Please email your messages and comments to: johnny@johnnycoppin.co.uk

Recent comments...

September 2010

re concert at Nettlebed with Phil Beer (Show of Hands)

"Another wonderful and memorable evening at Nettlebed yesterday - 180 mile round-trip from the Sussex coast and worth every mile! I was at your last Nettlebed gig with Phil Beer, and it was magical: if anything, yesterday's was even better. I do so hope that you will appear together again - I'll certainly be there! Nothing could quite capture the joyous spirit of the evening, but maybe next time a recording might be possible? If Phil's film of yesterday's gig ever becomes available I shall certainly be after it! Thank you for a great evening and for your songs." - A.V in Sussex

"What a wonderful evening at Nettlebed Folk Club on Monday 13th September. Really enjoyed listening to all the songs that you and Phil Beer performed. Also looked as though you were both having a great time. One question i have is have you and Phil Beer ever made a CD together.- W.B in Church Crookham, Fleet.

"Thank you for a truly memorable concert at Nettlebed. The combination of your lyrical singing and playing and Phil's musical pyrotechnics was perfect. Hope you'll team up again at a venue near us!"- L. H in BerkshireÊ

 

" Just to let you know how much I enjoyed the evening at Rockhampton on Saturday 11th September. You selected a wide variety of songs and it was a sheer pleasure to listen to all of them. As for the Winding Stair CD, what can I say? At the moment my favourite is 'Lakes of Coolfin' (such beautifully clear singing matched with great use of the keyboard, complemented with the recorder) but as I play the CD antother 10 times, I guess I will have 10 different favourites. I look forward to coming to another of your events some time in the future. Best wishes" - R S. in South Gloucestershire

 

August 2010

"We really enjoyed your concert in Malmesbury and by the way the audience joined in. It is the first time we have been to a solo concert- and it was just great."- D and R G, Wiltshire

 

" Thank you for the superb concert at the Guildhall, Gloucester yesterday evening. It's always good to hear you perform anything from your vast repertoire and both my wife Gillian and I thought that last night's programme was beautifully balanced. Thanks especially for including "Cotswold Lad" and "This Night the Stars" - truly beautiful songs which you always manage to sing as if they were new. We hadn't heard Peter Combe before and we thought that songs he sang on his own were superb. However, it was the songs which you sang together which were the real high spots of the evening. Your voices complimented one another beautifully. Can we also add our thanks to Paul Burgess for the fantastic way he contributes to your concerts. Those who have seen you play together regularly will know what an integral part of the evening Paul's performances are and we never take his involvement for granted. We adore his humour, whether in Christmas concert readings or in jokes and poems which he always seems to have ready to fill what might otherwise be awkward silences. It is clear that you appreciate his musical talents as much as anyone in the audience. Once again, thank you to each and every one of you for a smashing evening. We look forward to future albums and concerts with as much anticipation as we have always done." - I. P in Glos.

 

March 2010

"I think it was during the summer of 1994 that a good and dear friend of mine gave me a cassette tape of "Edge of Day". It has delighted and inspired me the scores of times I have listened to it down the years. A little earlier this evening, in the brisk cold of this moonlit night, I made the half-mile walk to my post-box and found that this same friend of 1994 had sourced and sent me your CD! It was an inexpressible joy for me to hear Laurie's poems and your hauntingly beautiful music once again. I realise that these poems and your music have become a part of me, and are incorporated within my own being, and hearing them again was like returning home to "paradise". - S. B in Italy

 

"Thank you very much for sending me the two compact discs, ' Edge of Day' and ' The Gloucestershire Collection.' They are great. I play them all the time. I listened to ÔEdge of DayÕ, whilst driving through the countryside last week, with its mix of poetry and music. It just enhanced the journey so much. The music and words seemed as if they had been written about the journey I was travelling. I also really enjoyed listening to the compilation CD ' The Gloucestershire Collection,' and to discover so many English twentieth century poets that I had not heard of. .What a brilliant idea to take their poems then write the music that inspired you listening to their words. It must have been a very exhilarating..... " - N.F. in Surrey

 

"Received my copy of 'Say Hello to the Band' thankyou. Very pleased with it and he extras are very good, particularly the version of 'Rock and Roll away'. 'Friday night at the Regal' brought back memories as my brother and I used to go to the Regal in Boston most Saturday nights - until he managed to get himself banned! I well remember the double seats. Unfortunately I couldn't persuade any girls to join me on them!." - P R in Glos.

