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ANDYHOWELLS chats to singer-songwriter CLIVEJOHNahead of performing two concerts to SouthWales audiences, celebrating the music ofJOHNNYCASH


Clive captures essence ofCash


ABSOLUTELY AUTHEN- TIC: Clive John will perform the hits of Johnny Cash


FEWtribute acts can hold their heads up and admit they have been endorsed byamember of their subjectmatter’s family. Yet thatisanaccolade Clive John and his seven-strong band that make up The JohnnyCash


Roadshowcan take pride in. The band, whichwill visit Cwmbran and Cardiffincoming weeks,playedadateinManchester recentlytowhichthe grand daughter of JohnnyCash and June Carter–Cash, Caitlin Crowell, turned up and lavished the band with praise. Caitlin described them as: “…absolutelyauthentic to the point where it felt as if it wasn’t atribute, per se,itwas arock’n’ roll gig. Given by some sincere rock ’n’ rollers.” High praise indeed. Leading the rock ’n’ rollers in the


JohnnyCash Roadshowissinger- songwriter Clive John, who embarked on getting his tribute act together after watching the filmWalk the Line whichretold TheManIn Black’s excess lifestyle offstage as well as on.


Interview “I wasafan anyway”, says Clive,38,


fromMalvern,Worcestershire “I liked his music.Tome, it’s country- ish butit’s not country.Itencapsu- lates rock ’n’ roll and folk and coun- try too.He’s the onlyone tomewho’s got thatsound: he could have an orchestra backing him or nothing and because of his voice,the sound is always full.” Clive wasprompted to develop a


tribute showtohis music heroafter performing afew Cash favourites in his solo show. “People used to say: ‘You sound more like JohnnyCash than JohnnyCash does’,” he says, before continuing: “I thought if Ican do it, I’d like to do aproper quality show. Over the last eight years,I’ve been building it. I’ve nowgot ashow thatI’m happywith.” The showfeatures aspectrum of


JohnnyCash hits,including San Quentin, Cocaine Blues,IWalkthe Line andABoy Named Sue. As well as this,Clive will also perform his owncomposition, The Spirit,which


wasawarded the Hotdisc trackofthe Year 2011. It spent eight weeks at No.1 in theUKBritish/Irish chart and four weeks at No.1 in the worldchart. His ownmusical merits aside,Clive


is adamant thatheshould do his music herojustice. “I don’t try to impersonate him,” he


says. “I try to capture the essence, because I’ll put asuit on and the gui- tar Iuse is exactlythe same.Idon’t like to talk with an American accent –thatwould just sound awful.” The Essence of Cash will also fea-


ture Jill Schoonjans re-creating the vocals of June Carter Cash, when the showvisits St David’s Hall on January 31, as well as atalented band of performers re-creating the sounds beloved by millions.JohnnyCash fans can get asneak previewofthe showwith video clips via johnnycashroadshow.com ●The JohnnyCash Roadshow takes to the stage at The Congress Theatre,Cwmbran on January 24 (contact boxoffice 01633 868239) and St David’s Hall, CardiffonJanuary 31 (Contact boxoffice 029 2084 8500).


EDITH Piaf has become syn- onymous with French cabaret of the 1940s and 50s. Piaf’s life wasthe stuffofleg- end, with her dramatic rise fromParis street urchin to star of international renown. Her life,how-


ever,was any- thing but‘La vie en rose’. Towards the end of her life, ravaged by pain and injury,Piaf turned to drugs to find comfort and solace, never ableto believe thatshe wasindeed loved by count- less thousands of fans the worldover. As the 50th


anniversary of Piaf’s death approaches,a powerful celebra- tion comes from acompanywhose credentials include Kneehigh Theatre and Canteve Vocale.Re-creat- ing the sound of Edith piaf on stage will be Eve Loiseau, whose passion forPiaf devel-


3 MUSIC


Youwon’t regret going to see this


TributeShow


oped at ayoung age, around the dining tableinSouth East France.Coming fromafami- ly of singers,long summer meals were often rounded offwith songs. Piaf is inim- itable, but Eve’s lustrous Frenchtone captures the essence of the Piaf perform- ance in this tribute to the ‘Little Sparrow’. Joining Eve


CELEBRATING PIAF: Eve Loiseau


on stage will be Fiona Barrow on violin and Murray Grainger on accordion. Catch PIAF –


the songs at The Richard Burton


Theatre,RoyalWelshCollege of Music and Drama, Cardiff, on ThursdayJanuary 24, at 7.30pm. Forticket information, con- tact 029 2039 1391.


He’sgood –beyond the shadow of adoubt


THISyearcommemorates 30 years since the untimelydeath of BillyFury,but hisnameand music are farfromforgotten. The BillyFuryYears is


acclaimed as “The ultimate BillyFury showtoever hit the stage,” with Michael King hailed as “the best Fury since Fury.” In


Back to the 60s


the Sixties,BillyFury had moreDecca hits than any other artist.Heequalled ‘The Beatles’ record of 24 hits and spent atotal of 332 weeks on theUKcharts.Hewas the fourth biggest selling artist of the Sixties afterTheBeatles, CliffRichard and Elvis Presley. The BillyFuryYears is atwo-


hour showfilled with his greatest hits andmore,with fantastic audio and video effects,plus costume changes depicting the singer’s ever- changing image. CatchThe BillyFuryYears


at StDavid’s Hall, Cardiff, on April 25. Call the boxoffice on 029 2087 8444 forfurther information


‘THEBEST FURY SINCE FURY’: Michael King


THENMEAwards Tour has been instrumental in launch- ing the careers of some of the biggest acts in music today, including Arctic Monkeys, The Killers and Florence + the Machine,and 2013 is set to be one of the best years yet.


Among the line-up when STAR ATTRACTION: Miles Kane


the tour hits Cardiffin February are Django Django,


Bandsonwaytogreat things AwardsTour


Miles Kane is atour de


Miles Kane,Palma Violets and Peace. Headliners Django Django’s self-titled debut albumhas been widelypraised and was nominated forthe 2012 Mercury Prize. They’re readytobring their modern psychedelia to the masses.


forceinthe live arena, per- forming tracks fromhis Top 20 debut, Colour of The Trap, including singles Rearrange, Come Closer and Inhaler. South London’s Palma


Violets emerged from nowhere in 2012 to become one of the most hyped and exciting newbands in a decade.Singles Best of


Friends and Last of the Summer Wine are taken from the band’s forthcoming album, whichiscurrently being recorded with Pulp bassist Steve Mackey. Birmingham’s Peace have recentlytoured with Manic Street Preachers. CardiffUni GreatHall, February 17. Forticket infor- mation visit nme.com/tickets


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