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Steve Tilston with Special Guest Shelagh McDonald

Venue: Bothy Folk Song Club
Town: Southport
Date: 5th January 2013
Website: http://www.stevetilston.com

Even by the Bothy Folk Song Club's exemplary standards, this was a very special evening.In front of a capacity crowd, not only did we have the scheduled performance by one of the finest singer songwriters and guitarists that the British folk scene has produced, namely, Steve Tilston but we also had an appearance by a surprise mystery guest, the legendary "lost" Scottish folk singer, Shelagh McDonald.

As is, by now, well-known, Shelagh made two stunning, critically acclaimed, albums for B&C Records in 1970 and 1971, which featured members of Fairport Convention, Fotheringay, Plainsong and Mighty Baby as well as many other notable players including Keith Tippett, Tristan Fry, Danny Thompson and Gordon Huntley. Shortly after the release of her magnificent second album "Stargazer"in 1971, Shelagh vanished from public life, only to re-appear briefly in 2005, following the release of a compilation album "Let No Man Steal Your Thyme". Shelagh was then not heard of again until 2012 when she gave an interview to fRoots Magazine. Shelagh is now resuming her musical career and is hoping to record new material. Tonight she performed two songs. The first was a poem set to a complex guitar arrangement called "Garden of Delights" and the second was the traditional Scottish folk song "Riggs of Rye". I have to say that to hear Shelagh singing again after more than 40 years brought a shiver to my spine and lump to my throat. Her voice has lost not of its purity and it was a pleasure and a privilege to witness her return to live performance, especially as it was so unexpected. What is more, she is a charming and engaging person to talk to. Welcome back, Shelagh.

Even before Shelagh took to the "stage", we had a special treat in that Bothy resident singer and songwriter Kevin Littlewood gave a rendition of his superb song "On Morecambe Bay" accompanied by Chris and Siobahn Nelson. This song of Kevin's was, of course, recorded by Christy Moore and was nominated for Best Original Song at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2012 [ the award was actually won jointly by Bella Hardy and tonight's guest Steve Tilston for his song "The Reckoning",which he performed later this evening ]. As Steve himself commented after hearing Kevin's version of "On Morecambe Bay", this is an important song.

And so to tonight's guest, the incomparable Mr.Steve Tilston.

It is hard to believe that Steve released his first album in 1971. Forty years later, in 2011, he released what must be one of the finest albums of his illustrious career, "The Reckoning "on his own Hubris Record label. Tonight's performance by Steve contained many of the superb songs from that album.

Steve began with " Rocky Road", which was covered by Fairport Convention but which Steve has "nicked back " from them. This was followed by a delicious blues from "The Reckoning" called " Weeping Willow Replanted", which is based on a song Steve learned from Whizz Jones and which included two spectacular solos from Steve, who is a true guitar virtuoso.

One of my favourite songs on "The Reckoning" is the Spanish Civil War tale, "Rio de la Miel". Steve explained how he got the idea for the song when on holiday in Spain. He was told a story about a Fascist Captain and his Nemesis, El Duende, and turned it into a glorious flamenco-styled folk song.

Steve's prowess as a guitarist was amply demonstrated on the instrumental "Davey Lamp/Fruit Fly", also from "The Reckoning", which featured some really fleet-fingered fretwork.

In October 2011, Steve made a high-profile television appearance on "Later With Jools Holland", when he performed the excellent "Oil and Water" [from "The Reckoning"]and his performance of that song tonight was very warmly received by the audience, who in true Bothy tradition joined in on the chorus. This was followed by the aforementioned, award-winning title track to "The Reckoning", which, as you would expect, is a superbly written song about the questionable legacy we are leaving our grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Another favourite track on "The Reckoning "is "Sovereign of Tides", which has, as Steve put it, has an "East of Suez" flavour. His live performance of it tonight was nothing short of amazing, with Steve bending the strings of his guitar so that it sounded like a sitar!

Away from "The Reckoning ", Steve revisited his back catalogue with songs such as "The Road When I was Young", "Some Times in This Life are Beautiful" and "The Face of a Friend", not forgetting his [perhaps] best known song "The Slip Jigs and Reels", as famously covered by Fairport.

As a writer for this magazine, I am lucky enough to be able to go to a good number of highly enjoyable shows. However, tonight was something special, thanks to Steve Tilston and Shelagh McDonald.

Peter Cowley
pics Neil King(not taken at gig)