Podcasts about white dress

For those who haven't heard the announcement I posted, songs from this point on will sometimes be split among multiple episodes, so this is the second part of a two-episode look at the song “Who Knows Where The Time Goes?” by Fairport Convention, and the intertwining careers of Joe Boyd, Sandy Denny, and Richard Thompson. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a forty-one-minute bonus episode available, on Judy Collins’ version of this song. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by editing, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ Erratum For about an hour this was uploaded with the wrong Elton John clip in place of “Saturday Sun”. This has now been fixed. Resources Because of the increasing problems with Mixcloud’s restrictions, I have decided to start sharing streaming playlists of the songs used in episodes instead of Mixcloud ones. This Tunemymusic link will let you listen to the playlist I created on your streaming platform of choice — however please note that not all the songs excerpted are currently available on streaming. The songs missing from the Tidal version are “Shanten Bells” by the Ian Campbell Folk Group, “Tom’s Gone to Hilo” by A.L. Lloyd, two by Paul McNeill and Linda Peters, three by Elton John & Linda Peters, “What Will I Do With Tomorrow” by Sandy Denny and “You Never Know” by Charlie Drake, but the other fifty-nine are there. Other songs may be missing from other services. The main books I used on Fairport Convention as a whole were Patrick Humphries' Meet On The Ledge, Clinton Heylin's What We Did Instead of Holidays, and Kevan Furbank's Fairport Convention on Track. Rob Young's Electric Eden is the most important book on the British folk-rock movement. Information on Richard Thompson comes from Patrick Humphries' Richard Thompson: Strange Affair and Thompson's own autobiography Beeswing.  Information on Sandy Denny comes from Clinton Heylin's No More Sad Refrains and Mick Houghton's I've Always Kept a Unicorn. I also used Joe Boyd's autobiography White Bicycles and Chris Blackwell's The Islander.  And this three-CD set is the best introduction to Fairport's music currently in print. Transcript Before we begin, this episode contains reference to alcohol and cocaine abuse and medical neglect leading to death. It also starts with some discussion of the fatal car accident that ended last episode. There’s also some mention of child neglect and spousal violence. If that’s likely to upset you, you might want to skip this episode or read the transcript. One of the inspirations for this podcast when I started it back in 2018 was a project by Richard Thompson, which appears (like many things in Thompson’s life) to have started out of sheer bloody-mindedness. In 1999 Playboy magazine asked various people to list their “songs of the Millennium”, and most of them, understanding the brief, chose a handful of songs from the latter half of the twentieth century. But Thompson determined that he was going to list his favourite songs *of the millennium*. He didn’t quite manage that, but he did cover seven hundred and forty years, and when Playboy chose not to publish it, he decided to turn it into a touring show, in which he covered all his favourite songs from “Sumer Is Icumen In” from 1260: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “Sumer is Icumen In”] Through numerous traditional folk songs, union songs like “Blackleg Miner”, pieces by early-modern composers, Victorian and Edwardian music hall songs, and songs by the Beatles, the Ink Spots, the Kinks, and the Who, all the way to “Oops! I Did It Again”: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “Oops! I Did it Again”] And to finish the show, and to show how all this music actually ties together, he would play what he described as a “medieval tune from Brittany”, “Marry, Ageyn Hic Hev Donne Yt”: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “Marry, Ageyn Hic Hev Donne Yt”] We have said many times in this podcast that there is no first anything, but there’s a reason that Liege and Lief, Fairport Convention’s third album of 1969, and the album other than Unhalfbricking on which their reputation largely rests, was advertised with the slogan “The first (literally) British folk rock album ever”. Folk-rock, as the term had come to be known, and as it is still usually used today, had very little to do with traditional folk music. Rather, the records of bands like The Byrds or Simon and Garfunkel were essentially taking the sounds of British beat groups of the early sixties, particularly the Searchers, and applying those sounds to material by contemporary singer-songwriters. People like Paul Simon and Bob Dylan had come up through folk clubs, and their songs were called folk music because of that, but they weren’t what folk music had meant up to that point — songs that had been collected after being handed down through the folk process, changed by each individual singer, with no single identifiable author. They were authored songs by very idiosyncratic writers. But over their last few albums, Fairport Convention had done one or two tracks per album that weren’t like that, that were instead recordings of traditional folk songs, but arranged with rock instrumentation. They were not necessarily the first band to try traditional folk music with electric instruments — around the same time that Fairport started experimenting with the idea, so did an Irish band named Sweeney’s Men, who brought in a young electric guitarist named Henry McCullough briefly. But they do seem to have been the first to have fully embraced the idea. They had done so to an extent with “A Sailor’s Life” on Unhalfbricking, but now they were going to go much further: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Matty Groves” (from about 4:30)] There had been some doubt as to whether Fairport Convention would even continue to exist — by the time Unhalfbricking, their second album of the year, was released, they had been through the terrible car accident that had killed Martin Lamble, the band’s drummer, and Jeannie Franklyn, Richard Thompson’s girlfriend. Most of the rest of the band had been seriously injured, and they had made a conscious decision not to discuss the future of the band until they were all out of hospital. Ashley Hutchings was hospitalised the longest, and Simon Nicol, Richard Thompson, and Sandy Denny, the other three surviving members of the band, flew over to LA with their producer and manager, Joe Boyd, to recuperate there and get to know the American music scene. When they came back, the group all met up in the flat belonging to Denny’s boyfriend Trevor Lucas, and decided that they were going to continue the band. They made a few decisions then — they needed a new drummer, and as well as a drummer they wanted to get in Dave Swarbrick. Swarbrick had played violin on several tracks on Unhalfbricking as a session player, and they had all been thrilled to work with him. Swarbrick was one of the most experienced musicians on the British folk circuit. He had started out in the fifties playing guitar with Beryl Marriott’s Ceilidh Band before switching to fiddle, and in 1963, long before Fairport had formed, he had already appeared on TV with the Ian Campbell Folk Group, led by Ian Campbell, the father of Ali and Robin Campbell, later of UB40: [Excerpt: The Ian Campbell Folk Group, “Shanten Bells (medley on Hullaballoo!)”] He’d sung with Ewan MacColl and A.L. Lloyd: [Excerpt: A.L. Lloyd, “Tom’s Gone to Hilo” ] And he’d formed his hugely successful duo with Martin Carthy, releasing records like “Byker Hill” which are often considered among the best British folk music of all time: [Excerpt: Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick, “Byker Hill”] By the time Fairport had invited him to play on Unhalfbricking, Swarbrick had already performed on twenty albums as a core band member, plus dozens more EPs, singles, and odd tracks on compilations. They had no reason to think they could actually get him to join their band. But they had three advantages. The first was that Swarbrick was sick of the traditional folk scene at the time, saying later “I didn’t like seven-eighths of the people involved in it, and it was extremely opportune to leave. I was suddenly presented with the possibilities of exploring the dramatic content of the songs to the full.” The second was that he was hugely excited to be playing with Richard Thompson, who was one of the most innovative guitarists of his generation, and Martin Carthy remembers him raving about Thompson after their initial sessions. (Carthy himself was and is no slouch on the guitar of course, and there was even talk of getting him to join the band at this point, though they decided against it — much to the relief of rhythm guitarist Simon Nicol, who is a perfectly fine player himself but didn’t want to be outclassed by *two* of the best guitarists in Britain at the same time). And the third was that Joe Boyd told him that Fairport were doing so well — they had a single just about to hit the charts with “Si Tu Dois Partir” — that he would only have to play a dozen gigs with Fairport in order to retire. As it turned out, Swarbrick would play with the group for a decade, and would never retire — I saw him on his last tour in 2015, only eight months before he died. The drummer the group picked was also a far more experienced musician than any of the rest, though in a very different genre. Dave Mattacks had no knowledge at all of the kind of music they played, having previously been a player in dance bands. When asked by Hutchings if he wanted to join the band, Mattacks’ response was “I don’t know anything about the music. I don’t understand it… I can’t tell one tune from another, they all sound the same… but if you want me to join the group, fine, because I really like it. I’m enjoying myself musically.” Mattacks brought a new level of professionalism to the band, thanks to his different background. Nicol said of him later “He was dilligent, clean, used to taking three white shirts to a gig… The application he could bring to his playing was amazing. With us, you only played well when you were feeling well.” This distinction applied to his playing as well. Nicol would later describe the difference between Mattacks’ drumming and Lamble’s by saying “Martin’s strength was as an imaginative drummer. DM came in with a strongly developed sense of rhythm, through keeping a big band of drunken saxophone players in order. A great time-keeper.” With this new line-up and a new sense of purpose, the group did as many of their contemporaries were doing and “got their heads together in the country”. Joe Boyd rented the group a mansion, Farley House, in Farley Chamberlayne, Hampshire, and they stayed there together for three months. At the start, the group seem to have thought that they were going to make another record like Unhalfbricking, with some originals, some songs by American songwriters, and a few traditional songs. Even after their stay in Farley Chamberlayne, in fact, they recorded a few of the American songs they’d rehearsed at the start of the process, Richard Farina’s “Quiet Joys of Brotherhood” and Bob Dylan and Roger McGuinn’s “Ballad of Easy Rider”: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Ballad of Easy Rider”] Indeed, the whole idea of “getting our heads together in the country” (as the cliche quickly became in the late sixties as half of the bands in Britain went through much the same kind of process as Fairport were doing — but usually for reasons more to do with drug burnout or trend following than recovering from serious life-changing trauma) seems to have been inspired by Bob Dylan and the Band getting together in Big Pink. But very quickly they decided to follow the lead of Ashley Hutchings, who had had something of a Damascene conversion to the cause of traditional English folk music. They were listening mostly to Music From Big Pink by the Band, and to the first album by Sweeney’s Men: [Excerpt: Sweeney’s Men, “The Handsome Cabin Boy”] And they decided that they were going to make something that was as English as those records were North American and Irish (though in the event there were also a few Scottish songs included on the record). Hutchings in particular was becoming something of a scholar of traditional music, regularly visiting Cecil Sharp House and having long conversations with A.L. Lloyd, discovering versions of different traditional songs he’d never encountered before. This was both amusing and bemusing Sandy Denny, who had joined a rock group in part to get away from traditional music; but she was comfortable singing the material, and knew a lot of it and could make a lot of suggestions herself. Swarbrick obviously knew the repertoire intimately, and Nicol was amenable, while Mattacks was utterly clueless about the folk tradition at this point but knew this was the music he wanted to make. Thompson knew very little about traditional music, and of all the band members except Denny he was the one who has shown the least interest in the genre in his subsequent career — but as we heard at the beginning, showing the least interest in the genre is a relative thing, and while Thompson was not hugely familiar with the genre, he *was* able to work with it, and was also more than capable of writing songs that fit in with the genre. Of the eleven songs on the album, which was titled Liege and Lief (which means, roughly, Lord and Loyalty), there were no cover versions of singer-songwriters. Eight were traditional songs, and three were originals, all written in the style of traditional songs. The album opened with “Come All Ye”, an introduction written by Denny and Hutchings (the only time the two would ever write together): [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Come All Ye”] The other two originals were songs where Thompson had written new lyrics to traditional melodies. On “Crazy Man Michael”, Swarbrick had said to Thompson that the tune to which he had set his new words was weaker than the lyrics, to which Thompson had replied that if Swarbrick felt that way he should feel free to write a new melody. He did, and it became the first of the small number of Thompson/Swarbrick collaborations: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Crazy Man Michael”] Thompson and Swarbrick would become a brief songwriting team, but as much as anything else it was down to proximity — the two respected each other as musicians, but never got on very well. In 1981 Swarbrick would say “Richard and I never got on in the early days of FC… we thought we did, but we never did. We composed some bloody good songs together, but it was purely on a basis of “you write that and I’ll write this, and we’ll put it together.” But we never sat down and had real good chats.” The third original on the album, and by far the most affecting, is another song where Thompson put lyrics to a traditional tune. In this case he thought he was putting the lyrics to the tune of “Willie O'Winsbury”, but he was basing it on a recording by Sweeney’s Men. The problem was that Sweeney’s Men had accidentally sung the lyrics of “Willie O'Winsbury'” to the tune of a totally different song, “Fause Foodrage”: [Excerpt: Sweeney’s Men, “Willie O’Winsbury”] Thompson took that melody, and set to it lyrics about loss and separation. Thompson has never been one to discuss the meanings of his lyrics in any great detail, and in the case of this one has said “I really don't know what it means. This song came out of a dream, and I pretty much wrote it as I dreamt it (it was the sixties), and