ Diabate & Mory Kante are his uncles, Sona Diabate the founder of Les Amazones de Guineé is his aunt and friends like Salif Keita and Alpha Blondy have been inspired by Mosi's family. Mosi Conde creates music that excites & delights, his virtuoso skill evident throughout. “We griots are born in music, every family plays together. Music is our life”. With Radio 3 & BBC World Service airplay as well as Colourful, Resonance Fm and Regional BBC, Mosi Conde is making his mark on the vibrant global music scene. And where better to catch him than in our intimate little venue..

Oliver Mulligan is from Co. Monaghan where his style and many of his songs were learned in the 1950s from local and family singers. He attended Fleadh Ceóil sessions throughout Ireland in the 1960s, becoming All-Ireland champion, and adding a wider range of material including Gaelic songs from the West. He now lives in London where he is a veteran of both the Irish community sessions and the traditional clubs and was a resident of Ewan MacColl's Singers Club for ten years.

The Other Singers Not to be a bloody hippy about it, but when we first went to folk clubs we fell in love with how it wasn't like a gig where you just sat and watched the musicians. It seemed to be much more of a communal thing where everyone was involved. Everyone was allowed to give a song or a tune, and when they did it wasn't important how perfect their pitch or whatever was (though more often then not they would turn out to be a wonderful singer) but about the act of someone participating, being part of the dialogue, of allowing something to happen through them that was beyond themselves. It was like Brecht or something, only no one had had to come up with the idea. So to foster this a bit more in our club there will be extra emphasis on floor singers this time round, with more of the evening given over to YOU to add to the general marvellous babble...

K&C SINGERS NIGHT, Saturday 16th June, 7.30pm, Old Nuns Head, SE15 3QQ, £5

History Corner: 1912 Nunhead Tragedies

A hundred years ago, the Old Nun's Head pub was the scene of a bitter inter-family dispute. The story in the South London Press was headlined 'Nunhead schoolgirl's escapade - Publican's daughter's trip to Southend on stolen coppers' (SLP 26 April 1912).

In the children's court at Tower Bridge, twelve year old Nellie Hazell was 'charged by her mother with stealing 20 shillings in coppers from the bar... Mrs Hazell stated that on April 15 she missed four 5s bags of coppers from the bar, and on the same day Nellie did not return from school. On Saturday she heard that Nellie had given herself up at Southend-on-sea'. A few weeks previously she had apparently taken a trip to Hastings in the same way.

The consequences for Nellie were serious. The Magistrate recommended that she be remanded 'with a view to the girl's committal to a school'

Death in police custody

Shortly afterwards another resident of Nunhead Green died in police custody.  Alfred Lockyer (33) 'a carman of 13 Nunhead Green' was arrested for being drunk in charge of a furniture van outside the Duke of Cambridge pub in Hooks Road, Peckham.

Taken to Peckham police station, he was found in the evening to be 'insensible'. His father had come to bail him out, but was refused permission to see him. The Divisional Surgeon ruled that he was 'fit to remain in the cells'. The next morning, a doctor was called for again and Lockyer was moved to Camberwell Infirmary where he died from a fractured skull.

The cause of the injury was not established, and the Coroner refused permission for an acquaintance of the dead man to speak; 'The jury returned a verdict of Accidental death, and added that no blame attached to the police. Lockyer's father complained that the affair was 'shocking' ('Nunhead Man's Death in a Cell', South London Press, 24 May 1912).

Downtown Soulville/South London Soul Train

Determined as I am to actually do some more dancing this year, I am spoilt for choice on Saturday March 3rd with two great nights within walking distance of home.

Downtown Soulville is the occasional Northern Soul/Funk and (old skool) R'nB night at the Old Nun's Head, Nunhead Green SE15. I gather the last one was pretty busy. Details on facebook. Trouble is with Northern Soul once I've had a few drinks I imagine that I can actually do spins, flips and drops - and I shoudn't be allowed to try in a public place.

South London Soul Train is a regular event on the first Saturday of the month, held at the CLFArt Cafe in the Bussey Building in Peckham. Hosted by Jazz Head Chronic (DJ Mickey Smith), it offers funk/soul/rare groove and motown.

I think both events are free or as good as, so no excuse, get your dancing shoes on.

Kit and Cutter February

Kit and Cutter have another of their always excellent 'Adventures in Pre-Modern Music' folk nights at The Old Nuns Head on Saturday 18th February (doors 7.30pm, £5).

Guests include Cath & Phil Tyler, 'Purveyors of Anglo-American folk music using guitar, banjo, voice and fiddle bought together musically through a shared love of traditional narrative song, full voiced sacred harp singing and sparse mountain banjo'...

...and Rún (pronounced Rooooon), 'close-harmony arrangements of songs in Irish, Scots Gaelic, Manx, Welsh, Cornish and Breton dialects. The four strong all - female group bring new life to old Celtic songs about one-horned cows and gigolos, blackbirds and bogeymen, drinking and debauchery, ardor and arable farming'.

