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This is the archive of the combined Barking Spider and Andy Broad Portsmouth Blues Site mailing lists.
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AMY WADGE BAND headline the Pier this Wednesday! Amy Wadge, voted Best Female Solo Artist in the Welsh Music Awards 2002 and 2003, is at last coming back to South Parade Pier, Southsea, on Wednesday 23rd February. Amy is no stranger to Portsmouth audiences. She's graduated from a phenomenal (and still talked about) show at The R.M.A. Tavern, to support for Brian Kennedy at The Wedgewood Rooms, and then supporting guitar god Jeff Beck at Portsmouth Guildhall. Amy performed at Southsea Folk & Roots Festival on South Parade Pier last August, when people travelled from as far afield as Shropshire and Wales to see this amazing performer, who easily stole the show from headliners Ezio. Her rangy, tough-but-tender voice is amazing and with such well-crafted songs it's suddenly clear why she's getting so much recognition. Amy returns to the Pier on Wednesday with her full band, which features Matt Beable on bass (Amor), Aled Richards (ex-Catatonia) on drums and Nigel Hopkins (Elvis Costello) on piano. Although born near Bristol, Amy Wadge has been a resident of Wales since she began studying at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff. Amy's first single was as one half of the band Two Of A Mind - their cover of "The Great Pretender" reached the number 75 in the U.K charts. In 2001, she released her debut solo single "Saddest Eyes", and made regular TV and radio appearances including an acclaimed live session on the Janice Long show during the Radio 2 Live In Cardiff festival. Her mini-album, "The Famous Hour", released in March 2002 was produced by long-term Manic Street Preachers collaborator Greg Haver, and also in 2002, she played alongside The Sterophonics, Embrace and Lenny Kravitz at the launch party for BBC 6 Music. She also played at the Cambridge Folk Festival and Cardiff Mardi Gras, and supported Eric Bibb on two tours of the UK and Ireland tour in late 2002 and 2003, inclduding South Parade Pier. Following Amy's appearance at the Midem music fair in Cannes, she then embarked on her first UK tour with a full band featuring former Catatonia member Aled Richards on drums, and Jonathan Thomas on bass and pedal steel. That summer Amy played at Glastonbury festival, supported Van Morrison at the Larmer Tree Festival, supported Bob Geldof at Sesiwn Fawr in Dolgellau, and headlined the Caerphilly Castle festival. A single, "Just In Time", was released in October 2003, the same month she was invited by the Welsh Assemble to perform in Sydney for two weeks, to coincide with the Rugby World Cup. 2004 saw the release of her debut album 'WOJ'. The album features Aled Richards on drums, Dave Bronze (Eric Clapton, Eric Bibb) on bass, Robbie Macintosh (Paul McCartney and The Pretenders) on guitar and Amy supplying the vocals and guitar. Amy then completed another U.K tour that culminated in her being asked to open for the legendary Jeff Beck on his first tour for 14 years. The dates included two nights at the Royal Albert Hall -and one at Portsmouth Guildhall. Amy is currently working on her second album and is out on a headline tour of the UK, which includes the South Parade Pier gig. It'll be great to see up her up where she belongs on Wednesday - headlining at the Pier. Support will be from The Sweet Believers, fronted by Fliss Downs of the late lamented Reconsider. THE AMY WADGE BAND are at South Parade Pier, Southsea on Wednesday 23rd Feb. 2005. Doors open at 8 p.m. Advance tickets (£8) available from Wedgewood Rooms Box Office, Albert Rd., Southsea (023) 92863911, Reflex Records, Albert Rd., Southsea.