'Martins at Anchor' was performed as part of the John Martin Heritage Festival and featured specially written songs, music and poetry dedicated to the lives of the (in)famous 18th Century Martin brothers of Tynedale – William, Jonathan and John. The show also featured performances from Keith Armstrong (poetry reading) and Chris Ormston (northumbrian pipes). Further clips from the show featuring Keith, Chris and myself are available to view on my Whippet Records You Tube Channel.

The line-up of The Whisky Priests on this recording is:
Gary Miller - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Glenn Miller - Accordion
Hugh Bradley - Electric Guitar, Mandolin, Mandola, Whistle, Vocals
Andy Tong - Bass, Vocals
Cozy Dixon - Drums

In addition to footage of interviews by the show's host, Mark C. Deren, with all five band members, the clips also feature footage of the following songs performed live in the studio:
'Song For Ewan'
'Car Boot Sale'
'Blackleg Mining Man'
'Brothers in Arms Again'
'This Village'
'Going To The Mine'
'Leave Her Johnny, Leave Her'

Here are all five clips in chronological order:

A large portion of the audio from this show was previously released on The Whisky Priests 'Live on Radio Heemskerk' limited edition CD (WPTCD16) on Whippet Records. 1,000 copies were pressed and given away free at the band's concert at the Markthalle in Hamburg on 10th October 1998. For more information on this release, check out my Discography page

The line-up of The Whisky Priests on this recording is:
Gary Miller - Vocals, Acoustic & Electric Guitars
Glenn Miller - Accordion, Vocals
Hugh Bradley - Electric Guitar, Mandolin, Mandola, Whistle, Vocals
Andy Tong - Bass, Vocals
Cozy Dixon - Drums

We performed six songs in total:
'Ranting Lads'
'Alice in Wonderland'
'When the Wind Blows, Billy Boy'
'Workhorse'
'Side By Side'
'Car Boot Sale'

Here are all six songs presented in chronological order as we performed them:

Although this live in studio footage has just resurfaced having previously been thought lost, the accompanying interview featuring Glenn, Andy and myself remains missing. I know it's an almost impossibly long shot but does anybody out there happen to have a copy of it?! If yes, please get in touch!

Thinking then that the latter part of the show was missing I have now discovered a recording of the show in its entirety and have now uploaded a further two clips featuring the remaining four songs from the final part of the concert onto my Whippet Records You Tube Channel

Clip #4 features the following tracks: 'Shut Doon the Waggon Works, 'Dol-Li-A' and 'Goblins'.

Clip #5 features the following track:  'Aall Faal Doon'.

Here are the two additional clips:

It's been a rough year for me but I have recently been turning things round in a hugely positive way and getting excited again about all my future plans. I am really looking forward to getting back on the road full time following various periods of illness aswell as time consuming and hugely distracting extra-curricular activities. It's time now to refocus 100% on my songwriting, performing and recording after a long period 'in the wilderness'.

This solo tour will be a prelude to what I hope will be a series of full band ('Gary Miller & The Volunteers') tours and festival appearances in 2012. Look out for a lot more news soon about gigs, tours and other projects.

In the meantime... if anyone can help me to add additional dates to the tour - please get in touch (more on this soon...).

 

Hot on the heels of my announcement that my latest album 'Reflections on War' is now available to buy as a download from iTunes(see below) I can now further announce that it is now also available to buy as an MP3 download on Amazon for only £5.99! Individual tracks are also available for 69p each (use the following link):

BUY 'REFLECTIONS ON WAR' DOWNLOAD ON AMAZON        

My latest album 'Reflections on War' is now available to buy as a download from iTunes using the following link:

BUY REFLECTIONS ON WAR ON iTUNES        

Although 'Stand Fast, Stand Steady', my 2005 album with Ralf Weihrauch is still unavailable to order direct from the Gary Miller Shop, anyone desperately looking to get hold of a CD copy can now order it direct from Ralf's Shop. 'Stand Fast, Stand Steady' is also available to buy as a download from CDBaby and Amazon .

