Rob Howard

                Hi & G’Day,
             On November 22nd, our Club Night concert features the legendary
Pearl Fawcett-Adriano, one of this country’s most brilliant professional
accordionists.  Admission is £5, there are no advance tickets, and we are
anticipating yet another great night for the accordion.  All are welcome. 
And, yes, we do need players for supporting spots.
           Pearl Fawcett-Adriano has achieved international recognition as
an outstanding accordion virtuoso, and she has done much to raise the
standing of the accordion as a 'musical' instrument, both in Britain and
abroad.  Pearl (as Pearl Fawcett) won every major national competition run
by the British Association of Accordionists, and then became Junior and
Senior World Champion in successive years.
          Pearl's vast repertoire ranges from the classics to light music,
French musette and continental, and no matter what kind of music she plays,
her marvellous technique and control of the instrument ensures that the
music is interpreted to the full.  Specialising on the acoustic/electronic
accordion, she brings a completely new dimension to the instrument, and she
has such a command of this instrument that she utilises it to its full
orchestral and musical extent.  Her subtle use of the expression pedal,
split-second changes of registers and perfect bellows control produce a
musical tapestry of multicoloured sounds and effects.
            Pearl has appeared on radio and television many times, and many
of you will remember her regular weekly spot playing French musette solos on
the BBC Radio 2 Charlie Chester Show on Sunday afternoons.  I also remember
watching Pearl play on BBC television’s The Good Old Days, before TV was
taken over by ‘celebrity’ shows and soaps.
           Pearl was the first to teach accordion at a Conservatoire of
Music in Great Britain, and she was the first to give accordion recitals of
classical music at a British Conservatoire, and also on TV.  She was the
first British accordionist and the first Western female accordionist to do a
solo concert tour of the former USSR.  She has many superb recordings
available.
           Stockport Accordion Club is now based at Woodley Methodist
Church, Chapel St, left off the main A560 Hyde-Stockport Road.  From the
M60, take J25, follow the Bredbury signs, and then turn left at the traffic
lights just after MacDonalds/Morrisons.   Woodley Methodist Church is on the
left, next to the Health Centre, not far after the Waggon & Horses pub and
opposite a road named Smithy Green.  The 330 Bus from Hyde or Stockport
stops at the Precinct and is only a few minutes away.  There are two car
parks available.
           At our first band practice at Woodley we were visited by a
photographer from the Stockport Express and by Simon, a presenter from local
radio station Pure Radio, whose frequency is FM107.8.  Peter Whiteley and I
were interviewed, and some of the SAC Band’s music was recorded for
broadcast on Simon’s afternoon show the following day.
           On October 18th, our first Club Night concert at the new venue
starred John Kirkpatrick & Chris Parkinson a.k.a. The Sultans of Squeeze.  
Their programme included Under Paris Skies, El Choclo, The African Waltz,
Genevieve (harmonica/3 row accordion duet) and Squeezebox, The Who’s 1975
chart hit song, and English folk songs and dance tunes.  John and Chris used
different combinations of instruments, with some startling results, most
notably on The Liberty Bell, the old Sousa tune played on bass accordion and
bass concertina.  No wonder that the Monty Python team used to say “And now
for something completely different”!!  All in all, a great show from two
very talented musicians.
           Our club trip to the North Staffs AC 21stBirthday Concert on Sept
29th was a most enjoyable evening.  And what an amazing ‘accordion’ cake -
looked much too good to eat!
           People often ask about local accordion dealers, and within the
Greater Manchester area there are two shops.  The Accordion Shop (a.k.a.
Electronic Accordions Ltd), 54 Drake St, Rochdale; tel 01706 658 283.  This
shop promotes Cooperativa and the Roland V Accordion, but also stocks other
makes, and pianos.  Hobgoblin, based at Johnny Roadhouse Music on Oxford
Road, M/C, sells all sorts of piano and button accordions, including
melodeons, plus other instruments; tel (0161) 273 1000.  Support your local
dealers!
           Seamus Shannon is playing at St Richard’s Social Club, Sutcliffe
Avenue, Longsight, on Tuesday afternoon, November 21st, from 1pm to 3pm. 
Johnny Coleclough and I will be there, so if you fancy seeing, hearing and
meeting our old friend Seamus, please join us.
           On Friday December 8th, at 8pm, we perform our annual charity
Stockport AC Band & Orchestra concert at Broken Cross Club (formerly Henbury
& Broken Cross Institute), Macclesfield.  This is always a good night out,
and all money raised goes to the East Cheshire Hospice, so it’s in a very
worthy cause.  Contact John Jones on 01625 618 691.
          Justin Ryan has left the club – for the time being, at least – and
has gone to New Zealand to train as an airline pilot.  So, if in the future
you are flying away on holiday and hear the sound of an accordion playing in
the captain’s cabin, it’ll probably be Justin!
         The NAO North West Area Championships take place on Sunday December
3rd at the Marine Hall, Fleetwood.  This is the festival we used to organise
at Stockport Town Hall.
         The club’s Christmas party takes place on December 20th, at our new
home.  Due to catering and space, the party is only for playing members,
families and club officials.
         The first Club Night concert in 2007 will be on Wednesday January
10th, and the guest will be the fabulous Julie Best.  What a fantastic start
to the New Year!
          Looking a little further into next year, Foster & Allen are
playing at the Plaza in Stockport on Tuesday April 3rd, at 7.30pm; booking
number - 0161 477 7779.
          I hope to see you at our new home at Woodley Methodist Church for
the debut of Pearl Fawcett-Adriano on November 22nd – this will be quite an
occasion.  If you can’t make it, may I be the first to wish you and yours a
very happy Christmas & New Year (“Get out of here,” I can hear you
saying!!).  In the meantime, keep on squeezin’.

                                    Rob Howard (0161) 480 8858;

Email: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it "> This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it