didn't spend very long analyzing it. So interpret as you wish – or replace with your own lines.” But in the context of the traffic accident that had killed his tailor girlfriend and a bandmate, and injured most of his other bandmates, the lyrics about lonely travellers, the winding road, bruised and beaten sons, saying goodbye, and never cutting cloth, seem fairly self-explanatory: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Farewell, Farewell”] The rest of the album, though, was taken up by traditional tunes. There was a long medley of four different fiddle reels; a version of “Reynardine” (a song about a seductive man — or is he a fox? Or perhaps both — which had been recorded by Swarbrick and Carthy on their most recent album); a 19th century song about a deserter saved from the firing squad by Prince Albert; and a long take on “Tam Lin”, one of the most famous pieces in the Scottish folk music canon, a song that has been adapted in different ways by everyone from the experimental noise band Current 93 to the dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah to the comics writer Grant Morrison: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Tam Lin”] And “Matty Groves”, a song about a man killing his cheating wife and her lover, which actually has a surprisingly similar story to that of “1921” from another great concept album from that year, the Who’s Tommy. “Matty Groves” became an excuse for long solos and shows of instrumental virtuosity: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Matty Groves”] The album was recorded in September 1969, after their return from their break in the country and a triumphal performance at the Royal Festival Hall, headlining over fellow Witchseason artists John and Beverly Martyn and Nick Drake. It became a classic of the traditional folk genre — arguably *the* classic of the traditional folk genre. In 2007 BBC Radio 2’s Folk Music Awards gave it an award for most influential folk album of all time, and while such things are hard to measure, I doubt there’s anyone with even the most cursory knowledge of British folk and folk-rock music who would not at least consider that a reasonable claim. But once again, by the time the album came out in November, the band had changed lineups yet again. There was a fundamental split in the band – on one side were Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson, whose stance was, roughly, that Liege and Lief was a great experiment and a fun thing to do once, but really the band had two first-rate songwriters in themselves, and that they should be concentrating on their own new material, not doing these old songs, good as they were. They wanted to take the form of the traditional songs and use that form for new material — they wanted to make British folk-rock, but with the emphasis on the rock side of things. Hutchings, on the other hand, was equally sure that he wanted to make traditional music and go further down the rabbit hole of antiquity. With the zeal of the convert he had gone in a couple of years from being the leader of a band who were labelled “the British Jefferson Airplane” to becoming a serious scholar of traditional folk music. Denny was tired of touring, as well — she wanted to spend more time at home with Trevor Lucas, who was sleeping with other women when she was away and making her insecure. When the time came for the group to go on a tour of Denmark, Denny decided she couldn’t make it, and Hutchings was jubilant — he decided he was going to get A.L. Lloyd into the band in her place and become a *real* folk group. Then Denny reconsidered, and Hutchings was crushed. He realised that while he had always been the leader, he wasn’t going to be able to lead the band any further in the traditionalist direction, and quit the group — but not before he was delegated by the other band members to fire Denny. Until the publication of Richard Thompson’s autobiography in 2022, every book on the group or its members said that Denny quit the band again, which was presumably a polite fiction that the band agreed, but according to Thompson “Before we flew home, we decided to fire Sandy. I don't remember who asked her to leave – it was probably Ashley, who usually did the dirty work. She was reportedly shocked that we would take that step. She may have been fragile beneath the confident facade, but she still knew her worth.” Thompson goes on to explain that the reasons for kicking her out were that “I suppose we felt that in her mind she had already left” and that “We were probably suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, though there wasn't a name for it back then.” They had considered inviting Trevor Lucas to join the band to make Denny more comfortable, but came to the (probably correct) conclusion that while he was someone they got on well with personally, he would be another big ego in a band that already had several, and that being around Denny and Lucas’ volatile relationship would, in Thompson’s phrasing, “have not always given one a feeling of peace and stability.” Hutchings originally decided he was going to join Sweeney’s Men, but that group were falling apart, and their first rehearsal with Hutchings would also be their last as a group, with only Hutchings and guitarist and mandolin player Terry Woods left in the band. They added Woods’ wife Gay, and another couple, Tim Hart and Maddy Prior, and formed a group called Steeleye Span, a name given them by Martin Carthy. That group, like Fairport, went to “get their heads together in the country” for three months and recorded an album of electric versions of traditional songs, Hark the Village Wait, on which Mattacks and another drummer, Gerry Conway, guested as Steeleye Span didn’t at the time have their own drummer: [Excerpt: Steeleye Span, “Blackleg Miner”] Steeleye Span would go on to have a moderately successful chart career in the seventies, but by that time most of the original lineup, including Hutchings, had left — Hutchings stayed with them for a few albums, then went on to form the first of a series of bands, all called the Albion Band or variations on that name, which continue to this day. And this is something that needs to be pointed out at this point — it is impossible to follow every single individual in this narrative as they move between bands. There is enough material in the history of the British folk-rock scene that someone could do a 500 Songs-style podcast just on that, and every time someone left Fairport, or Steeleye Span, or the Albion Band, or Matthews’ Southern Comfort, or any of the other bands we have mentioned or will mention, they would go off and form another band which would then fission, and some of its members would often join one of those other bands. There was a point in the mid-1970s where the Albion Band had two original members of Fairport Convention while Fairport Convention had none. So just in order to keep the narrative anything like wieldy, I’m going to keep the narrative concentrated on the two figures from Fairport — Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson — whose work outside the group has had the most influence on the wider world of rock music more broadly, and only deal with the other members when, as they often did, their careers intersected with those two. That doesn’t mean the other members are not themselves hugely important musicians, just that their importance has been primarily to the folk side of the folk-rock genre, and so somewhat outside the scope of this podcast. While Hutchings decided to form a band that would allow him to go deeper and deeper into traditional folk music, Sandy Denny’s next venture was rather different. For a long time she had been writing far more songs than she had ever played for her bandmates, like “Nothing More”, a song that many have suggested is about Thompson: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “Nothing More”] When Joe Boyd heard that Denny was leaving Fairport Convention, he was at first elated. Fairport’s records were being distributed by A&M in the US at that point, but Island Records was in the process of opening up a new US subsidiary which would then release all future Fairport product — *but*, as far as A&M were concerned, Sandy Denny *was* Fairport Convention. They were only interested in her. Boyd, on the other hand, loved Denny’s work intensely, but from his point of view *Richard Thompson* was Fairport Convention. If he could get Denny signed directly to A&M as a solo artist before Island started its US operations, Witchseason could get a huge advance on her first solo record, while Fairport could continue making records for Island — he’d have two lucrative acts, on different labels. Boyd went over and spoke to A&M and got an agreement in principle that they would give Denny a forty-thousand-dollar advance on her first solo album — twice what they were paying for Fairport albums. The problem was that Denny didn’t want to be a solo act. She wanted to be the lead singer of a band. She gave many reasons for this — the one she gave to many journalists was that she had seen a Judy Collins show and been impressed, but noticed that Collins’ band were definitely a “backing group”, and as she put it “But that's all they were – a backing group. I suddenly thought, If you're playing together on a stage you might as well be TOGETHER.” Most other people in her life, though, say that the main reason for her wanting to be in a band was her desire to be with her boyfriend, Trevor Lucas. Partly this was due to a genuine desire to spend more time with someone with whom she was very much in love, partly it was a fear that he would cheat on her if she was away from him for long periods of time, and part of it seems to have been Lucas’ dislike of being *too* overshadowed by his talented girlfriend — he didn’t mind acknowledging that she was a major talent, but he wanted to be thought of as at least a minor one. So instead of going solo, Denny formed Fotheringay, named after the song she had written for Fairport. This new band consisted at first of Denny on vocals and occasional piano, Lucas on vocals and rhythm guitar, and Lucas’ old Eclection bandmate Gerry Conway on drums. For a lead guitarist, they asked Richard Thompson who the best guitarist in Britain was, and he told them Albert Lee. Lee in turn brought in bass player Pat Donaldson, but this lineup of the band barely survived a fortnight. Lee *was* arguably the best guitarist in Britain, certainly a reasonable candidate if you could ever have a singular best (as indeed was Thompson himself), but he was the best *country* guitarist in Britain, and his style simply didn’t fit with Fotheringay’s folk-influenced songs. He was replaced by American guitarist Jerry Donahue, who was not anything like as proficient as Lee, but who was still very good, and fit the band’s style much better. The new group rehearsed together for a few weeks, did a quick tour, and then went into the recording studio to record their debut, self-titled, album. Joe Boyd produced the album, but admitted himself that he only paid attention to those songs he considered worthwhile — the album contained one song by Lucas, “The Ballad of Ned Kelly”, and two cover versions of American singer-songwriter material with Lucas singing lead. But everyone knew that the songs that actually *mattered* were Sandy Denny’s, and Boyd was far more interested in them, particularly the songs “The Sea” and “The Pond and the Stream”: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “The Pond and the Stream”] Fotheringay almost immediately hit financial problems, though. While other Witchseason acts were used to touring on the cheap, all packed together in the back of a Transit van with inexpensive equipment, Trevor Lucas had ambitions of being a rock star and wanted to put together a touring production to match, with expensive transport and equipment, including a speaker system that got nicknamed “Stonehenge” — but at the same time, Denny was unhappy being on the road, and didn’t play many gigs. As well as the band itself, the Fotheringay album also featured backing vocals from a couple of other people, including Denny’s friend Linda Peters. Peters was another singer from the folk clubs, and a good one, though less well-known than Denny — at this point she had only released a couple of singles, and those singles seemed to have been as much as anything else released as a novelty. The first of those, a version of Dylan’s “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” had been released as by “Paul McNeill and Linda Peters”: [Excerpt: Paul McNeill and Linda Peters, “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere”] But their second single, a version of John D. Loudermilk’s “You’re Taking My Bag”, was released on the tiny Page One label, owned by Larry Page, and was released under the name “Paul and Linda”, clearly with the intent of confusing particularly gullible members of the record-buying public into thinking this was the McCartneys: [Excerpt: Paul and Linda, “You’re Taking My Bag”] Peters was though more financially successful than almost anyone else in this story, as she was making a great deal of money as a session singer. She actually did another session involving most of Fotheringay around this time. Witchseason had a number of excellent songwriters on its roster, and had had some success getting covers by people like Judy Collins, but Joe Boyd thought that they might possibly do better at getting cover versions if they were performed in less idiosyncratic arrangements. Donahue, Donaldson, and Conway went into the studio to record backing tracks, and vocals were added by Peters and another session singer, who according to some sources also provided piano. They cut songs by Mike Heron of the Incredible String Band: [Excerpt: Linda Peters, “You Get Brighter”] Ed Carter, formerly of The New Nadir but by this time firmly ensconced in the Beach Boys’ touring band where he would remain for the next quarter-century: [Excerpt: Linda Peters, “I Don’t Mind”] John and Beverly Martyn, and Nick Drake: [Excerpt: Elton John, “Saturday Sun”] There are different lineups of musicians credited for those sessions in different sources, but I tend to believe that it’s mostly Fotheringay for the simple reason that Donahue says it was him, Donaldson and Conway who talked Lucas and Denny into the mistake that destroyed Fotheringay because of these sessions. Fotheringay were in financial trouble already, spending far more money than they were bringing in, but their album made the top twenty and they were getting respect both from critics and from the public — in September, Sandy Denny was voted best British female singer by the readers of Melody Maker in their annual poll, which led to shocked headlines in the tabloids about how this “unknown” could have beaten such big names as Dusty Springfield and Cilla Black. Only a couple of weeks after that, they were due to headline at the Albert Hall. It should have been a triumph. But Donahue, Donaldson, and Conway had asked that singing pianist to be their support act. As Donahue said later “That was a terrible miscast. It was our fault. He asked if [he] could do it. Actually Pat, Gerry and I had to talk Sandy and Trevor into [it]… We'd done these demos and the way he was playing – he was a wonderful piano player – he was sensitive enough. We knew very little about his stage-show. We thought he'd be a really good opener for us.” Unfortunately, Elton John was rather *too* good. As Donahue continued “we had no idea what he had in mind, that he was going to do the most incredible rock & roll show ever. He pretty