A surprise appearance by a new act made for a great evening's entertainment at Faversham Folk Club on Wednesday 7th November. Guests arrived at the pub anticipating a pleasant evening in the company of Dave Pegg and PJ Wright to be met by the organiser uttering the ominous words "I am sorry Dave is ill today and won't be appearing." Shame on those attending who heard that he was having difficulty with his balance and, for some reason, associated this with the demon drink; in fact it transpired that he had an infection in his left inner ear. How could anybody have associated DP with drink? The gladder tidings were that last minute super-sub Chris Leslie had agreed to accompany PJ. He got the call at 1pm, the act were on stage at 9pm, an impressive feat, the pair were to be seen in the bar beforehand putting together a set list and rehearsing songs. It is a testament to PJ’s and Chris’s professionalism and reputation that nobody turned away on hearing that the star turn was not appearing, indeed the organiser had to put up a “House Full” sign

The pair played two sets drawing on the repertoire of Little Johnny England and Fairport Convention, Chris switching between fiddle and mandolin, PJ sticking to acoustic guitar, swapping lead vocals according to the song being sung. To quote Chris “everything is a total surprise”, the set had never been played before and there were many “firsts”. Apart from a couple of minor technical hitches (Chris – “never have two identical set-ups side by side) anyone not in the know could have believed that the pair was an established act who had been playing together for years. Highlights included “Bread and Circuses” from “Galileo’s Apology”, played for the first time with fiddle accompaniment, the Dave Swarbrick song “Rosie”, “we discovered that I know a version of Rosie and PJ knows another- so here they are played together for the first time” and the Pete Scrowther song “Lily of Barbary”, accompanied beautifully by Chris on fiddle. The audience sang along lustily to “Geronimo’s Cadillac”, a Michael Murphy song popularised by Bill Miller and sung by Chris.

All in all a fine evening’s entertainment so thanks to PJ and Chris and get well soon Dave.

Set list:

Everything's Made In China (PJ) from “Galileo’s Apology” by Dave Pegg & PJ Wright
Bread and Circuses (PJ) ) from “Galileo’s Apology” by Dave Pegg & PJ Wright
Spring Song (CL) from “Sense of Occasion” by Fairport Convention
Johnny England (PJ) from “LJE” by Little Johnny England
Rosie (CL) from Rosie by Fairport Convention
40 Years On (PJ sang unaccompanied) from “LJE” by Little Johnny England
Bushes and Briars (Sandy Denny) (PJ) from “Galileo’s Apology” by Dave Pegg & PJ Wright
The Lark In The Morning / Rakish Paddy / Foxhunter's Jig / Toss The Feathers from “Liege & Lief” by Fairport Convention

BREAK

The Way Things Ought To Be (Pete Scrowther) (PJ) from “Mercs and Cherokees”” by Little Johnny England
Close To You (CL) from “The Wood And The Wire” by Fairport Convention
Like The Moon At My Window (Pete Scrowther) (PJ) from “Mercs and Cherokees”” by Little Johnny England
Geronimo's Cadillac (Michael Murphy) (CL)
Random Acts Of Kindness (PJ) from “Hedge Of Sound” by PJ Wright
John Gaudie (CL) from “Promises” by Whippersnapper
Lily Of Barbary(Pete Scrowther) (PJ) from “Hedge Of Sound” by PJ Wright

ENCORE

It Doesn't Matter Anymore (Buddy Holly) (PJ) from “Galileo’s Apology” by Dave Pegg & PJ Wright

(PJ) – lead vocalist: PJ Wright
(CL) – lead vocalist: Chris Leslie