For our 30th birthday on 21st October 2013 we updated our 'Compleat History of the Ram Club' booklet (PDF format, 10Mb). Click to view or download - it's a 'must read', with a list of all the guests we have ever had plus some stories and pictures!
Below is a list of the past guests from September 2006.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Over Christmas we shall be moving to the Old Cranleighan Club, Portsmouth Road, Thames Ditton KT7 0HB. See the about us page for more details.
It needed a person of gentle charm and diplomacy to kick off at the new venue; someone not given to tantrums and tiaras, artistic strops, unreasonable demands, entourages, groupies and 'substances'. Someone of an affable disposition, with the quiet calm to help steer us through the trials and tribulations of first night nerves. Someone affordable (as there are bills to pay) and with the necessary talent to captivate an audience (hopefully there'll be one), with a repertoire that is Ritalin to the restless souls of the newly-rehomed, songs that know no borders but are chosen with one unifying criterion - taste! Oh yes, and with a guitar style that is a galloping gourmet of tantric tunings and delectable if well-used notes. Yes, it had to be our very own Bob...
http://www.bobwood.co.uk/£7 members/£8 non-members
In the mid-70s, the BULLYs cut a swathe from their South East base throughout Europe with their powerful brand of Folk Rock with fiddle & guitar to the fore. After a great deal of success they finally called it a day in 1983 (at which point the band featured Maartin Allcock) and went their separate ways - until, that is, fate or serendipity brought them together again via a chance meeting in 2003 at Faversham Folk Club that ended with a spirited jam session that rekindled all the old enthusiasm and vibes. And now original members IAN CUTLER (violin), COLIN REECE (vocal, guitar), FERGUS FEELY (vocal, mandocello) & JIM YARDLEY (vocal, mandolin, whistles) are doing it all over again! 'Live' the BWB are simply awesome.
http://www.bullyweeband.com/£10 members/£12 non-members
MICK is a very fine singer who writes just about the most articulate, clever, funny, sad, different songs you're likely to hear (like the hilarious and much-covered 'Widow on the Moor'), many in a 'traditional' style with a modern edge. Mick appears tonight for the first time with his new collaborator, the amazing maestro of the guitar and all things stringed PAUL DOWNES. Best known for his work with PHIL BEER (here next month) & THE ARIZONA SMOKE REVIEW, he has played 100s of sessions and can turn his fingers effortlessly to any style. Though never one to bask in the limelight he is a superb musician who gave us a great solo gig in '07. Tonight they'll feature songs from their new CD 'Grand Conversation' ,which features a mix of trad songs and new ones from Mick. With their great singing, playing, dry humour and gift for engaging their audience, these two embody the true essence of the Folk scene.
http://www.wildgoose.co.uk/displayArtist.asp?ARTIST_ID=134£9 members/£10 non-members
STU HANNA and DEBBIE PALMER are rapidly-rising young stars on the festival, club & New Acoustic scene. In 2004 they combined their punk and classical backgrounds to create a truly original sound, writing great songs from the hauntingly-poignant to the brashly up-tempo, and reworking traditional songs - all with beautiful harmonies and exquisite guitar, mandola and whistle. Their new CD 'Take Yourself a Wife' (which Stu has indeed done recently, making an honest woman of Debbie) has received exceptional reviews across the board, and they are up for 'Duo of the Year' at the 2009 BBC Folk Awards. Catch them while you can!
http://www.megsonmusic.co.uk/£9 members/£10 non-members