If On A Winter's Night...

So, this being winter and all, I just thought I'd mention one of my new favourite winter records.

It's called 'If On A Winter's Night' and it's by my favourite Wallsend-hailing musician, Sting.  Somebody, the label I guess, asked him to put out a 'Christmas' record.  He basically told them that he didn't want to make a 'Christmas' record, but that winter was his favourite season and he'd love to do some wintery songs.  Some are of his own creation, others are re-workings of old hymns, others still are traditional folksongs which suits his recent preferences for more new-age and 'world' music down to the ground.  It's a really good record; it's just a little bit classier than your standard 'Christmas' faire of tunes, not that there's anything wrong with those, I'm probably guilty of 90% of the Christmas tunes that get played in our house during December, but I digress...

So to support this recording, Sting put on a show in the city of my birth, Durham, in the beautiful and majestic hall of Durham Cathedral, to be filmed and broadcast on the BBC.  My Uncle Roy, tour manager extraordinaire to the likes of Zeppelin, The Who, R.E.M. and Michael Jackson (to name but a few...), had recently worked with The Police on their most recent tour, and was asked to put this show together.  My lucky parents were offered the usual guestlist spots; in fact my own dear Mother was snapped backstage eating pork pies with the bearded songsmith himself...

I was quite clearly gutted at missing such an opportunity.  Although I'd much rather see The Police, I do also appreciate Sting's solo work, and I love a bit of folk music, when the mood catches me right...

My mother; the groupie...

From what Uncie Roy told my parents, it was obviously quite a difficult show to put on.  Getting lights, sound and rigging into a cathedral built in 1093AD was difficult enough, and this was only compounded by having to fit television cameras and all the related gubbins in there too.  Nevertheless, I caught the show on BBC Two over the Christmas period and it was absolutely spellbinding.

Sting's band featured this percussionist from Brazil, Cyro Baptista, who is one of the best I've ever seen.  The tools this guy brings to the table.... He uses everything.  I mean, EVERYTHING.  Shakers, beaters, sticks, toys, bottles, a set of chimes made out of keys, pipes, gongs, refrigerator, frog bells, triangles, woodblocks, newspapers, tamborim, vacuum cleaner hose - if it makes a noise, he uses it.  What a dude!

Check out this video for more of his instruments:

My favourite part of the whole show, though, was a folk interlude played at the end of a song.  Sting had asked folk stalwart, Northumbrian Pipes master and local music LEGEND Kathryn Tickell to accompany his band.  She and her brother Peter, a talented violinist and small pipist, took the cathedral roof right off.  Talk about toe-tapping - it gave a whole new meaning to the word 'jig'.  Not that I didn't enjoy the entire performance, and Sting's songs, but these two and the rest of the musicians really made the performance magical.   And thanks to the sheer MAGIC of YouTube...

I DARE you to not tap your foot...