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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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Davey Graham permanently 'left the stage' yesterday, 15th December 2008, at his home in Camden Town, London. He was 68. Born on 22 November 1940, Davey Graham's influence on the folk guitar scene is immeasurable. He was experimenting with Eastern scales and modal tunings while George Harrison was still playing the dives of Hamburg. Davey was one of the most influential figures in the 1960s folk music revolution in England, and one of the most eclectic guitarists of the period. Davey Graham’s mixture of folk, blues, jazz, Middle Eastern sounds, and Indian ragas was an important catalyst of the British folk scene, and was the first guitarist to cross the boundaries of folk, blues, jazz He also recorded with Alexis Korner in 1960 and Shirley Collins in 1964. He gigged throughout the '60s at folk clubs and rock venues alike and earned a reputation as Britain's greatest exponent of the acoustic guitar. And yet he never really became famous, and he certainly never became rich. In fact, he nearly died years ago when he'd become a junkie and an alcoholic. His musical output ground to a halt and the rumours began to abound. They said he'd lost it - couldn't play any more - had gone mad - that he was finished, but in 1967 it seemed he'd sorted himself out again. Here's Davey from an interview in 1991.... "In 1967 I became a casualty of too much self-indulgence. I was also capable of too much self-denial. I suppose I was a bit like Pe ter Green, who disappeared from Mayall's band. I felt that the guitar playing was getting out of hand. There were too many tragedies happening in the world to ignore them. What upset me was people like Lenny Bruce, who destroyed himself. I spent time doing charity work, finding something more interesting than just Davey Graham to be getting on with. There has been too much publicity for things I did in the Sixties that I've never done since. I now have an active role on the Executive Council of MIND. The problem of depression in the inner cities is very real... People with problems of depression can't handle the laundry, and what they're taking for their depression is actually producing more depression - and of course the pharmaceutical companies are making millions of pounds out of it.." Davey was diagnosed with lung cancer a couple of weeks ago, having waited far too long before seeing a doctor about his chronic cough. They gave him four radiology treatments last week and had him scheduled for another Friday but he got tired of it all and checked himself out of the hospital. Yesterday he apparently had some episode where he got so congested he couldn't breathe and then couldn't be resuscitated when the medical people got to him…. It’s been said, not without justification, that Graham single-handedly invented the concept of the folk guitar instrumental in the U.K., whilst John Fahey, was doing the same thing in the U.S.A. at the same time. Like John Fahey, who shared a simi lar taste for genre-bending experimentation, Davey Graham couldn't be said to be a rock musician, but like Fahey, he shared the eagerness of the '60s psychedelic rockers to stretch out and incorporate unpredictable influences into his music. Davey Graham inspired many of the famous practitioners of the fingerstyle acoustic guitar such as Bert Jansch, Wizz Jones, John Renbourn, Martin Carthy, and even Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, who heavily based his solo “White Summer“ on Graham's "She moved thru' the Bizarre/Blue Raga". At the age of 19, Davey wrote what is probably his most famous piece, at least for aspiring guitarists: the acoustic solo tune "Anji" Davey recorded it in 1962, 'way before the more famous versions by Bert Jansch and Simon & Garfunkel. Davey Graham introduced the DADGAD guitar tuning to British