Not really influences, but things I really like a lot... Arturo Bandini, Rocky, The Karate Kid, Billy Liar. Kes. Harvey Andrews. Pete Morton. Reg Meuross. Kids of Stockport. Ted Luff. The World Famous Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band. Simon Armitage. Brassed Off. Bernard Wrigley. The Hometowners. Tim Moon. John & Dan Fante.
Sounds Like
"The Voice of Calderdale"
Click here .. to download Roger Davies songs from iTunes.
ROGER DAVIES WITH THE BRIGHOUSE & RASTRICK BRASS BAND
LIVE ON BBC RADIO LEEDS
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN
You can book Roger Davies for a gig in your venue/pub/club/festival/house To do so, please contact Pete Thornton-Smith on: 01709 739093 or email: pete@thebpasgroup.co.uk
BRAND NEW ROGER DAVIES ALBUM 'THE BUSKER' OUT NOW!...The wait is over! My new album 'The Busker' is available to download now from iTunes or on CD from the Sounds Good Records online CD store. Please visit www.evinsol.co.uk/cdsales to order you CD or search for 'Roger Davies' or 'The Busker' on iTunes and it should pop up in the iTunes store. 'The Busker' is a collection of new songs featuring a stunning rendition of 'Brighouse on Saturday Night' with the World Famous Brighouse & Rastrick Brass Band.
HERE'S THE FIRST ALBUM REVIEW FOR 'THE BUSKER'... "A man proud of his roots, a humourist, social commentator, an unpaid worker of the Brighouse tourist board, all could be labelled at Roger Davies and much more besides. The recent release of his 11 track album “The Busker” is a kaleidoscope of his musical talent, moving from pathos to eye-watering humour, with the ease that only someone at the top of his profession could achieve. Each track stands alone on its own merits and without a dip in quality throughout the entire album. Starting with “Brighouse on Saturday night” which covers his local pride, young mothers and the wonderful Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band, who add their own special northern talents to the track, through to bringing water to the eyes of the male listener on “The Ballard of knockin’ Nelly,” and his appreciation of great artists and his own particular favourite in “Peter Brook’s Paintings.” The pictures he himself paints, through his incredible selection of lyrics throughout the album will surely see musical destiny calling, for the very special talent that is Roger Davies, the pride of Brighouse should soon be the pride of Britain." - Leeds Music Promotions
CELEBRATING PETER BROOK...'Peter Brook's Paintings' - a song I wrote to celebrate the artwork of our beloved Pennine Landscape Painter, Peter Brook is available now on limited edition CD single, signed by both Peter and myself. (The song is also included on my new album 'The Busker') Peter's paintings have been a big inspiration to me for many years. He is a truly unique artist and I'm very proud of this song which I wrote as a trubute to Peter and his work. I'm really happy that Peter likes it and I hope that you do too. I'll be officially opening this years annual Peter Brook exhibition at the Harrison Lord Gallery, Bradford Road, Brighouse at 11am on Saturday 7th Novemebr 2009. Entry is free and I'll be performing live, completely unplugged renditions of 'Peter Brook's Paintings' 'Brighouse On Saturday Night', and many more. Come down and enjoy the exhibition with us. 11am, Free entry at the Harrison Lord Gallery, 5 Bradford Road, Brighouse Town Centre on Saturday 7th November. You can call the gallery on 01484 422462
NORTHERN TRASH T-SHIRTS - SOLD OUT - Please watch this space... We have sold out of T Shirts for the time being, but more will become available soon...
YOU ARE INVITED TO AN HISTORIC EVENT...Friday 4th June 2010 - Roger Davies in concert at the Victoria Theatre, Fountain Street, Halifax. I’ll be recording a couple of concerts next year towards my forthcoming LIVE album and you are invited to come down, sing along and make history with me at this show - which will be recorded. A great night guaranteed. Doors open at 8pm for 8.30pm. Tickets £9/£7 concessions available from the Theatre Box Office: 01422 351158
ROGER'S LATEST LIVE CONCERT REVIEW:..."During Roger’s opening ‘Huddersfield Town’ I sensed that many of the audience may have been new to his affectionately wry songs and presentation. They quickly warmed, however, and demonstrated amused recognition at his description of the fecundity of the teenagers in ‘Brighouse on a Saturday Night’ before being astonished by the proliferation of public houses visited during an ever expanding ‘Beer Belly Blues’. A further high spot of the set was the evocative current single ‘Peter Brook’s Paintings’ and, by the time he walked off ‘Into the Sun’, I was delighted to witness the audience’s ovation which suggested that there were now present many converts to Roger’s unique and charming craft." - Joe Grint (Tykes' News 2009)
SOUNDS GOOD RECORDS ONLINE CD STORE...Apologies - the online CD shop has been out of order for a couple of weeks, but we're glad to report that it's back up and running, so now you can buy Roger Davies CDs again, no problem! Visit the store at: www.evinsol.co.uk/cdsales - THANKS!