Buy 'Stand Fast, Stand Steady' on CD

Buy 'Stand Fast, Stand Steady' on MP3 Download from CDBaby

Buy 'Stand Fast, Stand Steady' on MP3 Download from Amazon

The show was based on the extraordinary lives of the notorious Martin Brothers, William, Jonathan and John, who were born in the late 18th Century in the South Tyne area of Northumberland…

WILLIAM MARTIN:
Eldest brother, William was the self-styled 'Philosophical Conqueror of All Nations', a doggerel poet, pamphleteer, engraver and inventor. Like his younger brothers, he aspired to be 'Renaissance Man' and aimed for the 'defeat of learned humbugs'.

JONATHAN MARTIN:
Jonathan Martin has gone down in history as 'the notorious incendiary' of York Minster. Frequent fits of rage against the clergy, including an attempt to assassinate the Bishop of Oxford led to his committal to several lunatic asylums, from which he escaped twice, before setting fire to York Minster in 1829, for which he was again committed to bedlam, where he later died.

JOHN MARTIN:
John, the youngest, was, like his brother William, an all-rounder', devising sewage schemes for London, along with a number of other inventions but is most famous for his epic New Romantic paintings of Biblical scenes. One of these, 'Pandemonium', based on Milton's 'End of the World', sold in 2003 for a record £1.65 million.

Due to various circumstances, not least Glenn's subsequent retirement from music and what became a protracted period of illness for myself, this proved to be both the first and final live performance of the show to date.

Now Keith, Chris and myself will reunite to perform 'The Three Martins' for the first time in almost 9 years at the Anchor in Hayden Bridge on Thursday 6th October (see Gigs/Tours Page , for further details)

This unique gig is being held as part of the John Martin Heritage Festival and because it is Lottery funded, entrance is free.

For my part, I hope to able to perform at least most, if not all of the songs I wrote for the project, aswell as a duet with Keith on his 'Ballad of the Incendiary', which blends poetry and song together.

It should prove to be quite an interesting challenge for me as most of the songs have only previously been performed live once (or in some cases never), with the exception of the following two which I have occasionally tried out as part of my solo set:

'In Dreamtime' (live at Heureka, Vienna 20.07.10):

'The Paint and The Pain' (live at Heureka, Vienna 20.07.10):

Just to whet your appetites, my set list on the night will likely be made up of the following songs, interspersed with a wonderful sequence of specially-written poems and commentary by Keith and tunes by Chris:

Three Martins (Prophecy)
In Dreamtime
The Dandy Horse
Just an Inoffensive Wife
Medals
William, You Were Really Something
Death to the Bishop of Oxford
Ballad of the Incendiary
Madhouse Martin
Picture the Scriptures
The Paint and The Pain
John Martin's Drainage Scheme
Searching for the Waters of Oblivion
Pandemonium
Three Martins (Epitaph)

I hope one day soon to finally put a studio recording together of these songs for a future CD release… watch this space!

I have therefore begun the laborious task of sorting through my old VHS recordings, transfering them to my hard drive (after aquiring a VHS player as I had been without one for years since my previous antiquated machine conked out ages ago), editing them into lengths suitable for uploading, and finally uploading them to my You Tube account for the whole world to peruse at its leisure - what have I let myself in for?!

Anyway, the first fruits of these labours are now live online in the form of 3 clips from the band's televised appearance at the One World Music Festival in Cologne on 18th July 1992.

The line-up of The Whisky Priests on this recording is:
Gary Miller - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Glenn Miller - Accordion, Backing Vocals
Mick Tyas - Bass, Vocals
Kevin Wilson - Bouzouki, Mandolin, Backing Vocals
Tony McNally - Drums

Clip #1 features the following tracks: 'Old Man Forgotten, 'Halcyon Days', 'Easington'.

Clip #2 features the following tracks:  'Bonnie Gateshead Lass / Jamie Allen', 'When I Was One-and-Twenty' / 'Jenny Grey'.

