Phil Riley and Neil Mercer
Main Rd
Baxterley, Atherstone CV9 2LE
UK
Neil first began playing music in public in the 1960s in a Cumbrian rock band called The Norsemen, who supplemented their pocket money by playing in some of the roughest youth and social clubs on the west coast. As the folk music revival got under way, he switched with some relief to playing in folk clubs and took up the mandolin and pipes to add to the guitar.
Phil started out in folk clubs in the Midlands, doing his first solo gig when he was 16. He teamed up with Neil in (about) 1969, eventually releasing a single on Polydor in ’76 with a band called ‘Kites’. As a result of this, Pete Townsend, of The Who, signed Phil to his Eel Pie Publishing Company.
The two went their own ways after this but began collaborating again a few years ago and in 2017 eventually finished recording the ‘LP’ they had started in 1976. It’s now a CD called ‘Lost Legions’ and is available through Phil’s website www.philriley.org.uk where you can also hear a few songs too.
“Some bushel you’ve been hiding your light under . . It felt like I’d met an old friend . . . Lost Legions has some great songs on it . . . Forty years in the making but all the better for that . . . ” – Mike Harding
Floor Singers booked to perform on the night …
Wes Hall
Enigma!
Julie and Robert Elverstone
Julie’s divine voice and Robert’s excellent guitar playing ensure a fabulous listening experience.
Their combined talents are definitely an education!
Pete McParland
Pete performs regularly, and with acclaim, at numerous folk clubs in the Midlands. Songs from the 60s and 70s are his forte, but he wanders into other areas, too, with great success.
And your hosts, of course, are
Finger In The Jar
Formed especially as the host group for Atherstone Folk Club in June 2013, Finger In The Jar are Anne & Steve Beeson and Phil Benson.
Finger In The Jar perform as a group, as duos and as solo artists, depending on the songs being sung.