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Gigs for 2024

Past gigs

18th June 2022 - Eaton Constantine Village Hall

                   John Clachan - In concert

.................................................................

Future gigs

 19th April 2023 - Dorking Folk Club

 Dorking 'Golf Club', Deepdene Ave, Dorking RH5 4BX         

           John Clachan & Friends             

               News

 

                    2024 News Updates  

                         Nov/Dec 2024

- Performed an hour of my own songs at the Ashtead

   Bowls Club annual dinner in November - great  to

   hear the audience joining in after I'd handed out

   chorus booklets, especially as no one had heard the

   songs before!  

- Played a few old favourites at the 'Prime Numbers'

   electric Jam night in December - good music on the

   night but very loud! Also played two songs at DFC

   final night of the year.

- Recording for the CD almost complete and I'll

   hopefully be starting the mixing early in the new

   year.

- Prepared a selection of old, solo, home recordings, 

   made over the past 45 years, for uploading onto this

   website. None of the songs have appeared on CDs or

   videos and will form a retrospective to celebrate my

   70th birthday in January. The songs will be available

   for free download in the new year.​

​

                     Aug/Sep/Oct 2024                   

- Played an hour spot at an outdoor 25th anniversary

   party in August and an after dinner spot at an

   APMH 'friends' meal in October, both were good fun

   and the set list for the latter was drawn entirely

   from my own songs.  

- Recording for the new CD began to get back

   underway in October with two new band members

   joining up (Ben Hickman on violin and Martin Wayne

   on percussion), Ronnie still being seriously unwell.

​

                        Summer 2024                   

- Apart from a couple of floor spots at DFC, not much

   in the way of 'live' music to report.

​

                        Mar/Apr 2024                   

- Not much happening on the music front at the

   moment. I did play a few songs 'live' at the 'Prime

   Numbers' acoustic jam night in April, with Mark and

   Ben on bass and cahon, which seemed to go well.

- I also played at an 'afternoon tea' event for the

   blind and partially sighted residents at Swail House,

   Epsom, which was good fun and meant I could play a

   selection of my own self-written songs.

- Work on my new CD has been postponed for a while

   due to illness in the band, we're all hoping Ronnie

   can recover his health after his recent heart     

   problems.  

​

                        Jan/Feb 2024                   

- It was nice to be asked to provide the entertainment

   for this year's annual 'Afternoon Tea Party' at the

   APMH (our local village hall). This year is the

   centenary of the hall opening its doors and will be a

   great opportunity to sing some songs relevant to

   its long history - the set will be a mix of pop songs

   and self-written numbers. I'm thoroughly looking

   forward to the event. 

- The APMH gig went off well and led to 3 further

   bookings, which took me by surprise! It was the first

   time I played solo to 100 people and was great fun

   to do - thank you to the Trustees for asking me.

​

                       May to end of 2023

- A hiatus in the updates and musical activities

  due to a summer spent building a new garden shed

  from scratch and little happening on the music

  front!

- I did record the first demo versions of songs that

  will eventually form the basis of the next CD, which

  I've given the working title of 'Ghosts'. 

- Dave, Mark and Ronnie have all agreed to play on

  the CD and practise sessions are already underway. 

- The band 'The Prime Numbers' have started up an

   acoustic 'open mic' night at McCafferty's bar in

   Epsom, on the first Thursday of every month. I went

   along to the opening night and performed nine

   songs with Mark on bass. Shame about the poor turn

   out but it was great to get the chance to play so

   many songs 'live' - good luck to the session in the

   future. 

​

                    Mar/April 2023

- The March gig with the band went well and was the

   first time we played a whole evening of my

   self-written songs, as a band, live.  

   The set list included acoustic numbers and songs

   with a more folk-rock feel (where Mark played

   electric guitar and Ronnie drums). We all enjoyed

   the evening and felt the experiment was successful.

- Dave played 'Folk Heroes of Old' on the Surry Hills

   Radio Folk Show in March.  

- The April gig at Dorking Folk Club also went well;

   this time we stuck to acoustic versions of all songs

   throughout the set.

   The gig was recorded (audio) and I did an interview

   for inclusion in the 'out and about' section of a later

   S.H. Folk Show.

- Just one new song written in April 'Down to Us'.

​

                       Jan/Feb 2023

- The new CD was released on 01/01/23 and Dave

   Shires from SHR played the title track on his

   January Folk Show. 

