Pic © Jonathan J Bradley

The Kathryn Tickell Band
Lancaster Cathedral
4 May 2006

I must confess that my first reaction to entering the hallowed and regal atmosphere of St. Peter's Cathedral was " absolutely beautiful, but is this the place for a folk concert?" Even the audience were chatting, if at all, in hushed and reverent tones.

Fortunately if anyone was going to banish our spiritual inhibitions, none is better qualified than the artists we had turned up to see, the Kathryn Tickell Band.

Kathryn came as a breath of fresh air to what had been a rather moribund folk scene in the early 1980s. She's perhaps the greatest exponent of the Northumbrian Pipes and is also an excellent fiddle player (she was taught by the legendary Shetland player Tom Anderson). Her  band, comprising Julian Sutton on melodeon, Peter Tickell on fiddle and guitar, and Ian Stephenson who plays bass, melodeon and guitar, are  quite simply top class.

At this point it let me explain that the Northumbrian Pipes are quite unlike those large blown devices that Scotsmen use as instruments of torture. The Northumbrian or small pipe is inflated by a bag, which is squeezed by the elbow, and has a beautiful, sweet, rather quiet tone.

From the opening tunes of Elf's Morning and Head on The Hill this set started to rock and overcome the rather churchy atmosphere that had prevailed. Miraculously, the odd  foot started tapping, and at the end there was thunderous applause from the almost full cathedral. We didn't go as far as dancing but we were having fun.

For me the haunting, slow air Welcome Home was a highlight, where the interplay of pipes and melodeon wove a powerful spell. When Kathryn swapped pipes for the fiddle and the band played a Shetland set of reels, we were starting to have a genuine party. Saying that this woman has talent is rather like stating that Einstein was rather good at sums.

All in all this was an excellent musical evening, and I really hope Kathryn plays Lancaster again sooner rather than later. The sound system could have been louder at the back, and the occasional yelps from the adjoining judo class possibly didn't enhance the quiet tunes.

But then, when is everything ever perfect? I'd still like to see her in a huge pub though.

By Paul Duerden, our man in the Arran sweater © 2006 Paul Duerden

Web Links:
• The Kathryn Tickell Band Official web site
• Buy 'The Sky Didn't Fall' - released February 2006 - from amazon.co.uk