A MID-TOUR REPORT
I had only a few days at home over the Easter weekend to recover from the inevitable jet-lag (I only just made it home from Nashville as Chicago was blanketed in freezing fog and had twelve inches of snow. Mine was the only plane that flew that day!

I arrived in Tennessee on March 1st and was lucky to be staying with Barry and Holly Tashian again - their house really is a 'home from home' and they are wonderful hosts.

I had a day or two to acclimatise before Dan Penn came back to town from a show in Florida. The budget arrived at the bank in good time (a great relief) and we had a day or two to prepare the songs and the studio before work started with the band in March 6th.

I had lost half of my original team by moving the recording dates from January to March - John Deaderick was out playing keyboards for Michael McDonald and guitarist David Steele was also tied up with a road gig. As so often is the case, the team that turned up on the first day proved to be exactly the right one for what we were doing and it was plain sailing from the word 'Go'.

Drummer Steve Ebe hails from Memphis and brought his groove with him. Daniel Tashian, who played drums on my 'Under The Sun' album wasequally brilliant on bass this time around. Steve Allen, who I'd met with Bill Lloyd and Garry Tallent's band the Long players, held down the guitar chair with wonderfullly laid-back licks and fills and my old friend Billy Livsey handled piano, Hammond organ and a variety of vintage electronic keyboards. (Billy appeared on 'Headlines' back in the early '90s.

I had spent some time with Dan trying out various microphones and had settled in my vocal booth with my acoustic guitar and a Japanese mic that seemed to suit me. We cut all the tracks on 2 inch tape and this is the first album when I have been able to keep all the vocals that went down with the band - not always the most perfect version, but quite different than any later attempt to sing to a finished track.

more later...

OFF TO NASHVILLE!
A last minute 'Hi' before I get on the plane to go and record...I'm afraid we haven't finished the new version of the website - it's going to have to wait for when I get home at Easter. Meanwhile I'm really looking forward to getting into the studio with Dan Penn and a wonderful group of musicians!
See you all at the shows in April,

Love for now, Julian, Somerset

FEBRUARY NEWS UPDATE
I know, I know...I'm a bad, bad guy - Apart from my Christmas Greeting there hasn't been any news here for a while, so here I am again...

The tail-end of last year ended up being quite busy. Charlie Louvin's visit to London was a triumph and it was great to see him. He is now eighty years old and shows no signs of slowing up at all. I rehearsed with his band and the guest vocalists the BBC had decided to put with him (from younger bands Blanche and the Handsome Family) and played a good part of Charlie's set at Dingwall's, which was recorded both for radio and TV broadcast. A highlight for me was a backstage visit from Ray Davies, who gracefully agreed to have his picture taken with the various Kinks fans present (including yours truly), but even better promised to give me my Nicky Hopkins interview at last - and then actually did!

I went off in early December for my handful of shows in Germany and Holland. The first Dutch show was one of Iain Matthews' songwriter presentations and was a delight. Both my other shows in Holland went really well too and I have been asked back, which is always nice. I finished up for the month of December on stage in Hannover, with a cast of thousands for the annual Blue Rose Christmas party.

This time I got to meet and play with new friends Chris Cacavas and Rich Hopkins as well as a few familiar faces such as Swiss slide wizzard Hank Shizzoe and Todd Thibaud. It was a sold out show and the four hundred or so guests seemed to enjoy every act and every minute. I was the presenter and co-ordinator of the proceedings this time, which meant for some hard work on the night - but good fun too. In fact the only cloud over the event was the fact that poor David Knopfler broke his shoulder stepping off stage at the rehearsals and never made it to the show. I've heard he is well on the way to recovery in the meantime.
It was great to see Blue Rose chief Edgar Heckmann with such a big smile on his face.

After all that action, Christmas and New Year were quiet family affairs this year, without too much travelling!

The New Year was supposed to begin with my trip to Nashville to record with Dan Penn, but around Christmas time, Dan asked me to postpone the sessions to early March, so that he could grab a much-needed break. This presented quite a few problems, as I had gone to great lengths to put together a terrific band of young players for January, some of whom might now not be available for the new dates.
I've learned over the years to take unexpected changes in my stride and trust that what comes out at the end will be jjust as good or better than my expectations, and one thing that Nashville is not short of is musicians!

