NEV CLAY + SHIPCOTE

Event information

NEV CLAY is a renowned songwriter, over the years many of his contemporaries have sung his praises and guest on his most recent album - So Little Happened For So Long (Richard Dawson, Cath & Phil Tyler, Kathryn Williams, Bridie Jackson) but it’s not just songwriters – everybody who hears Nev seems to fall in love. He makes performing seem like you’re having a pint with him at the bar. His songs underline this, and finish with a gentle exclamation point and a friendly hug. Whether speaking or singing, Nev draws you into his world, a world where everything matters and nothing is precious except the beautifully mundane details of everyday life.
Most of Nev’s songs are based on observations and memories and he’s typically self-effacing about how his songs happen. ‘Well, it all goes in, doesn’t it,.. the best songs come out of nowhere, I know it’s a cliche, but it is true. I do think the best ones are the ones where there’s not a lot of thought… mostly, I find a nice riff because I’m playing all the time during the adverts, the guitar is always there. And you get a nice riff and a nice melody. That’s mainly how it starts and then the words fit in with the melody. When I came back from London, I went to a writing class in Eldon Square and the guy in the class was saying ‘it’s alright observing things, but you have to improve on reality, reality is never enough and you have to improve it.’ That incensed me! I think reality is enough, isn’t it?’

GRAHAM SHIPCOTE has spent literally a whole lifetime in music. Brought up in Geordieland, with roots music all around him (His father, Bill, was a jazz trombonist), Graham started busking on string bass with Round Eyes Ray in a duo called Hot Licks Cookies in the mid-eighties. After playing the City streets and arcades, they graduated to folk clubs, cafes and pubs. The Hot Licks Cookies were well loved in vintage blues/roots circles and twice invited Stateside to the New Orleans Jazz Festival They also accepted another invitation, waltzing around Israel playing various Kibbutz’s and a very hot Jewish/American folk festival. Around that time, and with a family life to consider, Graham and his pal Adam, started up the famous Jumpin Hot Club in Newcastle, bringing rockin’ roots, country and blues, reggae and world music to North East England, which is still going strong today, 35 years later. He’s been playing sporadically around the area for years as Shipcote & Friends, self-releasing charming but accomplished albums when the mood takes him.