Raphael Callaghan interview: “I do like a challenge…”

Liverpool-born blues singer-songwriter Raphael Callaghan will play his first London show for many years on the 10^th April at The Islington pub. Callaghan has been making music since the ’60s but has flown under the radar ever since his first recorded sessions on harmonica in 1969.

His first fully solo LP Said and Done was released last year to critical acclaim, receiving airplay far and wide, including on BBC Merseyside and BBC Radio 2, plus a slew of favourable reviews in the British blues press.

John Howard talks Incidents Crowded with Life

Later this month (the 26th to be exact), John Howard’s autobiography Incidents Crowded with Life will be published by Fisher King Publishing.

An interview with Spearmint’s Shirley Lee: “I remember Joe Strummer talking about how the Clash did 30 killer gigs in a row – well we did two!”

Indie cult-heroes Spearmint play their last gig for a couple of years next month at London’s Water Rats. The setlist will be decided entirely by a fan vote on the band’s website. Frontman Shirley Lee told me about the unusual gig format, a recent trip to Paris and his eclectic current listening.

Nick Halliwell Interview

Nick Halliwell runs Exeter-based label Occultation Recordings, who are now sending out online orders for his band The Granite Shore’s second album, Suspended Second, ahead of its official release on the 13^th Octoober. Nick writes, sings and plays guitar on the album. We discussed, among other things, the LP’s main theme of Brexit, Shakespeare, the future of physical music and John Howard, who Nick recruited for Suspended Second after releasing his latest solo album last year.

John Howard on The Granite Shore

Things are going well for singer-songwriter John Howard, who recently announced that his memoirs, Incidents Crowded with Life, would be published by Fisher King Publishing. Next month, John appears on The Granite Shore’s second LP Suspended Second. I asked him all about the album and how he came to be involved with the band, and The Granite Shore singer and guitarist Nick Halliwell, whose label Occultation Recordings released John’s latest solo album Across the Door Sill.

What John Howard Did Next

“Timing,” says John Howard, no doubt with a wry smile flickering into the corners of his mouth, “is everything.”