January 2010 Ð

"Thanks so much for a really lovely evening at Cheltenham Town Hall on the 17th December. The mixture of old and new material was wonderful - I particularly liked the "new song" Homeward ( if indeed that's what its called ?) and Astrologer's Journey which is one of my favourites. Also good to see Dik back on the strings again - haven't seen him play the viola for a long time and to see the wonderful Karen Tweed." - H. A. in Glos

"Just to say the Stroud concert was the best Christmas Show yet!! Karen Tweed was a revelation, economical and sympathetic with every note." -

- P E and J L in Birmingham

 

"Many thanks for the superb performances from Paul, Mick and you, Johnny, as you began your Christmas tour with us last night. The excellent programme of songs and readings provided us with an evening to treasure. You evoked seasonal memories, warm nostalgia and some rustic country customs; and you did this with lyrics of integrity and a marvellous musicality which touched us to the heart, and some original songs which were graced with your pure voice. On a Winter's night the audience all went home with a tune on its lips and a smile on its face." - N.W. in Bedfordshire

 

"Just wanted to say how much we enjoyed the concert at St. Mary Redcliffe on Wednesday. It was a beautiful setting and we particularly enjoyed some of the new songs we hadn't heard before. Your Christmas concert is always a very special part of our Christmas celebration." G and P C in Bristol

 

"Came and saw you last night in St Mary Redcliffe Church (Bristol) and I thought out of the four times that I have been to see your concerts last night was the best you have ever sung. I was really pleased with the songs that you sang from your West Country Christmas album as this was the first one I ever bought. Must admit that my favourite album is The Ivor Gurney Story as your singing and music on it are superb. Thank you for signing your new CD for me." - D B Bristol

 

"Very much enjoyed your Town Hall concert, especially the Wassail songs, Astrologers Journey , Drive the Cold Winter Away, and your setting of Charles Causley's Herod poem (Innocents' Song) which I think is a masterpiece." A B in Worcs

 

Oct 09

"IÕve just listened to your Winding Stair CD for the first time and itÕs definitely up to your usual high standard. It will rank with my three present favourites- West Country Christmas, Keep the Flame, Forest and Vale etcÉ Keep the superb music coming Ð more power to your elbow (and fingers and vocal chords). " Ð M.C. in Bristol

 

"Your unique CDs belong to my absolute favourites, and whenever I find some peaceful moment, I listen to the sound of your extraordinary voice and let the songs carry me away" -A. C. in Germany

 

Sept 09

re Chippenham concertÉ. "Thanks so much for a brilliant night on Saturday, you just get better everytime I see you! A really memorable concert. Ð D J in Wilts

 

Re - Songwriting Weekend- Sept 2009

"Separating myself completely from the various pressures that I face and focus on being creative for a whole weekend is a great treat and we couldn't have wished for a better setting /or weather /or company"- G.B in Glos.

"I had to laugh when I found the email with YOU thanking us.... good grief! I went through so much, this last weekend and it has made the most enormous impact upon me. As I travelled to the house on Friday I kept asking myself what on EARTH I thought I was doing!!! and by 10.55 on Saturday I had been in tears twice in a panic because I felt so out of my depth....blinkin' DADGAD... and 1,4,5...??? ( was that it? quick, look at my notes...) and relative minors...HEAVENS TO BETSY!... I still can't imagine that I got through it all. Today I have been very sad, just missing all the people I met and sad it's all over. Contrary Mary or WHAT!?" Ð S E in Glos

July 2009

"Thank you for such wonderful music and song last night at Bournemouth. Speechless to describe what I mean! Your voice, your playing.......... fantastic! So uplifting. Such a great atmosphere Glad to get three more of your C.D's . Listened to Christmas music all the way home. Loved your rendering of Innocent's Song. At the concert it was the first time I had heard Peace Descends live. You did it so beautifully. An unforgettable evening thanks to YOU! Thanks again." - C. W. (Swanage, Dorset)

 

"Just found your website through Mike SilverÕs site.. I havenÕt heard anything from you since the 80Õs...I can never recall anyone with so much energy and enthusiasm!! I and a lovely French girlfriend at the time loved your music and I did one or two as floor spots... "The Road Goes down to Gloucester Town" I recall... Great to see you are still going and alive and well..... IÕll look out for your stuff in future.!! - J.L

 

"Johnny who??" is how I sadly replied to my friend's invitation to last night's concert! Sorry! She was selling tickets at the door and said I could sit near her if I was worried about going there alone. She has supported me with the cancer charity for which I volunteer, so I thought I would return the favour! All I can say is... I now realise what wonderful music I've been missing out on all these years.... but its reached me at just the right time in my life - a turning point. Yours was the first concert I had been to in ages as I am struggling to come out of a period of stress, anxiety and depression caused by bullying. My local authority employer has now dismissed me after 14 years service, effectively as a result of me making a formal complaint. Now waiting to go to Employment Tribunal in October. Thank you for making a difference Have put a link to your website on my Facebook page L V- BÕmouth

PS: I started writing poetry about a wonderful but 'doomed' (he was a musician!!) relationship in 2007/08... 8 poems in a year. Strange - I didn't write poetry before and haven't been able to since. Taking the liberty of emailing you my last effort - I've probably got a lot to learn - is it worth me attending one of your workshops?