MORE OF MY CD'S ARE AVAILABLE NOW:
'NORTHERN TRASH' (CD Album) ..
Someone reviewed this on iTunes and said "If you can imagine Donovan singing in a Huddersfield accent, with the cheeky-chappy tongue in cheek of the Arctic Monkeys, and you are excited by the thought of such a combination, then buy this album - it won't dissapoint." Thanks for that
'LITTLETOWN' (CD Album) No more new copies of this exist (so far as I know) and the record company who made it seem to have deleted it from iTunes! BUT - I'm sure you can get hold of a copy on CD if you have a look on Amazon.com - Maybe I'll re-record it someday...
'PETER BROOK'S PAINTINGS' (1 track CD single) A song to celebrate the artwork of our beloved Pennine Landscape Painter, Peter Brook. Available exclusively from the Sounds Good Records online CD store. Limited edition CD signed by both Peter and Roger. Please visit www.evinsol.co.uk/cdsales
'NORTHERN TRASH' IS AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD FROM ITUNES (JUST CLICK ON THE LITTLE ITUNES BOX ABOVE TO GO THROUGH TO THE ITUNES STORE) OTHERS ARE AVAILABLE ON GOOD OLD FASHIONED CD FROM THE SOUNDS GOOD RECORDS ONLINE STORE:www.evinsol.co.uk/cdsales
IF YOU WANT TO GET IN TOUCH WITH ME, EITHER SEND ME A MESSAGE OR A COMMENT VIA MYSPACE, OR EMAIL ME AT: rogerdaviesmusic@hotmail.com
FINALLY, JUST A LITTLE MESSAGE TO SAY A REALLY BIG THANK YOU TO ALL YOU GUYS AND GALS WHO COME AND SEE ME PLAY, BUY CD'S AND GIVE ME YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT, IT'S GREAT TO HAVE YOU ON BOARD, AND I'M LUCKY TO KNOW YOU. YOU ALL KNOW WHO YOU ARE, SO TAKE CARE AND I'LL SEE YOU SOON
A ROGER DAVIES FANPAGE HAS BEEN SET UP ON FACEBOOK! JUST SEARCH FOR 'Roger Davies is a LEGEND!!!" IN THE FACEBOOK GROUPS SECTION AND YOU SHOULD FIND IT
"One of the most exciting features in recent years on the West Yorkshire folk scene has been the emergence of the songwriting talents of Roger Davies. His songs initially sound effortlessly simple, until you analyse them further and realise just how skilful and complex they are. Just as Ray Davies of The Kinks wrote about North London suburbia with affection and pride, so does Roger with regards to the mill towns of Yorkshire. Now his hometown of Brighouse comes to the fore in his new 4 track CD 'Brighouse on Saturday Night'. The title track is a tribute to the dubious delights of that town and has an instantly memorable, singable chorus. All 4 tracks are recorded solo, featuring Roger's distinctive but very listenable voice, effectively accompanied by acoustic guitar." - Tykes News 2008
"Roger Davies, a prodigiously talented young singer-songwriter might ultimately earn himself the title 'the Ralph McTell of Brighouse' since lots of his songs are about his native town, which he paints in vivid colours. The title track of his CD 'Northern Trash' is a celebration of Yorkshire grit and determination. 'Brighouse On Saturday Night' is funny and wistful while 'The Beerbelly Blues' takes us on a whistlestop tour of every pub from Rastrick to Elland." - Andrew Liddle, Halifax Evening Courier concert review, 2008
"Roger Davies is a singer-songwriter who has crafted his skills as a writer, singer and guitarist into something impressive, direct and deceptively uncluttered. Every song on his second album 'Northern Trash' is a standout, ranging from the light-hearted pastiche of 'The Beerbelly Blues' to tender ballads such as 'Harmony.' His writing is quintesentially English, and, more specifically, rooted in his own Northern experience. Far from being either sentimentally twee or a mere gimmick, his references to Yorkshire towns and places have exactly that validity which one enjoys in the songs of the McGarrigles or Bruce Springsteen. Song tiles like 'Bradford Girl' and 'Huddersfield Town' make this obvious, but more significantly the songs include more specific and informed details, such as Castle Hill, Lidget Green, Brighouse, Bradford, Halifax, Hipperholme and many more. The whole album is so satisfying that you'll find yourself returning to it again and again, with renewed and increased pleasure. The name may be new, but Roger Davies is clearly a major star in the making." - Nigel Scholfield (Living Tradition Magazine 2008)
"The best I've seen in 20 years. If I had a torch I'd throw it to him." - Harvey Andrews
