When world music magazine Songlines reviewed Ian Clayton’s book Bringing It All Back Home they declared the reading experience to be ‘The literary equivalent of a great evening in the pub.’ To make literal the Songlines review, a series of in-conversation events that reflect the ethos of the book, incorporating the key themes of home, story-telling, music, film, books, artefacts and mementos was curated with special guests. The first guest was the great raconteur, musician, author, comedian and cultural historian CP Lee.
CP Lee recalls the folk and beat club scene in Manchester in the mid-sixties and how witnessing Bob Dylan and The Hawks at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester in 1966 changed his life. He talks about his time in Didsbury’s answer to the Grateful Dead, Greasy Bear, and his ten years with the highly influential satirical rock band, Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias, including their recording-breaking play Snuff Rock and its unfortunate run in New York. He talks of his love of important artists in his life, including Arthur Lee’s Love, Frank Randle and Lord Buckley, shares anecdotes about Andy Warhol, Nico and Howard Marks, tells the story of visiting Bob Dylan’s childhood home in Hibbing, and pulls out his piccolo ukulele to perform a handful of songs along the way. The recording also includes a reading from Bringing It All Back Home by Ian, a story of the musical hall sounds that filled the street he grew up in.
Illustrated audio recording, recorded at The Tap & Barrel, Pontefract, 25th April 2019
