Well, it's just round the corner.
Strawbs leader and songwriter Dave Cousins has chosen The Tower for his penultimate live show before bowing out in front of 25,000 people at Fairport Convention’s Cropredy Festival. Why? Because Folkestone is where Dave Cousins likes to spend his time!
Strawbs are mentioned by the influential All Music Guide in the same breath as bands like Yes, King Crimson, and the Moody Blues. The Guide describes Dave Cousins as: “the most talented Dylan influenced songwriter to come out of England”.
Strawbs celebrated their 50th Anniversary in 2019 with the United Nations Singers and a 32 piece orchestra conducted by legendary producer Tony Visconti. Visconti said: “Strawbs had two amazing keyboard players in Rick Wakeman and Blue Weaver.”
It is well known that Rick Wakeman left Strawbs to join Yes. But wait! Blue Weaver left Strawbs to join the Bee Gees! Blue played on six consecutive No 1 singles including Night Fever, Jive Talking and How Deep Is Your Love, and Saturday Night Fever!
Blue Weaver will be back behind the keyboards with Strawbs for this show! Along with John Ford, writer of Part Of The Union, guitarist Brian Willoughby and Cathryn Craig.
Strawbs started life as the Strawberry Hill Boys playing bluegrass, before moving into the mainstream by making the first Strawbs album, All Our Own Work, with Sandy Denny in 1967, a year before she recorded her first album with Fairport Convention. The album was heard by A&M Records in Hollywood who signed Strawbs as their first British band.
Strawbs fans treasure albums Antiques & Curios, Grave New World, Deep Cuts, Ghosts, Bursting At The Seams, and Hero And Heroine, listed by Rolling Stone magazine as “one of the 50 greatest prog rock albums of all time”.
You will hear classic Strawbs songs such as Lay Down, Part Of The Union, Witchwood, Benedictus, and The Hangman And The Papist, first played on Top Of The Pops!
The Magic Of It All, the new Strawbs studio album, was recorded in Cape Town last year.
Dave Cousins, Blue Weaver, and John Ford from 1970s Strawbs joined with the some of the finest musicians in South Africa to make a timeless classic. It’s Going To Be Magic!
💬 I get up when I want, except when there's an extreme weather warning
💬 Wednesday was a beautiful day
💬 Train strike at the end of the month
I went to this one, more from this year in my gigography for 2023. Part of every gig I was at from 1987 to 2024. A natural step from my Best Gigs Ever blog post. Yeah I know it's a bit nerdy, let's let that go though, I'm enjoying reminiscing about these things.