Clip #3 features the following tracks: 'The Colliery', 'The Rising of the North', (plus the start of 'Shut Doon the Waggon Works' before the video unfortunately cuts out).

Here they are the 3 clips in chronological order for your viewing and listening pleasure. I hope you enjoy them: 

Check out this 30-second extract: CATCH ME IF I FALL

'THE BLOODY IRISH BOYS' hail from Lancaster, Ohio, USA and were started by enigmatic frontman Shayne in 2003. They describe themselves as "a hard drinking, hard working band" who "strive to preserve the sound of their roots and pay tribute to the bands before them".

I had great fun doing the recording and would like to wish the band great success. I think they are a superb band and a fine bunch of guys with great attitude and I would love to have the opportunity to work with them again in the future. Please check them out here if you haven't done so already!

'AULD ST. PATRICK' is out now on Sick Sad Records (cat. no.: SS11-005) and can be ordered (along with other Bloody Irish Boys CDs and merchandise) direct from the band’s website here.

Check out the following review at Celtic-Folk-Punk.

Celtic Rock Music has also made my new CD 'Reflections on War' their 'Album of the Month' for October 2010. You can read Joern Symens' review of the album here.

The 3 shows I played were:

14th August - The Grapes, Sheffield

17th August - Katie Fitzgerald's, Stourbridge

18th August - The 100 Club, London

Here is a clip of me performing 'Where The Violets Grow' at Katie Fitzgerald's, Stourbridge 17.08.10:

Here is a clip of me performing 'Sister of Mercy' at the 100 Club, London 18.08.10:

You can also view a clip of me performing another song ('A Rich Seam') from the same concert on my Home Page.

You can find further clips from both of the above shows, along with lots of other clips of myself from the archives (including vintage Whisky Priests clips) by visiting the Whippet Records You Tube Channel.

The 100 Club show also allowed me to catch up with 'Swill' (from The Men They Couldn't Hang and Swill and The Swagger Band) who was also on the bill and performed a great solo set. It was a truly great night. Here is a photo taken after the show (by Nigel Williamson) featuring (from left-right) 'Swill', Michael, me and Mick.

I also reconnected with a lot of old friends (after many years) and fans from the days of The Whisky Priests and made a lot of new friends too. So thanks to everyone who came along and supported me. "Bloody marvellous!"

Special thanks to Mick and Michael for allowing me the opportunity to perform with them and to Nigel and Marianne for making it possible.

Over the summer we began filming a promotional video for Bold as Brass, the second track on my new CD Reflections on War and the true story of Archibald Frederick Harold Mill (1890-1985). He was a cornet player & military bandsman in Battersea prior to the outbreak of the First World War. When war was declared, he signed on at Woolwich Barracks and was sent to France as a Gunner in the Royal Field Artillery. He fought at Ypres and suffered two attacks of mustard gas. Although he survived the War, as a result of his injuries was unable to play his cornet again even though he lived well into his 90's.

The video is being produced and directed by my personal friend and BBC award-winning filmmaker Ethan Race.

We successfully completed the initial filming for 'Bold as Brass' on Wednesday 28th July, during a shoot at the top of the hill at Duns Castle near to where I live in the Scottish Borders - despite being chased twice by a herd of bullocks! (unfortunately the cameras weren't rolling on that bit so there won't be any amusing outtakes of us rolling down the hill during the stampede! You'll just have to picture the image in your minds!) So ‘thanks' to Graeme (who played cornet on the track and had kindly agreed to take part in the filming - he looked fabulous in his military bandsman's uniform). ‘Thanks’ also to Ethan for his great filmmaking and to Trevor at Walk This Way Military Surplus Store in Coldstream for providing the military uniforms and marching snare drum that we used. 

