In January’s newsletter we mentioned an important date coming up on 23rd January. Jacqui & Bridie’s Folk Club is celebrating its 50th year and final night with a celebration at the Liverpool Phil. It’s impossible to underestimate the impact that Jacqui McDonald and the much missed Bridie O’Donnell has had on the musical landscape of Liverpool, and folk music around the world, and this final event is sure to be a fitting tribute.
Anyway, here’s the press release!
Jacqui & Bridie’s Folk Club50th Year and Final Night
Sunday 23 January 2011 7:30pm
Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
Sunday 23 January 2011 7:30pm
Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
50 YEAR ‘STAR’ PRODUCING FOLK CLUB COMES TO AN END
Billy Connolly, Christy Moore, Tom Paxton, Martin Carthy, Peggy Seeger, Barbara Dickson, Elvis Costello, Willy Russell, Alvin Stardust are just a few of the names that came to Liverpool’s most celebrated Folk Club to start out on their way in the industry – now, after 50 years, club founder and folk legend Jacqui McDonald brings it to a close…
But not before one finale performance with a roll-call of club members past and present on stage at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall!
Veteran folk-singer Jacqui McDonald was, for a long time, one half of the well-known duo, ‘Jacqui and Bridie’, in addition to being female vocalist for the sensational 60’s vocal group The Spinners, and now continues to be a solo performer in her own right. It was in 1964 that Jacqui, with her late singing partner Bridie O’Donnell, formed the first full-time British female folk duo. It was this duo that also created Liverpool’s celebrated monthly Folk Club – currently based at Sefton Park Cricket Club, Liverpool. However, in 2011 Jacqui has decided to enter retirement and sadly bring the folk club, now in its 50th year, to an end.
The club was an early venue for performers such as Fred Jordan, Doc Watson, Ewan MacColl & Peggy Seeger, Martin Carthy, Barbara Dixon, Peter Bellamy, The Corries, The Johnsons, Don Partridge, Tim Hart & Maddie Prior, and Phil Oaks to name but a few! It also provided a space for the exchange of ideas amongst other aspiring Liverpool artists including Willy Russell, Arthur Dooley, Stan Kelly and Alvin Stardust.
Jacqui & Bridie’s influence on Liverpool’s music, culture and life is perhaps incalculable. A remarkable character and ambassador for Liverpool, Jacqui McDonald’s career is teamed with unique experiences – and anecdotes to match – that include a 1972 Royal Command Performance appearance, performances with The Spinners, an integral part of Ken Dodds’s touring ‘One Man Show’, appearance on the first episode of ITV’s TVAM (making Scouse in Liverpool), featuring on the ITV Children’s show Magpie, and in later years on the BBC TV series You & Me, setting up the now landmark suburban venue Penny Lane Wine Bar, ran a live chat show on Radio Merseyside, was a frequent performer in the LIVING section of the Liverpool Maritime Museum, and regularly toured in North America, New Zealand and Australia.
January 2011 sees Jacqui McDonald and her friends at Liverpool Philharmonic (currently THE home of folk music in the city) take to the stage for the last ever Jacqui & Bridie’s Folk Club. With a fabulous line up of singers and musicians from the club’s past and present, performing the duo’s music and folk classics, they celebrate Jacqui & Bridie’s unique talent and their role in the history of Liverpool’s music scene.
The concert will take place Sunday 23 January 2011, 7.30pm at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.
Tickets £15, £20 To purchase tickets, please call the box office on 0151 709 3789 or order online at www.liverpoolphil.com
And as an added bonus, click on the YouTube video below to watch a video containing contributions from Tom Paxton, and Peggy Seeger.