Don't worry if you think folk music's not your thing, if you like good tunes beautifully sung in a lovely atmosphere you cannot beat Kit & Cutter. Tickets available on the door or at: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/154385

Kit & Cutter Winter Warmer

Kit & Cutter are doing another of their lovely folk nights at The Old Nuns Head (Nunhead Green, SE15)on Saturday 3rd December 2011. The Kit & Cutter Winter Warmer has the cutest possible flyer too.

'So we were thinking… what would we all really enjoy to ease us into December? It’s a bit murkish and foggy outside so what further delights could our musical adventures together offer up? After some mulling the answer floated into our minds all of a sudden: psyche tinged trad folk and a steel pan band! A steel pan band? – Yes! It was obvious!! And maybe the Sacred Harp choir could come back and do some Christmas songs? And so we have a very special show lined up with some extra seasonal trimmings…

Rapunzel & Sedayne: From Lancashire (where women die of love, as Balzac would have it) charming husband and wife team, Rapunzel & Sedayne play traditional arrangements alongside their own compositions with a gentle eccentricity, spontaneity and lovely floating fluting vocals. They specialise in a variety of ancient and traditional instruments including kemence, violin, crwth, flute, kaossilator, 5-string banjo, lap-top harmonium, frame-drum and drones. We don’t even know what some of those are....

John Thomas Steel Pan Duo: In the winter what better to lift our spirits than the sultry tones of Trinidad and Tobago? John has been performing all over the world since 1976. He has performed on the same bill with folk greats Diana Ross, Liza Minelli and has performed live on stage with Blondie. As well as being an illustrious performer of the steel pan, he is also a sought after teacher with a great deal of knowledge about the history and development of the instrument.

Let's get December rolling with Carols, free Xmas buffet, Extra Special Festive Tombola, some rousing Sacred Harp, and as yet undreamed of wintery delights to surprise you with… And in case it was all getting a bit too cheery for you, your hosts will serenade you with THE WORLDS MOST DEPRESSING CHRISTMAS SONG'.

Doors 7.30pm, £7 entry. Wonder what the 'most depressing Christmas song' will be? My bet is 'Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis' by Tom Waits - surely hard to beat on the miserable scale.

Kit and Cutter Return to Old Nun's Head

Kit & Cutter's Adventures in Pre-Modern Music folk nights are always a treat, and they have another one coming up in a couple of weeks on Saturday 22nd October 2011 at The Old Nuns Head, Nunhead Green, SE15. They say:

'Will Duke and Dan Quinn play traditional songs from our small densely populated island on melodeon and concertina. Redolent in the busy history, and steeped in the sounds of the South, they perform with a dry wit and friendship built over many years as musical comrades. They sing in unison with a natural sympathy rarely found outside of families. It’s a treat to be welcomed into their company for the evening.

Ayarkhaan hail from a very different landscape. Yakust is on the outskirts of Siberia, where less than a million people inhabit a space as large as India. This isolation has helped the preservation of this most distinctive of musical traditions: the three striking ladies who comprise the band sing in unearthly harmony, play the local variant of the Jews harp, the Khomus, and imitate the sounds of nature, birds and air. Not to be missed'.

Plus the usual high quality floor singers and much more. Worth £5 of everybody's money (facebook event). See review here of their last event and an earlier event at the late lamented Deptford Arms.

Kit and Cutter

A great night at the Old Nun's Head last Saturday, with another evening of folk from Kit and Cutter.

Headliner was Thomas McCarthy, with his Irish Traveller songs. A fine voice, and some great songs (check out his album, Round Top Wagon).

A Kit and Cutter banner - 'Go down you blood red roses, go down' (it's an old sea shanty):


From New York City, the Dust Busters old time string band certainly kicked up the dust in Nunhead, prompting a sudden outbreak of footstompin' dancing.

They are planning more nights in the autumn, do try and get along, the quality of the music is always outstanding (check their facebook page for details).

South London Folk

A couple of good folk nights coming up.

Southwark Folk

On the Friday 24th June, Nigel Of Bermondsey is hosting 'Southwark Folk', a free evening of songs about Southwark by local artists at the Cuming Museum (Walworth Road, Elephant and Castle end) on Friday 24th June between 6pm and 8pm. It's a post-work early evening do and will start at 6pm prompt.

Artists include:

Nigel Of Bermondsey: 'a South London psycho-geographical singer-songwriter. He sings songs about Bermondsey, Rotherhithe, Walworth and Wapping. He will soon be incorporating more boroughs into his song almanack. His third album, “Bermondsey Folk” will be released this year'.
John Constable: 'celebrated South London playwright, author, poet and singer. His acclaimed work, ‘The Southwark Mysteries”, was performed in Southwark Cathedral in April 2010.

