A few tunes that were mostly knocked together with a 2-track reel to reel way back in the late 1980's. Credits go to many people but Gez Dewar and Andy Brewer deserve a special mention!

16 Birmingham Nor Ascott

15 Shaking All Over

The Doppelganger Gypsy Orchestra was a workshop based musical feast originated by renowned fiddle payer and educationalist Joe Townshend and then taken on by London musical legend Matt Fox (RIP). The orchestra came out of an idea that emerged during a two day workshop hosted by the London Musicians Collective and ran for around three years. Weekly workshops would draw together an eclectic rag tag of musicians of all skill levels and we would learn a few tunes. Once every three months we would run a dance and the orchestra would swell to around thirty people as what seemed like the entire Balkan music scene would descend on the hall out the back of Kings Cross Station (now gone) and with the help of a dance caller set the place on fire. Some of the best nights I have been to and an important memory. These tunes were recorded one Saturday at Lewisham Theatre and were put together as a cassette release. In writing this I learnt' of Matt Fox's demise and I guess I would like to dedicate this upload to his memory. If anyone from the orchestra can name the tunes let me know as the original cassette tape cover has been lost. Legend has it that well known balkanistas, Mukka formed from the remnants of the orchestra and I believe you can find a few of the orchestra's old tunes on some of their CDs.

Doppleganger Gypsy Orchestra Trk #7

Doppleganger Gypsy Orchestra Trk #1

Red Factory (aka Rot Fabrik): I first met this band when I was back-lining at a small event in Somerset. Having walked into the dressing rooms and asked who the next band on were this group of well dressed individuals with adventurous haircuts confidently claimed it was them (I later discovered they were not even on the line up). Having set up the stage for them on they came to wailing guitars, languorous bass, mournful drumbeats and angsty vocals. Wow! I thought they were amazing but I think the rest of audience were a little shocked. Very exciting I thought and I become close friends with the band (this was way back in 1980 I guess) and in particular with the singer/Guitarist Ben Jeffries.  So this is a tribute to someone who had an extraordinary influence on my life. I believe these tracks all came off a cassette release (yes back in those days this was then thing) or maybe a demo tape the band gave me.

001 Feed The Lion

002 Institution

003 Byzantine

004 Albania

005 White Sun

006 Ruperts Dinner Is Late

007 Judgement

008 Extra

A little ditty recorded in celebration at surviving two years at Ravensbourne College in the 1980's.

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