much blew us off the stage before we even got on the stage.” To make matters worse, Fotheringay’s set, which was mostly comprised of new material, was underrehearsed and sloppy, and from that point on no matter what they did people were counting the hours until the band split up. They struggled along for a while though, and started working on a second record, with Boyd again producing, though as Boyd later said “I probably shouldn't have been producing the record. My lack of respect for the group was clear, and couldn't have helped the atmosphere. We'd put out a record that had sold disappointingly, A&M was unhappy. Sandy's tracks on the first record are among the best things she ever did – the rest of it, who cares? And the artwork, Trevor's sister, was terrible. It would have been one thing if I'd been unhappy with it and it sold, and the group was working all the time, making money, but that wasn't the case … I knew what Sandy was capable of, and it was very upsetting to me.” The record would not be released for thirty-eight years: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “Wild Mountain Thyme”] Witchseason was going badly into debt. Given all the fissioning of bands that we’ve already been talking about, Boyd had been stretched thin — he produced sixteen albums in 1970, and almost all of them lost money for the company. And he was getting more and more disillusioned with the people he was producing. He loved Beverly Martyn’s work, but had little time for her abusive husband John, who was dominating her recording and life more and more and would soon become a solo artist while making her stay at home (and stealing her ideas without giving her songwriting credit). The Incredible String Band were great, but they had recently converted to Scientology, which Boyd found annoying, and while he was working with all sorts of exciting artists like Vashti Bunyan and Nico, he was finding himself less and less important to the artists he mentored. Fairport Convention were a good example of this. After Denny and Hutchings had left the group, they’d decided to carry on as an electric folk group, performing an equal mix of originals by the Swarbrick and Thompson songwriting team and arrangements of traditional songs. The group were now far enough away from the “British Jefferson Airplane” label that they decided they didn’t need a female vocalist — and more realistically, while they’d been able to replace Judy Dyble, nobody was going to replace Sandy Denny. Though it’s rather surprising when one considers Thompson’s subsequent career that nobody seems to have thought of bringing in Denny’s friend Linda Peters, who was dating Joe Boyd at the time (as Denny had been before she met Lucas) as Denny’s replacement. Instead, they decided that Swarbrick and Thompson were going to share the vocals between them. They did, though, need a bass player to replace Hutchings. Swarbrick wanted to bring in Dave Pegg, with whom he had played in the Ian Campbell Folk Group, but the other band members initially thought the idea was a bad one. At the time, while they respected Swarbrick as a musician, they didn’t think he fully understood rock and roll yet, and they thought the idea of getting in a folkie who had played double bass rather than an electric rock bassist ridiculous. But they auditioned him to mollify Swarbrick, and found that he was exactly what they needed. As Joe Boyd later said “All those bass lines were great, Ashley invented them all, but he never could play them that well. He thought of them, but he was technically not a terrific bass player. He was a very inventive, melodic, bass player, but not a very powerful one technically. But having had the part explained to him once, Pegg was playing it better than Ashley had ever played it… In some rock bands, I think, ultimately, the bands that sound great, you can generally trace it to the bass player… it was at that point they became a great band, when they had Pegg.” The new lineup of Fairport decided to move in together, and found a former pub called the Angel, into which all the band members moved, along with their partners and children (Thompson was the only one who was single at this point) and their roadies. The group lived together quite happily, and one gets the impression that this was the period when they were most comfortable with each other, even though by this point they were a disparate group with disparate tastes, in music as in everything else. Several people have said that the only music all the band members could agree they liked at this point was the first two albums by The Band. With the departure of Hutchings from the band, Swarbrick and Thompson, as the strongest personalities and soloists, became in effect the joint leaders of the group, and they became collaborators as songwriters, trying to write new songs that were inspired by traditional music. Thompson described the process as “let’s take one line of this reel and slow it down and move it up a minor third and see what that does to it; let’s take one line of this ballad and make a whole song out of it. Chopping up the tradition to find new things to do… like a collage.” Generally speaking, Swarbrick and Thompson would sit by the fire and Swarbrick would play a melody he’d been working on, the two would work on it for a while, and Thompson would then go away and write the lyrics. This is how the two came up with songs like the nine-minute “Sloth”, a highlight of the next album, Full House, and one that would remain in Fairport’s live set for much of their career: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Sloth”] “Sloth” was titled that way because Thompson and Swarbrick were working on two tunes, a slow one and a fast one, and they jokingly named them “Sloth” and “Fasth”, but the latter got renamed to “Walk Awhile”, while “Sloth” kept its working title. But by this point, Boyd and Thompson were having a lot of conflict in the studio. Boyd was never the most technical of producers — he was one of those producers whose job is to gently guide the artists in the studio and create a space for the music to flourish, rather than the Joe Meek type with an intimate technical knowledge of the studio — and as the artists he was working with gained confidence in their own work they felt they had less and less need of him. During the making of the Full House album, Thompson and Boyd, according to Boyd, clashed on everything — every time Boyd thought Thompson had done a good solo, Thompson would say to erase it and let him have another go, while every time Boyd thought Thompson could do better, Thompson would say that was the take to keep. One of their biggest clashes was over Thompson’s song “Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman”, which was originally intended for release on the album, and is included in current reissues of it: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman”] Thompson had written that song inspired by what he thought was the unjust treatment of Alex Bramham, the driver in Fairport’s fatal car crash, by the courts — Bramham had been given a prison sentence of a few months for dangerous driving, while the group members thought he had not been at fault. Boyd thought it was one of the best things recorded for the album, but Thompson wasn’t happy with his vocal — there was one note at the top of the melody that he couldn’t quite hit — and insisted it be kept off the record, even though that meant it would be a shorter album than normal. He did this at such a late stage that early copies of the album actually had the title printed on the sleeve, but then blacked out. He now says in his autobiography “I could have persevered, double-tracked the voice, warmed up for longer – anything. It was a good track, and the record was lacking without it. When the album was re-released, the track was restored with a more confident vocal, and it has stayed there ever since.” During the sessions for Full House the group also recorded one non-album single, Thompson and Swarbrick’s “Now Be Thankful”: [Excerpt, Fairport Convention, “Now Be Thankful”] The B-side to that was a medley of two traditional tunes plus a Swarbrick original, but was given the deliberately ridiculous title “Sir B. McKenzie’s Daughter’s Lament For The 77th Mounted Lancers Retreat From The Straits Of Loch Knombe, In The Year Of Our Lord 1727, On The Occasion Of The Announcement Of Her Marriage To The Laird Of Kinleakie”: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Sir B. McKenzie’s Daughter’s Lament For The 77th Mounted Lancers Retreat From The Straits Of Loch Knombe, In The Year Of Our Lord 1727, On The Occasion Of The Announcement Of Her Marriage To The Laird Of Kinleakie”] The B. McKenzie in the title was a reference to the comic-strip character Barry McKenzie, a stereotype drunk Australian created for Private Eye magazine by the comedian Barry Humphries (later to become better known for his Dame Edna Everage character) but the title was chosen for one reason only — to get into the Guinness Book of Records for the song with the longest title. Which they did, though they were later displaced by the industrial band Test Dept, and their song “Long Live British Democracy Which Flourishes and Is Constantly Perfected Under the Immaculate Guidance of the Great, Honourable, Generous and Correct Margaret Hilda Thatcher. She Is the Blue Sky in the Hearts of All Nations. Our People Pay Homage and Bow in Deep Respect and Gratitude to Her. The Milk of Human Kindness”. Full House got excellent reviews in the music press, with Rolling Stone saying “The music shows that England has finally gotten her own equivalent to The Band… By calling Fairport an English equivalent of the Band, I meant that they have soaked up enough of the tradition of their countryfolk that it begins to show all over, while they maintain their roots in rock.” Off the back of this, the group went on their first US tour, culminating in a series of shows at the Troubadour in LA, on the same bill as Rick Nelson, which were recorded and later released as a live album: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Sloth (live)”] The Troubadour was one of the hippest venues at the time, and over their residency there the group got seen by many celebrities, some of whom joined them on stage. The first was Linda Ronstadt, who initially demurred, saying she didn’t know any of their songs. On being told they knew all of hers, she joined in with a rendition of “Silver Threads and Golden Needles”. Thompson was later asked to join Ronstadt’s backing band, who would go on to become the Eagles, but he said later of this offer “I would have hated it. I’d have hated being on the road with four or five miserable Americans — they always seem miserable. And if you see them now, they still look miserable on stage — like they don’t want to be there and they don’t like each other.” The group were also joined on stage at the Troubadour on one memorable night by some former bandmates of Pegg’s. Before joining the Ian Campbell Folk Group, Pegg had played around the Birmingham beat scene, and had been in bands with John Bonham and Robert Plant, who turned up to the Troubadour with their Led Zeppelin bandmate Jimmy Page (reports differ on whether the fourth member of Zeppelin, John Paul Jones, also came along). They all got up on stage together and jammed on songs like “Hey Joe”, “Louie Louie”, and various old Elvis tunes. The show was recorded, and the tapes are apparently still in the possession of Joe Boyd, who has said he refuses to release them in case he is murdered by the ghost of Peter Grant. According to Thompson, that night ended in a three-way drinking contest between Pegg, Bonham, and Janis Joplin, and it’s testament to how strong the drinking culture is around Fairport and the British folk scene in general that Pegg outdrank both of them. According to Thompson, Bonham was found naked by a swimming pool two days later, having missed two gigs. For all their hard rock image, Led Zeppelin were admirers of a lot of the British folk and folk-rock scene, and a few months later Sandy Denny would become the only outside vocalist ever to appear on a Led Zeppelin record when she duetted with Plant on “The Battle of Evermore” on the group’s fourth album: [Excerpt: Led Zeppelin, “The Battle of Evermore”] Denny would never actually get paid for her appearance on one of the best-selling albums of all time. That was, incidentally, not the only session that Denny was involved in around this time — she also sang on the soundtrack to a soft porn film titled Swedish Fly Girls, whose soundtrack was produced by Manfred Mann: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “What Will I Do With Tomorrow?”] Shortly after Fairport’s trip to America, Joe Boyd decided he was giving up on Witchseason. The company was now losing money, and he was finding himself having to produce work for more and more acts as the various bands fissioned. The only ones he really cared about were Richard Thompson, who he was finding it more and more difficult to work with, Nick Drake, who wanted to do his next album with just an acoustic guitar anyway, Sandy Denny, who he felt was wasting her talents in Fotheringay, and Mike Heron of the Incredible String Band, who was more distant since his conversion to Scientology. Boyd did make some attempts to keep the company going. On a trip to Sweden, he negotiated an agreement with the manager and publisher of a Swedish band whose songs he’d found intriguing, the Hep Stars. Boyd was going to publish their songs in the UK, and in return that publisher, Stig Anderson, would get the rights to Witchseason’s catalogue in Scandinavia — a straight swap, with no money changing hands. But before Boyd could get round to signing the paperwork, he got a better offer from Mo Ostin of Warners — Ostin wanted Boyd to come over to LA and head up Warners’ new film music department. Boyd sold Witchseason to Island Records and moved to LA with his fiancee Linda Peters, spending the next few years working on music for films like Deliverance and A Clockwork Orange, as well as making his own documentary about Jimi Hendrix, and thus missed out on getting the UK publishing rights for ABBA, and all the income that would have brought him, for no money. And it was that decision that led to the breakup of Fotheringay. Just before Christmas 1970, Fotheringay were having a difficult session, recording the track “John the Gun”: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “John the Gun”] Boyd got frustrated and kicked everyone out of the session, and went for a meal and several drinks with Denny. He kept insisting that she should dump the band and just go solo, and then something happened that the two of them would always describe differently. She asked him if he would continue to produce her records if she went solo, and he said he would. According to Boyd’s recollection of the events, he meant that he would fly back from California at some point to produce her records. According to Denny, he told her that if she went solo he would stay in Britain and not take the job in LA. This miscommunication was only discovered after Denny told the rest of Fotheringay after the Christmas break that she was splitting the band. Jerry Donahue has described that as the worst moment of his life, and Denny felt very guilty about breaking up a band with some of her closest friends in — and then when Boyd went over to the US anyway she felt a profound betrayal. Two days before Fotheringay’s final concert, in January 1971, Sandy Denny signed a solo deal with Island records, but her first solo album would not end up produced