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Word July 2008 by Jim Irvin
The Last Word Music DVDs

Genesis And Revelations
Phil Collins and friends win over at least one doubter, plus Ani DiFranco, New Order and Show Of Hands

I have been moved by two blokes in a farmers market and a dinosaur trudging through Poland. The two blokes trade as Show of Hands, one of those acts one's heard of but kows little about; the dinosaur is Genesis, an act too familiar to want to hear again. Both, however, sneaked up and delivered a sucker punch this month. The result: tears of respectful pleasure after a reminder of music's power.

Around the time Genesis were playing to half a million in Rome, Show of Hands were drawing a few hundred to cafes and pubs in their hometown, Topsham, Devon, a warm-up with some homies before their third sell-out appearance at the Rpyal Albert Hall. Yes, that's right, this modest folk duo fills the RAH every so often. Tour of Topsham (Hands On) shows you why. Steve Knightley has an instantly appealing voice and writes stirring songs - one in particular, The Dive, is utterly transfixing. Knightley's partner in the band, multi-instrumentalist Phil Beer, could probably extract a heart pumping tune from a cheese roll. The mood is relaxed to the point of amateurish but when they lock into songs like Widecombe Rair, Roots and - hello? - No Woman No Cry you immediately understand their appeal.

What is most cheering is that this is possible: a decent living from acottage industry. It's taken them a while, but they're great, they did it themselves and no one could begrudge them milking the last drop of applause at the RAH.

TO DOWNLOAD THE PDF click here

Saturday 24th November 2007

Hi folks

Many of you will already be aware that we have had to cancel four gigs
Salisbury - Friday 23rd Nov Plymouth University - Saturday 24th Nov London
Bloomsbury - Sunday 25th Nov Putney, Half Moon - Tuesday 27th Nov

Earlier today Steve gave us the following message:

'On Friday afternoon my wife and I were told that our son Jack has
contracted Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. This is a life threatening but
often curable cancer. Clare and Jack will be travelling today to Bristol to
begin an intensive round of tests and treatment. For the near future I will
be looking after our two youngest children. Today is Jack's 6th birthday.
I'm sure we are in your thoughts.'

We have already had numerous messages of support, and after a lot of thought
we are determined that the Autumn 2007 tour should go ahead, but without
Steve. Phil is working out a new show, with Miranda and Slaid, and will be
picking up the tour from next Wednesday (28th) at the Alban Arena.

Whilst the void left by Steve is inescapable, nobody needs reminding about
Phil and Miranda's skills and versatility, and at the Sidmouth opener, the
crowd clearly warmed to our special guest Slaid Cleaves.

We first need to have discussions with the various venues to see if they are
happy to go ahead with the revised show. We're going to ask them whether it
is feasible to offer ticket holders a choice of coming to the gig for a show
that doesn't include Steve, or a refund.

Many of you have asked if there is anything you can do to help. If you have
a ticket for one of the shows, the very best thing you can do is to turn out
to support Phil and co.

This isn't the tour anyone had envisaged as we release the "Best of" album,
which marks a unique 15-year musical partnership, but we hope it is the best
possible outcome in the circumstances and look forward to seeing you on the
road.

Many thanks again for your ongoing, unbeatable support.

Show of Hands

!BREAKING NEWS!

SHOW OF HANDS with PETER GABRIEL at the EDEN PROJECT, Wednesday June 20th:

This is a fantastic late addition to the Show of Hands Summer dates list.
We are delighted that the band have been invited to perform at the Eden
Project on June 20th on the bill with Peter Gabriel.
The evening will be a spectacular event to celebrate the unveiling of Seed,
a giant oval sculpture created by the internationally acclaimed artist Peter
Randall-Page.

Tickets are £35 plus a £3 booking fee and are available at
www.edenbookings.com/ or through the box office on 01726 811972. Tickets are
not available on site.

For more information about the event follow this link: www.edenproject.com/2920.html

SOH

ROOTS (single mix)

IT'S D-DAY - TIME TO TRACK DOWN NEW ROOTS!

Monday 5th February is download day for the remix of Roots. From any good download site including

emusic
HMV Digital
Napster
ITunes

OR DOWNLOAD THE VIDEO FROM HERE

EASTER SUNDAY 8th APRIL 2007:

NEWS FLASH!! 8/2/07. The RAH are now getting Members tickets being released for sale. Contact the RAH Box Office for more information: 020 7589 8212


Due to the unprecedented demand for tickets the RAH have just released the 450 Choir seats for sale. Priced @ £20 and available only from the RAH box office 020 7589 8212 or online here.

"Defiant duo gives voice to the rural poor"
Read David Honigmann's take on the Folk Awards and Show of Hands' championing of rural issues in Wednesday 14th February's issue of the Financial Times. click here to read.

A rural landscape painting in angry graffiti.
In 2007 the balance will tip and more people will live an urban than a rural life. On the face of it, the role Show of Hands have given themselves may seem a thankless one
that of voice and champion for the rural poor of the west of England. But the more I hear of them the more I feel they are giving a voice to an entire movement of people who do not want to live in a hyper- consumer urban hinterland.
Witness is a dark album. Singer -songwriter Steve Knightley describes it as a cinematic journey through the West Country. He and multi-instrumentalist Phil Beer truly conjure up a sense of place, with the voice of Miranda Sykes startlingly effective alongside Knightleys rough gravel tones.
The plaintive Undertow, with its young persons dreams of catchin waves all day in Australia, or the genuinely cinematic The Bet with its hushed names of West Country towns, give a sense of time and place as romantic as the hard- bitten landscape of Bruce Springsteens New Jersey. And the second song, Roots, is probably their manifesto. It is an urgent and angry revolutionary cry to the youth of the nation to recover their identity, centred around former minister of state Kim Howells personal idea of hell three Somerset folk singers in a local pub. It rails at an ignorant establishment and demands the St Georges flag back from baseball-capped boys in pubs full of piped music. This is a
beautiful portrait of modern rural Britain intensely compassionate and filled with
carefully contained rage.

Nathaniel Handy

English folk favourites team up with Afro-Celts in winning style Without a single flashbulb
of mainstream exposure, the folk duo of Steve Knightley and Phil Beer have built a large and dedicated fan base simply by playing every folk club and festival in the land and delivering English roots music of the highest quality. Incredibly, theyve sold out the Albert Hall twice and yet they remain criminally ignored by all but the specialist folk media. Perhaps Witness is the album finally to change all that and deliver them the wider recognition they richly deserve. With a sparkling, technicolour production by Simon Emmerson and Simon Mass Massey of the Grammywinning Afro-Celt Sound System, theyve gone and made their most innovative studio album to date. Knightleys highly literate, original songs and acoustic guitar are expertly embellished by Beers multiinstrumental skills on fiddle, mandolin and melodeon, while folk wonderkidof- the-moment (and fellow Devon resident) Seth Lakeman helps out on guitar and backing vocals. But its the subtle but dynamic drum programming from those Afro-Celt boys that marks
this out as a landmark album.
Nigel Williamson

Steve and Phil will be live in the studio on the JUDI SPIERS SHOW BBC RADIO DEVON this Thursday 1st June from around 12pm. Followed by live interview on The Jimmy Franks Show BBC WM this Thursday, June 1st at 11.10pm Show Of Hands will be in session on Stephen Foster's Drivetime show BBC Radio Suffolk each day from Monday 29th May to Thursday Ist June inclusive between 6-15pm and 7pm. Listen in or Listen Again.