My interest in local dialect songs goes back to my birth place - Blaydon. You could view the site of the old racecourse from my grandmother's house, where I was born. Naturally the song Blaydon Races assumed a special significance.
I later learned that my great-grandfather John Danskin (my father's mother's father) was a river keelman. The Danskins of Newburn were a family of river keelmen and miners. My father was James Danskin Veitch, Danskin being his mother Ellen's maiden name. Also some of my Veitch ancestors (on my father's, father's side of the family, and also from Newburn area), were watermen.
The keelmen were the legendary river community, and subject of many folk songs, who used their keelboats to take coal from the many small wagonway loading jetties to load onto the bigger ships docked down river. John Danskin was probably one of the last as in the second half of the nineteenth century the keelman trade had all but disappeared due to the use of staithes, tugs and improvements in the river depth (dredging).

Whilst my teenage interest in pop music developed into an interest in R & B then blues then jazz, alongside this I took an interest in the well known Geordie songs as performed by artists such as Owen Brannigan, Dennis Weatherley, Alex Glasgow and others. As I gradually got into playing jazz, I also performed a few of these songs, just for fun. Even now an Aces live concert of the repertoire is a rare event, its something I just do as a 'one off' once in a while.

I gradually began to evolve formal arrangements of some of these songs (written for voice + two acoustic guitars), with three main objectives. These were - to keep my dialect completely natural (neither exaggerated nor suppressed), to retain the original feel of the songs and yet try to add something fresh, both in the intimate vocal style and in the guitar arrangements.
At last, during the Spring of 2002, I got down to recording these songs, with the 'two guitar' arrangements. I recorded first guitar then overdubbed second guitar/voice. The CD "Canny Tyneside" was the end product.
At that time, if someone had said a track would be played on Desert Island Discs, on BBC Radio 4, I'd have thought it some sort of send up but that's what happened, at the request of the eminent poet U A Fanthorpe.
The CD has been much played by BBC Radio Newcastle and my 'Blaydon Races' was featured at St James Park for a while, during 2004/2005 season.
Please read the reviews and try the soundbites.

UA Fanthorpe & Dr RV Bailey - "It must be twenty years ago, or more, when we came across Owen Brannigan's famous Songs of the Tyne. We loved the whole thing - words and music and interpretation and all the vigorous grandeur of it. But we've always felt there's a subtler, gentler, sadder side to these songs, and a wittier one too, that didn't quite find it's place. Now we have the CD that really satisfies us. It has the wit; it also has that more haunting, delicate side we've never found before in collections of Tyneside songs. What is it? It's Canny Tyneside by Roly Veitch and the Blaydon Aces. This is the definitive version you've been looking for too - buy it!"

Bill Griffiths of the Durham & Tyneside Dialect Research Group:

"Thanks for the great CD - very much enjoyed! The sound came over very clear but close-to and warm".

"....a style which impresses me as genuinely original and lovely guitar playing to boot".

"The settings seemed to me ideal for the songs. Particularly enjoyed Cushie Butterfield, the Weshin' Day and Lambton Worm as settings/performances."

"What is distinctive about this recording is the new settings for the tunes, more harmonically adventurous than the usual chord patterns, but sounding a treat in this excellent recording"

"The CD is a fine work."

Note - Bill sadly passed away in 2007 - see 'Wor Dialect' page for more information about this remarkable man.

The North-Easterner - "..a lovely little collection of local dialect songs in Roly's dulcet tones - in all, a super collection - well produced and very cheap at the price."

The Northumbrian - see review in October 2002 issue. Recommended purchase for Christmas present ideas - Christmas 2002 to 2009.

John Harle on BBC Radio Newcastle - "I think that's brilliant!"

Ian Robinson on BBC Radio Newcastle - "The most unusual recording of Tyneside songs I've ever heard - just one man and his guitar - I think it's a stunner!"

Durham Town and Country - Recommended purchase for Christmas present ideas 2002 to 2007 (magazine now aborbed into The Northumbrian).

Kathy Secker on BBC Radio Newcastle - "...a lovely recording with many old favourites on it!"

For CD purchase - please click here.

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