Robb Johnson live at Rosslyn Court

Event information

Robb Johnson is one of the most consistent and prolific songwriters of our generation.
His work is both political and personal.

January 2024 looked endless; I needed to do some recording to cheer myself up. The studio I usually use was booked all month, but before the disasters of Brexit & Covid I’d met pianist Yves Meerschaut in Gent, and he’d shown me his recording studio, Room 13, and that did have a couple of days free in January…
I decided to make a record of old songs that other people have liked, and / or that I play differently now, and/or that haven’t appeared on vinyl before. So, here, there’s:
“Pennypot Lane”, a fox song that people like,
“Winter Turns to Spring” that was Tony Benn’s favourite song,
“The Blue Sea Says Yes”, a song about how the sea welcomes us all, heroic or fragile, equally in our mortality (something like that anyway) , that I had forgotten about till people started saying how much they liked it,
“More Than Enough”, that Roy Bailey and Martin Simpson have kindly rescued from the obscurity of its previous appearance on a CD in 1992,
“Babbecombe at the Closing of the Day”, a song about going to Babbecombe model village,
“At the Siege of Madrid” which quite a few people like, but is one of those songs that always somehow eludes a definitive performance,
“A True History of Couscous”, a song I like that is more or a less fictionalized autobiography, and lastly..
“You Don’t Have to Say Goodbye”. This is a song from my first CD; Thames Valley folk-stalwart Terry Silver used to enjoy performing it so that afterwards he could shock audiences who’d been happily singing along to it by revealing it had been written by that dreadful lefty Robb Johnson, It’s also, more recently, a song our son Arvin likes very much too, and he graces this version with his characteristically modest tasteful Spanish guitar playing. He also nagged me into doing the artwork for the cover.
Three of these songs are lucky enough to have Yves’s breathtaking, exquisite piano playing embellishing them, and Sian Allen gifts “Madrid” some beautiful trumpet accompaniment too. But primarily, for good or ill, it’s mainly me with an acoustic guitar.
Rosslyn Court
Expect a small, seated, friendly, quirky, listening venue with a heart – we have a tiny bar selling beer, wine, cider and hot and cold drinks -nibbly stuff and always a cake. The venue is accessible, on one level. You will be seated at tables or in rows, according to numbers in the audience. If you need to use your phone for texting or lyrics, please turn the brightness of your phone down and consider sitting near the back to minimise the impact.
The first hour of concerts is livestreamed on YouTube. You can watch it any time after 7.30 on the night of the concert via the Rosslyn Court Website. There is an exclusive second set for the audience in the room, including a Q&A with the performers. We ask you to make a donation, please, when you watch the livestream to help us to continue this service.
In buying a ticket you are entered for the Rosslyn Court raffle. You may win a CD …or a “Who Gives A Crap” emergency toilet roll! WGAC donate half their profits to water charities and are plastic free. People who donate or engage with the live chat during the concert are also entered into the raffle.
There is usually a floor singer and often a 2-minute community slot informing us of what happens locally. The second half starts with a Q&A and is not livestreamed. If you think of something you want to know more about in the first half, just ask! Sometimes there is another floor song.
The concerts usually finish well before 10. Except for Tim Edey because he is unstoppable. (We also run a B&B here hahaha)
If you want to view the livestream after midnight of the concert date then go to the livestream option on the website where all the old livestreams live.
Tickets are usually £12. We have a few at £6 and some at £18 to help us to subsidise the concessionary tickets. Sometimes tickets are more.
Please ring for more details, 07902140248
See you soon
Morag
Rosslyn Court
morag@rosslyncourt.com
07902140248
62 Sweyn Rd Margate CT92DD