Ailsa Archive
The Ailsa Tavern

Nick Snodgrass Passes Away
1953 - 2012
Nick Snodgrass, who came to quite a few of my Open Mic nights over the last few years, passed away recently, at the age of just 59! He told me he was suffering from a lung disease but still wanted to sing even though he was finding it much harder!

I first met NIck when he came to my original Open Mic Night at O' Brien's in Brentford, where he sang with his wife, Brita (who he also wrote songs about). I have put all the photos of Nick, from his visits to my Open Mic nights, since then in a gallery below. We saw Nick last when he came and played at the Ailsa in August this year, with Brita watching from the audience.

Nick was a really decent chap and seemed to be making good progress with his guitar playing and performing, even though he always appeared to be putting himself through immense difficulty as his body would tremble whilst facing his audience, making it hard to control his movements; an inspiration to all of us who perform in public! Nick you will be sadly missed!

Nick's last performance at the Ailsa Open Mic, August 2012

September 25th - Ailsa Tavern

The Performers who came:-

1. Martin Dyson

2. Richard Stephenson

3. Alex Oliver & Pete Taylor - 2 members of "As the Crow Flies" (see them at "All Hallows Church" on October 29th)

4. Bill Tickell

5. Surya Cooper

6. Jon Bental

7. Phil Garvey

8. Steve Hutchinson

9. Mark Sharp

10. Mike Lawley

11. Dave Stenhouse

12. Dave Irons

13. Rob Percy

14. Samuel Wright

15. Cookie

16. Alan Dublon, also joined by Romek on violin

It was a really super night, with a host of great performances and a chance to welcom new comers like "As the Crow Flies" with Alex Oliver and Pete Taylor and Dave Stenhouse! Here are some photos from the night by Clive Turner:-

August 28th - Ailsa Tavern (the next A&E Open Mic - hosted by Elaine)

The Performers who came:-

1. John Harvey

2. Gregory Moran

3. Martin Dyson

4. Alan Dublon

5. Andrew Deevey

6. Richard Stephenson

7. Mark Sharp

8. Piers and Bill

9. Steve Hutchinson

10. Peter London

11. Cookie

12. Dave Irons

13. Rupert Webster

14. Simon O'Grady

It was a bumper night with extremely memorable performances and a host of very, very powerful, original songs! I still can't get Martin Dyson's "Delta Lady" out of my head! Alan Dublon must get on and finish his albums because he has written some really beautiful songs! Well done everyone and sorry I didn't do as much backing vocals for you all, with my strained voice! I really wanted to too! Steve Hutchinson made up for it though - didn't he! Lovely!

August 30th - Ailsa Tavern

The Performers who came:-

1. Martin Dyson

2. Dudley Tyrrell

3. Steve Hutchinson

4. Lilith By My Side

5. Judith Arkell

6. "Cheese On Toast" - Lisa and Ed

7. Eveningland

8. Champagne Charlie

9. Bill

10. Alan Dublon

It was another lovely night with more, great new faces and favourite regular performers. Judith twisted my arm to attempt some lead guitar playing on a mash up of "California Dreams" and "All Along the Watchtower", which was interesting! Alan finished us off with a bang playing "Drift Away" ("Give me the beat boys and free my soul, I wanna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away"), which was super!

July 26th - Ailsa Tavern

The Performers who came:-

1. Surya Cooper

2. Rory

3. Kate and Dave

4. Gregory Moran

5. Dr Slideshow

6. Martin Dyson

7. Jon Bental

8. Harmonica Lewinsky

9. Judith Arkell

10. Mark Sharp

11. Terry Beaver

12. Chris Hodgeson

This was a super night with plenty of jamming and some great new faces. I enjoyed Salsa dancing with Mark Sharp along to Dr Slideshow, who just keep getting better and better! The evening was brought to an exciting close with the excellent Kate and Dave. It was just a shame I had a stinking cold!!

July 27th

The Performers who came:-

1. Tom Coombe

2. Alan Dublon

3. Martin Dyson

4. Jon Bentall

5. Mandolin Jack

6. Champagne Charlie

7. Steve Hutchinson

8. Mark Sharp

9. Judith Arkell

10. Surya Cooper

11. Dave Irons

12. James Findlay

13. Anna - performance poet

It was another quite busy night and a bit tricky trying to get everyone a spot by the end of the night. We celebrated Steve Hutchinson's and my brother's birthdays with a tasty chocolate cake. It was another fun night with plenty of jamming amongst the performers!