by Joe Boyd. Instead, The North Star Grassman and the Ravens was co-produced by Denny, John Wood — the engineer who had worked with Boyd on pretty much everything he’d produced, and Richard Thompson, who had just quit Fairport Convention, though he continued living with them at the Angel, at least until a truck crashed into the building in February 1971, destroying its entire front wall and forcing them to relocate. The songs chosen for The North Star Grassman and the Ravens reflected the kind of choices Denny would make on her future albums, and her eclectic taste in music. There was, of course, the obligatory Dylan cover, and the traditional folk ballad “Blackwaterside”, but there was also a cover version of Brenda Lee’s “Let’s Jump the Broomstick”: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Let’s Jump the Broomstick”] Most of the album, though, was made up of originals about various people in Denny’s life, like “Next Time Around”, about her ex-boyfriend Jackson C Frank: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Next Time Around”] The album made the top forty in the UK — Denny’s only solo album to do so — and led to her once again winning the “best female singer” award in Melody Maker’s readers’ poll that year — the male singer award was won by Rod Stewart. Both Stewart and Denny appeared the next year on the London Symphony Orchestra’s all-star version of The Who’s Tommy, which had originally been intended as a vehicle for Stewart before Roger Daltrey got involved. Stewart’s role was reduced to a single song, “Pinball Wizard”, while Denny sang on “It’s a Boy”: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “It’s a Boy”] While Fotheringay had split up, all the band members play on The North Star Grassman and the Ravens. Guitarists Donahue and Lucas only play on a couple of the tracks, with Richard Thompson playing most of the guitar on the record. But Fotheringay’s rhythm section of Pat Donaldson and Gerry Conway play on almost every track. Another musician on the album, Ian Whiteman, would possibly have a profound effect on the future direction of Richard Thompson’s career and life. Whiteman was the former keyboard player for the mod band The Action, having joined them just before they became the blues-rock band Mighty Baby. But Mighty Baby had split up when all of the band except the lead singer had converted to Islam. Richard Thompson was on his own spiritual journey at this point, and became a Sufi – the same branch of Islam as Whiteman – soon after the session, though Thompson has said that his conversion was independent of Whiteman’s. The two did become very close and work together a lot in the mid-seventies though. Thompson had supposedly left Fairport because he was writing material that wasn’t suited to the band, but he spent more than a year after quitting the group working on sessions rather than doing anything with his own material, and these sessions tended to involve the same core group of musicians. One of the more unusual was a folk-rock supergroup called The Bunch, put together by Trevor Lucas. Richard Branson had recently bought a recording studio, and wanted a band to test it out before opening it up for commercial customers, so with this free studio time Lucas decided to record a set of fifties rock and roll covers. He gathered together Thompson, Denny, Whiteman, Ashley Hutchings, Dave Mattacks, Pat Donaldson, Gerry Conway, pianist Tony Cox, the horn section that would later form the core of the Average White Band, and Linda Peters, who had now split up with Joe Boyd and returned to the UK, and who had started dating Thompson. They recorded an album of covers of songs by Jerry Lee Lewis, the Everly Brothers, Johnny Otis and others: [Excerpt: The Bunch, “Willie and the Hand Jive”] The early seventies was a hugely productive time for this group of musicians, as they all continued playing on each other’s projects. One notable album was No Roses by Shirley Collins, which featured Thompson, Mattacks, Whiteman, Simon Nicol, Lal and Mike Waterson, and Ashley Hutchings, who was at that point married to Collins, as well as some more unusual musicians like the free jazz saxophonist Lol Coxhill: [Excerpt: Shirley Collins and the Albion Country Band, “Claudy Banks”] Collins was at the time the most respected female singer in British traditional music, and already had a substantial career including a series of important records made with her sister Dolly, work with guitarists like Davey Graham, and time spent in the 1950s collecting folk songs in the Southern US with her then partner Alan Lomax – according to Collins she did much of the actual work, but Lomax only mentioned her in a single sentence in his book on this work. Some of the same group of musicians went on to work on an album of traditional Morris dancing tunes, titled Morris On, credited to “Ashley Hutchings, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattacks, John Kirkpatrick and Barry Dransfield”, with Collins singing lead on two tracks: [Excerpt: Ashley Hutchings, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattacks, John Kirkpatrick and Barry Dransfield with Shirley Collins, “The Willow Tree”] Thompson thought that that album was the best of the various side projects he was involved in at the time, comparing it favourably to Rock On, which he thought was rather slight, saying later “Conceptually, Fairport, Ashley and myself and Sandy were developing a more fragile style of music that nobody else was particularly interested in, a British Folk Rock idea that had a logical development to it, although we all presented it our own way. Morris On was rather more true to what we were doing. Rock On was rather a retro step. I'm not sure it was lasting enough as a record but Sandy did sing really well on the Buddy Holly songs.” Hutchings used the musicians on No Roses and Morris On as the basis for his band the Albion Band, which continues to this day. Simon Nicol and Dave Mattacks both quit Fairport to join the Albion Band, though Mattacks soon returned. Nicol would not return to Fairport for several years, though, and for a long period in the mid-seventies Fairport Convention had no original members. Unfortunately, while Collins was involved in the Albion Band early on, she and Hutchings ended up divorcing, and the stress from the divorce led to Collins developing spasmodic dysphonia, a stress-related illness which makes it impossible for the sufferer to sing. She did eventually regain her vocal ability, but between 1978 and 2016 she was unable to perform at all, and lost decades of her career. Richard Thompson occasionally performed with the Albion Band early on, but he was getting stretched a little thin with all these sessions. Linda Peters said later of him “When I came back from America, he was working in Sandy’s band, and doing sessions by the score. Always with Pat Donaldson and Dave Mattacks. Richard would turn up with his guitar, one day he went along to do a session with one of those folkie lady singers — and there were Pat and DM. They all cracked. Richard smashed his amp and said “Right! No more sessions!” In 1972 he got round to releasing his first solo album, Henry the Human Fly, which featured guest appearances by Linda Peters and Sandy Denny among others: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “The Angels Took My Racehorse Away”] Unfortunately, while that album has later become regarded as one of the classics of its genre, at the time it was absolutely slated by the music press. The review in Melody Maker, for example, read in part “Some of Richard Thompson’s ideas sound great – which is really the saving grace of this album, because most of the music doesn’t. The tragedy is that Thompson’s “British rock music” is such an unconvincing concoction… Even the songs that do integrate rock and traditional styles of electric guitar rhythms and accordion and fiddle decoration – and also include explicit, meaningful lyrics are marred by bottle-up vocals, uninspiring guitar phrases and a general lack of conviction in performance.” Henry the Human Fly was released in the US by Warners, who had a reciprocal licensing deal with Island (and for whom Joe Boyd was working at the time, which may have had something to do with that) but according to Thompson it became the lowest-selling record that Warners ever put out (though I’ve also seen that claim made about Van Dyke Parks’ Song Cycle, another album that has later been rediscovered). Thompson was hugely depressed by this reaction, and blamed his own singing. Happily, though, by this point he and Linda had become a couple — they would marry in 1972 — and they started playing folk clubs as a duo, or sometimes in a trio with Simon Nicol. Thompson was also playing with Sandy Denny’s backing band at this point, and played on every track on her second solo album, Sandy. This album was meant to be her big commercial breakthrough, with a glamorous cover photo by David Bailey, and with a more American sound, including steel guitar by Sneaky Pete Kleinow of the Flying Burrito Brothers (whose overdubs were supervised in LA by Joe Boyd): [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Tomorrow is a Long Time”] The album was given a big marketing push by Island, and “Listen, Listen” was made single of the week on the Radio 1 Breakfast show: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Listen, Listen”] But it did even worse than the previous album, sending her into something of a depression. Linda Thompson (as the former Linda Peters now was) said of this period “After the Sandy album, it got her down that her popularity didn't suddenly increase in leaps and bounds, and that was the start of her really fretting about the way her career was going. Things only escalated after that. People like me or Martin Carthy or Norma Waterson would think, ‘What are you on about? This is folk music.'” After Sandy’s release, Denny realised she could no longer afford to tour with a band, and so went back to performing just acoustically or on piano. The only new music to be released by either of these ex-members of Fairport Convention in 1973 was, oddly, on an album by the band they were no longer members of. After Thompson had left Fairport, the group had managed to release two whole albums with the same lineup — Swarbrick, Nicol, Pegg, and Mattacks. But then Nicol and Mattacks had both quit the band to join the Albion Band with their former bandmate Ashley Hutchings, leading to a situation where the Albion Band had two original members of Fairport plus their longtime drummer while Fairport Convention itself had no original members and was down to just Swarbrick and Pegg. Needing to fulfil their contracts, they then recruited three former members of Fotheringay — Lucas on vocals and rhythm guitar, Donahue on lead guitar, and Conway on drums. Conway was only a session player at the time, and Mattacks soon returned to the band, but Lucas and Donahue became full-time members. This new lineup of Fairport Convention released two albums in 1973, widely regarded as the group’s most inconsistent records, and on the title track of the first, “Rosie”, Richard Thompson guested on guitar, with Sandy Denny and Linda Thompson on backing vocals: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Rosie”] Neither Sandy Denny nor Richard Thompson released a record themselves in 1973, but in neither case was this through the artists’ choice. The record industry was changing in the early 1970s, as we’ll see in later episodes, and was less inclined to throw good money after bad in the pursuit of art. Island Records prided itself on being a home for great artists, but it was still a business, and needed to make money. We’ll talk about the OPEC oil crisis and its effect on the music industry much more when the podcast gets to 1973, but in brief, the production of oil by the US peaked in 1970 and started to decrease, leading to them importing more and more oil from the Middle East. As a result of this, oil prices rose slowly between 1971 and 1973, then very quickly towards the end of 1973 as a result of the Arab-Israeli conflict that year. As vinyl is made of oil, suddenly producing records became much more expensive, and in this period a lot of labels decided not to release already-completed albums, until what they hoped would be a brief period of shortages passed. Both Denny and Thompson recorded albums at this point that got put to one side by Island. In the case of Thompson, it was the first album by Richard and Linda as a duo, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight: [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight”] Today, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time, and as one of the two masterpieces that bookended Richard and Linda’s career as a duo and their marriage. But when they recorded the album, full of Richard’s dark songs, it was the opposite of commercial. Even a song that’s more or less a boy-girl song, like “Has He Got a Friend for Me?” has lyrics like “He wouldn’t notice me passing by/I could be in the gutter, or dangling down from a tree” [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “Has He got a Friend For Me?”] While something like “The Calvary Cross” is oblique and haunted, and seems to cast a pall over the entire album: [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “The Calvary Cross”] The album itself had been cheap to make — it had been recorded in only a week, with Thompson bringing in musicians he knew well and had worked with a lot previously to cut the tracks as-live in only a handful of takes — but Island didn’t think it was worth releasing. The record stayed on the shelf for nearly a year after recording, until Island got a new head of A&R, Richard Williams. Williams said of the album’s release “Muff Winwood had been doing A&R, but he was more interested in production… I had a conversation with Muff as soon as I got there, and he said there are a few hangovers, some outstanding problems. And one of them was Richard Thompson. He said there’s this album we gave him the money to make — which was I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight — and nobody’s very interested in it. Henry the Human Fly had been a bit of a commercial disappointment, and although Island was altruistic and independent and known for only recording good stuff, success was important… Either a record had to do well or somebody had to believe in it a lot. And it seemed as if neither of those things were true at that point of Richard.” Williams, though, was hugely impressed when he listened to the album. He compared Richard Thompson’s guitar playing to John Coltrane’s sax, and called Thompson “the folk poet of the rainy streets”, but also said “Linda brightened it, made it more commercial. and I thought that “Bright Lights” itself seemed a really commercial song.” The rest of the management at Island got caught up in Williams’ enthusiasm, and even decided to release the title track as a single: [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight”] Neither single nor album charted — indeed it would not be until 1991 that Richard Thompson would make a record that made the top forty in the UK — but the album got enough critical respect that Richard and Linda released two albums the year after. The first of these, Hokey Pokey, is a much more upbeat record than their previous one — Richard Thompson has called it “quite a music-hall influenced record” and cited the influence of George Formby and Harry Lauder. For once, the claim of music hall influence is audible in the music. Usually when a British musician is claimed to have a music ha

