FURTHER SHOWS CANCELLED!!

West London Song Contest

In May, we had Eurovision fever gripping the country with the usual banal lyrics, dodgy singers and politically motivated judging. Wouldn’t it be nice to hear some really good singer / song-writers who write deeper, more interesting lyrics, sing from the heart, play their instruments well and give a moving performance? Well at the West London Song Contest you could!On the afternoon of April 20th we saw the first in a series of singer / songwriter competitions and shows, called “The West London Song Contest”, hosted by acclaimed singer songwriter, Elaine Samuels. Elaine, who has been featured singing her own songs on television, as well as at Glastonbury and many other festivals, also has her own band, called “Kindred Spirit” (see the friends below). She has plenty of experience with singer / song-writer events being the founder of the Windsor Songwriter Festival and, from 2003 – 2005, being a full cast member of the singer / song-writer show, “Girls With Guitars”, a monthly showcase in London’s Covent Garden.Sadly, the Castle Pub no longer supports this event; so the shows have had to be cancelled.

Audience Judged

The “West London Song Contest” was particularly interesting for the audience because they could participate in the judging themselves and have a direct effect on who won.

Competition Prizes

The winner from the first half of the show got:- 1. a £40 cash prize 2. a headlining 30min feature spot at the end of the show 3. a 15min feature spot at Brentford Festival 2008

Featured Guest Singer/Song-Writer

An already acclaimed singer / song-writer was also invited to perform a guest 30min spot at the beginning of the second half of each show. The featured guest for May was:-

Sue Verran

Sue Verran’s musical influences are broad and varied, though she has been likened to Nancy Griffith, Aimee Mann and Bob Dylan. If you had to categorise her then ‘folk noir with a pop twist’ wouldn’t be far off the mark as she expresses the human condition, the weird, the wonderful, the curious and the taboos within the structure of poetic imagery and rhythm, her sweet vocal delivering subtly crafted melodies to her contrasting and provocative lyrics.She was recently picked up by a trendy new label and is working with producers writing for her own album & other artists’. She wrote and produced the title track for ‘’Playing Dead’’ a film by award winning director Pratibha Parmar. (Check song on myspace.com/sueverran ‘tumble from the sun’)‘’The work is rolling in and maybe one day I’ll get paid for it!’ laughs Sue, who puts her success down to plain old hard work and a deep love affair with her guitar which she describes as ‘almost unnatural’.

Show dates

There was the initial Sunday afternoon, April 20th show launch, at 3pm, and the show on May 25th but further shows (June, July and August) have been cancelled.

Format of the Shows

First Half (3pm)

- Competition (60mins)

Second Half (4.30pm)

- Featured singer/song-writer (30mins) - Competition winner (30mins)

After Show Jam

Permission for an informal acoustic jam after the show was given.