The Trunch Trumpet
Late Extra
For complicated reasons Sid's forthcoming appearance at Sheringham Little Theatre has been switched from Saturday December 6th to Sunday December 7th.
Almost by accident Sid has created a new show, called 'Morris Less'. By assembling material from a number of sources, including his Arena show at Sidmouth in 2004, it contains "more about morris dance than anyone actually knows".
June 2008
On Sid's behalf the Trunch Trumpet would like
to thank everyone - performers, helpers and audience - involved in making Sid's
Gala Performance of In Season at the Raggalds Inn in April such a success.
Just over £1,500 was raised for Out Of The Wood, which supports Leeds
Intensive Care Unit.
"Mind you
I did have a bit of a dizzy turn when I realised the venue was four times higher
than the highest point in Norfolk! And
if I ever need intensive care in Leeds, I shall expect to go the front of the
queue."
******************************************************
Sid has been researching his new show, Mud and
Pullets, retracing 'Gentleman' Jack Kipper's famous ride from Kings Lynn to
Mundesley. He is collecting songs
and stories, and has recently come across a sporting song from Felmingham,
'Coming Up On The Rails':
Now
at the start he shows his panache;
As
she eyes his form they're off in a flash;
He's
soon gaining ground, beginning to show,
The
first jump is coming, they clearly both know.
"The
only thing is, will people who don't know their horse-racing understand what
it's about?"
Whether it makes the show, only Sid can say.
"I'm
saying nothing. Well, I'm saying
that I'm saying nothing, obviously, and I can't say fairer than that.
Well, I can say it, if I want to, but I don't.
So I'll say no more. No more.
Told you."
******************************************************
25 YEARS OF FISHY BUSINESS
All being well Sid will complete 25 years as a
performer of national renown when once again he appears at Sidmouth Festival in
August.
How he came to be there that first time, in 1983,
depends on whose version of events you choose to believe.
George Kipper, in the book Man Of Convictions, claims that Sid and his
father Henry were there as his replacements:
"Sid
and Henry went to Sidmouth in my stead. Called
themselves 'The Kipper Family'. Sang
all my old songs, and became an overnight success.
They got bookings. A record
deal. The lot.
And that should have been me!"
Henry, when on this earth rather than Fuller's,
always claimed that it was him that had been invited.
Sid is typically non-committal:
"I
don't rightly recall, but I seem to remember I went along to stop father making
a fool of himself. Of course, I was
about 70 years too late for that! - and don't remove that exclaiming mark.
If George can have one, so can I."
Whatever the truth, George is correct in his
description of their meteoric rise. They
became professional performers at the start of 1984 (though they did not, as
some have stated, 'give up their day jobs'.
Henry didn't have one, and Sid's game supply business required him to
operate almost exclusively after dark).
The next seven years were a whirl of tours, albums
and festivals, as the pair dual-handedly changed forever folk as we know it.
Then, at the end of 1991 Henry was whirled clean out of the act, leaving
Sid to forge his career anew.
"At
first that weren't easy without father. I
mean, he always held the song-book. Well,
I couldn't do that and develop as a multi-instrumentalist, could I?
Then someone gave me an old band musician's stand, and it proved just as
good at book holding as father. Better,
really - it never answered back or sung off-key".
Sid blossomed and bloomed in his new role.
With a fast expanding repertoire he recorded, to much acclaim, his first
solo album, Like A Rhinestone Ploughboy, switching to the prestigious Leader
Records label.
Encouraged by the response he took another new tack,
collaborating with Chris Sugden on the now classic book Prewd and Prejudice,
since reprinted five times.
In yet another development Sid was beginning to take
an interest in storytelling, which resulted in the 1997 album Spineless (still
awaiting a CD incarnation, because of its length) and then to the twin project
of storybook and album that was Cod Pieces (2003).
Radio work included appearances on the Radio 2 Arts
Programme, biennial work for Radio Norfolk (which still goes on), and a
prestigious series for Radio 2, The Lateral History Programme.
Changes at that channel left Sid adrift, but he eventually vaulted the
terrestrial to the digital with a series for fledgling Channel4 Radio called
'The Kipper Country Code', still available over the new medium of the internet.
"Well,
you know what they say - a new medium is a happy medium, and the medium is the
massage. Well, it rubbed me up the
right way."
In the meantime fine albums of songs appeared form
time to time, with Boiled In The Bag (1997), East Side Story (2000), Chained
Melody (2003) and In Season (2007) maintaining the standard already set
regarding all things Kipper. The
last of these showed Sid's continuing ambition to push the envelope by including
a commentary by Augustus Swineherd, and also reflected his highly successful
series of stage shows, each on a particular theme of time or place.
"I
played push-the-envelope once. It's
an advanced version of postman's knock. So
advanced I nearly had to marry the girl. It
was only by luck the envelope didn't burst!"
A companion book to the album Crab Wars came
somewhere along the line, as did the editing of Man Of Convictions, a book of
his uncle George's songs and life story.
Live appearances continued, as Sid moved into areas
such as Rural Touring, where top acts are hired to perform in villages venues.
And, at last, Sid was fully recognised in his home county of Norfolk,
with appearances at major venues throughout the county.
"They
told me you never make a profit in your own land, but they were wrong as usual.
Mind you, they were right about Ethel Eel!"
So will he be resting on his laurels? Hardly.
"Actually
I did rest on some laurels once, when I'd had a few.
I can't recommend it, though. They're
a hell of a lot spikier than they look."
******************************************************
Sid is sometimes confused with his fellow
Norfolkman Keith Skipper. Why this
is remains something of a mystery, given that Keith is a writer, speaker and
broadcaster, while Sid is a broadcaster, speaker and writer.
"And
I've got all my own hair. Half of
his is someone else's."
In an attempt to once and for all prove they are
different people Sid and Keith will next year be presenting a joint enterprise
under the working title 'Norfolk Heroes'. It
will be in October, on the pier in Cromer.
"Well,
strictly speaking it'll be off Cromer, being on the pier, but I'm not one
to split hares."
TRUNCH
ONE!
on the RUN
George Kipper has complained to the Trunch Trumpet
that the authorities are using this feature to try to track him down.
Therefore it will not appear again.
"I
doubt George will appear again, either. By
all accounts he's bolted into a nice little hole, where his round peg fits a
treat.
******************************************************
Old
sores from St Just - number 32
"There
are lies, damned lies,
and
vital statistics."
The Trunch Trumpet is produced and distributed three times a year, usually in February, June and October. It is written and edited by Chris Sugden. Distribution is handled by Ken Wood, for which many thanks. To receive the complete Trunch Trumpet and support your local postman write to:
10 Perseverance Road, Queensbury, Bradford, BD13 1LY.