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Photos by Daviator

We had a great rehearsal this week with the full band. When I say full band I mean this is my solo show on acoustic and vocals but first I added a percussionist (Barry Race) then a keyboard player (Richard Naisbett) and then a couple of BVs (Jen Normandale and Kirsty Forster)

This song is a bit of Blue-eyed Soul featuring Kirsty Forster. Me and Jen are drowning Kirsty out a bit – oops. I’ve been working on my lead vocals and realise now that I have to pull back a bit and be sweeter on the BVs (I’m only learning) If you want to see this show with 100% original material and a fair smattering of hits you currently have 2 choices https://steve-thompson.org.uk/shows/ – we hope to bring you more.

After the last show, I decided to add a couple of chick backing vocalists to/lighten the load and so in came Jen Normandale and Kirsty Forster, two fine vocalists. Last week we had our first vocal rehearsal which worked exceptionally well. Let me share with you some highlights. First off is the opener. Scroll down.

Guy Walks Into A Bar

One Of A Kind

This is a song I wrote for Elkie Brooks. With this video I’ve left it all in, warts and all so you can see how we go from shite to angelic beauty in no time.

I Don’t Want To Be The  One

Another clip from this week’s vocal rehearsal. It’s a song I wrote for the Searchers. I’ve taken this song back to the original lyrics: a Spaghetti Western story.

Three Divas

Here you go 3 Divas in a row: Sheena, Celine, Stevie. A song I wrote for Sheena’s album, Madness Money & Music. It went top 20 all around the world. Cert Gold in Canada which caught Celine’s attention and she put it out as a single in French. It was a massive hit and certified Gold in Canada and France. The Album sold 700,000 copies. Finally we three Divas in Vocal Rehearsal last week.

Hurry Home

A song I wrote for Wavelength. It was a mega-hit and was in the charts for 3 months. Also recorded by Sarah Brightman. Listen out for the Ken Bruce clip at the end. Hear the whole thing live at The White Room in June. Tickets https://www.bit.ly/room2024 

THE CARRIAGE JESMOND AUG 5th (AFTERNOON SHOW)

I’ve  written songs that have been recorded by Celine Dion, Sheena Easton, Elkie Brooks, The Hollies, The Searchers, Tygers of Pan Tang, Baby Ford, Colin Blunstone, Sarah Brightman, Wavelength, Elaine Page, Bruce Ruffin, and Chris Farlowe, Middle Of The Road and many others

I also wrote and produced some key recordings during the ‘New Wave of British Heavy Metal’ (NWOBHM) including Raven, Venom (both huge influences on rock giants, Metallica) and Tygers of Pan Tang,

In all the above I’ve been a backroom boy. Now, for the first time ever I’m going to perform an acoustic set of songs I wrote for the above artists in an afternoon show at The Carriage in Jesmond on August 5th. He will be joined by Barry Race on percussion and Richard Naisbett on Keyboards for an all original set of songs. Included in the set are songs I wrote for Sheena, Elkie, Celine and Tygers of Pan Tang as well as new ones from his last album plus previews from his forthcoming album.

Other acts appearing that afternoon are Meiosis, St James Infirmary and Yakka Doon. 

As a professional songwriter, I’ve had a great palette to work with having written for some fine vocalists. Now the tables have turned and I somehow have to replicate those performances with huge ranges and vocal gymnastics. It’s quite a challenge as I’m no great singer but I’ve worked on it and I’m looking forward to the challenge”

The Carriage is a cosy little pub in an old disused railway station. Serving homemade vegan food and cask ales. It’s just two minutes walk from Jesmond Metro.

The Carriage show is part of a series of events promoted by Martin Thompson. Martin promotes gigs all over the North-East as well as performing himself. He also happens to be my Nephew – nepotism at it’s best!

The Carriage, Archbold Terrace, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 1DB England  +44 191 281 9900

TENACITY. Publicity By Perseverance…  P.O.Box 166, Hartlepool TS26 9JA UK
Dave Hill: +44 (0)7951 679666 tenacitymusicpr@gmail.com

In 1990, I got wind that Elkie Brooks, the highly regarded British singer, was about to record a new album. I selected 3 song demos that I thought might suit her. I popped the envelope containing the audio cassette into the post box with a mixture of hope and pragmatic acceptance. These things nearly always come to nothing. How could I know at that point that a musical roller coaster ride was about to begin? 