guitarists, though it is not clear if it originated with him. Its main attraction was that it allowed the guitarist more freedom to improvise in the treble while maintaining a solid underlying harmony and rhythm in the bass. While 'non-standard', or 'non-classical' tunings were widely practiced by guitarists before this (Open E and Open G tunings were in common use by blues and slide guitar players) his use of DADGAD introduced a second standard tuning to guitarists. While he wasn't much of a singer, Graham’s taste in material was broad and shrewd, encompassing blues, ragas, Joni Mitchell, Charles Mingus, and all points north, south east and west… Davey Gra ham only recorded sporadically after the 1960s, although he occasionally performed with the renowned acoustic guitar wizards Stefan Grossman & Duck Baker. Check out youtube to see this amazing guy in action. We'll never see his likes again. I'm just off to play my treasured vinyl version of "Folk Blues & Beyond", recorded in 1964, but still sounding as fresh as it did 45 years ago,... John Roberts BARKING SPIDER PROMOTIONS (U.K. & Eire) (incorporating THE BULLFROG BLUES CLUB Collective) Cluain Beag, Allykeolaun, Kylebrack, nr. Loughrea, Co. Galway, Eire Tel. 00353 (0)909 749813 Mobile: 00353 (0)871 330954 and….. 105, Landguard Rd., Southsea, Hants., PO4 9DR, U.K. Mobile: 07970 959793 or 00353 871 330954 --------------------- E mail: spiderpromos@aol.com Barking Spider Website: www.barkingspider.abelgratis.com John Roberts’ Webspace: http://www.myspace.com/spiderpromos BARKING SPIDER PROMOTIONS (U.K. & Eire) (incorporating THE BULLFROG BLUES CLUB Collective) Cluain Beag, Allykeolaun, Kylebrack, nr. Loughrea, Co. Galway, Eire Tel. 00353 (0)909 749813 Mobile: 00353 (0)871 330954 and….. 105, Landguard Rd., Southsea, Hants., PO4 9DR, U.K. Mobile: 07970 959793 or 00353 871 330954 --------------------- E mail: spiderpromos@aol.com Barking Spider Website: www.barkingspider.abelgratis.com John Roberts’ Webspace: http://www.myspace.com/spiderpromos http://www.myspace.com/spiderpromos Southsea Folk & Roots Festival Website: www.southseafolkfestival.co.uk www.southseafolkfestival.c o.uk It’s been said, not without justification, that Graham single-handedly invented the concept of the folk guitar instrumental in the U.K., whilst John Fahey, was doing the same thing in the U.S.A. at the same time. Like John Fahey, who shared a similar taste for genre-bending experimentation, Davey Graham couldn't be said to be a rock musician, but like Fahey, he shared the eagerness of the '60s psychedelic rockers to stretch out and incorporate unpredictable influences into his music. Davey Graham inspired many of the famous practitioners of the fingerstyle acoustic guitar such as Bert Jansch, Wizz Jones, John Renbourn, Martin Carthy, and even Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, who heavily based his solo “White Summer“ on Graham's "She moved thru' the Bizarre/Blue Raga". At the age of 19, Davey wrote what is probably his most famous piece, at least for aspiring guitarists: the acoustic solo tune "Anji" Davey recorded it in 1962, 'way before the more famous versions by Bert Jansch and Simon & Garfunkel. Davey Graham introduced the DADGAD guitar tuning to British guitarists, though it is not clear if it originated with him. Its main attraction was that it allowed the guitarist more freedom to improvise in the treble while maintaining a solid underlying harmony and rhythm in the bass. While 'non-standard', or 'non-classical' tunings were widely practiced by guitarists before this (Open E and Open G tunings were in common use by blues and slide guitar players) his use of DADGAD introduced a second standard tuning to guitarists. While he wasn't much of a singer, Graham’s taste in material was broad and shrewd, encompassing blues, ragas, Joni Mitchell, Charles Mingus, and all points north, south east and west… Davey Graham only recorded sporadically after the 1960s, although he occasionally performed with the renowned acoustic guitar wizards Stefan Grossman & Duck Baker. Check out youtube to see this amazing guy in action. We'll never see his likes again. I'm just off to play my treasured vinyl version of "Folk Blues & Beyond", recorded in 1964, but still sounding as fresh as it did 45 years ago,... John Roberts BARKING SPIDER PROMOTIONS (U.K. & Eire) (incorporating THE BULLFROG BLUES CLUB Collective) Cluain Beag, Allykeolaun, Kylebrack, nr. Loughrea, Co. Galway, Eire Tel. 00353 (0)909 749813 Mobile: 00353 (0)871 330954 and….. 