They’re the golden oldies (From Dorset Echo)

They’re the golden oldies

11:45am Friday 16th December 2011 in Live Music and Clubs By Nick Horton

YOU know, sometimes the morning after a particularly strenuous gig, I wake up feeling like an old man.

So I thought I’d go out and find one...

Two members of the Wessex Folk Club are through to the final 50 of a national song-writing competition.

Big Al Whittle and Paul Openshaw, who are regulars at the Wednesday club night at the Sailors Return in Weymouth, now stand a chance to getting to the final 20 of the Oldies Composers contest.

They will then have their work judged by no less than the Radio 2 legends Sir Terry Wogan, Ken Bruce, Johnnie Walker and Malcolm Prince.

As Big Al, 62, from Crossways, tells me: “We both entered the competition without telling each other.

“I suppose I felt a bit self-conscious about it; after all, Terry Wogan? It’s not really ethical for a folk singer, is it?

“Anyway, Paul told me he’d entered the competition so I said: ‘Yep, so have I’.”

Big Al’s song Old Man in the Sun is about his father retiring to Spain and the gradual grip of senility taking away the memories of his past.

Paul’s song is called My Sister’s Eyes. Paul, 58, from Bere Regis, tells me: “I wrote the song after reading a book entitled The Girls. The book tells the story of craniopagiously linked con-joined twins. It was written from the perspective of one of the girls.”

Strong stuff indeed, and here’s where you come in.

You can vote for the songs online at the website www. oldiescomposers.com/top50 Paul’s song is number 36 and Al’s is number 38.

It’s free to vote and you can only vote once for each song. The songwriters themselves have given a donation to Barnardo’s Childrens Home and you can do that too by just clicking on the Donate Now button on the website.

As Big Al himself says: “Remember folks, this could catapult us both to superstardom!”

Talking of oldsters and good causes, there’s a fantastic event on Sunday, December 18, at the Ilchester Arms in Abbotsbury where veterans Left, Right and Centre are joined by Gut and Steel and the Jellicle Cats for a fund-raising evening.

LRC’s Tony May, Steve Peach and Andy Prior have been knocking around the music scene since the 1960s with such legendary bands as The Package Deal, Blow-Up and The Violin Shoppe, as you can see from the picture here.

They’ve been hosting this annual fundraiser for many years now and all money raised goes to good causes in Abbotsbury.

“We’ve helped the pre-school and the village hall in the past,” says Steve.

“This year we’re helping raise money for a play park in the village.”

The evening kicks off with the extraordinary Jellicle Cats from 7pm to 8pm.

You may have seen these gifted youngsters busking in Weymouth town centre recently and they have to finish by 8pm as it’s their bedtime.

Gut and Steel are on from 8.15pm with LRC on from 9.30pm to closing time.

Now then, Blues Nights favourites The Producers are having not one but two Christmas parties with a rare all-acoustic outing on Thursday, December 22, at the Dorchester Arts Centre (Tickets £12, £14 on the door, from 01305 266926).

The band will be featuring tracks from their new album London Blues.

And they’ll be back again the following evening, Friday, December 23, but this time plugged in, amped up and raring to go. Ticket prices as for Thursday night.

Meanwhile, as was mentioned on this page a couple of weeks ago, Danny and the Goosemen will be unveiling their Christmas single tomorrow.

There can’t be many occasions where a single has been launched in an ice cream parlour (Apart from Little Richard’s Tutti Frutti and U2’s Sundae Bloody Sundae, obviously) but The Migration (I’m Coming Home) will be unleashed at Rossi’s on Weymouth seafront on Saturday from 3pm. I’ll have a flake with mine, please.

Right that’s it for this week. I’m off to compile my list for Santa and this year I’m hoping for the Little Mix triple CD of experimental jazz featuring Venezuelan nose flute and thrash metal spoons. Fingers crossed…