We take a stroll down musical memory lane with the South Yorkshire experimental folk innovator…
The first record I ever bought
It was John Coltrane’s Creation and Bert Jansch’s Jack Orion – purchased both at the same time at the sadly gone Rare & Racy Records in Sheffield. I used to spend many a weekend afternoon in that place. It was a true treasure trove of weird and alternative stuff.
My first gig
Napalm Death at Corporation in Sheffield. Still to this day the loudest gig I’ve ever been to.
The first song I performed
It was probably some terrible rendition of a trad song, and I remember it being at The Traveller’s Rest in Apperknowle, a village on the outskirts of Sheffield. They used to run a folk session there every Thursday and Sunday night. The fiddle player who ran the session invited me along. I remember a lot of great musicians came to that session; the pub had an amazing selection of local beer and the landlord at the time loved folk music.
A song I wish I’d written
‘Now Westlin Winds’, a poem by Robert Burns turned into a song by many… but Dick Gaughan’s version is a beautiful thing. Complete in many ways.
A song I wish was never made
I hate knocking other people’s work. If you’re out there performing or making music, fair play to you! Keep creating, keep expressing yourself.
I first fell in love with music when
I loved music pretty much straightaway. Whenever music was playing, or someone was singing or something made a sound – I gravitated to it. I quickly got my hands on an instrument as a young child and that was it.
One song that I can’t get out of my head at the minute
I’ve just released a collaborative project with Cinder Well, who’s playing with me at The Greystones this month, and there’s a song from it called ‘I Am a Youth That’s Inclined To Ramble’ which has been stuck in my head for weeks.
A record that reminds me of a specific time and place
The Watersons Early Days album brings me vividly back to my grandparents’ terrace house in Crookes, Sheffield, where I grew up. There’s something very familiar about that album: their voices, those songs, it conjures up memories of my upbringing and family.
Music allows me to
Function, connect, communicate and listen better…
Jim Ghedi plays The Greystones on 30th March and will be joined by special guest Cinder Well. Tickets are £14 (+£1.40bf) and available to buy here.