105, Landguard Rd., Southsea, Hants., PO4 9DR, U.K. Mobile: 07970 959793 or 00353 871 330954 --------------------- E mail: spiderpromos@aol.com Barking Spider Website: www.barkingspider.abelgratis.com John Roberts’ Webspace: http://www.myspace.com/spiderpromos BARKING SPIDER PROMOTIONS (U.K. & Eire) (incorporating THE BULLFROG BLUES CLUB Collective) Cluain Beag, Allykeolaun, Kylebrack, nr. Loughrea, Co. Galway, Eire Tel. 00353 (0)909 749813 Mobile: 00353 (0)871 330954 and….. 105, Landguard Rd., Southsea, Hants., PO4 9DR, U.K. Mobile: 07970 959793 or 00353 871 330954 A 0--------------------- E mail: spiderpromos@aol.com Barking Spider Website: www.barkingspider.abelgratis.com John Roberts’ Webspace: http://www.myspace.com/spiderpromos http://www.myspace.com/spiderpromos Southsea Folk & Roots Festival Website: www.southseafolkfestival.co.uk www.southseafolkfestival.co.uk Bert Jansch, Wizz Jones, John Renbourn, Martin Carthy, and even Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, who heavily based his solo “White Summer“ on Graham's "She moved thru' the Bizarre/Blue Raga". At the age of 19, Davey wrote what is probably his most famous piece, at least for aspiring guitarists: the acoustic solo tune "Anji" Davey recorded it in 1962, 'way before the more famous versions by Bert Jansch and Simon & Garfunkel. Davey Graham introduced the DADGAD guitar tuning to British guitarists, though it is not clear if it originated with him. Its main attraction was that it allowed the guitarist more freedom to improvise in the treble while maintaining a solid underlying harmony and rhythm in the bass. While 'non-standard', or 'non-classical' tunings were widely practiced by guitarists before this (Open E and Open G tunings were in common use by blues and slide guitar players) his use of DADGAD introduced a second standard tuning to guitarists. While he wasn't much of a singer, Graham’s taste in material was broad and shrewd, encompassing blues, ragas, Joni Mitchell, Charles Mingus, and all points north, south east and west… Davey Graham only recorded sporadically after the 1960s, although=2 0he occasionally performed with the renowned acoustic guitar wizards Stefan Grossman & Duck Baker. Check out youtube to see this amazing guy in action. We'll never see his likes again. I'm just off to play my treasured vinyl version of "Folk Blues & Beyond", recorded in 1964, but still sounding as fresh as it did 45 years ago,... John Roberts BARKING SPIDER PROMOTIONS (U.K. & Eire) (incorporating THE BULLFROG BLUES CLUB Collective) Cluain Beag, Allykeolaun, Kylebrack, nr. Loughrea, Co. Galway, Eire Tel. 00353 (0)909 749813 Mobile: 00353 (0)871 330954 and….. 105, Landguard Rd., Southsea, Hants., PO4 9DR, U.K. Mobile: 07970 959793 or 00353 871 330954 --------------------- E mail: spiderpromos@aol.com Barking Spider Website: www.barkingspider.abelgratis.com John Roberts’ Webspace: http://www.myspace.com/spiderpromos BARKING SPIDER PROMOTIONS (U.K. & Eire) (incorporating THE BULLFROG BLUES CLUB Collective) Cluain Beag, Allykeolaun, Kylebrack, nr. Loughrea, Co. Galway, Eire Tel. 00353 (0)909 749813 Mobile: 00353 (0)871 330954 and….. 