Insomniacs who listen to the wonderful weekly Virtual Jukebox feature on Dotun Adebayo’s BBC 5 Live night watchman show will know the name of a frequent collaborator and chum of the great broadcaster, David Bowie’s former publicist, Jonathan Wingate.
Wingate has executive produced an upcoming Lateralize Bowie themed album, The Seat with the Clearest View.
It’s sung rather beautifully by West End show singer and actor Oliver Darley accompanied by pianist Chad Lelong who shares an album lead co-credit very tastefully at its core.
It’s not at all a “god awful small affair.”
Sordid details following: Some tracks are streaming already so you can hear what I’m on about.
Full personnel on The Seat With The Clearest View in addition finds these musicians also on the album: Jamie McCredie on guitar known for his work with Jo Harrop plus cellist Julia Graham, violinists Debs White and Charis Jensen, violist Rachel Robson and double bassist Jihad Darwish, a superb player I have heard a few times live in places like the Green Note with Marcus Bonfanti and Vortex. Darwish – whose style resembles Gary Crosby’s a bit – was also with Moses Boyd on pride of the Isle of Wight nu jazz maven Greg Foat’s excellent Opening Time last year.
“Although numerous artists have interpreted David’s songs over the years,” says Wingate, “only a handful have ever truly left their own indelible stamp on them. Oliver Darley and Chad Lelong have somehow managed to cover completely uncharted musical terrain with these songs, so they’re reassuringly familiar and yet utterly unlike anything fans would ever expect.”
Darley, who has a strong tenor – he’s the keeper of an extremely expressive voice – has Bowie form already.
The Woman in White actor released Simply Bowie on a label called Amber and Blue in 2016. But that album isn’t available right now.
He debuted much further back in 2002 with an album issued by major label owned East West called Introducing that had the great Memphis singer William “Private Number” Bell guesting on ‘Eloise (Hang On In There)’ a Bell/Booker T. Jones number that fans will know from the 1960s and was later covered by Paul Young on the ‘Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home)’ man’s 2016 album, Good Thing. Chad Lelong was on Introducing too, on a stirring version of Ewan MacColl’s ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.’
Look below at this video of Darley with another keyboardist that goes back to I think 2017 singing ‘Ashes to Ashes.’
The Seat With The Clearest View is out in May heralded by a show up close and personal at Soho’s Crazy Coqs a stone’s throw from Eros, that enduring symbol of love found at the beating heart of London.
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Andrew Irwin and Joe Hill
She’ll have no crap games with sharpies and frauds
And she won’t go to Harlem in Lincolns or Fords
And she won’t dish the dirt with the DUP broads
That’s why the lady is a trampLorenz Hart (adapted)
With Moonray‘s pianist Joe Hill from England back again from last year in duo with local singer Andrew Irwin home from Germany at the mic the crowd’s getting bigger, some 100 or so were in. The staff even brought in more furniture for latecomers to make a little more leg and wiggle room. Pub-winebar boss Norman Coalter got a namecheck and paid tribute to Irwin.
https://open.spotify.com/album/02dTYy5Ev3JbBW8ByOkBa5?si=E862t1poRJClZyBQF8OT5A
Think Bill Evans and Tony Bennett a little but Irwin’s voice isn’t a jazz voice. Nevertheless his operatically trained style works well in this light music eclectic setting and he’s too good a singer just to do the Rat Pack mannerisms like so many do.
The Divine Comedy choice – a breakout local rock band from the 90s whose early gigs included a Skintown pub called the Vintage during Gailey Quinn’s storied tenure as landlord – this time was Scott Walker loving Neil Hannon’s ‘National Express’ (the audience “ba- ba-bap”-ing along back unprovoked) and other highlights included a take on Rodgers and Hart’s ‘The Lady is a Tramp’ – a satirical local political twist fed in to the lyrics deftly gauged:
The quality of the piano was a bit better this time and in support singer and harmonica player Fermanagh Feis winner Abbey Wilson is growing in confidence accompanied firstly by her dad on guitar and later by Hill whose understated style reminds me of John Turville‘s approach a little in the John Taylor vein (who covered ‘Alice’ with Norma Winstone on Like Song, Like Weather) – a piano setting suits the teenager more.
- The review above was run last year – it gives you an idea of what to expect at Sinatra in Saddlers the title for Friday’s show. Tickets
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