Once again I have got around to remembering I have a website. It has been some time, but I have been doing the odd gig or two. Angie’s Free House in Maida Hill, Petts Wood with Mel Wrights Jazz. group, for which I turned up late due to traffic and the Leytonstone Jam night among others.

It was good to see Wolfie and Jackie Witcher at Mel’s gig. The bad news is that Wolfie has had another fall ending in hospital again. He’s out now but not too mobile. Another one who doesn’t get around much any more is Al Vincent.

However, though Al has more or less given up playing, I have been lucky enough to have him play at a couple of those gigs and he will be with me at the Oval Tavern, Croydon in October.You can’t keep a good man down!

My next gig is the day before my birthday so will be promoted as my 85th Birthday bash and I will probably spend the next day, my actual birthday, recovering. It will be at Angle’s of course.

The Shakey Vick Band
Angie’s freehouse. Woodfield Terracw.London W9
9.30 pm. Free entry.

I enjoyed my spot at Leytonstone blues jam not least because it is easier to get to now that it’s at Leytonstone’s Ex-servicemen’s club, which is a great place and really handy to the station.

My next outing was much nearer home when I played at the memorial gig for Martin Deegan at The Dublin Castle, an old haunt of mine in Camden. There was a great turnout, with superb music from various musicians of Martin’s gigging history. A fitting memorial, which may well occur again next year.

My own birthday bash was even closer to home, at Angie’s Freehouse, a five minute walk away for me. The day had been one of torrential rain and the place had been really quiet all day, without the usual boisterous sports followers. so the manager was expecting a quiet night because of the inclement weather. In the event, there was a good turnout, as a result of which, we are booked back there in February. The band was Alan Vincent on Bass, Mel Wright on Drums, Steve Taylor on Keys, Jon T-bone Taylor on guitar and myself on vocals and harmonica. I really enjoyed the gig and the turnout of friends and family. I look forward to the next one.

My next trip was to the Troubadour to catch Chris Youlden with his old band The Slammers. They were launching a cd on a new label and the night was brilliant. It was Chris back to his best and the band were exactly right to bring out a his unique voice. once again.

Another trip, this time to Waterloo, gave me a chance to meet up with Jim Mercer for a Sunday early evening gig…Jim on Vocals and Guitar and me on vocals and harmonica. For the final set we were joined by Peter Parker on Bass. Jim has been playing this gig at Vaulty towers for a while and wanted to introduce a few more musicians from his past. It is a Unique pub and the staff were really friendly. Well worth the visit.

One final excursion took e to Kingston to meet with Chris and Mel for another round of drinks, except that they were drinking coffee and tea, so I had had to consume the alcohol for both of them. Of course I accepted the job willingly.

Finally, gigs ahead are a trio gig on New Year’s Eve at The Union, with T-bone Taylor and Brian Diprose, members of The Wild Dice, The First Saturday in February at Angie’s with the full band and a trip in May to Solihull Town Hall  for a Mothers Reunion gig at Solihull Town Hall with a number of bands from the old days at Mothers Erdington Club where I recorded my first album, Little Woman Your So Sweet. The reunion is in aid of cancer aid so it should be pretty special. There will also be younger bands carrying on the music tradition playing there as wells a good mix in a worthwhile cause.

I’ll be at the Union tonight for Eddy and the wild dice.I usually sit in for a few numbers which I always enjoy. On Monday I shall be at Leyton to sit in with the house band for a set, then on Thursday I will be at The Dublin Castle in my old stomping ground of Camden. This is for the memorial get together for the late Martin Deegan whose birthday was on this day. My birthday is on the second of the month but as I have a gig booked locally on Saturday at Angie’s I guess this will be my celebration.

It has been quite a while since I wrote anything here but I haven’t been that active so I have no real excuse. My great friend John Wilson died a few months ago but I didn’t feel like writing about it at the time. I travelled to Boston Lincolnshire for the funeral and there was a good turnout. I was  first in a long line of speakers  from John’s busy life. He was a big fan of old cars and motorbikes and this was paid tribute to by a couple of his friends, He was also very big in the Students union in his day and friends came up from Brighton to pay their tributes. His brother-in-law and his niece also made their contributions.

John helped me out in the early days, sitting on the door at the hole in the ground and the Blue  Horizon gig in Battersea. Later he also got me a few student union gigs and was always up for a laugh.  I miss him.

I’m off to a wedding in Israel on Saturday so won’t be sitting in with Eddy and The Wild Dice at The Mau Mau Bar on the next couple of Sunday afternoons but will be back for the monthly session at The Union Tavern on the last Tuesday of the month.

The birthday bash was very successful with a nice turnout including my daughters, grandsons and great-grandsons all pitching.  The band of Mel, Alan, Steve and Brian delivered the goods and we were entertained with an interval set from Michelle Buckingham.This was just the beginning, and she was followed by Bonny and Carmen on vocals, Peter and T-bone on guitars, Phil on sax, plus Eddie, on harp and vocals, then Big Joe, with Brian and Laurie, doing their own little Bob’s Goodtime Blues revival set. A big thank you to everyone.

Chris Youlden was unable to make it because of illness. He has been through the mill this year, almost dying in hospital around Christmas last  from pneumonia complications, then having to have loads of fluid pumped from his lungs. This was followed by some deterioration in his bone structure around the legs. This has been dealt with now but will take some three months or so to heal. When I phoned he was having his regular visit from a nurse doing his leg ulcer dressing. I look forward to his improvement and a get-stogether for a beer and a proper catch up.

The line-up for the birthday bash on Saturday 30th September will be  Alan Vincent on guitar, Steve Taylor on keyboards, Brian Diprose on bass and Mel Wright on drums with yours truly on vocals and harmonica. There are also a few guests coming along to augment the chaos, so it should be a fun night as long as some upstart doesn’t play Happy Birthday. The band start at eight and of course it’s free entry and open to all.

The gig is at The Maxilla Social Club, 2 Maxilla Walk, London W10 6NQ. A number 7 Bus will drop you in St Mark’s Road or a number 295 or 316 stops in Bramley Road just up from Latimer Road Station, which is, of course, closed, as are all the stations between Hammersmith and Baker Street that weekend, thank you London Underground.