Have you ever wondered what a Serbian Shortcake is? Or what Grizzly Adams brother from the city looked like? Perhaps you were wondering about the quality of Video Game TV shows. Well what if I told you that the Blue Dress or White Dress argument was nothing more than a test of how to control what we all see (it's true*), well we get into all of that and so much more. Take a listen and we hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did!#charliechaplin, #osmondbrothers, #busterkeaton, #divebar, #theylive, #grizzlyadams, #bluedressorwhitedress, #trafficcourt, #watermark, #humanity, #bluetoothdevice

Special thanks to anonymous for allowing us to share your story.In this episode, we share two creepy Reddit stories. The first is about a strange entity in the woods, and the second is about a sighting of a classic woman in a white dress.The BOOKBY US A COFFEEJoin Sarah's new FACEBOOK GROUPSubscribe to our PATREONEMAIL us your storiesFollow us on YOUTUBEJoin us on INSTAGRAMJoin us on TWITTERJoin us on FACEBOOKVisit our WEBSITEStories:https://www.reddit.com/r/CrawlerSightings/comments/f43ko5/an_experience_i_had_years_ago_with_my_retiredAnonThanks so much for listening, and we'll catch up with you again tomorrow!Sarah and Tobie xx"Spacial Winds" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome, foolish mortals. Tonight, we journey into the twisted depths of terror and suspense, where each story is a chilling whisper from the grave, and every twist a final gasp of dread. So, dim the lights, lock the doors, and prepare yourself for nightmares to become reality with more Tales from the Creep! The Creep shares five tales of horror in this spooky compilation, including The Jigsaw Puzzle, Claws, The Tale of Bloody Mary, The Werecat, The Corpse's Revenge, The Guests, and The White Dress. youtube.com/@scarystoriespod

How can it be?!  The last episode of 2024!I am so excited for one of my dear friends and industry icons to join me on the podcast.  Beth Lindsay Chapman is a veteran of the fashion industry and is known for her work as a bridal boutique owner, stylist, mentor, author, and wedding fashion consultant.  After her tenure as a Vice President of Merchandising for Ann Taylor, her love of bridal fashion, and sincere desire to create a memorable shopping experience for brides, compelled her to launch The White Dress by the shore, a Connecticut based luxury bridal boutique, in 2004.  Beth is also the founder of Beth Chapman Styling + Consulting.   Through the consulting arm of her business, Beth Chapman Consulting, Beth trains wedding pros on changing their approach to sales and increasing their closing ratio. She travels the country educating wedding professionals on how to become comfortable with selling. After running a successful bridal store herself for 20 years, Beth is passionate about helping other bridal store owners to elevate their businesses. To that end, she founded The White Dress Society, a community for independent bridal store owners and The Bridal Retailer Academy, an educational platform for bridal store owners and their stylists. On the fashion side of the business, Beth is also a sought-after stylist.  Through her company, Beth Chapman Styling, she assists couples in selecting fashion for their wedding and along with a team of dressers, provides wedding dressing services. Beth also works with publications and brands on styled editorial shoots. Her fashion artistry has allowed her to style editorial shoots throughout the world.Beth is the co-author of two books, The White Dress in Color, and The White Dress Destinations and has also contributed to Wedding Bible by Sarah Haywood, and Simple Stunning Bride by Karen Bussen.Beth's work and voice have been seen in: The Today Show, The New York Times, Vogue, People Magazine, Martha Stewart Weddings, BRIDES, Over The Moon, and style me pretty.  She is one of a kind and I'm so excited for her to share her story, how she makes it all happen and of course, her secrets to stamina.You do not want to miss this one!  ENJOY!  Wishing you all a very happy holiday and new year - cheers!  XO, CindyContact & Follow Cindy! Follow on Instagram at cindy_novotny, Facebook and LinkedIn for every day inspirational posts.Email at cindynovotny@masterconnection.com

In this episode, I reflect on a poignant memory tied to a beautiful white dress. Originally worn to a junior-senior dance, I also wore it for my senior picture. But what should have been a cherished keepsake became a symbol of my struggle with alcohol. While I remember the party before the dance, the events after remain a blackout blur, leaving me with a ripped dress and unanswered questions. This story highlights the pattern alcohol had on my life—a gateway to fun for many, but for me, it often led to blackouts and consequences I couldn't recall. For years, alcohol had a tight grip on me, distorting my sense of control and self. Today, I am profoundly grateful to have broken free from its hold, embracing a life of clarity, growth, and gratitude.

Welcome back to the campfire. We hope you're ready to be spooked! This creeptastic compilation features 5 of our favorite scary stories, including The Guests, Harpies, The White Dress, The Dream Woman, and Voyage of the Demeter. youtube.com/@scarystoriespod --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scarystoriespod/support

Puck then welcomes Chris Egan, KING 5 to the show for his weekly show to discuss all things sports, non-sports and life.  Egan details his crazy night attending the Kraken game as a fan. Coors light, margaritas, burgers, hot dogs and cider. What a night for Egan! Egan and Puck talk about the cool scene in Cleveland where the Guardians pulled within 2-1 of the Yankees. When are the Mariners going to get back to that?Egan is off to Lake Washington/Issaquah for the King 5 “Big Game of the Week”. 