"Sometimes an acoustic guitar and a voice is enough, if you've got things called songs. Roger Davies, a singer/songwriter from Huddersfield obviously subscribes to this theory. After leaving his native West Yorkshire, Davies travelled south to study songwriting at the Brighton Institute of Modern Music. There, he wrote the songs that found their way onto his debut album 'Littletown', recorded in just 6 days and released by Headroom Records in 2004. After opening shows for artists such as Cara Dillon, Alex Lloyd and Harvey Andrews, Davies has begun performing in Folk Clubs across West Yorkshire as well as at Festivals, further a field. His second album 'Northern Trash' was released in April 2007 to a flurry of good reviews: "There is potentially a huge talent emerging in our midst: Roger Davies. His new songs tell of the ordinariness of life in Huddersfield, amongst other things, all delivered with extraordinary, understated humour and delightful turns of phrase. I can see a great future ahead so do the man and yourself a favour and buy his CD's to help him on his way." - Joe Grint (Tykes News, summer 2007)
"Defiantly "northern", yes, but certainly not trash. Roger's a West Yorkshire (Brighouse-born) singer-songwriter who engages your attention straight away with his easy, unassuming, captivatingly relaxed performing style and his knack for finding musical poetry in purely local places, stories and references. (It's been said that if anyone can make Huddersfield seem beautiful, then it's Roger!) Roger is genuinely welcoming you to his world, of which he's genuinely proud. He draws you in straightaway with his plain, touching, wry observations: there's a total lack of pretension in his writing which is refreshing, as he addresses things that matter to us all: small details in the bigger scheme of things they may be, but they mean the world to the likes of Roger and us. He's one of the good guys, and he makes you feel good about being alive and able to appreciate simple pleasures. The gentle romance of 'The Way You Love Me' and 'Harmony' are good examples of Roger's craft, which is informed by the espousal of solid traditional songwriting values ('Old Fashioned Man' forms a kind of mission statement, I guess!) Roger has a real gift for easy-flowing melody and an enviable economy of expression: in these respects, songs such as 'Bradford Girl' and 'Harmony' put me in mind of Clive Gregson. While you're listening to Roger's songs, you don't notice the craft in the economy; the lines seem to come out so naturally, conversationally, and the phrases seem curiously - well, obvious, but just you try to write something similar and you'll realise how difficult it is! Finally, Roger's own guitar accompaniments are unflashy but actually highly adept, with a real art to their very unobtrusiveness. Do try Roger's music - I'm sure you'll find him utterly charming, entertaining and accessible. - David Kidman, 2007
Great to see you are doing a show on Drystone Radio - they've got a new community cafe to open soon in the village and we are hoping to organise an acoustic night there - maybe you'd like to come and play a few songs once the paint has dried?
CD came this morning. Fantastic stuff. The Busker and Sunbridge Road are my favs but that'll change over many a listen I'm sure. Good luck with the launch and hope yoy get the success you deserve:)
hello there we are just passing by to say thanks for calling in to play last night !!!! a reet treet !!! anytime your passing feel free to call in all the best Craig and Mand !!!!!
heya thanx very much for accepting the add, thought you were brilliant at Stainsby, great songs and such cool guitar playing, wicked stuff...:) hope to see u at a gig or something again soon luke x
Thanks for another great performance at this year's Luddfest on Saturday! Looking forward to catching up soon. Good look with the new album recording - see you soon Mike
Some good recordings from Luddenden yesterday for the radio show! Nic has some cool photo's too - email me your email address and we'll send them over. Catch up soon re chat? otakustudios@gmail.com best JT
Hey thought I would add you and say hey seeing as i'm playing with you on the 30th of July! Just had a listen and I really like your songs, I like the down to earth realism in your lyrics compared to mine which tend to be full of metaphors and such! haha
Won't have had a gig since April, looking forward to it and seeing you play!
Hi Roger, good to see you at the festival on Saturday. All limited edition prints are availble to purchase at www.davidcoldwell.co.uk. Best regards, David.
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