Legends on Brick Lane L-R David and Judy Hood, Gavin Martin, Jill Block, Wayne Carson Thompson and Sally Tiven . Pic: Marianne Hyatt

On the week this website went live the Family Tree of Rock was never more  alive .

Tuesday 11/10/09

Mott The Hoople  Hammersmith Odeon Apollo  - last of the Herefordshire Glam legends 5 reunion shows at the fabled  palace of rock dreams.

Aftershow was in the magnificent circle art deco bar – Mick Jones, the band, the late Mick Ronson’s daughter (who sang one of the The Thunderthighs parts when bvs were called for – did you know that one of the original Tthings trio  is a relative of Irish playwright J M Syge?) and the mothers of Mick Ralphs and Mick Ronson.

Martyn Casey, bassist in Nick Cave’s Bad Seeds  was there too – just arrived from Perth where he had met Jill and Alsy who have raised a family together since the days when they played with marty in the late great David McComb’s band The Triffids.

Now Jill is coming out of retirement to make an album.

Marty , quite simply one of the greatest bass players in ANY hemisphere anywhere, is gonna help out.

Will The Circle Be Unbroken? Nope.

Wednesday  7th  Down south of the river to The Old Nun’s Head Nunhead where Andy Hankdog Williams hosts London’s longest standing acoustic session, electrified tonight  by Country Dirt the recently assembled band featuring Patmo ex of Big Self (one of the best but largely unsung bands of Belfast’s post punk late 70s era) and Marianne Hyatt  - opera trained,Choctaw Texan actress, model, songwriter  adding aural shooting stars and neon fire to the roadhouse vibe.

Last time I saw Patmo was 30 years ago , left his flat in the Fitzroy Avenue of V Morrison’s Madame George’s fame and , maybe because of something I smoked (like Van said M George does in the song), I went into  a dream.

Waking up 30 years later - Rip Van Winkle alike - in the Nun I was bowled over by Patmo’s new original, honky tonk classic Big Guitar.

Not only was it an expression of the character I fondly recalled from  30 years ago but also a tune that accounted for  last 3 decades of performing  his  music for small financial reward but a whole lotta love.

The appeal of a  Big Guitar?

“Its like driving a car…at 90 miles and hour.”

Will the circle be unbroken?

Nope.

I can say that with some certainty because last night The Bengal Cafe in Brick Lane hosted an ad hoc dinner to a group  of esteemed musical pilgrims from America.

Producer guitarist extraordinaire Jon Tiven (Springsteen lookalike, just been working with Glen Matlock, has just completed and is shopping a two part guest star studded soul opera and a devastating reconfiguration of Its Harder Now the Album he co wrote with his wife Sally for Wilson Pickett).

With him and Sally were legendary Alabaman Bassist David Hood and his wife Judy (Jerry Wexler officiated at the pair’s wedding ceremony, I asked Judy if she hard played anything when they met ‘Hard to get,’ she drawled. 23 years later? ‘Hard to get… rid of, ‘ she laughed. “She is my soul mate, ” David confirmed.)

Billy Block and his wife Jill were  there too. (Billy revealed he had been shocked to come home and find Jill in bed with Boxcar Willie a few years ago ‘it was the first time I knew she was a hobosexual,” he explained).

And then of course there was Wayne Carson Thompson

WAYNE CARSON THOMPSON!!!!

I almost lost my mind when I missed his opener at the JD Birthday Gigwere in town to play THursday night just passed.

Lets face it musical heroes like those assembled in TIven’s  The New Silver Cornet Band  dont invite you for  curry everyday

Wayne had started off  the show I missed with the most famous song he had a hand in writing, Always On My Mind. Those UK based musicians (including Brett Anderson, Jon McClure and Carl Barat) lucky enough to play the rest of the evening described it as one of the great nights of their life – “its always good to be in the company of heroes,” said Barat.

I know what he means – on the strength of 3 songs alone – Soul Deep and The Boxtops The Letter are the other ones – Wayne C Thompson’s one of my fave songwriters. He had taken a taxi from his hotel to the restaurant  where we ate.

“If there’s not a golf ball a fishing line or a pretty woman waiting at the other end. I’m not much  interested in  walking,” he explained in the lobby for we had set off.

Send him a ticket for an aeroplane?

No need – Jon Tiven had just introduced him to one of the greatest UK lyricists alive – Procol Harum’s Keith Reid. The pair are now gonna write together.

Which dont require em to even be  together

Be interesting to see what they come up with and how the circle keeps getting wider, making new connections.

As it steadfastly refuses to be broken.