To my surprise, a couple of weeks after posting those demos, I got a phone call out of the blue from Elkie Brooks herself. She thanked me for sending the songs and declared she loved “One Of A Kind”, a song I’d co-written with Tommy Morrison. Elkie then explained that she was recording a new album and she’d like to include One Of A Kind. Would that be OK? I thought to myself, darned tootin’ that would be OK, but then she had more to say: Elkie said she was looking for a very strong single to release off the album. Could I come up with something? I said that I would certainly have a go. I promised to send the lyrics and chord chart for One Of A Kind and after she hung up, I called Tommy Morrison and told him the good news. Of course, he was delighted.

I needed to come up with a song strong enough to be the lead single off Elkie’s forthcoming album. This was an opportunity too good to pass up. But it wasn’t going to be easy. It had to be better than Elkie might write herself, and obviously other top-class writers would be pitching songs into that album project.

And so,  before I began writing, I pondered the situation quite a bit, and I listened to a number of Elkie’s recordings. I was going to craft something around her vocal style and work on a melody that would give her a chance to shine as a vocalist. She was (and still is) a highly respected singer. I also needed a lyric that would match her singing style and exude a “strong woman” vibe. I locked myself away in my studio for several days and after countless hours of writing, editing, and rewriting, I emerged with “The Last Teardrop”.

With the usual “here goes nothing”, I posted the demo off to Elkie and waited for a response. A few days later, the response came: “You cracked it, everyone agrees – The Last Teardrop will be the lead single off the album, and we will feature both Teardrop and One Of A Kind on the album”, Marvellous! (I thought) When I got off the phone I called my friend Gus Dudgeon, I knew he’d be interested as he had produced Elkie’s previous two albums, “Pearls” and “Pearls Two”. He was pleased for me and asked me to send both song demos so he could have a listen. 

A few days later, Gus called back and told me he liked the songs. He added, “and Elkie’s right, The Last Teardrop is a strong single”. I sensed a “but” and, sure enough, one arrived. Gus said that it needed several rewrites to make the song even better. He suggested extending the first verse a little and adding more lift to the choruses. And then he said, “and the first line of the chorus has to go -’baby oh baby’, you really should know better than that old bean”. Then I said, “but why would I do this? She’s already accepted the song and is about to record it”. And Gus replied, “because you owe it to yourself to make it the very best it can be”. It was typical of Gus to push me on to do better. He had been the record producer of several of my songs and always did that. And for a while, he was my publisher, and he pushed me even harder. But at this time, he was neither my producer nor my publisher. I assumed he was only doing it to assist as a friend. Anyway, I accepted the challenge and went to work on a rewrite. And you know what? – he was right, the song became much better. I sent the new version off to Gus. He called me up, really excited about the new version. He put the track on and played it down the phone to me as if I’d never heard this new song that he had discovered. Gus narrated the entire song: “listen to this bit, terrific”. He pointed out all the subtle little bits he’d noticed. And one particular section I remember to this day “wait for this guitar bit ……. It’s building ….. Here it comes ….. Whoaaaahhh”. His enthusiasm was infectious.

So, then I had to call Elkie Brooks and tell her the song she loved so much had changed. With some trepidation, I called and explained Gus’s suggestions and how I now had a new demo of an improved song. She was a bit freaked out about it and said, “Gus isn’t my producer anymore”. I said that I knew this and explained that Gus was only being helpful. I sent the new version, and everyone agreed the song was even better. And that’s the version Elkie recorded put out as the lead single off the Pearls Three Album.

Now, fast forward to today, and why has this story come to mind now? Well, I’m preparing to do an acoustic gig in Jesmond on August 5th. A first for me as I’ve never performed my songs solo before. But I really must include The Last Teardrop in the set. However, as I’ve stated, I wrote it for a singer with a powerful vocal range (which, sadly; I do not possess). Plus, there are a bunch of tricky chords in it. But I’ll give it a go. More about the Jesmond show nearer the time, and perhaps you’d like to come along and see if I can pull it off. I’m no Elkie Brooks but you’ll hear the song just as it came from the writer’s pen.