Russell Dryden: 'runs the fish stall in the Blue Market in Bermondsey and has lived and worked in Bermondsey all his born days. His songs are inspired by his experience of the day-to-day locale'.

Transpontine Music Club 'ballads of Nunhead Cemetery, New Cross Road and other South London beauty spots'.

Stewart Forester: 'Lives in Mitcham but is so good he is playing'.

Facebook events details here.

Kit and Cutter

Meanwhile Kit & Cutter have another night coming at the Old Nun's Head (15 Nunhead Green SE15) on 2 July with the Irish travellers' songs of Thomas McCarthy - featured recently in the Guardian.

Folk nights in Nunhead and Deptford

Kit and Cutter

Kit and Cutter used to run a delightful folk night at the sadly-missed Deptford Arms, including a memorable night last year when I shared the stage with Martin Carthy (OK I wasn't actually on the stage at the same time, but I did give a little talk on May Day as part of the same event).

Anyway the good news is that they are back in the area, putting on a night at The Old Nuns Head, SE15, on Saturday 21st May 2011 (7:30pm, £5 to get in). Line up includes:

Jeff Warner: 'Among the nation’s foremost interpreters of traditional music, from the lumber camps, fishing villages and mountaintops of America, Jeff’s songs connect 21st century audiences with the everyday lives–and artistry–of 19th century Americans. Jeff grew up listening to the songs and stories of his father Frank Warner and the traditional singers his parents met during their folksong collecting trips through rural America. On a whistle stop visit to these shores, catch him while you can…'



Wagon Tales: 'Push the tables against the walls – the Wagon Tales are an energetic bluegrass band who play up tempo bluegrass with a raw blues sound. They pride themselves on their rich vocal harmonies and the ability to create a good old knees up'.

Breakspears Southern Harmony Singers: 'twelve-strong group following the tradition of Sacred Harp singing from a 200 yr old songbook of gallant, rousing anthems, saturated in 4-part harmonies and intricate lyrical layers'.

Facebook event details here.

Utrophia

On 18th June, there's Alt Folk Night 4, the final music night at Utrophia in the old ice cream factory at 136 Tanners Hill, Deptford SE8. Folie à Deux presents This is the Kit, Rozi Plain and Mouth 4 Rusty.

Tickets are £6 and can be purchased here.

Downtown Soulville

A Northern Soul night in Nunhead - sounds enticing:

'DOWNTOWN SOULVILLE returns for a another night of Northern Soul in one of the best venues in South London - the fantastic pannelled room above the Old Nun's Head. As some people said after the last event, 'that room was made for northern'. There's also an absolutely cracking sound system.

FREE entry, 8 - 2am, Saturday 28th May at THE OLD NUN'S HEAD, Nunhead Green, SE15 3QQ.

Spinners on the night:

JOEL MASLIN (100 Club, Va Va Voom, Crystal Palace Soul)
SAM WALLER (aka Southern Sam)
JAKE LINGWOOD (Downtown Soulville, Stag O Lee, Crystal Palace Soul)
OLLIE LAILEY (Crystal Palace Soul)
WILL NICOL (Gentleman's Pinch, Big Fun)
STEVEN TWIGG (fantastic collector with some great tunes)

Expect plenty of sixties soul and crossover, with a nice dash of R&B and funk to boot. It's all about the party. A whole lotta shakin is likely to be going on.'

Facebook event details here.

Social Centre resists eviction

An eventful morning at Deptford Social Centre Plus, the occupied ex-Job Centre Plus office on Deptford High Street. With eviction threatened, supporters gathered in front of the space as well as inside. Bailiffs and builders turned up but were blocked from taking the building, after which they evidently retired to the Deptford Project cafe to consider their next move.

See also report at East London Lines.

Music at the Old Nun's Head

An all woman line up at this month 'Nigel and Bermondsey and Friends' at the Old Nun's Head, SE15 tomorrow night (Friday 25th March). Acts include

- Charlie Henry: 'Using a loop pedal, a cello, a ukulele, a saw and her voice, she creates rich orchestral landscapes. Fusing spoken word and song she weaves live tapestries of songs and soundscapes in front of the audience's eyes'.

- Verity Flecknell: 'Verity is an indie folk/blues artist setting out to challenge the perceptions of

- Charley Stone: 'a.k.a. the Bonham Carter of Rock, rocks. She is available for hire, for guitar/BVs/bass/keyboard-ish-ness/other random musical things e.g. hoover-thru-wah-wah-pedal. But not for anything else. Most recently she has been performing with Charlotte Hatherley, a.k.a. the Kate Winslett of Rock, at scores of venues across this land and the next, as well as being providing deft bass playing, sexiness and so on for twisted surf band the Deptford Beach Babes. She also is a member of the New Royal Family, whose debut single "Anyone Fancy A Chocolate Digestive?" is about to sell out even before it is released'

8:30 pm in Nunhead and it's all free.