There be pirates (From Dorset Echo)

There be pirates

10:10am Friday 28th October 2011 in Live Music and Clubs By Nick Horton

A WALKING plank and avast behind: But that’s enough about me.

However, staying on a piratical theme, the hugely-popular Dolmen release their new album Whispering Winds today.

The marvellous Celtic folk rockers, whose live performances have become the stuff of legend, will be performing songs from their latest recording at the Golden Lion in Weymouth as a Hallowe’en special on Monday, October 31.

“Whispering Winds has been born after requests made by our loyal fans for favourite Dolmen songs and some traditional tracks that we don’t always do,” say the gig-hardened bunch of rabble rousers.

They also promise to feature classic traditional songs such as Whiskey in the Jar, Road to Dublin, and, inevitably, The Drunken Pirate.

So dig out your eye-patch, polish up your cutlass and get ready to have your timbers shivered at the Lion on Monday night, you scurvy knaves.

Now then, award-winning world dance fusion monsters Trans-global Underground have toured the world from London to Kazakhstan (I like) and from Austria to South Africa. So it’s quite a coup to have the London-based music collective, currently in their 20th year, at the Dorchester Arts Centre on Friday, November 4 (Tickets £12/£10 concessions from the box office on 01305 266926). This year TGU released their ninth album, The Stone Turntable, and three of the central members of the collective – Hamid Man Tu, Tim Whelan and sitarist Sheema Mukherjee – will be playing their sound system set next Friday in the county town.

That reminds me: I overheard two DJs chatting in the pub the other night. “Fancy going to the pictures,” said one. “Maybe”, said the other. “Who’s the projectionist?”

Cue tumbleweeds… And finally, Glenn Tilbrook, who, along with Chris Difford, wrote such fabulous songs as Kool for Kats, Up the Junction, Tempted and so many more for Squeeze in the 1970s and 80s, is at the Electric Palace in Bridport on Monday, November 7. (Tickets £16.50 from Bridport TIC on 01308 424901.) Glenn will be performing many of his old Squeeze songs and more recent material recorded with his band, the charmingly-named Fluffers. Has there ever been a better name for a warm-up act?

Glenn will be joined at the Electric Palace by musicians Simon Hanson and Chris McNally who will be playing ukuleles, Indian harmoniums and iPads.

Guitar, bass and drums? A thing of the past, mate. Until next time…