In Episode 17 of our Haunted America series, host Lyle Perez takes listeners to Kentucky, the Bluegrass State. Known for its bourbon, beautiful horse country, and rich history, Kentucky is also home to some of the most bone-chilling haunted locations in the country. From eerie sanatoriums to haunted caves, ghostly plantations to phantom-filled hotels, this episode uncovers 10 of the most haunted places in Kentucky, where spirits from the past linger and paranormal encounters are common. Featured Haunted Locations: Waverly Hills Sanatorium Address: 4400 Paralee Dr, Louisville, KY 40272 Once a tuberculosis hospital, Waverly Hills is infamous for the spirits of its former patients, particularly in the "Body Chute" and Room 502, where visitors report hearing screams, whispers, and seeing apparitions. Bobby Mackey's Music World Address: 44 Licking Pike, Wilder, KY 41071 A nightclub built on the site of an old slaughterhouse, rumored to be haunted by the ghost of Pearl Bryan and a dancer named Johanna. Some claim the basement well is a "portal to Hell." Liberty Hall Address: 202 Wilkinson St, Frankfort, KY 40601 This historic mansion is haunted by the "Gray Lady" and a Revolutionary War soldier who still guards the halls. Old Louisville Ghost District Address: St. James Court, Louisville, KY 40208 This historic neighborhood is home to several spirits, including the "Lady in the White Dress" and the "Lady in Black," both often seen wandering the Victorian streets and homes. Boone Tavern Hotel Address: 100 Main St N, Berea, KY 40403 A historic hotel haunted by the ghost of a little girl and an older woman who rearranges furniture and tidies up the rooms. Mammoth Cave Address: 1 Mammoth Cave Pkwy, Mammoth Cave, KY 42259 The world's longest cave system is haunted by the spirits of explorer Floyd Collins and Stephen Bishop, a former slave who guided visitors through the cave in the 1800s. The Seelbach Hotel Address: 500 S 4th St, Louisville, KY 40202 A grand hotel haunted by the “Lady in Blue,” believed to be Patricia Wilson, who tragically died in an elevator accident. Guests report seeing her ghost near the mezzanine and elevators. White Hall State Historic Site Address: 500 White Hall Shrine Rd, Richmond, KY 40475 Home to Cassius Marcellus Clay, this mansion is haunted by the fiery abolitionist and one of his daughters, who died young. Visitors have heard giggles and the sound of papers rustling in the study. The Old Talbott Tavern Address: 107 W Stephen Foster Ave, Bardstown, KY 40004 This historic stagecoach stop is haunted by the "Lady in White" and a mischievous young boy who loves playing pranks on guests. The Perryville Battlefield Address: 1825 Battlefield Rd, Perryville, KY 40468 The site of one of the Civil War's bloodiest battles, this battlefield is haunted by the spirits of soldiers who never left. Visitors report hearing musket fire, cannon blasts, and ghostly soldiers marching through the fog. Join us as we journey through Kentucky's haunted history, from its eerie mansions to its shadowy caves, uncovering the stories of restless spirits that linger in the Bluegrass State. Like Our Facebook page for more Halloween fun: www.Facebook.com/TheHalloweenPodcast ORDER PODCAST MERCH! Website: www.TheHalloweenPodcast.com Email: TheHalloweenPodcast@gmail.com X: @TheHalloweenPod Support the Show: www.patreon.com/TheHalloweenPod Get bonus Halloween content and more! Just for Patreon supporters! Check out my other show! Find it on iTunes - Amazing Advertising http://amazingadvertising.podomatic.com/ Keywords: Haunted Kentucky, Kentucky Ghost Stories, Paranormal Kentucky, Haunted Locations, Waverly Hills Sanatorium, Bobby Mackey's Music World, Liberty Hall, Mammoth Cave, Old Talbott Tavern, Perryville Battlefield Tags: #HauntedAmerica #GhostStories #KentuckyHaunts #ParanormalPodcast #HauntedLocations #KentuckyGhosts #WaverlyHills #BobbyMackeys #LibertyHall #MammothCave #OldTalbottTavern #StaySpooky

Prepare to be chilled to the bone with two spine-tingling adaptations of classic spooky legends that have haunted generations. In THE GUESTS, a lost couple seeks shelter in a mysterious cabin far from civilization. But what they find inside will make them wish they had stayed in the cold. Then, a young woman finds THE WHITE DRESS - a perfect gown for her upcoming dance—only to discover that it comes with a dark and deadly secret. Both tales have been adapted in various forms, including Alvin Schwartz's legendary Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and are guaranteed to leave you sleepless. youtube.com/@scarystoriespod @scarystoriespod instagram.com/thescarystoriespodcast --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scarystoriespod/support

This week Démar and Adriel discuss the supergroup ¥$ (Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign)'s second studio album 'Vultures 2', Kanye's juvenile lyrics, reused motifs and incomplete songs.Démar's rating: 2 / 10Adriel's rating: 5.5 / 10The Love List: River, Field TripTIMECODES:1:04 - Surprised it was going to drop/exist 2:33 - Ye in the NBA Youngboy Zone3:05 - Vultures4:25 - Struggle raps for almost an hour5:30 - Ye was someone who would make an album, scrap the album, and then remake the album7:40 - similar to White Dress 10:55 - Don't want to say he ruined all these songs11:42 - Ye's lyrics are almost elementary school12:20 - The Kanye effect13:30 - Ye is a producer at this point16:37 - Does it twice on this album  20:10 - Ye is in a space where he used to be adjacent to conscious Hip-Hop22:25 - The rapper version of Ye needs to retire26:41 - When Ye is involved in any of these songs, he brings too much baggage27:45 - Sky City31:45 - All you have is a cool idea / what message33:00 - Thought of all the artists that sound homogeneous34:00 - Remember when he used to have a direction in his project35:10  - He's looking washed39:50 - What are we asking of Ye at this point43:13 - When people get divorced, you go back to the age you got married at46:12 - in the worst stretch of music in his career47:24 - Feels like he's out of ideas53:44 - The cover58:45 - The Score1:02:15 - The Simpsons comparison Follow us:YOUTUBE:https://www.youtube.com/@AlbumModeTikTok:Album Mode: https://www.tiktok.com/@albummodepod Adriel: https://www.tiktok.com/@adrielsmileydotcom Démar: https://www.tiktok.com/@godkingdemi Instagram:Album Mode: https://www.instagram.com/albummodepod/ Adriel: https://www.instagram.com/adrielsmileydotcom/ Démar: https://www.instagram.com/demarjgrant/ Twitter:Album Mode: https://twitter.com/AlbumModepod Adriel: https://twitter.com/AdrielSmiley_ Démar: https://twitter.com/DemarJGrantKanye West & Ty Dolla $ign ¥$ - Vultures 2 / 2024 / hip hop, rap, trap,

Trends in the bridal industry are ever changing, so this week I am speaking with two guests who are constantly keeping things FRESH with brides and couples: Melanie & Malea from Brilliant Bridal and hosts of White Dress Optional Podcast!  In this episode, we talk about their podcast, White Dress Optional, how they opened 7 bridal shops in 13 years, what dress trends brides are currently shopping for, the decision fatigue many brides are experiencing, and advice for bridal seamstresses wanting to grow their business and stay up to date with trends.  In this episode: Why Melanie and Malea started the White Dress Optional Podcast, a podcast for newlyweds and couples.  How Brilliant Bridal found a new way to help brides & couples navigate all their options before, during, and after their wedding.  The decision making fatigue many brides are experiencing, and how you as a seamstress can make this easier for them. The importance of educating your bridal stores about alterations.  Strategies for adapting to upcoming trends.  About Brilliant Bridal:  Brilliant Bridal specializes in selling designer bridal gowns at brilliant savings at our seven bridal boutiques across Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and Texas. We carry dresses from the designers you know, love and want to wear on your wedding day at prices that are always up to 70% off retail.  Because all of our wedding dresses are sold off-the-rack with no long waiting period you can take your dress home the same day you find it!   In addition to wedding dresses, we sell unique bridal accessories, veils and belts. Connect with Melanie & Malea: Brillant Bridal: https://www.instagram.com/brilliantbridal/ White Dress Optional Podcast: https://www.instagram.com/whitedressoptional/ Connect with Nadine:  Check out the NEW exclusive private podcast series, Fitting Packages 101: https://enchanting-sun-77080.myflodesk.com/privatepodcast Become a member: https://secretsofabridalseamstresspodcast.com/membership Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/secretsofabridalseamstress/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nadinebozeman YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@secretsofabridalseamstress

In this episode, Tara and Jill discuss the little white dress. Please send us questions we can answer for you on the podcast!! Tara: @tarawestfashion, tarawestfashion.com Jill: @jrkadvisors, jrkadvisors.com

Kristy, the owner and founder of The White Dress in Michigan joins the podcast today to talk all about Michigan's bridal scene, why she opened her own bridal shop, as well as social media's impact on brides while dress shopping!Social media is great for brides to see what types of dresses are out there, but oftentimes, this can come with dress overwhelm, dress regrets, and stressful indecisiveness when shopping. Kristy and Sarah discuss this topic during the conversation and advise on the best methods to avoid such stressors and maximize enjoyment of this fabulous once-in-a-lifetime experience!A bit about Kristy: Kristy has been dreaming of wedding dresses since she was a little girl.  Never once did she think she would be lucky enough to be surrounded by their beauty on a daily basis.  But after lots of hard work, and a little bit of fate, her dream came true when she opened up The White Dress in 2011 in Brighton, Michigan. Though she loves all aspects of running her boutique, her favorite part is meeting the brides and helping them achieve their dreams. “Seeing the dresses come to life and be loved by another is so rewarding.  And making their dream dress a reality is the best!” Thank you Kristy for sharing your journey with Dressing Up podcast listeners!Prom! Kristy also shares with us their all new Prom selection of gowns, each one unique and different, Kristy advises to shop early because when they are gone, they're gone!Website: https://the-white-dress.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewhitedressmi/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thewhitedressmiIf you have questions for Sarah to answer, send an email to hello@sarahkolis.comConnect with Sarah:Website: https://sarahkolis.com/Instagram: https://instagram.com/sarahkolisdesigns/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbh7HlVmyj9N5VsleuySxcQ

Stories in this episode: - The Lady in the White Dress, by Nadine - A Christmas Ghost Story, by Michael -  A Witness to the Beyond, by JerseyGirl94 - Spirit and Entities, by LuneriaNight - Nursing Home Story, by Laura - Was I Abducted?, by Luka Submissions: stories@oddtrails.com Join our Discord using the following link: https://discord.gg/enBKrsTk7f Listen ad-free and support the show for only $5 a month by signing up for our Patreon! You'll also hear episodes at a crystal clear 320 kbps. Head over to patreon.com/oddtrails. Connect with us on Instagram @oddtrailspodcast or on the Cryptic County Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/433173970399259 Check out the other Cryptic County podcasts like Let's Not Meet: A True Horror Podcast and the Old Time Radiocast at CrypticCountyPodcasts.com or wherever you get your podcasts! Visit FieldOfGreens.com and use promo code TRAILS to get 15% off your first order, plus free rush shipping! Head to FactorMeals.com/trails50 and use code trails50 to get 50% off! - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1n7wNZGJJ3Oc31O4TYx4x3 - Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/feed/id1598762965

Kicking off 2024 we welcome Tara Cheesman to the podcast with her recommendation, Being Here Is Everything: The Life and Times of Paula Modersohn-Becker by Marie Darriussecq, translated by Penny Hueston. Tara is a freelance critic, former judge of the Best Translated Book Award, and she brings us our first work of nonfiction. We have an absolutely fascinating conversation on art, motherhood, representations of women, and a lot more. And recommend a small syllabus of titles to dig into.Titles/authors mentioned:Imperium by Christian Kracht, translated by Daniel BowlesNathalie Léger: Suite for Barbara Loden, Exposition, The White DressÉric Plamondon: Apple S and MayonnaiseJean Echenoz's biographical novels: Running, Lightning, RavelSharks, Death, Surfers by Melissa McCarthyKate Zambreno: Book of Mutter and To Write As If Already DeadMargaret the First by Danielle DuttonJazmina Barrera: On Lighthouses and Linea NigraGeorges Perec: Ellis Island, I Remember, An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in ParisTo hear more from Tara follow her on Instagram: @taracheesman or subscribe (and you should!) to her Substack: Ex Libris.Click here to subscribe to our Substack and find us on the socials: @lostinredonda just about everywhere.Music: “The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys” by TrafficLogo design: Flynn Kidz Designs

She woke up and saw a woman in a flowing, white dress coming towards her. But she wasn't walking, she was floating. Who was she? If you have a real ghost story or supernatural event to report, please write into our show or call 1-855-853-4802! If you like the show, please help keep us on the air and support the show by becoming a Premium Subscriber.  Subscribe here: http://www.ghostpodcast.com/?page_id=118 or at http://www.patreon.com/realghoststories Watch more at: http://www.realghoststoriesonline.com/ Follow Tony: Instagram: HTTP://www.instagram.com/tonybrueski TikToc: https://www.tiktok.com/@tonybrueski Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tony.brueski

