Jimmy Powells Music

I then stayed in the Edinburgh folk scene with two or three bands: Carterbar was a four piece folk group lead by double bassist Graham Blamire and we had a great vocal sound. Gerard Dott ( Ex Incredible String Band - see his banjo case in photo on this website) eventually joined on banjo and clarinet of all things. The clarinet was used on a few numbers such as The Entertainer and Stranger on the Shore when we did social clubs. Mostly we did folk music clubs and pubs.We also did Scottish TV and radio with Carterbar and I did  radio with Town Choice on the Alistair Clark show. Carterbar lasted a good two and a half years and we played extensively including trips to play in the Skye Gathering Hall, Portree. I found it a learning curve in many ways. Graham would write out the harmonies and we'd be quite happy spending all night rehearsing one song. It was worth it.

 

The next band was aptly named  Fred McCludgie’s Big Idea. The Idea was based on Ian, Don, Eddie & Arthur. When they asked me to join, it obviously just stayed as Idea. A fun thing for a few months. 

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I then formed a duo Loose Ends with Edinburgh folk singer John Hanlon and we did mostly pubs around Princes Street, Edinburgh. However we did play at a Lanarkshire folk festival with Lindisfarne offshoot Jack the Lad, or was it Five Hand Reel. All I remember is when I came off stage I was surrounded by the band who wanted to closely inspect my black Gibson Mandolin. Very few in Britain then. It was a 1932 A model and I’ll never forget buying it. My wife (at that time) Kathy paid for at least half of it. I played it on TV with Carterbar and that was a thrill. I used to love a song that John Hanlon wrote It was called Ramblin' Boy. Not the Tom Paxton one. I have tried for years to conatct John but I just don;t know where he went. Down south somewhere to work on a magazine I believe. I've always wanted to sing that song but I can only remember the chorus and the first line of the first verse.

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In 1975 I moved to Amble, Northumberland, where my wife Kathy came from. My two sons Richard and Gareth were born there. I ran a small folk club in Warkworth (where I first met Christine Jeans who has kindly done this website for me) and apart from the folk music involvement I played the local pub scene under the name Rodeo with Jimmy Lillico from Alnwick. I had moved away from traditional folk music and was playing a mixture of contemporary music and 60s pop. Anything from John Denver to Glen Campbell, Bobby Darin or The Beatles. I loved so many of The Beatles early songs up to Sgt. Pepper. Didn’t care for much after that. An interesting point on The Beatles is that I had nothing more than a passing interest in Ringo’s vocals but now I find that I absolutely love him singing Never without you – a tribute to George Harrison. Fantastic song and Ringo sings it great. 

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I then had 3 years singing in social clubs with the resident organists and drummers. Travelled many miles as I lived in Amble and kept getting sent to Middlesbrough and Stockton! I used the name Jimmy Brown as ‘easy to remember’ and most people misspell or mispronounce my surname anyway.

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I had picked up the mandolin around 1969 through my folk music interests having heard the wonderful Davey Johnstone who later became lead guitarist for Elton John and still is as far as I know. Davey is a tremendous guitar, mandolin and banjo player and simply bowled everyone over in these early folk days when he played with The Fife Reivers. Through BMG magazine I also discovered mandolin virtuoso Dave Appollon who was the best ever. He played tunes people recognised and is still revered by all top mandolin players worldwide today. I developed an interest in Gibson mandolins which to this day has not diminished. As I write (March 2020) I am in communication with a guy in California as I hope to buy his 1917 Gibson F4. I’ve owned 27 Gibson mandolins since 1974. I’ve had my own series of ‘Classic’ brand mandolins and mandolas custom made for me in China.

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In 1985 I moved to Cramlington and went to the folk club. I played with what turned out to be a long time friend John Redpath. We just played at the folk club. John was more ragtime/blues but I enjoyed that side of the music as well. Carol and I had a spell of four years from about 2005-2009 when we had a session every Sunday night at The Hind, Cramlington, with John Redpath, Gerry, John Baston and Peter Cook. Some really good nights there.

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By 1987 I got involved in bluegrass with New Hartley musician Jim Newman. I had been playing it in Edinburgh in the 1970s but we never really called it Bluegrass. Jim formed The Mountain Dew Boys and we played two nights a week at ‘One Eyed Jack’s’ Mexican restaurant in High Bridge. Matt Seattle on fiddle, Tony Hornsby on bass, Paul Taylor on 5 string banjo and Jim Newman and I alternated between acoustic guitar and mandolin. We played regularly and got pretty tight.

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That was for a couple of years and then, due to financial necessity with the mortgage hike in 1988/89 I moved back to playing social clubs (with my same sheet music as nothing had changed in 8 years or so). In spite of most folk music people having no real interest in commercial ‘social club’ music, I loved the clubs. I suppose I loved playing with what was very often great accompaniment. You gave the organist/drummer your dots for 7 songs and had 5 minutes in the dressing room before you were on. I thought they all did very well and some were magnificent. People would criticise them but I certainly didn’t. They knew a lot more about music theory than I do, that’s for sure. That period lasted about 2 years until I tired of the travelling.