- The band convened to practise in January and

   February for our upcoming gigs. This was the

   first time we had all played together since

   lockdown and was great fun.  

- Chris Stagg played a track from the new CD

   on his SHR 'Transmission' programme in

   February. 

- In order for Mark to play electric guitar at our

   first gig, we asked his friend Ben Thackwell to

   join the band during the second set, to cover

   for Mark on Bass. Ben fitted in very well and

   will help keep the sound levels up in the second

   half.

- 3 new songs written in January and one in

  February!

​

                       Nov/Dec 2022

- The new CD, 'The More You Think it

   Changes....', is now complete and ready for

   release on 01/01/23 (previews and

   downloads available from 'Songs-Audio'       page). All proceeds to go to the Epsom

   Medical Equipment Fund.

- I previewed the title track 'live' at Dorking

   Folk Club in December and also sang

   'The Pickpocket' live on the December

   Surrey Hills Folk Show, during a 'round table'

   chat/interview for the programme.

- Our two songs in the 2022 UK Songwriting

   Contest didn't progress further than the 

   semi-finals (the same as last year's

   entries) - Maybe we'll try again next year!

- The band and I will be playing a private gig in

   March but have also been booked to play an

   evening at Dorking Folk Club in April, which

   is very exciting news and means getting

   some rehearsals underway in the new year. 

​

               Sep/Oct 2022

- Recording for the new CD (to be titled

  'The More You Think it Changes....') is all

  but complete and mixing the tracks has

  been ongoing over the last few weeks.

- Preparing the cover notes and insert is

  well underway and currently being 'proof

  read' by Chris. Whether it will be ready

  before Christmas is 50/50 as it stands!

- I played a gig organised by 'Age Concern',

  for a small group in the hall of Stoneleigh

  Methodist Church, in October. This was a

  45 minute set and I chose to perform my

  own songs. It was very enjoyable and

  seemed to be well received.

- The preliminary results of this year's UK

  Song Writing Competition have been

  announced (See 'home' page for details). 

  Nice to have three entries progress to the

  semi-finals - fingers crossed for the next

  stage.  

​

            Jul/Aug 2022

- Recording for the new CD was ongoing

  over the two months, the bulk of the bass

  and percussion tracks are finished along

  with half of the accordion work. The early

  mixes of the songs are sounding very

  promising and it's exciting to hear the

  songs 'take shape' as they progress.

- Chris Stagg played a second song from

  the 'BC-AD' CD on his July programme and

  surprised me by choosing the song

  'Borderline' which is a slower, atmospheric

  number.

- In August, I was pleased to be able to send

   a cheque for £250 to the Epsom Hospital

   Medical Equipment Fund, from proceeds

   of the 'BC-AD' CD sales.

- Dave Shires asked me to back him 'live' on

   his slot at the Carshalton Environmental

   Fair on Bank Holiday Monday, which was

   great fun and he kindly played guitar for

   me while I sang my own song 'East

   Australia' during the set. 

               May/Jun 2022

- A busy 2 months with recording, song

   writing and 2 gigs in June.

- Dave Shires played 'Clearing the

   Highlands' from the 'Postcards from

   England' CD on his May Folk Show.

- Uploaded my 'Old, Borrowed and Blue'

   video EP onto YouTube, which comprised of

   a mix of 'live' videos and a selection of

   photos of a young JC in action!!

- Sang 'The Eyes of Grace Gladen' and 'Too

   Little, Too Late?' at a DFC singers' night,

   to help prepare for my two gigs in June.

- The first gig was at our street party 

   which went off well. It was great to play a

   'live' set for the first time in over 2

   years.

- The second gig, in Shropshire, was great

   fun and really got me back into playing

   'live' again, with a chance to play some of

   my own songs alongside more well known

   numbers. It was a lovely audience who

   kindly gave me some nice feedback after

   the show. Thanks to Geoff Dawes, the

   organiser, for making me so welcome

   and keeping the booking on hold for 2

   years! 

- Chris Stagg played 'The Higher they

   Climb' from the 'BC/AD' CD and gave it a

   good plug on his SHR 'Transmission' show!

- Christine and I put the finishing touches

   to a new 'epic' song about the escape of

   Prince Charles from the battle of

   Worcester, called 'Away, Away from

   England'. Who knows when that will see the

   light of day on a recording though! 

               Mar/Apr 2022

- Song writing got back on track in March

   with the completion of 'The Midsummer

   Solstice Ball' and another couple of songs

   well underway.

