Peninsular West, April 1974

 It has been some time since I last updated this blog. Not a lot has happened in the interim, but recently I stumbled upon an article about the label that I thought was worth sharing here. Rupert White, whose excellent "Folk In Cornwall" book I have enthused about in entries passim, recently uploaded some photos to facebook which included this piece about Sentinel, taken from a magazine called Peninsular West, which appears to be dated April 8th 1974. It briefly covers the history of the label, but most interestingly (for me, at least) is that there are a couple of photos of the original Newlyn studio, including one of Job in the control room, and another of Brenda Wootton & Robert Bartlett recording the 'No Song To Sing' LP in the live room. There's also a panel advert for the studio.

The closing paragraph of the article is particularly apt:
"As a memoir of the summer holidays they have something to offer visitors of today, but as historical documents they will mean that much more to those listening a hundred years from now." Well, here we are nearly 50 years later. I hope you're still listening.

Sadly the journalist isn't credited in the original article, but many thanks to Rupert White for allowing me to reproduce it here.

More Sentinel airplay

I was fairly staggered to hear a couple of titles from Children Singing along with "The Story of My Country" from Starry Gazey Pie played on 6Music over the weekend. This was all thanks to Gwenno Saunders, for whom Brenda Wootton & Richard Gendall were influences from a very young age, and whose new long-player Le Kov is sung in Cornish throughout. Hopefully I'll be writing in greater detail about the album at a later date, but meanwhile, here's a link to the Freak Zone playlist which Saunders compiled.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09wwstj
Great to hear Laurie Anderson & Delia Derbyshire in there too.

Gwenno also appeared on Cerys Matthews' 6Music show on St Piran's day, and played Brenda's "An Tour Dantelezet".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09tt815

Shazam

A few weeks back, the great Mike Innes posted a link on my facebook page to a youtube clip featuring a couple of recordings by a Penzance-based band from the early 1980s called Shazam. The songs were entitled “Let’s Get Together” & “Memories”, and featured icy cold-wave futurist synths -a Roland Promars, an Octave Kitten & a Roland TR 606, if you’re counting- and mannered post-punk/pre-goth vocals. The two songs were issued on a 45 in 1983 on the band’s own ADSR label (great name!), and - while clearly DIY recordings – were accomplished enough to make me wonder why I’d not heard them at the time; I was a huge fan of Kraftwerk, OMD & The Human League back then, and presumably lived within three miles of the band. Accomplished enough also to get me digging, and soon enough I found a copy of the single. More importantly, I found band vocalist Frankie Abbott, who filled me in a little on Shazam.

The band consisted of Abbott on vocals, Steve Millard & John Mellor (both on synths), and were active from 1981-83, playing shows on the local circuit, mostly at Demezla’s & Kenegie Manor. It seems that they were pretty much working in isolation; there were a few post-punk bands still working in the area, but no other groups had made the leap to electronic music. The 45 was recorded in 1981 at John Knight’s studio near St Keverne; sadly the band couldn’t raise sufficient funds to press & distribute it until 1983, by which time their moment might have passed. 500 copies were pressed, of which 200 copies were sent to radio stations & record labels with the aim of attracting a major deal. Sadly it seems there was little response from either radio or potential labels, and, disappointed by the lack of reaction, the band split towards the end of 1983. What goes around comes around, and much to Frankie’s surprise, in 2016 he was approached by a German record label called Mannequin, who specialise in re-releases of minimal synth obscurities, and who subsequently reissued the single on 12”.

After the band split, Frankie continued working within the music biz, and is still an active singer-songwriter in west Cornwall. Many thanks to him, and to Mike Innes for making me aware of the single.

Frankie can be found at www.frankieabbott.com.
Here’s the Shazam 45 www.youtube.com/watch?v=awcRkzVFpMQ

Discography & collection

I've just returned from a trip to Cornwall, where, amongst other things, I picked up a few more Sentinel releases. I've updated the discography accordingly.
Also, here is my collection so far. I'm still missing a few releases (detailed below), and there are still some catalogue numbers lacking any details at all. If anyone out there has any items for sale or further info on the holes in the numbering system, don't hesitate to contact me.
Thanks!

SENS 1015:??
SENS 1018: Marian Cresswell - Marian (Easy Listening Piano)
SENS 1019: Climax Choir – Born In Song 2
SENS 1039: Holman Climax Choir – Collected Hymns and Sacred Songs
SENS 1050: Camborne Town Band – Camborne in Concert
SENS 1057: St Austell Youth Band

Plus most 45s/EPs.
Also any obscure Cornwall-related pop/folk/rock releases.

Sentinel airplay!