Join the style challenge Facebook group to watch the style challenge videos:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/styleguidesociety How to Style the Little White Dress for a Timeless Luxury Look With the arrival of spring 2024, it's time to refresh your wardrobe and embrace the latest fashion trends. As a woman in midlife, your sartorial elegance is the hallmark of your success in professional and personal spheres. This year's trend of 'quiet luxury' calls for a reimagining of classic pieces, and there's no better canvas than the all-versatile Little White Dress (LWD). Transforming simple into stunning, discover how to infuse timeless elegance and opulence into your LWD this season. Embracing the Little White Dress Your Little White Dress is more than just a seasonal staple; it's a blank canvas of versatility. It embodies sophistication and the purity of style. When chosen thoughtfully, an LWD becomes the cornerstone of a powerful, yet feminine wardrobe. Choosing the Perfect Little White Dress Select a well-tailored LWD that flatters your figure. Look for quality fabrics like cotton, silk, or linen, which not only feel luxurious but also hold their shape. A modest hemline and sleeve length lend a graceful quality, perfectly suitable for your refined image. Connecting with Quiet Luxury The essence of 'quiet luxury' is in the details. Opt for simpler designs with subtle adornment – perhaps a delicate lace overlay or a minimalist beaded neckline. The idea is not to shout elegance but to let the whispers of finer craftsmanship speak volumes. Spring 2024 Trends This spring brings a fresh take on classic styles, focusing on pieces that exude opulence through understated details. Incorporate these trends into your LWD ensemble to strike the perfect balance between modern and timeless. Monochrome Magic Embrace the monochrome trend by pairing your LWD with accessories in similar shades. Rich creams and subtle beige tones play with light to create an effortlessly elegant look. A beige leather belt cinched at the waist complements the dress and emphasizes your silhouette, while a cream-colored handbag or clutch adds a sophisticated touch. Statement Accessories It's all about the accessories this season. A chunky, gold-link bracelet or a pair of chandelier earrings can turn your LWD into a show-stopping ensemble. The key is to let your accessories be the exclamation points in your outfit, anchoring your look in the trends of today without overpowering the timeless essence of the LWD. Comfy-Chic Footwear Comfort meets luxury with the trend of low-heeled, strappy sandals. Opt for nude or metallic tones to keep the focus on your dress. These sandals offer all-day wearability, making them a practical yet stylish choice for your professional engagements and social events alike.   Join the Iconic Women Mastermind Waitlist ---> HERE Follow me on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/aftonporter/ Follow me on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD6_0sJPqQBoa7UJqNUzf8w

Playlist that audio from :: YT :: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT_XnLvTwzEgECcr4RlSBtvBYrtOcbav9&si=o3sE4X9il-p-Q6WB --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/juljina/message

Thank you for tuning into ‘White Dress Optional', a wedding podcast by Brilliant Bridal! Join us every Wednesday for candid conversations, expert insights, and heartwarming stories that celebrate love in all its forms. Connect with us on Instagram at @whitedressoptional or email us at podcast@brilliantbridal.com. If you are in one of our markets and searching for your dream dress, we'd be absolutely thrilled to accompany you on your bridal journey. Visit https://www.brilliantbridal.com/appointments to schedule an appointment to shop at one of our boutiques today!

If "clout-chaser" was a person, it's this girl

Recorded LIVE at our 2023 National Convivium Irenicum, Colin and Onsi are joined by Pastor Daniel Doleys to discuss the sessions from our annual gathering, which focussed on "Christ and the Nations: A Protestant Theology of Statecraft". They talk about Schleirmacher,  kingship, supererrogation (whatever that is), and more.NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.Currently ReadingOnsi: "Against Aristotle on the Eternity of the World" by John Philoponus Colin: "White Dress" by Lana Del Rey Daniel: "Divine Providence" by Stephen CharnockTexts DiscussedN/ASpotlightSynopsis of a Purer Theology 

Tune in to Skin Deep to learn about the importance of raising fibroid awareness and how the White Dress Project bridges the gap between patient experiences, doctors, and community leaders.  --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/skindeepradioshow/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/skindeepradioshow/support

Top Cities For Food Trucks & Woman Wears Off-White Dress To Daughters Wedding

Hour 2 of A&G features the latest on the Hunter Biden investigation.  Plus, the Mexican military grows in strength, polling on Desantis and more!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hour 2 of A&G features the latest on the Hunter Biden investigation.  Plus, the Mexican military grows in strength, polling on Desantis and more!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hour 2 of A&G features the latest on the Hunter Biden investigation.  Plus, the Mexican military grows in strength, polling on Desantis and more!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Another insightful episode in the bag. This week playwright Roger Q Mason stops by and unpacks the queer perspective of playwriting discussing how performance compliments writing (and vice versa), embracing and pushing discomfort as well as thematic layering and poetic expressionism. We also delve into the definition of being a "jazz playwright", writing from the root, transferring curiosity to the page, the process of getting your work out, writing interior life, and how to find a mentor. This, of course, is just a smattering of what you'll find within this interview, so listen to its entirety, and I promise you'll take away something new in the craft of playwriting. Enjoy!Roger Q. Mason is a playwright and screenwriter whose work investigates the intersection of history, memory, and identity. They holds an MFA in Writing from Northwestern University, MA in English from Middlebury College, and BA in English and Theatre from Princeton University and their plays have been seen on Broadway at Circle in the Square (Circle Reading Series); Off/Off-Off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop, New Group, American Theatre of Actors, Flea Theatre, and Access Theater. Their work has also been named finalist of the Geffen Playhouse Writers Room, BRIC Lab Residency, Lark Playwrights Week, and Screencraft Play Award, and their play The White Dress was semi-finalist for the 2018 Bay Area Playwrights Festival and the inaugural Shonda Rhimes Emerging Playwright Award. To view the video format of this episode, visit the link below -https://youtu.be/nc17OB7akhgLinks to sites and resources mentioned in this episode - Circle in the Square Theatre School -https://circlesquare.org24 Hour Plays -https://24hourplays.orgContact information for Roger Q. Mason -IG - @rogerq.masonTwitter - @rogerqmasonWebsites and socials for James Elden, Punk Monkey Productions and Playwright's SpotlightPunk Monkey Productions - www.punkmonkeyproductions.comPLAY Noir -www.playnoir.comPLAY Noir Anthology –www.punkmonkeyproductions.com/contact.htmlJames Elden -Twitter - @jameseldensauerIG - @alakardrakeFB - fb.com/jameseldensauerPunk Monkey Productions and PLAY Noir - Twitter - @punkmonkeyprods                  - @playnoirla IG - @punkmonkeyprods       - @playnoir_la FB - fb.com/playnoir        - fb.com/punkmonkeyproductionsPlaywright's Spotlight -Twitter - @wrightlightpod IG - @playwrights_spotlightPlaywriting services through Los Angeles Collegiate Playwrights Festivalwww.losangelescollegiateplaywrightsfestival.com/services.htmlSupport the show

Welcome back & Hello 2023!  We are so excited for another year of My Secrets to Stamina!  We have so many amazing guests lined up and know you will get so much out of each & every one of them.  During this episode, I have the absolute pleasure of welcoming a dear friend of mine with one of the biggest hearts – Ms. Beth Chapman.  Fashion runs in her blood, she is a veteran of the fashion & weddings industry, holding roles such as VP of Merchandising for Ann Taylor.  In 2024, she opened up her first luxury bridal boutique, The White Dress by the Shore.  Beth is also the founder of Beth Chapman Styling & Consulting and through that supports many industry entrepreneurs through her organization, The White Dress Society.  We talk about it all during this episode - she is a working mom, a total boss babe, a mental health advocate and a truly wonderful human.Enjoy! Contact & Follow Cindy! Follow on Instagram at cindy_novotny, Facebook and LinkedIn for every day inspirational posts.Email at cindynovotny@masterconnection.com

Featuring the fic "White Dress Shirt" by fleeceframe AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/38672493 podfic link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43801666 Rating: General Audiences Tags for this fic include: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, set after cas's death in 12x23 and then resurrection in 13x05, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Dean Winchester Has Panic Attacks, First Kiss, 13x06 tombstone coda, basically what would have happened if dean had confessed after cas's resurrection

On this episode of F*ck Wellness, Lara, Mal, and Ken catch up after two months of masculinity content. Mal talks about her struggles with wedding planning; Lara details her amazing facial; and Makena describes her work anxiety and potential life transitions.We are relaunching our book club! Find all the info here. We'd love to have you be a part of it.Notes: Mal's Newsletter: "You Don't Have to Wear a White Dress"Mal's Newsletter: "You Don't Have to Change Your Last Name"All of our episodes are now on Youtube! You can now listen & watch us be goofy, completely uncut. Head here for our Youtube Channel!New to F*ck Wellness? Click here for our blog post on the best episodes to start with!Join the GTG Book Club! It is a free, low-commitment, & fun bonding experience. Pick and choose which calls you go to! Sign up for our book club newsletter here.Sign up for our newsletter for monthly updates on our lives, events, and blog posts.Follow us on Instagram at @generationthreegirls or visit our website: generationthreegirls.com for more information on upcoming offerings and blog posts.Personal instas:Mallory: @mallorycmwLara: @laravanderb22Makena: @makenasherwood

ถ้าการแอบชอบคือรูปแบบหนึ่งของความรัก เราคงรักเธอมาก จนจำรายละเอียดได้ทุกอย่าง . เธอใส่ชุดนักเรียน เธอเป็นคนฟันห่าง เธอชอบใส่กางเกงยีนส์ลายดอกไม้ นี่คือเก้าอี้ตัวโปรดที่เธอชอบนั่งในโรงเรียน รายการ #เพลงนี้มาไง EP20 ชวน Namcha มาบอกเล่าถึงความรักครั้งแรกในช่วงมัธยม ผ่านผลงานเพลงล่าสุด ‘in my white dress' ทั้งในพาร์ทเนื้อหาแลการทำดนตรี สรุปแล้ว white dress ในเพลงนี้จะเป็นหมายถึงชุดนักเรียนหรือกลายเป็นชุดแต่งงาน ไปรับฟังคำตอบกันได้เลย Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reddit rSlash Storytime r amithejerk? where AITA for calling my sister's husband a piece of s*** because he's representing my ex in our divorce? AITA for not going out to get a special pizza? AITA for telling my husband i never wanted our daughter after he refused to take care of her? AITA for sometimes hanging out in states of undress with my bf's roommate? AITA for not babysitting during an emergency. AITA for refusing to let my husband eat from my plate at the restaurant? AITA for making coworkers pay me for my time. AITA? Boyfriend's bday is the same weekend as my sisters wedding AITA for telling my friend she should work less if she wants more time with her husband? AITA for getting mad at my friend for referring to me as her “gay best friend AITA for telling my colleague that she basically called her newborn daughter Luigi? AITA For wearing a White Dress to my Sister's Wedding? AITA for not wanting my step son at our daughter's 1st bday party? AITA for a dry wedding and telling someone he has an alcohol problem? AITA for reporting my professor AITA for waking my husband up to drive me to pick up my car when I left my keys in my locker at work? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to another episode of REAL TALK!  In today's episode, we are reacting to a post from the Reddit thread "Am I the Asshole?" and figuring out who's the asshole in the situation.Today's episode is brought to you by a post from a reddit user named Freshtoothpaste513.  And their story goes:  https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/xzo4jk/aita_for_asking_my_friend_not_to_wear_a_white/ Other topics include:- Weddings- Bridezilla- Spending- Average Wedding Costs- Elopement vs. Ceremonies