During my visit in October I wrote four new songs with my producer (one every day) and a couple on my own, so I am llooking forward to my first 'band' recording in a good while. As Dan said on the phone, 'Just bring your guitar and your good self and let's have some fun!' My sentiments entirely...
The finished album actually won't be out until after the Summer to give us plenty of preparation time and to tie in with a short run of band shows to support its release.(see Dates page). More on that nearer the time...

The sudden gap in my schedule was easily filled up with two weeks of intense work on the book. I didn't get to the end, but I got damn close and have vowed to finish the first draft by Nicky Hopkins' birthday on February 24th.

I'm also looking forward to playing more live shows in April with the wonderful Uli Kringler. We've done a few gigs together now and he is a brilliantly intuitive and eloquent guitarist - and sings fine too!

My newly overhauled website and guestbook is on the drawing board as we speak and should be posted this month. I still haven't made the step to Facebook, MySpace or YouTube just because I feel if everyone in the world is in the club, then I don't want to be in it too. I may be persuaded to change my mind in time, but for now I'm content to sit back and watch the world go by without a daily blog.

Now, back to work so I can get the book done before I get going with the new songs...

I hope it's been a good year so far for all of you out there and look forward to meeting at the shows.

Love from Somerset,

Julian

IT'S CHRISTMAS!
Just a quick message to everybody out there who is still kind enough to look in on my website...I'm still here even if it may seem that I have disappeared recently!

I'd like to wish all of you great people a wonderful Christmas and ask you to look out for my promised changes, updates, photos etc. in 2008 - a brand new year with brand new plans.

Thanks for all the support at shows and the messages (even if they bounce back). I'm grateful for all of it and look forward to seeing you soon with the new album done...

BEST WISHES FOR CHRISTMAS AND A GREAT '08 TO EVERYONE!

Julian, Somerset December 25th.

OCTOBER NEWS UPDATE

Welcome back to another news round-up - a short one this time as I am just about to leave for a show with John David Souther in Portsmouth and am off to the USA again in two days time.

The summer is definitely over and I am writing this under grey skies - no rain today but a real autumn feeling in the air. I guess my Kempen show signalled the end of summer - and what a great way to finish...

It was a sellout again, though this time it had to be held indoors in the beautiful church, but with a great audience, who seemed to enjoy my 'secret' guest Iain Matthews as well as my own set with new guitarist Uli Kringler (and several duets with Iain at the end of the evening) - definitely one of my favourite places to play and I send out a special thankyou to everyone who came along (including two surprise guests from the Bahamas!)

Since then I've been writing every day - I finished a Beatles chapter (another long and complicated story as Nicky Hopkins played with all four of them) and am still receiving surprise replies from various musicians (Rick Wakeman, Tom Rush and John Paul Jones this month), so there is always more material to include. More recently I've been back to my least favourite but necessary task of transcribing interviews for the next parts of the book.
I've made good, solid progress this month and really feel that the end is in sight (Hallelujah!)

Now I am giving some time to my music again for a while and going to Nashville to start working with Dan Penn on the next record for Blue Rose. I'll be spending two weeks writing songs and routining arrangements with Dan now in October, with the first week of January pencilled in for recording in Dan's own studio. We've talked about working together for years, so I'm excited that it is finally going to happen.

When I get back I have two more shows to play in England, both fairly local to home. On the 19th October I'm in Frome as part of an acoustic night with three other performers (only half an hour from me) and the next night I am back in the David Hall, South Petherton, another venue I always really look forward to. Richard Kennedy will be re-appearing to play with me at both these dates, which makes it even more fun. Since UK shows are a rarity at present I hope to see lots of you at the David Hall on the 20th.

Charlie Louvin is coming to the UK for a BBC presented live show for Radio Two, which I hope to be part of and I will be dropping in on at least one show with Paul Barrere and Fred Tackett in Bristol. I am back in the Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury, where I played with Richard Thompson in the Summer, on November 13th.

I'm off to Germany again for a few days at the end of October and again in early December, when I also play three shows in Holland, returning to Germany for the Blue Rose Christmas party, held this time in Hannover at the Blues Garage. Among those appearing are Rich Hopkins and Hank Shizzoe from Switzerland, who's slide guitar playing was a highlight for me last year. I'll be taking on Elliott Murphy's role as 'master of ceremonies' this time.