 

"Great to hear your lovely songs again at TrowbridgeÐ thought you sounded great and did a brilliant job singing without P.A.! " - on a postcard of Rydal Water from D.J. in Wiltshire

 

"I just can't tell you enough that your talent is remarkable and the United States is truly missing a great thing by not knowing you and your music". -

- M. G. in USA

 

April 2009

"Thanks for The Winding Stair CD and its every bit as good as I'd hoped. I was inspired to buy it by Mike Harding's show on BBc Radio 2 when he played The Winding Stair." S.B. in Worcs

 

"We just wanted to tell you that last month we finally got to stay in Rydal. We've been wanting to go there ever since hearing your song for the first time shortly after Line of Blue was released. Of course we've heard it many times since - last time at Nettlebed last year (Thank you for singing This Night The Stars for us). We couldn't help but wonder how many people have walked round the lake with your song constantly buzzing around in their heads. It must be quite a few. It was a wonderful experience." - L and J.H in Berkshire

 

"As a great admirer of your music, I would like to thank you for the many years of great pleasure and enjoyment your music as given me. I have found it very Inspirational and lifted my spirits when feeling at a low ebb". D.C. in UK

Re Stroud concert with Mike SilverÉ.

"What a fantastic gig - you two are without a doubt a marriage made in heaven. Postcards from Cornwall and Journeys End made me weep.....stunning....hauntingly beautiful." Ð R . C. in Glos

 

"there are no words to describe your remarkable talent. Your voice is incredible and the orchestration was also very beautiful and very well done! Ð M. G in USA

 

Feb 2009

"Thanks for putting on such a great (songwriting) weekend and it fulfilled a bit of an ambition IÕve had to play a song with you. Decameron really was and probably still is my favourite band (in my teens I just wanted to be Geoff March!). I have always enjoyed your song writing and the way you sing and found that very inspiring in my music work. I was so pleased when you recorded the enchanting Winding Stair and I came with my son to that special Decameron reunion gig. The album with Mike Silver is excellent and my family and I enjoyed your set with him at Holmfirth Folk Festival last year. Ð A.B in Yorkshire

 

"I thought the (songwriting) workshop was terrific. Venue would be hard to improve on - so much better to be 'at home' in a private houseÉ. I like the principle of basing the weekend around one to ones and focussing specifically on one or two songs. This is certainly what I wanted and need and was expecting. I also welcomed you sharing some of the theory underpinning your approach to writing/arranging - this is a missing element in a number of workshops that I have encounteredÉ" Ð P.C in Oxfordshire

 

"I received the CD's a couple of days ago and I honestly can't find the words to express how beautiful they are! I consider myself someone who has a fair amount of knowledge of music, voice and guitar, and I honestly can say that I have not ever heard a voice like yours! It is simply angelic! Your musicianship is also incredible. You have so much talent! I am overwhelmed at the song, "The Lakes of Coolfin". I have never heard it before and it is so beautiful. I just want you to know that you now have a new fan here in the United States and I plan to order more music in the future." - M. G in USA

 

Jan 2009

"thank you so much for the wonderful 'All on a Winter's night' at the Town Hall in December - your concert always starts our Christmas and we love it every time - it was good to hear some of the 'old' tunes too and really special to finish with Keep the Flame." - B and R.J in Glos.

"Hello Johnny & all. Have a HAPPY NEW YEAR & all the best for 2009. Yet again, another great concert at the Sub Rooms in Stroud, it's a great start to Christmas for us. Best Wishes....M and M. W in Glos.

 

"Thanks for continuing with all your wonderful concerts, it was great to see you all at Malmesbury, as good as it gets! You were the start of our Christmas, thank you." - A and M .K. in Glos.