Filming for the 'Bold as Brass' video continued on Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th August 2010 in a remote barn near Duns in the Scottish Borders but was hampered by 2 of the 3 projectors we were using providing less than adequate results. We managed to capture some great footage that relied on only 1 projector but decided to abandon the rest of the filming and postpone it for a few weeks until we could replace the poor quality projectors with a better one in order to get the desired results without compromising our vision in any way. So, all in all, a bit frustrating but we'll get it in the can soon. There will hopefully be more news soon, as we hope to pick up where we left off to continue the filming by the end of September with a finished edit to hopefully follow soon after that. For further news on this exciting project - watch this space! …

On 21st & 22nd June 2010 I had the great pleasure and privilege of taking part in a series of celebrations centred around the official unveiling of a plaque in honour of...

"That great free spirit, utopian writer, land reformer and courageous pioneering campaigner for the rights of men and women, Thomas Spence." (1750-1814).

"In these days of bland career politicians, Spence stands out as an example of a free spirit, prepared to go to prison for his principles - the principles of grass roots freedom, community and democracy, for the human rights of people all over the world."

"This plaque puts Thomas Spence on the map for all of those pilgrims who hold human rights and political freedoms dear. It does not trap his free spirit rather it gives his life and work fresh wings."

(The above 3 paragraphs are taken from Keith Armstrong’s speech at the unveiling).

At the official unveiling ceremony (by Newcastle’s Lord Mayor Brenda Hindmarsh) at Broad Garth on Newcastle’s Quayside at lunchtime on Monday 21st June (the anniversary of Spence’s birth) I performed “Folk Song For Thomas Spence” (lyrics by Keith Armstrong / music by Gary Miller).

FOLK SONG FOR THOMAS SPENCE

Down by the old Quayside,
I heard a young man cry,
among the nets and ships he made his way.
As the keelboats buzzed along,
he sang a seagull's song;
He cried out for the Rights of you and me.

Oh lads, that man was Thomas Spence,
he gave up all his life
just to be free.
Up and down the cobbled side
Struggling on through the Broad Chare,
he shouted out his wares
for you and me.

Oh lads, you should have seen him gan
He was a man the likes you rarely see.
With a pamphlet in his hand,
and a poem at his command,
he haunts the quayside still
and his words sing.

His folks they both were Scots,
sold socks and fishing nets,
through the Fog on the Tyne they plied their trade.
In this theatre of life,
the crying and the strife,
they tried to be decent and be strong.

Oh lads, that man was Thomas Spence,
he gave up all his life
just to be free.
Up and down the cobbled side
Struggling on through the Broad Chare,
he shouted out his wares
for you and me.

Oh lads, you should have seen him gan
He was a man the likes you rarely see.
With a pamphlet in his hand,
and a poem at his command,
he haunts the quayside still
and his words sing.

Immediately after this short ceremony, at a reception in the Redhouse near the Quayside, where glasses were raised in Spence's honour, poems were read and talks were given about Spence, and I performed 3 songs; “Folk Song For Thomas Spence”, “The Hive of Liberty” (lyrics by Keith Armstrong / music by Gary Miller) and “The Rights of Man For Me” (a song written by Spence himself to the traditional tune “The Maid of the Mill”).

THE HIVE OF LIBERTY

I am a small and humble man,
my body frail and broken.
I strive to do the best I can.
I spend my life on tokens.
I traipse through Holborn all alone,
hawking crazy notions.
I am the lonely people’s friend.
I live on schemes and potions.

For, in my heart and in my mind,
ideas swarm right through me.
Yes, in this Hive of Liberty,
my words just flow like wine,
my words just flow like wine.

I am a teeming worker bee.
My dignity is working.
My restless thoughts swell like the sea.
My fantasies I’m stoking.
There is a rebel inside me,
a sting about to strike.
I hawk my works around the street.
I put the world to rights.

For, in my heart and in my mind,
ideas swarm right through me.
Yes, in this Hive of Liberty,
my words just flow like wine,
my words just flow like wine.

Later, at a further session in the evening at Newcastle’s Lit & Phil (Literature & Philosophical Society), courtesy of the Workers’ Educational Association, I again performed “Folk Song For Thomas Spence” and “The Rights of Man For Me” while Keith recited a further selection of poems.

