SalfordOnline
Your local community website
John Herring album launch: Tales From a Northern City
by Tom Rodgers
In a joyous exploration of Salford music, Langworthy singer songwriter John Herring launched his long-awaited new album Tales From a Northern City at the Blueprint Studios on Saturday night (11 July). The follow-up to 2007's Unobtrusive EP has been a long time coming, but is definitely worth waiting for. John said of the new album: "I always used to write in colours and shapes and analogies, but I progressed into something grittier, in that now I write songs in scenes and people and relationships. There's a lot of personal things on the album, it's very real. John brought along support in the form of the Stephen Fretwell-inspired Andy Needham. He was introduced to a new audience in the Big Room at the Salford recording studios, which has hosted Mercury Music prizewinners Elbow for one. Mr Herring's crowd-pleaser Home provided a fitting end to a beautifully constructed set, then John was joined on stage for a funky finale by the harmonies of That Girl Sue and guitarist Jason Dunkley. That Girl Sue said afterwards: "When I first met John he played me a song of his [Love Don't Cut It] that literally made me cry. He came round to my house and played me the tune, and at the time it just represented what I was feeling. I thought, 'Has he written that about me'? Jo Lewis, a young Mancunian musician, has followed John ever since hearing him perform at the Kings Arms in 2007. She spoke to SalfordOnline: "Everyone seems to be saying that John is on the cusp of something big and I really hope he achieves it with the new album. I heard him play four songs and it captured me, since then I've been following him closely on Myspace, and I hope I can work with him in future." Jon Coupe of Salfordmusic.com - a fine institution by the way - was also watching intently from the audience. His new music mag, The 'Zeen features John in a two-page centre spread, and Mr Coupe is a big fan of the Salford strummer's work. And Salfordmusic usually pick the best and the brightest of the Salford scene... There's a lot more work ahead, but for John, success in this country is tantalisingly close. Still to come - pictures from the night at BluePrint Studios.
To watch Adam Brown's interview with John click here Due to problems with spam only SalfordOnline members can now leave comments. Becoming a member of SalfordOnline only takes a minute, just hit the red Join Us button at the top right hand side of the page to create your Personal account. Got a news story? Need help with publicity for an event in Salford? Send it to newsdesk@salfordonline.com or call the SalfordOnline newsdesk on 0161 789 5377. |