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In 1996 I formed a duo with accordionist Michael Boyle. We had a couple of years playing all the Irish theme bars and for any sizeable gig, such us upstairs in The Tyneside Irish Centre, we had Sean Taylor on bass and Paul Ruane (now sadly deceased) on fiddle. The Irish connection lasted for 2/3 years before Michael went to live in Ireland.

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I was married to Kathy for 23 years but we divorced in 1995. In 2000 I met Carol via John Redpath and Gerry Tapscott. It was at the Cramlington Folk Club. The BBC were encouraging live events and John Redpath had asked me to play a little mandolin for him and Gerry at the outdoor event. I gave Carol shelter under my golf umbrella and Carol and I hit it off immediately. Before long we were living together and singing. I’m sure when Carol sings the song ‘I get the blues when it rains’ (which is on our CD) she’ll think of our meeting as the first line is ‘It was raining dear when I met you’.

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After someone recommended Dolly Parton’s bluegrass CD ‘The Grass is Blue’ I got very much back into bluegrass. Carol and I went to many bluegrass festivals and we honestly did spend all our time in music. We married in 2005 and played at the folk club until around 2017 when Carol’s MS made it difficult to get around so she is taking a bit of a back seat now on singing live apart from The Mandolin Band. Round about 2004 Carol managed to learn to play double bass and we carted it everywhere until standing up was no longer an option. Round about 2014 Carol started to use a small ukulele bass which she plays to this day.

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In 2002 I designed a Game Show called Famous Faces. I spent £4000 on equipment and Carol and I started doing the show in Sheltered Accommodation, WI Groups, Day centres etc. Carol did it for 11 years and I still do it. We reckon there have been over 800 shows. I love it as it’s mostly music from late 50s and the 60s.

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Around 2008 local mandolin player John Edwards and I took the plunge and decided to form a mandolin band. If we had thought it through properly we’d have realised there was no market for such a thing and difficult to get players to play for no fee or barely expenses. We finally managed to get 9 mandolins, three accordions, 4 guitars and Carol played double bass. Unfortunately John Edwards and I were on a different plain music wise and the mandolin band folded briefly. I kept in touch with all members and we then continued albeit not doing a great deal in public. The band has had some wonderful gigs where we play songs and tunes which the audience will recognise and it works great. Unfortunately the less gigs you play, the less you are seen and the less gigs you get. I’ve tried churches and all sorts of venues but the end result is we don’t do much in public which is a pity because when we do I love it and so do the rest of the band (I hope). Very difficult to please everyone. People say there should be democracy and I try to do that but sometimes a band needs a leader to just say what road the band is going on and that’s that. If you left it open for all to decide, I am certain there would be all sorts of differences in opinions and some saying their choices are not accepted where others are so, yes, I love to hear suggestions but my many years of playing tends to give me a good idea of what will work in public and what wont. We don’t want ‘sympathetic applause’. I always feel that you play what you like yourself when you are at home. As soon as you stand or sit in front of an audience, yes, you are a musician but, more to the point, you are an entertainer and you should do what they want, to quite a large degree.  

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As for recording, in 1990 I took a chance and spent £2000 recording a 14 track cassette Mandolin Moments. It sold 700 in 6 weeks at The Gateshead National Garden Festival. These sales via a market stall holder lead to Prism Leisure releasing it and eventually over the years two double CDs. Delta Music also released it as Romantic Mandolin some time in the middle of that when Prism just were not doing enough. Over the 30 years or so CD sales have been around 95000 but my royalties nearer £12,000 and after recording costs of 76 tracks I have probably not made much money but that’s life as they say. I was scheduled to have my CD on an 8 album Romantic music CD planned for Internet TV Shop EMG label in 1994. Other artists on that included Mantovani, Acker Bilk, Michel Legrand etc. I got the sleeve and a £2000 advance of royalties but the guy went bust and it never went into production. Don’t know if that was good or bad but it came in January when the money was most welcome! I think my sons got a new bike each.

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Carol and I have our ‘Blues to Bluegrass’ double CD which has just some of the many songs we have visited over the last 20 years. It’s good to have. Our good friend Christine Jeans did the sleeve and my music and badminton mate Sean Taylor recorded most of it.

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What next? No idea but I very much like Commercial Irish Country music such as Derek Ryan, Andy Cooney and the likes although I don’t have much time for a band or such as I play golf three times a week and badminton twice a week and I love both.

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My main weakness is buying acoustic musical instruments which, if the truth be known, I don’t need but I can’t change the habits of a lifetime. Having read the above you will understand how it is that I can love the diverse range of music from Folk to Bluegrass, Irish Country and some traditional, Americana, Italian mandolin, Classical, Music Hall, 60s pop, Eagles, Oldies (Dean Martin, Bing Crosby) etc etc...  I like a lot of Al Jolson and to the other extreme Sarah Brightman. Then there’s Ricky Skaggs, Derek Ryan. It goes on and on. I don’t care for Rock, Soul, Reggae, Punk or Jazz.

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My youngest son Gareth was taught bass by Sean Taylor when Gareth was 14. He went on to play for around 10 years in North East Rock band Carma. (Correct as it was Carma with a C). Family commitments and demanding job as University Lecturer have put playing aside for the time being. My other son Richard hasn’t had the musical instrument playing bug. He was a great goalkeeper. Pity he wasn’t 6’1” at age 15 instead of 5’9” otherwise I reckon he’d have been a pro footballer.