- SHR's 'Transmission' programme played

   'Too Little, Too Late?' on the April show.

- Two more songs completed in April, 'The

   Seasons' and 'One Copper Brown'.

- No further progress to date on the new

   CD due to illness and other

   commitments. Sessions due to start in

   May.

- I started work on a solo video EP in April,

   which will comprise of 3 tracks and be

   titled 'Old, Borrowed and Blue. I hope to

   upload this onto YouTube in May.

​

                Jan/Feb 2022

-  Demo tracks prepared during early

    January of song suggestions for the next

    CD (as yet untitled). Mark, Ronnie and

    Dave have all offered their services again

    which is fantastic news.

- The plan for this CD is to record many of

   the songs in full 'folk rock' style and

    others in a more relaxed acoustic folk

    setting.

- Both 'Song contest' entries reached the

   semi-finals in their categories, which was

   a complete surprise but, very gratifying.

   Recordings of both songs can be heard via

   the link on the 'home' page of this

   website.

- Chris Stagg, on February's SHR

   Transmission programme, kindly played

   'Too Little, Too Late?' Which was my entry

   into the 'crisis' song category.

- Dave Shires played a track from my BC-

   AD CD (The Burning Down) on his

   February SHR folk show, giving the CD

   a little more air-play which was great.

- All quiet so far on the song writing front

   this year, although there are two or three

   songs almost ready for completion, so

   I've not exactly 'run dry' just yet!!.           

10th March 2023 - Private Function    

          John Clachan & Friends

7th May 2023 - John's Coronation Jukebox 

           -  Private street party 

10th September 2023 - Private 'Age Concern' Function    

           John Clachan (solo)

13th February 2024   'Centenary Afternoon Tea'

  Ashtead Peace Memorial Hall

John Clachan (solo)     

5th June 2022 - John's Jubilee Jukebox 

           -  Private street party 

10th August 2024 - 'Golden Wedding Anniversary'

        Private function        John Clachan (solo) 

4th October 2024 - 'Friends of AVH' - Private function               John Clachan (solo) 

29th November 2024 - 'Bowls Club Dinner'

         Private function       John Clachan (solo) 

   9th April 2025 - Dorking Folk Club 

 Dorking 'Golf Club', Deepdene Ave, Dorking RH5 4BX         

           John Clachan & Friends

                   8.30pm (doors open 8.00pm)

       Admission charge at door £10.00 (card only)            

4th April 2024   'Afternoon Tea'

 Swail House, Epsom

     John Clachan (solo)     

16th April 2024 - 'Ladies Dinner - Cheam Probus'

         Private function       John Clachan (solo) 

3rd Mar 2025   'Afternoon Tea'

Banstead & District

Club for the Blind

Private function - John Clachan (solo)     

.................................................................

2020 News Updates

 Oct/Nov/Dec 2020

- Still no 'live music' due to Covid 19.

- New song 'Standing Stones' uploaded to

   YouTube in October, along with

   accompanying video.  

- 4 more new songs written

- Recording begins of material for my next

   CD which will be a 'concept' CD based on

   the history of the English people (from

   65 million years BC to AD 1945!)

- By December, my own basic tracks had all

   been recorded. The 14 songs currently

   have vocals, bouzouki, recorder and

   keyboard parts completed. 

- The current plan is to finalise the CD in

   the format of a 3 piece band with

   Ronnie Laing adding percussion and Mark

   Campbell adding bass. This obviously 

   can't happen until Covid restrictions are

   lifted. 

 

            July/Aug/Sep 2020

- Still no 'live music' due to Covid 19.

- 4 new songs written, all linked to a theme

   relating to 'Ancient Man' which is a

   project I have been working on during

   lockdown.

- New recording equipment bought to update

   my old digital workstation - using

   lockdown time to get to grips with it

   before starting my next recording

   project. Watch this space for more info.  

 

                May/Jun 2020

- Lockdown in place throughout May & June

- 2 new songs written in May ('The Revenue

   Men' & 'She'll Never get Married Again') 

 

               Mar/Apr 2020

- Complete musical shut down continues as

   at 04/04/20 

- 1st 'home concert' recorded in April and 

   uploaded onto YouTube, show includes 9

   newly written songs.

- 02/03 More acoustic free downloads

   recorded and added to 'Songs-Audio' page

   on website.

- 8 new songs written so far this year.

- Visit to Bracknell F.C. 03/03/20 where

    Machan did 5 songs during the evening.