Tuning in to Pete Paphides’ Soho Radio show earlier this week, I was surprised & overjoyed to hear him play Christine Quayle’s “The Seagulls Scream” from “Sounds Like West Cornwall”. He also quotes the blog entry regarding the album from this site. Makes it all worthwhile, really.
Here’s a link to the show. Christine appears around 39 minutes in, though the whole show is a great listen.

https://www.mixcloud.com/sohoradio/pete-paphides-15032016/

Richard Prest informs me that the recording was also included on Cherry Red's recent anthology of British Underground Folk, "Dust on the Nettles", amongst some very illustrious company

http://shop.cherryred.co.uk/grapefruit-exd.asp?id=5079

From Paddington To Penzance

Julian Henry has been releasing records as The Hit Parade since the early 80s, starting his pop career with possibly the greatest run of 45s in all of independent music (collected here). His latest LP on JSH Records, "Cornish Pop Songs", is a tribute to Penwith; its history, its people and its attitude. It's a terrific album, and one which has recently received positive coverage from -among others- The Cornishman & The Western Morning News. But what's the appeal? Why Cornwall?

Here's why: 

What drew you to Cornwall & its culture? 

I like exploring Britain. I first visited Penwith after reading about it in books. I like the fact that it’s a remote spot with its own identity, and all the flashes I’d seen of Cornwall from afar – Virginia Woolf, Betjeman, Du Maurier – gave me a sense that there was something hidden behind the holiday homes and sandy beaches. When I was young I remember my parents talking about Cornwall as if it was distant land where people ate ice cream all day without a care in the world. It was paradise at the far end of the railway line, and Cornwall still represents hope and sunshine to me today.

 Are you a regular visitor?  

I would say infrequent. I’m an outsider looking in. I know West Penwith well enough to feel comfortable every time I’m there.

Some of the songs have very specific reference points which only locals will "get" (the Garage in Drift, Swordfish pub, the Stevensons etc). Is there a significance of these people/places personal to you, or are they just "vehicles for the idea"?

 

My songs are shaped by what I see in front of me. When I stood outside the old garage in the village of Drift I was thinking about migration, how people had moved from this remote spot over many centuries towards Bristol, Exeter and London to search of fulfilment and gain. The cars that pass the garage today back and forth from Land End still indicate the desire for self-improvement. Everyone wants to move somewhere where the prospects will be better. They want a view. But why not return to the Garage where the dead cars lie rusting in the rain? There’s plenty to do, the people are friendly and the pubs are great. I’m fascinated by the A30 and the stories that this road tells. 

 

Can you make a pasty?

 

No, I’m useless in the kitchen. 

 

Aw, shame. Cornwall has quite a vibrant cultural scene, so did you consider recording the album in Cornwall? using local musicians?

 

It’s a jolly idea. There certainly a lot going on in Cornwall. But I wrote this in my gloomy flat in Paddington and recorded it in south London with Ian Catt. I can’t pretend to be local. I’m an outsider looking in. A friendly face at the window.
 

Has there been much interest from the locals? Any dates planned in the area?

 

Given that most of our records have been greeted by a deafening silence and the occasional cry of ‘you’re bloody rubbish!’, I would say that the early signs are promising. No one has yet called it rubbish.

 

Do you prefer Jelbert's Ice Cream to Roskilly, or vice versa?

 

I’m not much of a foodie. But I do like that Jelbert’s place in Newlyn.

 

Me too. One song on the album, "Ghost of the Fishing Fleet", seems to be quite pessimistic about Cornwall's future. What's the solution?

 

Cornwall should be a National Park with outsiders charged a toll when they cross the Tamar. The fishing industry, those heroic men in boats, the coppermen, the women of Newlyn, as well as the artists, writers and creative community, should all be celebrated. Tourists like me should be frisked at the border and tested on their knowledge of the history of Cornwall. This is about identity. Cornishmen and women must be full of hope for the future.

 

Where is your favourite place in Cornwall & why?

 

There’s an obscure spot up on the cliffs near Lamorna Cove we call the B Rock. It’s a hidden rocky outcrop near the coastal path that was obviously used by the military or something years ago. It’s buried in the gorse but a letter B has been carved into the granite so I go up there with my children for picnics on sunny days ...you can appreciate Cornwall’s history from up there, looking out to the sea. The old granite quarries where they dug out stone to ship up to London, the rocks down below where Laura Knight painted. Tater Du lighthouse is just along the way and it’s great to watch the fishing boats chugging round to Newlyn. It’s a wonderful view.

 

 

Thanks Julian. Here's the wonderful "Zennor Mermaid" from the LP, which you can purchase here.

 

 

 

 

Twin Redux

Awhile back I wrote about the Twintones album issued by Sentinel. This attracted the attention of fellow Cornish music aficionado David Waller, who is putting together a potentially fascinating live show about the Cornish music scene, and who has recently managed to track down the Twintones. There's dedication. Here's his report, in full.