June 29th

The Performers who came:-

1. Alan Dublon

2. Steve Hutchinson

3. Louise Ajegbo

4. Peter London

5. Martin Dyson

6. Mark Sharp

7. James Findlay

8. Billie

It was a less busy night (lots going on during the day locally - plus world cup matches on - I suspect)! We had lots of fun though and a few extra people came along to watch too!
Here are the photos...

May 25th

The Performers who came:-

1. Jon Bental

2. Steve Hutchinson

3. Tracy Picardi

4. Elliot Mason (check out his web site - he is REALLY funny)!

5. Martin Dyson

6. Surya Cooper

7. Nessles

8. Peter London

9. Judith Arkell

10. Dave Irons

11. Rupert Webster

It was a really good night again and we celebrated Judith's birthday with a card for her signed by all her Open Mic friends, she had an extra song and she brought cakes too! We had a particularly memorable spot from Elliot Mason, whose funny songs were SO good that it really made your sides ache! We don't have photos to share with you again this month but you can see photos from previous Open Mics below.

April 27th

The Performers who came:-

1. Dan Heavey and Emily "The Raven Chords"

2. Judith Arkell

3. Bill and Piers

4. Alan Dublon

5. Loren Gerlach

6. Steve Hutchinson

7. Mark Sharp

8. Martin Dyson

9. Peter London

10. Dave Irons

11. Kanma

It was a lovely night again with some wonderful performances, lots of jamming together and a fun end jam, with most of the audience crammed on stage, which was lead by Dave Irons. We don't have photos to share this month but you can see photos from previous Open Mics below.

March 30th

The Performers:-

1. Paul Staples

2. Lilith By My Side

3. Bill (and Piers)

4. June (and Piers)

5. Iain Fenwick + Paul

6. Shivani

7. Champagne Charlie

8. Judith Arkell

9. Peter London

10. James Findlay

11. Mike Fjortoft

12. John Lilley

13. Glenn Stapleton

Here are individual photos taken by RP-photography solutions:-

                                                                        The March End jam - lead by Champagne Charlie (pic by Clive Turner)

February 23rd

The Performers who came:-

1. Mad Stick Dog

2. Alan Dublon

3. Pete Crouch and John

4. Martin Dyson

5. Martin McDonnell

6. Peter London

7. James Findlay

8. June

9. Danny Dee

10. Dave Irons

11. Claire and Alan Castro

12. Billie (bar maid)

January 26th

The Performers who came:-

1. June and Piers

2. Bill and Piers

3. Mimi

4. Jon Bentall

5. Martin Dyson

6. Judith Arkell

7. Peter London

8. Frazer

9. Don and Kat

10. James Findlay

11. John Lilley

12. Billy, Jo and Jeff

13. Mark Sharp

December 29th

The Performers who came:-

1. Fiesal Bacchus

2. Lilith by my Side (Tracy and Sam)

3. Joe Garvey

4. Alan Dublon

5. Martin Dyson

6. Steve Hutchinson

7. Judith Arkell

8. Lisa

9. Frazer

10. Nick (Cookie)

11. Olivia

12. James Findlay

13. Scott

14. PJ

15. Jon Bental

16. Peter London

17. Mandolin Jack

18. Glen Stapleton

19. Steve

20. Will Thompson Ambrose

21. Dave Irons

November 24th
The Performers who came:-
1. Champagne Charlie Esner
2. Alan Dublon
3. Steve Hutchinson
4. Martin Dyson
5. Peter London
6. Cliff
7. Tracy Picardi
8. James Findlay
9. Kanma Chukwu
10. Dave Irons

October 27th
The Performers who came:-
1. Lucie Bloomfield
2. Lily
3. Alan Dublon
4. Alicia Pocock and Craig
5. Piers and Bill
6. Bill Bahatty (comedian)
7. Terry Silver
8. Alex Brenner
9. James Findlay
10. Kanma
11. Dave Irons
12. Martin Dyson

Lucie Bloomfield's Exciting News You can help her get further... Lucie has been short-listed for an original song-writing award. The winner’s song will be entered into the U.K. Top 40. To help Lucie get through to the next round and one step closer to winning, please view her performance following this link before 29thOctober. Lucie's Open Mic UK Performance If you have already viewed it on you-tube, please go to the open mic uk site on either Face Book or Twitter. Lucie's next open mic U.K. performance is at 12.00 noon Sunday 24th November at the Beck Theatre Hayes.