- 14th March JC & Friends played 4 no's 

   at Mark's birthday celebrations

- JC & Friends spot at the AVC open mic

   doesn't happen due to corona virus shut-

   down. 

- All further gigs in jeopardy until crisis

   over (as at 19/03/2020)

 

​

  Jan/Feb 2020

- 'JC' website published!

- 'JC & Friends' CD ready for release -

   'Postcards from England'.

- 'Machan' plan to play a number of

   floor spots at local music venues over the

   next few months, occasionally joined by

   friends. Booked floor spots include:-

- 'The Ram' folk club, Thames Ditton  

    Friday, 31st January (2 songs)

- 'The Anchor' folk club, Byfleet

   Thursday, 20th February (3 songs). 

- 27th Feb. 'JC & Friends' played their debut

   gig at the 'Last Thursday Shindig', great

   fun, well received and a general 'thumbs

   up' I think.

2021 News Updates

 Nov/Dec 2021

- New CD released on 5th Nov. Any money

   received from sales to go to charity

   (Epsom Hospital Medical Equipment Fund).

- 13/11/21 Two tracks from CD played on

   Dave Shire's Surrey Hills Radio Folk Show

   + a huge 'plug' for the CD from Dave! 

- Visited Dorking Folk Club for the first

   time since lockdown and sang two songs

   from the new CD. First 'live' performance

   for 20 months - really enjoyable.

- Began sifting through my recent new

   songs to create a song list for my next

   CD project. Must somehow whittle

   them down from 26 songs to about 14!! 

- Late November - entered two songs into

   the UK Song Writing competition. 'Too

   Little, Too Late?' and 'East Australia'.

   Results to be announced during December!!

- 6/12/21 Met with a small group of

   contributors to Dave Shires' SHR Folk

   Show for a 'recorded' Christmas get-

   together which was aired on the December

   show.

​

                   Sep/Oct 2021

- Mixing of new CD continued throughout 

  September with final touches added

   during October.

- Insert/booklet for new CD completed in

   October and first CDs run off ready for

   release in November.

- CD release date set for 5th November,

   being available for download or hard CD

   copy from that date.

- 3 new songs written. 

​

                                Jul/Aug 2021

- Rehearsals for the new CD with Mark and

   Ronnie continued throughout July.

- Solo booking arranged at Eaton

   Constantine village hall (Shropshire) for

   June 2022. This gig had to be rescheduled

   from 2020 due to Covid lockdown.

- 14th August, extended interview with 'live'

   performance of 4 songs on Dave Shire's

   Surrey Hills Radio Folk Show.

- Early August saw Mark and Ronnie

   recording their parts for the new CD and

   mixing began shortly after.

​

                   Apr/May/Jun 2021

- Still no 'live music' due to Covid 19.

- 2nd 'home concert' recorded in April and 

   uploaded onto YouTube, show includes 9

   new songs written during lockdown.

- Thank you to everybody who e-mailed with

   kind words and best wishes for the future,

   after I announced my retirement from  

   'Machan' and 'The Riotous Brothers'. So

   many happy memories and good times,

   thank you all for being a part of the fun.

- Covid secure rehearsals with Ronnie and

   Mark for the new CD started in June.

   The sessions are going very well, despite all

   of us being rusty and unused to playing

   together after such a long break.

   Recording may well begin in July/August. 

- Three new songs written in April and one

   each in May/June.   

​

              Jan/Feb/Mar 2021

- Still no 'live music' due to Covid 19.

- Performed a solo 40 minute extended

   'guest spot' for Dorking Folk Club zoom

   meeting in February

- 5 more new songs written

- Two songs played on Surrey Hills Radio

   'Folk Show' plus a zoom interview with

   host Dave Shires.

- Set list worked out for proposed 2nd home

   concert to be performed sometime in

   spring

- Decision made, at the end of March, to

   'retire' from gigging with 'Machan' and

   'The Riotous Brothers', bringing to an end

   17 years of 'live' performances with John

   Mannel and nearly 300 gigs. There are

   many reasons for the split, practical and

   personal, but one is down to the enforced

   break because of Covid restrictions.

   Thank you to all our friends and followers

   who have supported both duos for so long.

- A selection of videos uploaded onto

    YouTube - some JC solo, some 'Machan'

    and some RBs.

- One JC solo and one 'Machan' track posted

  on 'Dorking Halls' social media site as part

  of a 'Lockdown' video competition.

​             

 

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