 

"What a marvellous concert (Cheltenham Town Hall 18 Dec).One of its deepest pleasures was hearing the best poetry - Causley, Hardy, Herrick - set so beautifully. The Herod Song (Innocents'Song) is a small masterpiece. I heard Show of Hands sing it in November, which they do very well, but it is, truly, your song. Thank you. Have a very good Christmas! Yours sincerely"- A.B. in Worcestershire, UK

 

"I just wished to express my thanks for the wonderful performance by yourself, Paul Burgess and Mick Dolan at Holy Trinity Church, Nailsea, on 19th December 2008. The atmosphere was perfect. I think the natural acoustics of the church environment are ideally suited to events like this and I don't think it's just co-incidence that the two gigs that I've found to be the most emotionally and spiritually uplifting that I've attended in recent years have taken place in such venues (the other being Robert Fripp's Soundscapes in Exeter Cathedral). Apart from your own playing and singing, I very much enjoyed the readings from Paul, which served to add both variety and humour. Also worthy of particular mention are the obvious thought and work that went into the vocal harmonies, which were spot-on, and it's especially clear that both Mick and Paul have an affinity with your own voice and an ear for the more unusual harmony intervals which is refreshing to hear these days. Your choice of material was also good - I really enjoyed "Past Three O'clock" and "Get Me Through December" (which speaks it's own personal message to me), whilst "Galician Carol" was a real tour-de-force. The entire night was both entertaining and captivating.

Many thanks for a truly memorable experience. It's not often that a musician that one last heard 20 years ago matches the expectations of time and memory - it's even less often that these expectations are exceeded but you managed it! I'm just sorry that I've missed out on how your music has unfolded since "Roll On Dreamer" but between the CDs I bought last night and the website, it shouldn't take me long to catch up!

- A.G. Nailsea, Somerset.UK

 

October 2009

"Just to say Phil Beer and yourself were just wondeful at Nettlebed.. Thanks for playing Peace Decends last night, it was beautiful. Several songs last night made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck, your voice is just superb. It was the best concert I have been to this year and I have seen at least 10 bands at Nettlebed alone this year. Listening to Forest and Vale and High Blue Hill which I bought last night, it's lovely. Thanks'' S. B. in UK

 

"Good evening Johnny, Just to express our sincere appreciation for the very fine concert on Monday last. It was great to have a request answered - for the Inncocents Song. To think that you guys hadn't played together for so long, and that PB (Phil Beer) wasn't so familiar with your particular arrangement of the song, was amazing. Just one more request please - don't wait so long for the next 'reunion' concert. Thankyou again. Kind regards" C and P. M in UK

 

"I just wanted to say how much I have enjoyed listening to your CD "The Winding Stair" while sitting on our daughter's porch out in Memphis Tennessee! I thought I had all your CD's until I looked again at your website and see there are a few I need to add to the collection! Will be in touch to order when we get back next month." T.S. in UK

 

"Saw you at Cheltenham Acoustic Guitar show Éyou and Mike were totally magicÉyour two voices absolutely go so well together. I have rarely felt so moved by a song such as the first one you sangÉ You both harmonise so beautifullyÉthanks for the pleasure." - C.B. in UK

 

"thanks a lot for that nice concert in Bšnen last Friday. It was very exciting. You harmonize totally good together, voices, rhythm and instruments. Perfect!" M.B. in Germany

 

"thank you very much for the evening in Duisburg last week. I have bought some of your CDs and enjoy listening to them. This moment it is "Forest and Vale and high blue hill". I'm fascinated by words and music, but need some time. There is so much in it to get discovered." W. U. in Germany

 

"The Breaking the Silence" CD arrived a couple of days ago. I immediately listened to it and got shivers down my spine. Thanks for the emotions." M. C in Italy

 

"Thank you so much for sending the beautiful CD ( Breaking the Silence ) which we all love. Your voices blend together wonderfully and we all love listening to the songs" - R. D. in France

 

(re Breaking the Silence CD) - " What a wonderful blend of words, music and voices. Thanks again for the CD. I can't tell you how great it is to hear you even if I don't get to see you. Maybe in Shrewsbury sometime soon?"
W.P. in Shropshire

 

"Hubby and I saw you and Mike last night in Burslem. -you were both brilliant, and I would like to thank you both for singing the requests Garry asked for.
L.W. in Staffs

 

"Really enjoyed your set at The Arc in Trowbridge.. Mike and yourself really work well together. The previous week we saw Show of Hands, so in just over a week we enjoyed listening to the best two duos on the circuit. "
G.R. in Wiltshire.

 

"Just wanted to say what a marvellous concert that was on Friday at Twyning! You and Paul get better and better! The informal setting was lovely, a great evening out - many thanks!
S. H in Glos

 

"Just a quick note to you and Paul to thank you for a wonderful evening. We were all so thrilled with everything about the evening - the fantastic music of course but also the atmosphere, acoustics, audience reaction and so on. The combination of your various instruments is amazingly versatile making us want to dance a jig one minutes and weep buckets the next.! I have practically worn out Breaking the Silence - it is brilliant"
J. J. in Thornbury

 

"People are still talking with delight of your concert in Thornbury on 15 March - FOR GOOD REASON! - Very many thanks, Johnny- "
P.D. in Thornbury