the right notes, necessarily in the right order
Most of my music is available on Bandcamp, or you can listen to my latest EP through this mini player.
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A far-off Whistle
Our railway is in the off season. A whistle in the distance is more likely a P-way kettle, fresh-brewed tea, a volunteer’s hard-earned salary. and if we dare risk it, a biscuit. We’re all tea rooms and no traction. But even so we have the miracle of steam, the regular metal clink as spoon stirs…
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Epiphany
I’m delighted to announce that after some positive field testing (my poor congregation!) I’ve decided to release the Wise Men Boogie. It’s a lovely variation on the 12-bar blues, and those irritating little songs where you add another line each time you go around from the top. And since it is the season, and it…
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Another 48 Hours
Not, as the title of this post suggests, Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy in a buddy cop sequel, but a second run of my Easter oratorio 48 Hours in Jerusalem. I’m working once more with Richard Green and St John’s Church in Walsall Wood, to stage the oratorio which premiered last year at St Gabriel’s…
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Locomotive Heart
A check of the glass, a nod from the Fireman, and I eased the regulator wide open. Power flowed in perfect synchrony and we accelerated with a howl. A protest. Defiance against the night, against the rain that lashed the windows and ran rivulets across our flank, against every priest whose God never designed us to…
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Chasewater Railway
The new year dawns on fresh creativity. I have joined up to support my local preservation railway. Chasewater is a lovely line – a couple of miles of standard gauge colliery railway that runs regular services at weekends and midweek. There’s two brilliant little tea rooms, a G-scale layout and a shop, and some wonderful…
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So that was Christmas
What a rush! My Christmas season started early this year, with a stint at Chasewater Railway supporting their Hospital Santa Trains. A solid day of standing around freezing while singing carols, before retiring to the tea rooms to warm by the real fire! Then onwards to The Nativity, a wonderful production repeated from our premier…
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Father in Heaven
There’s new music in the air again, but this time it’s old music. I was away this week with the leaders of United Adoration UK for a quiet day. A song I wrote in 2010 came rushing back to me, and I shared it with them. So I thought it was time I made it…
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New EP – Triptych
I have new music to share. Three songs with a common theme, hence the name of the EP, and related artwork. It has been fun to go through the process of recording, and assembling the lyrics and art; and the songs are now available on Bandcamp: notejuste.bandcamp.com/album/triptych Do go and enjoy them. They’re free to…
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A Headline Gig
Although I’m not afraid of making noise, I generally do it in conjunction with others. Most of my musical career has been spent hiding at the back or off to the side behind a piano. This month I shall be performing for the first time as a headliner at St John’s Church, Walsall Wood. Of…
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We are loved
That’s the title of my new song, released today through Unified Praise. I’ve been writing church music of one kind or another for years, but my recent forays into oratorio and hymnody haven’t been quite as rewarding as thrashing a decent rock song out… And this is that song. I’ve written it inspired by the…
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48 Hours
Today, my oratorio 48 Hours in Jerusalem premiered at St Gabriel’s Church, Walsall. What’s in the box? Ten new songs, six soloists, and one very nervous piano player brought the Easter story to life in a new way – exploring the lives of Jesus’ followers in the immediate aftermath of his execution. Acknowledgements I must…
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All the right notes
The challenge today is writing words to fit existing music. Or if you prefer, poetry with fixed limits. For Maundy Thursday this year I have addressed the annual search for a church song that doesn’t focus on resurrection, but that people can remember. Maundy Thursday is one of those dates on the calendar that has…
let’s talk. I’ll buy the coffees.