From Shirley Temple to the Jackson 5, and the millions of youngsters currently belting out hits in their bedrooms on YouTube, the idea of children recording music is hardly unusual. But it was for Cornish kids in the 70s, especially when it meant having their own LP. The Twintones' 11 Plus 2 album, released in 1975, was recorded by a pair of young twins, Nanpean's Gary Tucker on drums and his sister Kay on organ. Laid down over two years at Job Morris' Sentinel Records studio in Newlyn, the LP featured such hits as Remember You're a Womble and These Boots are Made for Walking, as well as a message from TV's Dick Emery on its sleeve. We tracked them down and caught up over a coffee near St Austell.

How did the record come about?

Kay: We were quite well known locally as a musical family. Our uncle Ken may have written to Job Morris at Sentinel to ask if we could come down and record a demo disc. He was trying to promote us as Cornish talent.

Gary: Job Morris knew Basil Soper, ents manager at Talk of the West [club in Perran View Holiday Park]. Dick Emery was performing there and wanted some back-up, and Job said this little Cornish duo would make a great spot. So we did this gig with Dick Emery, and that spurred the record.

What are your memories of recording the album?

K: It was a big thing for us – we were only 11 years old. We had a brilliant time down there. Now there's reality TV with children all on stage and singing, but back then for us to go in with no musical backing was quite innovative. We just thought it was great. We just went down there and did what we did at home in the front room. I thought: “God, I'm here recording like the Bay City Rollers”. I was in love with them.

On These Boots are Made for Walking, this engineer Alan brought in a plank of wood and wore cowboy boots, and walked in the same rhythm as the piece, to embellish what we were doing. On Remember You're a Womble, Gary played the bass part on his euphonium and I played another part on the trombone and they double tracked that in.

We started recording the album when we were 11, but thanks to a strike somewhere in the chain it took two years for the record to come out. When we asked what we should call the record, Job Morris said: “Well, 11 plus 2”. It was a reference to the exam, and the fact we were now 13.

G: The sleeve looked very dull to me, for two youngsters. They just used a flash camera, and it was all brown around the outside. They didn't do any location shooting – it was in the studio, they took the camera. We could have gone out on the cliffs and done a lot more to make it a bit brighter – not two children stuck in this dark hole.

What was the response?

K: We got played on Radio Cornwall. We'd have people saying “ooh, I heard your record”. At that time it was a big thing, whereas now you'd just download it. They'd sell it in Hocking's, the record shop in St Austell. But there was no great scale. Of course we always had a box to take with us when we were singing, to sell to holiday makers at the end of the evening, and we used to sign them. So lots of the records will have gone back up country.

What are your memories of Sentinel?

K: The front of the shop sold records, then you went down some steps to the soundproofed recording studio, where you could open a hatch and see the river running through Newlyn. It was very small, but huge for us.

G: Job and Irene were a lovely couple. We were young and looked up to them, and they gave us great guidance. Brenda Wootton was being promoted at the time we were doing ours. The Johnny Austin Showband was very close behind us being produced. Job didn't use to hang around with these things. We went back later to produce an organ cassette, 'Kay Plays Technics', which we'd recorded ourselves at home, and Job had a go at me saying he could have done another two in the time it had taken us to record it.

What was this cassette?

K: After the record, which was made up of more or less standalone pieces, people at dances would came up to us and asked why we didn't do a dance album. So we did, playing music for waltzes, the quickstep, samba or whatever on the new Technics Pro 90 concert organ I'd bought. Gary recorded it at home on an Akai reel-to-reel, and Sentinel produced it. People bought the tape to dance to. We'd sell these cassettes at gigs.

Did you perform a lot of shows?

G We started as a family group playing local chapels and fates, and then we progressed into doing dance music and cabaret, entertaining guests at hotels and social clubs. By the time we were 15 or 16 we were out five nights a week round the hotels as a duo. Kay was offered a full-tome position on the Blackpool Tower Wurlitzer. It was a big step for a Cornish girl to go all the way to Blackpool. We declined it.

K: We had lots of offers over the years, but were happy doing what we were doing, with our family. We sent recordings to the Audience Entertains on Radio 2. We went up to Devon and Somerset. We had the opportunity to do cruise ships. Back then there were groups everywhere, it was all live music. We couldn't play a whole evening in a club, because we were too young and there were licensing issues. As well as playing for dancing I used to sing a lot of Carpenters music. We played whatever was in the charts – Boney M, Cliff Richard – as well as traditional waltzes and quicksteps to cater for families on holiday.

While the Twintones' career petered out in the 80s with the onset of marriage and children, the perfomances haven't stopped entirely. Gary has continued peforming in local opera and theatre. In late 2013 the pair reformed for a charity show in support of cancer support charity Tanya's Courage Trust – along with Kay's sons, James and George.




This is what Dave does when he's not interviewing The Twintones. It's great.