ALL stories are allegedly TRUE. Please be kind & keep the comments clean and civil. It takes courage + being vulnerable for these folks to be telling their stories in the first place. Don't forget to subscribe and share the episode with family and friends. If you have any stories to share or you'd want me to narrate, feel free to email me at tetsuotellsastory@gmail.com TIMESTAMP: 0:00 – Intro 1:00 – The Green Glow (u/Grendel112) 4:52 – The Toddler's Hand (Anonymous) 7:35 – Working at Funeral – Setting up a Hmong Funeral (Jane Doe) 11:09 – The Woman in the White Dress (u/lily-draws) 14:46 – Maple Grove Cemetery – Bloomberg, Kentucky (Kizzy) 19:56 – Water Plant (u/Bigcountryred1993) 25:16 – END Do you like scary stories? Check out true scary stories by the Hmong Community: https://www.facebook.com/HmongGhostStories Sound effects: www.Freesounds.org Licensed under Creative Commons By Attribution 2.0: Other pictures are found in Public Domain : https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain Ambient Background sounds by CO.AG: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcavSftXHgxLBWwLDm_bNvA Last Piano Music by The Talented Myuuji: https://www.youtube.com/c/myuuji Tags: real-life horror stories, urban legends, ddp, darr diary podcast, darr diary, dar diary, horror games, horror stories channel, dwarka horror stories, indian horror stories, reddit, reddit stories, reddit confessions, reddit scary stories reddit entitled parents, reddit cringe compilation, reddit king, reddit horror, reddit horror stories, scary stories ,ddp ,darr diary podcast ,darr diary , real horror audio stories, horror stories channel, reddit, reddit stories, reddit confessions, reddit scary stories reddit entitled parents, reddit cringe compilation, reddit horror stories, Why I Stopped Narrating Stories On YouTube, real-life horror stories, urban legends, horror games, reddit king, reddit horror, ask reddit, no sleep, reddit aliens, confessions, horror, horror stories, horror story, ghost, scary, creepy-pasta, hmong stories, hmong scary stories, hmong bedtime stories, scary stories to tell in the dark, creepy stories, bone-chilling, creepypasta, scary tiktoks, tiktok, --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tetsuo2/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/tetsuo2/support

Relationship Reddit Stories, OP tells us about their good friends upcoming wedding and when discussing what dress OP should wear, the bride to be decided on a white one. It turns out it's a friendship test...

Hey! Ace of swords here.

A white dress when done right is phenomenal! However, when done wrong, it is a disaster. Here are tips to get the right white dress for you. Get the show notes for this episode at https://livbyviv.com/2022/05/14/what-you-dont-want-in-a-white-dress/ You can always find me on Instagram @livbyviv https://www.instagram.com/livbyviv/ Sign up for my Favorite Finds Newsletter to get links to may favorite finds https://bit.ly/favoritefindssignup Support this podcast through Ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/livbyviv --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/dontmixin/message

WELCOME TO THE SHOW......

WELCOME TO THE SHOW......

This episode is all about cultural weddings! Tune in as co-hosts Kristina, Mike and Sharon talk with special guest, Ellen Fox of ShaFox Weddings & Events, about the colorfulness, grandeur and traditions behind cultural weddings that go way beyond the traditional American bouquet toss and bride in an elegant white dress. Listen in to understand all that goes into coordinating, who does the planning and all the things that make these events so special.Ellen is a talented designer, an exceedingly organized leader, and extremely passionate about perfection.  She orchestrates detailed "behind the scenes" event execution, allowing clients and vendors an enjoyable and rewarding event experiences.  For more than 20 years, Ellen has been a leader in the hospitality industry serving on several boards, including past president of the Kentucky Bluegrass Chapter of Meeting Professionals International. Her relatability, innovative designs, and confident yet calming approach consistently produce events that amaze.Timestamps:• [2:48] Ellen shares about the work and education that led her to this line of work. • [3:48] Ellen discusses wearing all the hats as a business owner… • [6:29] Ellen talks about getting immersed in her client's culture to truly understand their wants and needs for their wedding. • [14:31] “Some of the things that I tell my clients all the time, is we only get to do this once. So, let's do it right.”For more information on The Ring The Bling And All The Things Podcast, visit: https://www.ringblingallthethingspodcast.com/Kristina StubblefieldCoaching & consulting: https://kristinastubblefield.com/Website: https://www.ringblingallthethingspodcast.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theringtheblingandallthethingsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/theringtheblingandallthethings/The Ring The Bling And All The Things Community Platform: https://www.ringblingallthethings.com/Michael GaddieWebsite: https://www.lloydsflorist.net/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lloydsflorist/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lloydsflorist/ Sharon RumseyWebsite: https://aperfectplanevents.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APerfectPlanKentuckiana/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aperfectplaneventskentuckiana/Guest InformationEllen FoxWebsite: https://www.shafox.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/shafoxweddings/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shafoxweddingsOur vision is to bring vendors, venues, show producers, wedding groups and engaged couples to ONE amazing place! We have built a platform that you can use us to access local vendors, video and photo inspiration galleries, mood boards, wedding stories and articles, engagement stories, exclusive savings, wedding show and expo events in your area, online stores, resources like wedding registries and informative podcasts as well as education events! www.ringblingallthethings.com

Is it wrong to wear an "OFF-white" dress to a wedding... isn't that still white?  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

4.18.2022 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: LA's Cancer Alley, Manson's Takeover Remains, Nashville's Reverse Racism, The White Dress Project The Environmental Protection Agency has launched several civil rights investigations over air pollution in Louisiana's "Cancer Alley."  That's between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, where a quarter of the nation's petrochemical production occurs. We'll talk to the president of the Concerned Citizens of St. John Parish, that says there permits granted in the highly polluted industrial corridor are discriminatory. The fight continues for Mason, Tennessee, as a judge denies to reinstate control of the majority-black town's finances to its leadership.  For now, the state comptroller will continue to hold the purse strings.   Also, in Tennessee, the state Senate gives final approval to a Black history bill requiring state public schools to integrate Black history and culture into the social studies curriculum for grades five through eight.  All it needs is the governor's signature. A white Nashville councilwoman is kinda being called a racist for describing white people as white. Florida's State Board of Education rejects over 40-percent of textbook submissions saying they promote CRT. Former Superbowl Champion Marshawn Lynch is taking up hockey - as a minority owner. And in our Fit, Live Win segment, we're talking about fibroids.  We'll meet one woman who turned her own medical story into an awareness mission called "The White Dress Project."   Support #RolandMartinUnfiltered and #BlackStarNetwork via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$rmunfiltered PayPal ☛ https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfiltered Venmo ☛https://venmo.com/rmunfiltered Zelle ☛ roland@rolandsmartin.com Annual or monthly recurring #BringTheFunk Fan Club membership via paypal ☛ https://rolandsmartin.com/rmu-paypal/ Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox

Police were called to examine a suspected human body wrapped up in a black plastic bag, only to disover it was actually a discarded, and very well-wrapped, sex doll. The doll, which was wearing a white dress, was discovered in a communal trash bin. And we have footage from the First Responders arriving at the perceived crime scene. Also, Baby Huey's Podcast that Lamont & Tonelli love talking about is called In The Kliq. Please listen and subscribe. Listen to Lamont & Tonelli Monday through Friday, 5-10am, on 107.7 The Bone in the San Francisco Bay Area. Follow Lamont & Tonelli: Website: http://www.landtradio.com/ Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lamontandtonelli Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/landtshow Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/landtshow See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Police were called to examine a suspected human body wrapped up in a black plastic bag, only to disover it was actually a discarded, and very well-wrapped, sex doll. The doll, which was wearing a white dress, was discovered in a communal trash bin. And we have footage from the First Responders arriving at the perceived crime scene. Also, Baby Huey's Podcast that Lamont & Tonelli love talking about is called In The Kliq. Please listen and subscribe. Listen to Lamont & Tonelli Monday through Friday, 5-10am, on 107.7 The Bone in the San Francisco Bay Area. Follow Lamont & Tonelli: Website: http://www.landtradio.com/ Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lamontandtonelli Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/landtshow Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/landtshow See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Woman in a White Dress – A Ghost Story      “There is always the possibility for magic to happen in your life.” [6:15] – Dr. Amy Robbins   Episode Summary:   An incredible story from a woman who connected the dots between seemingly unrelated – and otherworldly -- experiences which happened many years and many miles apart. It's a short story, but Amy called it “too ghosty to pass up”.   Tune in to this story shared by a “Life, Death and the Space Between” listener who is absolutely convinced she has seen her guardian angel, a woman in a white flowy dress and a blonde bob haircut. She is convinced the otherworldly being has been with her, supporting her, and keeping her safe since she was a little girl.       Do You Have a Ghost Story?   Ghost Stories is a way for listeners to tell their amazing stories.  If you have a great story to tell, a relationship you have with your loved one who has passed, or another mystical experience, please reach out: Team@DrAmyRobbins.com.  Tell me your story so we can feature it on the show.       SUPPORT DR. AMY ROBBINS   If you're enjoying the podcast and finding value in guest interviews, ghost stories, and the content I share, please consider supporting the show by becoming a Patreon member for as little as $5 a month at Patreon.com/DrAmyRobbins   As a member you'll get more say in the content we cover and exclusive access to behind-the-scenes goodness!     Stay Connected: Facebook Instagram YouTube Fireside Website

Join me as we talk about healthy habits for the year and ways to grow on Instagram for 2022! This year I am all about gaining control and finding ways to niche down. Mentions: Ada: https://www.instagram.com/adafurxhi/ The Trendy Gal: https://www.instagram.com/thetrendygal_/ Modern Millie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lIO42HheHg (watch her for tips on Instagram) A Glass of Inspo: Waltz by White Dress: https://rstyle.me/+FbCDxQaM4Iw5fSQdtzWFyg Water bottle: https://rstyle.me/+IGe_Kate01_QxjxHZYInIg Follow me on the Socials: Blog: www.cutebrandik.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandi_kimberly/ My LTK: https://www.shopltk.com/explore/brandi_kimberly%20 Cheers!!! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/brandi-k-renkal/message

. Comedian Nick Carthan discusses the difference between marriage and a regular relationship. follow on instagram : @nick_carthan follow on twitch : @nick_carthan cash app : $nickcarthan --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nick-carthan/support

Calling all Beliebers and lovers of ceramic tissue boxes with nonsense minimalist sayings! The Court welcomes bonafide hustler and bad girl Erin Bradford to discuss not only her delightful new series Plant Moms, but also her illustrious career as an Alcoholic Kombucha Sample Girl with a dark past. The judges analyze Justin Bieber's Instagram captions, happiness, and Erin's fascination about his life with Hailey. Then, everyone LIVES. LAUGHS. LOVES. and TREASURES?! while absolutely going in on the Rae Dunn phenomenon. The tits come from the heart (stream ‘White Dress'!) and tats get everyone riled up. To learn more about Bad Girl's Trader Joe's must haves, follow her at @3rinBradford on Instagram, and for updates on Plant Moms, be sure to check out the series on Instagram at @plantmomsseries!