September 29th
The Performers who came:-
1. South Parade
2. The Moriartys
3. Alan Dublon
4. Steve Hutchinson
5. Dave Irons
6. Sue Bigmore
7. Martin Dyson
8. Will Thompson Ambrose
9. James Findlay

August 25th
The Performers who came:-
1. Steve Hutchinson
2. "R&R" - an acoustic duo with Richard Cusden and Ronnie
3. Anita
4. Martin Dyson
5. Judith Arkell
6. Leah Buckman
7. James Findlay
8. Dave Irons
9. Billie Debuitlear

                                                                                               End jam - lead by Dave Irons

July 28th
The Performers (who came along):-
1. Mike Miller
2. Semitone Ghosts
3. Dave Anthony (Waddington)
4. James Morton
5. "Nightshades"
6. Piers and Bill
7. Martin Dyson
8. Steve Hutchinson
9. Alan Dublon
10. John Vassalo
11. James Findlay
12. Scott Dearling
13. Rachael Cooper
14. Judith Arkell
15. Glynne Steele
16. Kiran Rai 
 

Special Guests Dave Anthony (Waddington) and James Morton
As David and James came all the way from Salisbury to play at the Open Mic night on July 28th
I  gave them both a three song spot and David got an encore!


Dave Anthony (Waddington)

Singer / song-writer, David Anthony (Waddington), performs with an extraordinary combination of musicianship and heartfelt lyrics that embed themselves into your soul and refuse to let go. He has been influenced by Fleeteood Mac, Supertramp and many more. From a guitar playing point of view, he loves playing like that of Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac) - exceptional players who create melodoess that stand head and shoulders above your typical guitar solo stuff!

Photos:

June 30th
The Performers (who came along):-
1. Alan Dublon
2. Will Thompson-Ambrose
3. Tony Foster
4. Peter London
5. Michael Green
6. Piers Hogg and friends
7. "Lilith By My Side"
8. James Finlay
9. "Mandolin Jack"
10. Martin Dyson
11. Glenn Stapleton
12. Lucie Hickie

SOME ENDJAMS!




 

May 26th
The Performers (who came)
1. Alan Dublon
2. Will Thompson-Ambrose
3. Tracy Picardy
4. Piers and Bill
5. Steve Hutchinson
6. Dave Irons
7. Frank Dooley
8. Jeremy Szwer
9. Ralph Brookfield
 

April 28th
The Performers (who came):-
1. Steve Hutchinson
2. Judith Arkell
3. Alan Dublon
4. Tommo
5. Surya Cooper
6. Megan and Ruby
7. Tony Foster
8. Dave Irons
9. Peter London
10. Semitone Ghosts
11. Fredie Hendrix
12. Chris Harvey
13. Jeremy Szwer
14. Jon Bental

                                                                                    End jam with Jon Bental
 

March 31st
The Performers (who came):-
1. Jukebox Duo - Nick Bird and his amazing guitarist friend Dale Harris
2. The Moriarty's - Iain Fenwick's group
3. Piers Hogg and Bill
4. Alan Dublon and "The Secret"
5. Joe Carabine
6. Steve Hutchinson
7. Dan and Richard
8. Terry Silver
9. Surya Cooper
10. Peter London
11. Tony Foster
12. Dave Irons
13. Amy Longden Rogers
14. Jon Bental

END JAM - a mega guitarist jam over Dan and Richard playing "Hey Jo" - (Jimmi Hendrix) - it was interesting!!!

Above - I tried to stitch a couple of photos together in photoshop - to get Dale (far right) in the picture.
The bulk of the (sharper) performers is below:-

February 24th
The Performers (who came):-
1. Atit Patel
2. Alan Dublon and Kevin
3. Steve Hutchinson
4. Dave Irons
5. Tony Foster
6. Sonja Byrne
7. Ali
8. Jenny
9. Jon Bentall
10. Peter London
11. Vik
12. The Fridge!

Endjam lead by Dave Irons

and the fridge had the last laugh! ...

January 27th
The Performers (who came):-
1. Charlie's Boys
2. "Nightshades" - Simon Vile and Chris
3. Steve Hutchinson
4. Piers and Bill
5. Atit Patel
6. Iain Fenwick
7. Terry Silver
8. Judith Arkell
9. Surya Cooper
10. Glen Stapleton
11. Peter London
12. Alan Dublon
13. John Vassallo
14. David James
15. "R and M" - Ruby and Megan
16. Dave Irons
 

The Endjam - lead by Dave Irons

December 30th
The Performers (who came):-
1. Steve Hutchinson
2. Alan Dublon
3. Kate Stimson
4. Semitone Ghosts
5. Stephen Clarke 
6. Dave Irons
7 Terry Silver
8 Snowbirds
9 Fredie Hendrix
10 Glen
11 Roger Harrison
12 Tim Gilby and Angela

End jam - main performance by Dave Irons and lead electric guitar from Roger Harrison

November 25th
The Performers:-(who came)
1. Alan Dublon
2. The Moriartys - Iain Fenwick duo
3. Piers and Sarah Hogg
4. Paul Nichols
5. Luciano
6. Jim and (Banjo) Bob
7. Fredie Hendrix
8. Greg
9. Snowbirds (Don and Kate)
10. Bernie Meade
11. Debbie Dane

Debbie Dane - finishing off the evening with a jam band!
 