When I look back on this year I've been in a kind of holding pattern as far as my music goes - I know I haven't been easy to contact (not at all via this website) but I promise that with the new album on the way, 2008 will be much busier and I will be sure to be more accessible again. There are already dates in the book for a tour in April (before the record release) and again in September when it has come out, including my first dates with a band line-up in a long time.

And now back to the book...Love to all,

Julian, Somerset, October 3rd.

AUGUST NEWS UPDATE

Greetings to everyone!

I've been meaning to catch up on my recent activities for ages and am grabbing the last chance before I disappear on holiday (What! Again? I hear you say...)
It's true that I had that surprise spring trip to the Bhamas, but an August visit to France is almost always in the calendar and I need to be physically torn away from my writing desk. It will do me good!

The last few weeks have been an exciting time for me, but contrary to the normal rhythm of my life, all the excitement happens 'behind closed doors' rather than on stage somewhere.

Most of the good stuff has been related to my writing which is now progressing strongly towards the end (at last!). Even after all this time it is still a thrill when I make contact suddenly with someone I'd given up hope of ever speaking to and the interviews are always surprising and often fascinating.

I just finished a Rolling Stones chapter that ended up more than 15,000 words long!

On July 19th. I was able to play the proud Dad in Brighton, when my daughter Holly graduated after her three years studying Anthropology. She received her certificates (wearing the full gown and hat combination) from no less a personage than Sir Richard Attenborough!

There's been a few musical moments too. I was booked to appear on July 22nd. at the Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury with Richard Thompson, butt unfortunately, at the time, the town was turned into an island with six feet of flood water making coming or going impossible. The date was postponed to August 2nd. and I ended up paying Richard a visit in Cardiff as well. He was kind enough to invite me on stage both nights for a few encores and we played 'Galway To Graceland' (one of my all-time favourite Thompson numbers), with yours truly on harmonica and backing vocals, followed by 'Concrete And Clay' and John Sebastian's 'Rain On The Roof' (a bit close to the bone given the flooding). The audiences were great as were Richard's shows - as always, a pleasure to be part of the proceedings. I'm playing at the Roses again on my own on November 13th.

I was back at my desk until August 10th. and 11th. when I went off to Fairport Convention's Cropredy festival to accompany Iain Matthews on his afternoon set. Again Mr. Thompson joined us, finishing up with a very cool, funky version of Iain's 'Back Of The Bus' with a groove laid down by his brilliant Dutch keyboard-player Mike Roelofs and trading licks between the piano, Richard's electric guitar and the harmonica. Iain got a great response.

The Friday night concert was special too, with the original 'Liege And Lief' line-up playing that album from start to finish (with Chris While doing an incredible job of standing in for Sandy Denny). The performance was followed by a blistering set from Richard T, this time with his band adding weight to the new album numbers and a few older favourites.

As usual Cropredy gave me a chance to meet up with loads of friends, both musicians and others - Jerry Donahue and Gerry Conway from one of my earlier band line-ups, David Suff from Fledgling Records, Tim Renwick and his band the Bucket Boys and regulars such as Danny Thompson and various Fairport members past and present - a great atmosphere, fantastic weather and a sold out festival for their 40th. anniversary.

I received all kinds of interesting invitations for next year as well a 'live' interview with Dave Cousins from the Strawbs and a promise of contacts to Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones (via John Bonham's mother and sister Deborah) and to Rick Wakeman and producer Tony Visconti from Cousins. (all for the book of course).

Other news : I recently took delivery of a bunch of copies of the beautiful new Blue Rose box-set that commemorates last year's Christmas extravaganza with Iain Matthews, Elliott Murphy and others. Edgar Heckmann and his team have done a wonderful job and I'm proud to be part of it. Look out for the next one on December 15th. at the Blues Garage in Hannover.

Charlie Louvin is coming to the UK for a big BBC sponsored concert in October and says he'll invite me along to play. It's sparked by the recent release of another all-star cast album celebrating his music and that of the Louvin Brothers - not a million miles different from the one we made together in 1996...I guess I'm just too far ahead of my time!

I can also confirm that my next album for Blue Rose will be with a band again and will be recorded this winter with my old friend (and favourite songwriter) Dan Penn producing, in his studio in Nashville. I've invited some brilliant local musicians to join me and know that we will have a great time trying to make a great album together...Then I will be off on tour again next year...