THE RIGHTS OF MAN FOR ME
(Written by Spence when a Prisoner in Newgate, under a Charge of High Treason, 1794)
(Tune: Maid of the Mill)

There are many fine schemes contrived by the Great,
To deceive Silly Souls d'ye see ?
And render them passive for pure Conscience Sake,
And mould them to fell Tyranny.
Yet for all their fine Arts with their Priests in their Aid
Their Threats and their deep Policy,
I'll laugh them to Scorn while loudly I sing,
The Rights of Man Boys for me.

This World for the poor they say never was made.
Their portion in the Heavens be,
And more, that they envy them their happy Lot,
So certain's their Felicity.
But thank them for nought if the Heavens they could let,
Few Toys there the Poor would e'er see,
For Rents they must toil and for Taxes to boot,
The Rights of Man then for me.

Then cheer up all you who have long been oppress'd
Aspire unto sweet Liberty;
No Fetters were form'd for a Nation to bind
Who have the brave Wish to be free.
To Reason attend and blush at your Chains,
And throw off all vile Slavery,
And let each Man sing till loud Echoes ring.
The Rights of Man Boys for me.

As for me though in Prison I oft have been cast
Because I would dare to be free,
And though in black Newgate I did pen this Song
My Theme I've not alter'd you see.
In jail or abroad whatever betide
My Struggles for Freedom shall be
Whatever Fate bring I will think, speak and sing,
The Rights of Man Boys for me.

The following lunchtime, Tuesday 22nd June, I took part in a gathering to raise another glass for this man, who in his own words ‘dared to be free’, at Marsden Grotto, South Shields, where Thomas first chalked the phrase ‘The Rights of Man’ on a cave wall, and performed “Jack ‘The Blaster’ Bates” (lyrics by Keith Armstrong / music by Gary Miller) and “Folk Song For Thomas Spence”.

JACK 'THE BLASTER' BATES
(Lyrics: Keith Armstrong / Music: Gary Miller)

'Ye landlords vile, whose man's peace mar,
Come levy rents here if you can:
Your stewards and lawyers I defy,
And live with all the Rights of Man.'
(Thomas Spence)

I've dug this cave to be free,
To let my heart leap by the sea,
It's all for the cause of liberty,
A sanctuary for me.

The landlords are off our backs,
The bosses and the hacks,
Free from tyrants and their quacks,
I'm off the beaten tracks.

I'm Jack the Blaster,
My own master,
I'm a miner and shafter,
An Allenheads grafter.
Jack the Blaster,
Drowning in laughter,
Master crafter,
Peasant and poet.

I would like to thank Keith Armstrong for inviting me to take part in these events and celebrations "Cheers Keith!" and congratulate The Thomas Spence Trust on the success of their long campaign to get this great man acknowledged and commemorated through a permanent memorial.

In the meantime, I have been writing some further songs of my own about Thomas Spence and there are tentative plans afoot for a CD project of Spencian songs.

For further reading and to learn more about Thomas Spence go to: The Thomas Spence Society

Other links:

Professor Alastair Bonnett of the Thomas Spence Society was interviewed prior to the unveiling by Ian Robson writing for Newcastle-based newspaper The Journal. This fascinating and highly informative interview about Spence can be read here: Shedding light on life of unsung hero Thomas Spence

Journal newspaper reporter Tony Henderson was among the journalists who attended the unveiling ceremony and he subsequently posted the following article: Thomas Spence remembered with commemorative plaque

Artist Michael Duckett produced a fascinating series of drawings throughout the the whole event and he has posted a selection of these on his Zine-it-Yourself blogspot at: Thomas Spence on Midsummer's Day

Many thanks to Lucas at Northern Lab for his hard work and comittment to the website and for producing such an outstanding design on my behalf!

Please note: this is very much a work in progress. There is still a lot of work to be done on updating the content and I will be endeavouring to correct and amend various sections throughout the site over the coming days, so please bear with me.

In the meantime, Thanks for checking my site out.

More news to follow soon...