Jack Robinson - Music from a Saw

Welcome back after a long hot summer break.  Well... sort of hot.  I've spent the summer working on some exciting projects will should bear fruit shortly.  In the meantime back to blogging.

Yep, you've read the title right.  Music from a Saw.  By rubbing a bow along the side of bog-standard carpenters saw the most unusual and amazing sounds can be achieved. And there was no greater proponent of it during the 1920s and 30s than Liverpool based Jack Robinson.

Jack Robinson, from the NML collection

Jack was born in Blackpool in the late 1800s.  In the 1920s he moved to Liverpool and set up a barbers shop in Lodge Lane.  He had always been musical playing ukulele, banjo and double bass but his expertise was in the Musical Saw.

The saw was popularised in America in the early 1900s.  It's not certain when the saw came to Britain but Jack is widely considered to be the first 'professional' saw player in the country.  I think we can claim that as another Liverpool first!

Jack's Saw and Bow are now in possession of the National Museums Liverpool.  Visit their page for more info.

Now, I bet you're wondering what the saw sounds like?  Think of a large tuba, ok... well it sounds nothing like that.  It actually has a sort of ethereal otherworldly sound  - like a modern Theremin.

Sadly no known recordings of Jack Robinson exist although during his time he played alongside great orchestras and in a solo performance on the RMS Duchess of York.

Here is Austin Blackburn (not a scouser) considered to be a modern Musical Saw maestro.

Bonus question: There was a famous Hollywood diva, a mega-star of the silver screen who was herself an accomplished Musical Saw player.  Who was she?

Keep Streets Live - Victory.. of sorts!

Following on from my previous (here and here) posts it has been announced today that controversial Liverpool City Council policy to charge buskers to pay and regulate when and where they can play has been thrown out.

Although they don't admit it i'm pretty sure this has quite a bit to do with the KEEP STREETS LIVE campaign which achieved over 5000 signatures to support it.

Councillor Steve Munby admitted: “The policy wasn't thought through properly and we ought to have realised at the time. “Many of the regulations as they stood, were unenforceable. We had no team in place, no officers to go around checking people. I hold my hands up and admit that on this occasion, we got it wrong.” 

But he refused to admit defeat: "I haven't seen a busking community behind it, just one or two very loud voices."

I don't think it has occurred to Cllr Munby that one or two voices can speak for many.  Saying that, it's hard to believe that any politician thinks that they speak for anybody but themselves.

See their report from this years Wash Out Mathew Street Festival.

Does this Train Stop on Merseyside

Ok, technically not "Beneath the Beat" as it was a charting pop-song but I think in the context of last weeks revelations I can be excused.

Written by Liverpool artist Ian Prowse of the band Amsterdam. It riffs off ideas and images that anyone from Liverpool can easily recognise. It is a song that is just so 'Liverpool' a complex celtic tapestry of history, emotion and place.

 It is not quite a celebratory song and indeed the last verse is particularly harrowing.

Can't concieve what those children done 
Guess theres a meaness in the soul of man 
Yorkshire policemen chat with folded arms 
While people try and save their fellow fans


I'll just give a brief quotation from the lyrics as there is a better deconstruction of the song here: http://aliverpoolfolksongaweek.blogspot.co.uk/


The song encapsulates so much about Liverpool... a real trip through the psychography of the city and its people.


JFT96

Italian Festival and Ukulele Uff and Lonesome Dave

Have you noticed the recent revival in ukulele music?  Well Liverpool is not left out as we have just sent forth to worthy emissaries over to the Italian Coldogno Music Festival to show them how Scousers do it.

For many years the humble uke has been relegated to the position of a novelty instrument, fit only for people like Tiny Tim and George Formby Tribute acts.  

At one time though, the uke was a stalwart of the Liverpool music scene - especially that which takes place under the radar of the mainstream music. 

From the pre-war jazz of the music halls to the skiffle boom that led to The Beatles the uke played its part.  

Indeed, George Harrison mentioned many times his love for the uke and the proliferation of new ukulele players covering 'Whilst by Guiar Gently Weeps' and 'My Sweet Lord' shows that his passion was not just a one way street.

It seems the time has come around again to produce more Ukulele loving talents; perhaps talents is too mild a word because in the short space of a few months these chaps has gone from playing in pubs and busking at Matthew Street to performing on stage at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall the internationally renowned Caldogno Ukulele Festival in Italy.  

Not to mention another festival over in Dublin later in the year.

Ukulele Uff and Lonesome Dave have taken the musical world by storm.  Check out their unique musical talent performing on stage at the Phil.

I'm sure we will hear lots more of these chaps in the future.

Freddie Mercury - The Liverpool Years

Liverpool has seen its fair share of exotic characters and transient musos.

It's a little known fact that Freddie Mercury (under his real name, Farrokh Bulsara) made his first on-stage debut with Brian May and Roger Taylor at Liverpool's famous: 'The Sink Club' - now known as  The Magnet.  


The original membership card to gain entry to the sink club was by a numbered rubber plug on a chain.


Here is a bootleg recording of Freddie with the short-lived Liverpool band Ibex taken at the The Sink Club.  

There is another Liverpool link:  this one ties the Beatles to Queen.


Rumour has it, that Freddie once lived on Penny Lane. 
It's a popular story that Freddie once lived in Dovedale Towers - now a pub.
If anyone has any images of Freddie in Liverpool i'd love to see them.

Keep Streets Live - Church Street Mass Busk 2

Following on from yesterdays post I took myself down into the city centre to witness the 'Keep Streets Live' mass busk.

It was a great turnout with a diverse group of musicians and instruments, guitars, violins, drums a trumpet and a digeridoo... one percussionist even began drubbing a beat on the street furniture.

Remember, please sign this petition: http://keepstreetslive.com/

One notable absence was the groups of eastern European musicians who can often be heard with trumpets and accordions.  Perhaps they were not aware of this new legislation?

If it wasn't for the Keep Streets Live campaign I wouldn't know about the full scope of this legislation.  Although it has been announced in the Echo and other news sources I was not aware that the legislation would also effect non-musician street performances such as street art (see the painting below) and the chap with the little owl.  The council has said very little has been said about these types of street performance.

In between songs, the musicians would give their opinions on the forthcoming legislation and one comment in particular struck me: 'It's our city, not theirs.'


As I hope the image above shows, the crowd that gathered was a great mix of young and old.  It was so typically representative of Liverpool.  Old guys stumbling from the Beehive to the Blob Shop stopped to roll a fag and enjoy an acoustic version of Jessie J's 'Price Tag' then a few minutes later a group of tweenagers start tapping their feet to 1920s classic 'Minnie the Moocher'.

Each one of those people stopped of their own free will to be entertained. If they didn't like the music, they simply walked away.

It was music by all sorts of people for all sorts of people.  They were not asked to be there, many didn't know just why they were there... but they stayed.


Meanwhile, a hundred yards away River Island was still blasting out its speakers.

Remember, please sign this petition: http://keepstreetslive.com/

Keep Streets Live - Mass Busk in Liverpool

As I posted a few months ago, Liverpool City Council are proposing a license in order for people to busk.  (See here: http://beneaththebeat.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/beat-of-street.html)

These new rules are deemed by most buskers to be overtly restrictive and a threat against the spontaneity and vitality of street performance.

To that end the  KEEP STREETS LIVE campaign has been petitioning the council to re-think their decision.

Sign the petiton HERE.

Furthermore they will be promoting a MASS BUSK in an unofficial launch party for this new legislation.  The Busk will be in Liverpool City Centre today at 12pm.

See you there.