105, Landguard Rd., Southsea, Hants., PO4 9DR, U.K. Mobile: 07970 959793 or 00353 871 330954 --------------------- E mail: spiderpromos@aol.com Barking Spider Website: www.barkingspider.abelgratis.com John Roberts’ Webspace: http://www.myspace.com/spiderpromos http://www.myspace.com/spiderpromos Southsea Folk & Roots Festival Website: www.southseafolkfestival.co.uk www.southseafolkfestival.co.uk Bert Jansch and Simon & Garfunkel. Davey G raham introduced the DADGAD guitar tuning to British guitarists, though it is not clear if it originated with him. Its main attraction was that it allowed the guitarist more freedom to improvise in the treble while maintaining a solid underlying harmony and rhythm in the bass. While 'non-standard', or 'non-classical' tunings were widely practiced by guitarists before this (Open E and Open G tunings were in common use by blues and slide guitar players) his use of DADGAD introduced a second standard tuning to guitarists. While he wasn't much of a singer, Graham’s taste in material was broad and shrewd, encompassing blues, ragas, Joni Mitchell, Charles Mingus, and all points north, south east and west… Davey Graham only recorded sporadically after the 1960s, although he occasionally performed with the renowned acoustic guitar wizards Stefan Grossman & Duck Baker. Check out youtube to see this amazing guy in action. We'll never see his likes again. I'm just off to play my treasured vinyl version of "Folk Blues & Beyond", recorded in 1964, but still sounding as fresh as it did 45 years ago,... John Roberts BARKING SPIDER PROMOTIONS (U.K. & Eire) (incorporating THE BULLFROG BLUES CLUB Collective) Cluain Beag, Allykeolaun, Kylebrack, nr. Loughrea, Co. Galway, Eire Tel. 00353 (0)909 749813 Mobile: 00353 (0)871 330954 and….. 105, Landguard Rd., Southsea, Hants., PO4 9DR, U.K. Mobile: 07970 959793 or 00353 871 330954 --------------------- E mail: spiderpr omos@aol.com Barking Spider Website: www.barkingspider.abelgratis.com John Roberts’ Webspace: http://www.myspace.com/spiderpromos BARKING SPIDER PROMOTIONS (U.K. & Eire) (incorporating THE BULLFROG BLUES CLUB Collective) Cluain Beag, Allykeolaun, Kylebrack, nr. Loughrea, Co. Galway, Eire Tel. 00353 (0)909 749813 Mobile: 00353 (0)871 330954 and….. 105, Landguard Rd., Southsea, Hants., PO4 9DR, U.K. Mobile: 07970 959793 or 00353 871 330954 --------------------- E mail: spiderpromos@aol.com Barking Spider Website: www.barkingspider.abelgratis.com John Roberts’ Webspace: http://www.myspace.com/spiderpromos http://www.myspace.com/spiderpromos Southsea Folk & Roots Festival Website: www.southseafolkfestival.co.uk www.southseafolkfestival.co.uk Davey Graham only recorded sporadically after the 1960s, although he occasionally performed with the renowned acoustic guitar wizards Stefan Grossman & Duck Baker. Check out youtube to see this amazing guy in action. We'll never see his likes again. I'm just off to play my treasured vinyl version of "Folk Blues & Beyond", recorded in 1964, but still sounding as fresh as it did 45 years ago,... John Roberts BARKING SPIDER PROMOTIONS (U.K. & Eire) (incorporating THE BULLFROG BLUES CLUB Collective) Cluain Beag, Allykeolaun, Kylebrack, nr. Loughrea, Co. Galway, Eire Tel. 00353 (0)909 749813 Mobile: 00353 (0)871 330954 and….. 105, Landguard Rd., Southsea, Hants., PO4 9DR, U.K. Mobile: 07970 959793 or 00353 871 330954 --------------------- =0 AE mail: spiderpromos@aol.com Barking Spider Website: www.barkingspider.abelgratis.com John Roberts’ Webspace: http://www.myspace.com/spiderpromos BARKING SPIDER PROMOTIONS (U.K. & Eire) (incorporating THE BULLFROG BLUES CLUB Collective) Cluain Beag, Allykeolaun, Kylebrack, nr. Loughrea, Co. Galway, Eire Tel. 00353 (0)909 749813 Mobile: 00353 (0)871 330954 and….. 105, Landguard Rd., Southsea, Hants., PO4 9DR, U.K. Mobile: 07970 959793 or 00353 871 330954 --------------------- E mail: spiderpromos@aol.com Barking Spider Website: www.barkingspider.abelgratis.com John Roberts’ Webspace: http://www.myspace.com/spiderpromos http://www.myspace.com/spiderpromos Southsea Folk & Roots Festival Website: www.southseafolkfestival.co.uk www.southseafolkfestival.co.uk