RALPH, ALBERT & SYDNEY
Ralph, Nanna & The Iconic
Team at
The House of Commons
Iconic's day in the corridors of power
24 Jan 2007
Iconic artist Ralph McTell was a guest at a House of Commons event on 22 January organised by Alan Keen MP of the parliamentary all-party Folk Music Group.
Ralph was accompanied by his wife Nanna and Iconic's Stevie Horton and Andy Farquarson for a special tribute organised to honour legendary American folksinger Tom Paxton before an audience of 60 invited guests.
The event was sponsored by BBC Radio 2 and compered by presenter Jeremy Vine. As well as Ralph, Stevie and Andy, the folk scene was represented by Alan Taylor, Rob Johnson, Danny Thompson, and Pete Wishart, formerly with folkrock band Runrig, Pete is now a Scottish National Party MP.
More than two dozen MPs from all parties and fifteen members of the House of Lords attended including Lord Kinnock, the speaker of the House of Commons Michael Martin MP, and Rt Hon Michael Ancram QC MP (Mr Ancram is a talented finger-style guitarist and Ralph's Streets of London is one of his favourite pieces).
Speaker Martin gave Tom Paxton a bottle of malt whisky and the event organiser, Alan Keen MP, presented him with a commemorative plaque.
Accompanied by Jez Luton on guitar and Robin Bullock on mandolin, Tom Paxton performed a short set including a new song titled I Call It Murder protesting the war in Iraq and finished with his classic Last Thing On My Mind.
Ralph & Tom Paxton
"Tom is truly one of the great folksingers," said Lord Kinnock. "His is the real voice of America; he speaks for decent Americans. I've loved his music for over four decades and it is wonderful to welcome him here today."
Danny Thompson,
Ralph & Neil Kinnock
Michael Ancram said: "Folk song is poetry, the people's voice. I first heard Tom play in the Troubadour in the 1960s and his music has retained its power, transcending generations. Seeing Tom here today will, I'm sure, become one of the treasured memories of my parliamentary career – especially as I've also just been introduced to Ralph McTell."
Ralph & Nanna outside the House of Commons
Helen Southworth, chair of the parliamentary Folk Music Group, said: "It is an honour to have Tom here today. Folk music has always had a strong political content so where better to hear it than in the Houses of Parliament. This music is a crucial part of our culture, representing the voice of the people, and our group will work to further folk's interests."
Steve Horton of Iconic Music
Following the event, Ralph, Nanna, Stevie and Andy were Tom's guests at his evening concert in London's Queen Elizabeth Hall. At the end of the show, Tom invited Ralph and Alan Taylor to join him on stage for the last number and encore.
Tom Paxton
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
Robin Denselow
Wednesday January 24, 2007
The Guardian
It has been a week of unexpected folk nostalgia. At the Roundhouse, there was Joe Walsh (of Eagles fame) reviving the English ballad John Barleycorn, in honour of the version recorded 37 years ago by Traffic. The following night over at the South Bank, there was another event to delight music historians, as veteran English folkies Allan Taylor and Ralph McTell joined Tom Paxton for his best-known song, Last Thing on My Mind. He may have first recorded it back in 1964, but it's still a crowd-pleaser. Both songs were reminders of the folk boom of the 1960s, when traditionalists and rockers discovered that their interests overlapped.
Tom Paxton, one of the great survivors from the era, has become something of a legend, and is still touring and writing strong songs. Like his younger contemporary Bob Dylan, he was a stalwart of the New York folk scene, and followed the tradition of Woody Guthrie with his involvement in left-wing causes. He also had an uncanny gift for writing memorable, easy-going songs.
He may be turning 70 this year, but Paxton is still an impressive entertainer. Wearing his trademark cap, he came on like some genial uncle. Many of his best early songs were about not just politics, but drinking, rambling and hobos, or that classic reminiscence about the great bluesman John Hurt. But Paxton has matured, like his audience, and he followed up with songs in praise of fatherhood or his family that teetered awkwardly between the honest and the mawkish.
Then he switched the mood yet again, with one of the most impressive of all the songs written about 9/11 and New York firefighters. He deserves to be an American hero.