2010 - 2014
| 2010 | |
| BBC RADIO 2 FOLK AWARDS JK is named as “Musician of the Year” in this edition of the annual awards, hosted by Mike Harding. As John was unable to attend, he sent Eddie Upton along with an acceptance speech in praise of the work done by local dance teams and musicians. Several dance organisations consequently asked permission to reprint the speech in their publications. Read it here. |
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| CHIPPING NORTON MUSIC FESTIVAL JK does a third stint as adjudicator for the folk music section of this festival competition, and blasts through a few numbers himself to finish off the evening. |
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| JUMP AT THE SUN The John Kirkpatrick Tune Book, with over 130 original tunes and a handful of “Additives”, is published by Quarry House Publishing. Mick Lynn set the music and compiled the book, which contains melodies, chords, a discography, a lengthy introduction, and a dazzling array of photos on the inside covers. |
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| SEA FEVER Series on BBC 4 TV JK provides some original soundtrack music, played by himself and his son Benji and based on traditional nautical themes, for this series of three hour-long documentary films made by Available Light TV for BBC TV’s Sea Season. |
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| 2011 | |
| COUNTRYWISE ITV This weekly country magazine programme has an episode devoted to what you might find people doing along Offa’s Dyke. John pops up to chat about Border Morris Dancing, and then transforms himself into a Shropshire Bedlam to show what it looks like in real life. |
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| VIC & BOB’S EVENING DELIGHTS Popular comedians Vic Reeves & Bob Mortimer ask John to join them to accompany a spoof folk song in their first live performance for many years, at a private event in Camden Lock, North London, for prize winners from their internet sketch series “Vic & Bob’s Afternoon Delights”. |
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| IT’S GOT BELLS ON BBC Radio 2 JK’s is one of several voices to be heard on this one hour documentary about Morris Dancing, presented by Stewart Lee and produced by Julian May for Radio 2’s Dance Season. |
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| 2012 | |
| THE PIRATES – IN AN ADVENTURE
WITH SCIENTISTS In the new film from Aardman Animation, directed by folkie and ex-morris dancer Peter Lord, JK plays Theodore Shapiro’s music for “Pirate with Accordion”, in the few brief moments the character is on screen. The other accordion parts on the soundtrack are, tragically, from another hand. |
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| THE NATIONAL THEATRE’S SONGMAN
SCHOOL JK is one of the small team of tutors assembled by John Tams for a week of folk music workshops in the National Theatre’s Studio. Dances, songs, and tunes are all thrown into the mix to build up the necessary experience for potential future cast members of “War Horse”, for which Mr Tams wrote the songs. |
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| ADE IN BRITAIN ITV On television JK pops up chatting to Adrian Edmonson about Shropshire Morris Dancing before joining in with a brief display with The Shropshire Bedlams and Martha Rhoden’s Tuppenny Dish, and partaking of the previously unknown traditional Shropshire Mint Cake! |
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| WARTIME FARM BBC TV Working with the same team that created Victorian Farm, John contributes a few happy moments singing and talking about Run, Rabbit, Run with a group of boy scouts in the pouring rain. |
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| 2013 | |
| FOLK SOUTH WEST Eddie Upton and Philippa Toulson, who run the folk music project based near Yeovil, win the job of supervising singing in Primary Schools in the county of Somerset for three years. They commission several writers to come up with new songs, and ask John to devise one for older children about ‘where I live’ – producing the song The Middle Of The World – and one for younger ones – Somerset Apples. |
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| FORDHALL FARM In Market Drayton, Shropshire, Chris Eldon Lee interviews John as part of this world famous organic farm’s oral history project. JK had met the farm’s founder, Arthur Hollins, through working at the Victoria Theatre in North Staffordshire, and contributed his memories of this amazing and charismatic man. |
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| WE WILL BE FREE John is the musical director and chips in with some stylized movement for this new play by Neil Gore telling the story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs. With some traditional songs, Chartist hymns, and specially composed music and song, this is the first of an ongoing association with the touring company Townsend Productions. Louise Townsend directs and produces, Neil writes and acts, and there is one other member of cast. The play opened at Edinburgh Festival, when JK joined Neil and the other half of the cast, Liz Eves, for a small concert before the opening night. |
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| THE FULL ENGLISH – 1 BBC Radio 4 Producer Chris Eldon Lee, for the company Culture Wise, interviews JK for a radio programme about the EFDSS’ massive new online archive, and is so impressed by the enthusiasm of John’s contribution that he asks him to present the whole thing! The half hour programme is broadcast in August. |
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| THE FULL ENGLISH – 2 The English Folk Dance and Song Society celebrate the unveiling of this vast online resource of songs and tunes by sending teams of musicians into schools all over England in order to explore and bring to life the local repertoire. JK works with story-teller Amy Douglas and musician Beth Gifford at Queensbridge School in Birmingham. A preliminary few days this autumn are followed by a more intense week next spring. |
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| 2014 | |
| THE FULL ENGLISH – 2 The project at Queensbridge School in Birmingham continues, culminating in a public performance with JK, Amy Douglas, and Beth Gifford supporting a huge array of pupils, in a show based around the ballad The Cruel Ship’s Carpenter. An excerpt from this is performed at a huge event in Birmingham with segments from all the schools involved nationally. |
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| THE FULL ENGLISH – 3 John is invited by the EFDSS to arrange four tunes to be played by the orchestra of the massed tutors at the showcase event in Birmingham Town Hall. They can barely all get on the stage! |
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| CHIPPING NORTON MUSIC FESTIVAL For a fourth time, John adjudicates the folk music section of this arts festival, and rounds the evening off with a short performance. |
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| WE WILL BE FREE Townsend Productions revamp Neil Gore’s play about the Tolpuddle Martyrs for another tour, with Charlotte Powell taking over the female role. JK provides musical direction and movement. |
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| SOUTH WEST SHROPSHIRE HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY The annual Journal of this august body (SWSHAS – try saying it!) includes an article by John on The Folk Songs Of Shropshire. This is later published as a separate booklet. |
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| THE CANTERBURY TALES John and fiddler Paul Burgess provide live music for Worcester Repertory Company’s production at The Swan Theatre. Chris Jaeger directs the adaptation by Phil Woods and Michael Bogdanov. One historic moment involved the two musicians playing coconut shells – with great aplomb! |
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| THE 100 MOST POPULAR BALLADS OF THE 17TH CENTURY Over the next four years, spates of recordings take place to make up an online resource of 17th century ballads, with facsimiles of the original texts illustrated with new recordings. The project is overseen by Professor Chris Marsh of Queen’s University Belfast, and the recordings are organized by Andy Watts with The Carnival Band. Several different singers take part, from the worlds of both early music and folk music, including JK. The full resource is due to go online in 2018. |
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