Caedmon

Ken went to Edinburgh University in 1973 just before his 18th birthday. He met Angela Naylor on the first day of the Veterinary course he was on who became lead singer with Caedmon alongside 2nd year vet student Andy Love. The eventual line up was a five piece: Ken (‘cello and keyboards), Angela (lead vocals), Simon Jaquet (mandolin, bongoes and guitar), Sam Wilson (bass guitar) and Jim Bisset (lead guitar). They toured youth clubs, had a pub residency for a while and put on late night concerts in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Their self penned music was folk rock, dictated by their instrumentation and inclination. Their lyrics were obscurely Christian, expressing their shared faith.

After nearly five years together they held a farewell concert in 1978 which was sold out. They had recorded an eponymous album and had 500 vinyl copies duplicated which were all sold at the concert. After a re-release on CD the original 500 albums became collectable and started to exchange hands for strangely large sums. The album was pirated in Asia. Eventually it was re-released by Guersson with the band’s permission. The term Acid Folk is used to describe their music.

The band met in 2008 and wrote and recorded a new CD album ‘A Chicken to Hug’ with a couple of reunion concerts. Always in the shadow of the 1st album it is only recently started to gain interest on Spotify and other digital platforms. In 2020 they released RARE on vinyl uniting recordings from the 1970’s with seven brand new tracks, and involving Simon’s daughter Sally Jaquet and wife Carolyn in lead vocal duties. They released 4 new singles in 2022.

Pineapple Agogo

Ken helped run the Linden Folk Club with Rod Clements of Lindisfarne and Geoff Heslpo of Black Crow Records. The venue was near Ken’s tea room in Rothbury, started in the early ’80s where he met many folk notables: e.g. Bert Jansch and Ralph McTell, but he only started to get back to playing music again was on becoming a primary school teacher. It turned out that his ability to play the piano and lead music was to be important again, in this particular newly chosen career. On a ‘drama in the classroom course’ he met Ozzie and Elaine from Dodgy Clutch theatre company who had, in turn, been heavily influenced by the work of Welfare State International. Soon after ‘The Pineapples’ (to become Pineapple Agogo) was formed. A streetband with horns/sax/percussion line-up (Ken on trombone) formed to animate celebrations in communities. The band could metamorphose into a ceilidh band with fiddle, accordion, drum kit, bass guitar (Ken), and a horn section. They played at numerous Fish Quay Festivals in the late ’80s and the National Streetband Festival in 1990, the event organised by Ken with the Gateshead Arts and Libraries outreach team. They also were a regular band for weddings, notably at Wilton Castle in Teeside. They wound down in the early ’90s as a number of the members moved on to other places. HEAR Pineapple Agogo playing Ken’s Fishquay Festival Theme

Rich Pickin’s

Richard Scott, vocalist with Grand Union Orchestra, led the Newcastle based band Rich Pickin’s with Ken on bass guitar and upright bass and Graham Raine (fiddle, guitar), Eddie Nickson (guitar) and Gev Pringle (kit). This was in the early 2000’s playing cover tunes (Tom Waites, Van Morrison, Dave Lindley). They performed in the North East and recorded a session for Radio Newcastle.

Jazz Samba

Graham Raine (guitar) and Bridget Enever (tenor sax) played Bossa Nova as a duo. Ken joined them on double bass in the ’90s. They toured Pizza Express restaurants in Scotland and played private functions. HEAR WAVE by JAZZ SAMBA – BBC Radio Newcastle. They toured Pizza Express restaurants in 1998.

Side Cafe Orkestar

In 2004 Ellie Hare (and son Mattie Hare) of Amber Films were part of The Sage Gateshead World Community Carnival Band run by Ken. On a Wednesday night, after rehearsals, some band members would go to the Side Cafe allied with Amber Film’s Side Cinema. There was an informal session with folk musicians. And from this grew a performance band playing Klezmer, Balkan and Gypsy Jazz. Playing a monthly session at The Ship in Byker, they’ve played in Edinburgh, Seaham, Easington, France and local festivals. https://soundcloud.com/edwardsounds/a-nakht-in-gan-eydn-a-night-in-the-garden-of-eden?si=cda08a500a4542ab9e2b4bd48b0f9972&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Black Cab

For a decade Black Cab explored the world of cabaret, Kurt Weill, Cole Porter, Blossom Dearie, Tom Lehrer and much more. Led by Walter (Chris McConway) and Jenny (Claire Webster). Ken started on upright bass but others stepped in during his sabbatical round the world trip in 2008/9.

Freres Frangipane

From 2000 onwards, annual ‘Repas de la Rue Basse’ in Villejesus, France, had informed Ken and housemate Chris MacConway, that the local Charentais audience was more interested in Chanson Francaise than Northumbrian folk song. They started to build a repertoire of e.g. Boby Lapointe, Charles Trenet, Georges Brassens, and Edith Piaf songs to engage the carousers at the annual repas of fifty or more resident diners. They played in the local ‘la Cagouille’ bar and back in Newcastle at Alliance Francaise events. In times of the Covid pandemic they produced videos whilst Jim Frangipane was trapped in a French lockdown and Jules Frangipane was in UK. A consequent appearance in the left leaning ‘La Charente Libre’ newspaper is one of a few peaks in their career. They continue a series of performances at Ernest and Cobalt with a concert in May 2024.

Little Big Blue

During Covid lockdown Ken discovered that Stu and Fi Finden of Whapweasel lived only a 5 minute walk across the Ouseburn valley from his house. They started to rehearse outdoors in back gardens and on grassy banks with Ken adding cello to their established duo repertoire. They sang in public as regulations slackened notably at the Hexham Bandstand in and Cumberland arms in 2022. Latterly they’ve been creating a ceilidh band with Ken on accordion and introducing Evie Clegg to the line up, on flute. Hear Little Big Blue

Storytellers Streetband

In lockdown, the same musical partnership as Little Big Blue got together as a streetband trio, playing horns, to accompany storyteller Chris Bostock’s ‘Stories 2m Apart’ after school on Fridays. Children from Jesmond Vale ‘Minories’ gathered on The Green and listened to stories and music. When Jesmond Food Market restarted in late 2021 they expanded the group with musician friends playing on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month. In 2022 they played a number of festivals and Ken wrote and produced a Mummers play for winter for the band. They adopted a ceilidh format with theatre between social dances playing self penned tunes with a streetband line-up. They continue to grow and develop their festival circuit. Website

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