October 28th
The Performers:-(who  came along)
1. A Patel
2. Piers Hogg and friends
3. Judith Arkell
4. Steve Hutchinson
5. Jon Bental
6. Peter London
7. Frazer
8. Lisa
9. Louise Ajegbo
10. Alan Dublon and Kevin
11. Paul Nichols
12. Roger Harrison

  The October End Jam - "Its All Over Now"


     The October End Jam - "Ticket to Ride"

September 30th - Andy's last night!
The Performers:-(who came)
1. "Starr Witness" - Andrew Abbott
2. A Patel
3. Nightshades
4. Alan Dublon
5. Piers Hogg and Bill
6. Amy Longden Rogers
7. Roger Harrison
8. Semitone Ghosts
9. Surya Cooper
10. Sonja Byrne
11. Judith Arkell
12. Dave Irons
13. Frazer and Lisa
14. Damon Coles

 The September End Jam - "Lovely Day" and "Honky-Tonk Woman"

August 26th
The Performers:-(who came along)
1. Jon Bental and Lee
2. Nick Snodgrass
3. "Problem Cat" - duo with Gary Houlden
4. Lucie Hickey
5. Chris Kozlowski
6. Peter London
7. Dave Irons
8. Fredie Hendrix
9. Surya Cooper 
10. "Mist" - Steve Hutchinson and Mike Cousins
11. "Semitone Ghosts"
12. Roger Harrison
13. Glen
14. Debbie Bell
15. Amy Longden-Rogers

The August End Jam

AND all the end jams - cos of the birthday celebration...







 

June 24th - The Performers:- (who came along)

June 24th was an amazing night - not spoiled by the England V Italy game (the footie was screened outside - good job it didn't rain!). We saw the return of Fredie Hendrix and met his amazing brother Chris who wowed everyone with incredible bongo playing! What talented performers we have in the Twickenham area!

1. Lucie Hickey
2. Piers and friends
3. Roger Harrison
4. Alan Dublon
5. Roger Harrison
6. Surya Cooper
7. Richard Gregory
8. Paul Nichols
9. Fredie Hendrix
10. Chris (percussionist)
11. Transatlantic Sessions - Jon and Lee
12. Emily Matthews
13. Jack Giles duo

Elaine with Surya backing singing	Lucie Hickey
Richard Gregory	Roger Harrison with Elaine accompanying
Emily Matthews	Fredie Hendrix
Surya Cooper	Chris
Alan Dublon with Paul on sax, Elaine and Surya backing singing and Chris on bongos (no wonder he's smiling)!	Paul Nichols
Transatlantic sessions with Surya, Paul and Piers accompanying	Transatlantic sessions - Jon Bental and Lee
Jack Giles	Jack Giles' friend

                                                                                The End Jam - "Mighty Quinn"

May 27th - The Performers (who came along):-
1. Nick Snodgrass
2. "Transatlantic Sessions" - Jon Bental and Lee  
3. Dave Irons 
4. Garry Smith
5. "Semitone Ghosts"
6. Jack Giles
7. Piers Hogg and friends

April 29th - The Performers (who came along):-
1. Alan Dublon and Paul Nichols (also entering the competition)
2. Piers Hogg and friends
3. Fredie Hendrix
4. Tim Burbage
5. Steve Hutchinson and friends (also entering the competition)
6. Hassan and Nimesh
7. Sue Bigmore (also entering the competition)
8. Garry Smith
9. Dave Irons
10. Philip Carley

April was - yet again - an amazing night with surprise new, young and exceptionally talented performer, Fredie Hendrix plus the song-writing competition!

Fredie Hendrix A surprising and exceptional act was eleven year old singer and lead electric guitar player Fredie Hendrix. He sang and played awesome heavy metal style solos (over a backing track) - even treating us to "Purple Haze"

SKYFALL - April, Open Mic Song-writing Competition
This was to write a James Bond Theme song for the new film coming out, called “Skyfall” held at the April 29th Open Mic night. There were some great songs, which you can now experience again on the You Tubes below.

("Skyfall" had to also be the title of the song entries).


