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.
A stunningly unconventional five-piece from London who proudly call themselves 'The world's first Alt-Bluegrass band', the CPs were formed in the 1990s by Kentuckian SID GRIFFIN and Scottish stand up comedian NEIL ROBERT HERD. Starting out electric, as a result of a dare they played a charity concert with acoustic bluegrass versions of their material, and the crowd reaction was such that it was acoustic from then on! Canadian fiddle virtuoso CARLY FREY, noted local attorney & bassist ANDREW STAFFORD and one of Britain's best young banjo players JOHN BREESE complete the line up. With a published author, a comedian and a barrister in their ranks, they are the only band who can sue themselves over copyright and joke about it! Their latest release, 'Durango', was recorded in a Colorado mountain studio 'Basement Tapes' style, a la Bob Dylan and The Band - everyone crowded in one room, few overdubs and lots of laughter. It faithfully represents their hot live act - 21st century bluegrass Clash meets Bill Monroe steeped in essence of Gram Parsons. They don't normally do small shacks like ours so dang well come along!
http://www.sidgriffin.com/the-coal-porters£9 members/£11 non-members
SIMON is quite simply one of the world's premier mandolin players (and composer for it), and he's pretty ace on guitar and fiddle too! HILARY is a wonderful singer, quintessentially English but easily crossing the genres from Celtic to ballads, blues to Berlioz. She's famed too for an unlikely taste in bass instruments (she could turn up with her giant mandobass or slimline semi-acoustic double bass), accompanying Simon on guitar on anything from Vivaldi to bluegrass and even the odd step dance if the wind is in the right direction. Together they put on a show that is uplifting, entertaining and jaw-droppingly good, with an ability to combine a truly diverse array of talents. Sliding easily from a beautifully evocative Irish ballad into a mandolin and guitar version of Handel's 'Arrival of the Queen of Sheba', they'll then have you singing along to one of their own notorious comic songs, or a Jake Thackray classic done absolutely in the style. A real feel good night.
http://www.mandolin.co.uk/duo.html£9 members/£10 non-members
First time at the Ram for this duo of piano accordionist SAM PIRT and percussionist GARY HAMMOND. Sam plays in the band 422, who in 1999 won the BBC Radio 2 'Young Folk' award and have since gone on to great success. He was a member of the first English group to go to the Ethno Folk Camp in 1996 and has developed and a huge interest in music from all around the world which has a major influence on his sound. GARY has a collection of over 400 types of instruments and has worked as a session musician with bands like The Beautiful South (travelling the world with them), and also Nina Simone. He plays many genres of music and all these different styles inform and influence the sound of The Hut People. As he says, "Sam has opened up my aural world to planet Folk, where I feel very much at home". The Hut People was born of a jam session, bringing together their multiplicity of styles into an exciting sound encompassing the myriad forms of 'World Music' that goes down well wherever it is served - and where better than in a hut?
http://www.thehutpeople.co.uk£8 members/£9 non-members
Geordie TOM is one of the leading fiddle players of our time. A virtuoso musician and fantastic singer, his interpretations of traditional and contemporary songs draw admiration all over. In great demand as a performer, session musician and teacher, he has created his own unique, instantly recognizable sound. His live performances are a rollercoaster of musical delights - rhythmic dance tunes, beautiful slow airs, great songs and choruses - all presented with his inimitable sense of humour and style. Tom is proud of his birthright and nowhere is this better expressed than in Mark Knopfler's song Why Aye Man. His latest CD title 'Tommy on Song' says it all! DAVID's guitar playing is unique and unrivalled, both flat-picking and fingerstyle. Blurring the boundaries between acoustic and electric, he coaxes out sounds that takes in jazz, country and R n' R and was a BBC R2 Young Folk finalist in 2003. Together they make music so good you'll be bouncing by the end!
http://www.tommcconville.co.uk £9 members/£10 non-members
LIZ is an established Ram favourite who writes and performs songs 'outside the box' with a warm-hearted sincerity, endearing quirkiness and a rare ability to connect with her audience on the same wavelength. She dissects her subject matter (herself included) in the nicest possible way, gently reforming it into gorgeous melodic songs that linger long after. Her last CD', 'Beachcomber', was another gem. It features the superb talents of double bass player IAN NEWMAN who adds thoughtful, sensitive, melodic lines with grace and economy (and who somehow delivers himself AND his string bass to gigs in a Smartcar) and WARWICK JONES, a guitarist of great technique and feel and a fine songwriter in his own right. Songs in the key of life!
http://www.lizsimcock.com£8 members/£9 non-members