 

The Competitors were:-
1. Alan Dublon
2. Piers Hogg with "June and the Westerners"
3. Hutchinson, Lake and Cousins (HLC) 
4. Sue Bigmore
5. Elaine Samuels

There were some great songs, which you'll hopefully be able to see again on You Tube at some point.
The scores were very close but the Winner (getting the pot) was:-

Sue Bigmore
 
See a trailer for the new "Skyfall" Bond Film
http://www.skyfall-movie.com/site/

See the "Skyfall" Competition Performances
1. Sue Bigmore - winner
 
2. Elaine Samuels

3. Alan Dublon

4. Hutchinson, Lake and Cousins (HLC) 
 
5. Piers Hogg with "June and the Westerners"
Sorry - technical issues with this video

The End Jam!
 

March 25th - The Performers:-
1. Tim Burbage
2. Judith Arkell
3. Alan Dublon, Paul Nichols and Kevin
4. Alex Feinstein
5. Sabrina Parker
6. Daniel Mushett
7. Amy Longden-Rogers
8. Kieran Daly
9. Piers and Bill
10. Deborah Daine

The end jam

February 26th

The end jam

January 29th

 Another busy night with - yet again some new, young faces. The standard of performing was very high and it was a very enjoyable one!

The End Jam - lead by Dave Irons


 

December 18th

A few people who we thought were coming didn't make it at this one but there were other people who we didn't know were coming who did, some surprise performers from the bar, some performers who hadn't come to perform but had their arms twisted (gently) and an enjoyable set of Christmas originals from the competition entrants!

 The Christmassy End Jam

Song-writing Competition
held at the December Open Mic
(Christmas / Winter song)

Alan Dublon won the song-writing competition with "Christmas Hell" - another amusing masterpiece!

November 27th
Yet again a great night! We had 13 performers (not including myself) and some new faces - some who had travelled a long way; Cactus Finger came all the way from Reading! Cactus Finger will be supporting my "Kindred Spirit" band at a Reading gig on December 10th. We also had a spot from the fabulous  "Nessles", who will be supporting my "Kindred Spirit" trio (Annie - flute/sax/whistle/vocs, Mike - bass/vocs and myself) at the Fox and Duck, Petersham Rd., Richmond on Friday, December 9th, from 9pm!

The End Jam - NOT "Mustang Sally" but "Hey Jude" and "Brown Eyed Girl"!

October 30th
This was yet another great night! We had 12 performers (not including myself) with some more new (and young) faces with some incredible talent!
I noticed a lot of newly purchased guitars around (with pick-ups)!

                                                              
                                                                                                                                              Still the End Jam!

September 25th
This was a great night! We had 15 performers (not including myself) with some new (and young) faces with incredible talent!


Steve Hutchinson, Surya Cooper, Elaine Samuels and Jon Bental performing "Woodstock"

End jam - good old "Mustang Sally"
 

August 28th
Despite being the August Bank Holiday weekend, we had a healthy turn out at the Open Mic Night and lots of fun, with some new faces and joining in between performers.

 
The "End Jam" with Peter London playing "Ticket to Ride" and plenty of backing harmonies!

July 31st - Opening Night
What a fantastic opening night we had. It was packed and everyone managed to get two numbers each (by keeping the evening going until 10.30pm). Not including myself, here are the performers in the order of their appearance. See some photos from the night below and some You Tubes from the Ailsa Tavern You Tube Page.

1.  Judith Arkell (singer / song-writer / guitarist)
2.  Steve Brewin & Deni Usher (blues guitar duo)
3.  Andrew Prince (Chapman stick spot) - http://www.andrewprince.net
4.  Anthea Neads (singer / song-writer / guitarist) + Andrew Prince (bass) - http://www.neadsandprince.com
5.  Leigh Moth (singer / song-writer / guitarist) and Kay (singer) are the duo, "SoulFeeder"
6.  Jodie O'Farrell (singer / guitarist) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XdVdsLaHns
7.  Steve Hutchinson (singer / song-writer / guitarist / hand drummer with Moody Blues tribute band, "Blue Onyx", and "Polar 4") and Stu on guitar
8.  Piers Hogg (lead guitar player known for his extensive box of effects pedals) and Bill Pearce
9.  Rebecca Payne (singer / song-writer) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMv0_u-3MUM&feature=fvsr
10.  Alan Dublon (singer / song-writer / guitar and mandolin player) - http://soundcloud.com/alan-dublon
11.  Mike Lawley
12.  Roger Harrison (singer / song-writer / guitarist)
13. Dave Irons (singer / guitarist)
14. James Henry (singer / song-writer / guitarist) - www.jameshenry.net
15. Matt Wedgewood