Right now it's two weeks and a bit in France, followed right away by one of my favourite gigs of all on September 1st. in Kempen, near Krefeld in Germany. Since I lived in the town briefly around when my son Robyn was born (he's 25 now) I have a special connection to Kempen and the show is almost always a sellout. I have Uli Kringler playing guitar with me as well as a surprise guest or two...There were still some tickets left when I called this week, so do come along as I am not doing too many shows the rest of this year. (See the datesheet for those that are happening).

Have a great rest of the Summer wherever you are - hopefully without too much heat or too much water!

Love to all, Julian Dawson, Somerset, Augsut 12th.



MAY NEWS UPDATE

Hi everybody! I'm sorry I've been absent from my website or so long - the result of having turned into an author for a while...I couldn't leave this page any longer with a post-Christmas greeting when I am in Nashville, it's warm and humid and very un-Christmas-like. I hope despite my lack of hot news that nobody has given up on me completely!!

I'll start with tonight's news...I just played a little show here in Music City with Vince Santoro who drummed on four of the records I recorded in the 90s. We've stayed friends and tonight he performed a set of spoken-word pieces with drum accompaniment and I sang some songs afterwards - with Vinnie joining me on a few. There were lots of friends in the audience, Tom Ghent and Gene Pistilli, both of whom I've written with, George Marinelli (who plays with Bonnie Raitt), John Randall (who plays with Emmylou Harris), Billy Livsey (who played keyboards on my 'Headlines' CD) and Nicky Hopkin's widow, Moira, whom I am here to visit to wrap up some aspects of the biography.

I finished up tonight at the Bluebird Cafe to see Canadian Fred Eaglesmith, who is an old acquaintance, play a great show and I hooked up afterwards with Mark Germino, whom I hadn't seen for years (Mark wrote the wonderful 'Rat & The Snake' that we recorded with Plainsong.

I've been in Chicago for a few days, followed by this week in Nashville and a day or two in New York on the way home. Mostly I am here to pay another visit to Moira, but I am grabbing the chance to visit friends like Bill Lloyd, Dan Penn and the indestructible Charlie Louvin, (who turns eighty in July!)

I am hoping to finally wrap up the Nicky Hopkins book this summer and will then start a new band record with a bunch of new songs that have gradually accumulated over the last months. I am still enjoying every minute of the book process, but will be glad nevertheless when it's finally done. Blue Rose have committed to a new recording - I just have to decide where and with whom it will be done.

I'm looking forward to the upcoming shows in the next few weeks and will write more about what's happening very soon. I was sad to hear that Dan Penn's great writing partner Carson Whitsett just died recently in Nashville - another great talent who has left us suddenly.

Love to everyone for now,

Julian, Nashville, Tennessee, May 2007

JANUARY NEWSLETTER 2007

Welcome to the website all you cyber-world browsers. It’s been almost two months since I last sat down to catch up on myself and look back at my recent activities, so first of all I’ll wish a belated Happy New Year to everyone and I hope you had a peaceful and enjoyable time at Christmas.

If regular readers get the impression that things are slowing up in my world, they can be forgiven, since my musical activities are currently taking a definite second place to my home-based, desk-bound work. I’m still going out as often as I can to play, but new recordings and new music-related plans are going to have to wait until I’m finished writing this biography.

I confess that when I began, I had no idea that I’d taken on such a mammoth task, but last year the realisation finally dawned that it won’t be finished as long as I am trying to run the two sides of my life parallel. There just aren’t enough hours in the day. So my current rhythm is to spend as much time as possible on the book and pop out every week or two for one or two concerts, which provides a welcome break, a bit of useful income and stops the calluses on my left hand from softening up permanently!

I have actually been slowly writing some new songs along the way and have been nurturing ideas for others - and the best way to record a new album later this year. More on that nearer the time…

Looking back to December, one highlight was the Blue Rose Christmas party in Heilbronn. Edgar Heckmann sent out invitations to several artists on the label and was surprised when almost all agreed to come on December 15th. to play brief sets alone and then to take part in an impromptu jam session together. The show was as good as sold out and there was a definite party mood in the air. I am always pleased when there is a chance to sing with Iain Matthews and we collaborated on each others sets with speedily rehearsed versions of favourites from the Lovin’ Spoonful and others - one idea I had was a JJ Cale-style treatment of “Can’t Buy Me Love”. I contributed a bit of harmonica to Iain’s solo set and then came and went during the session. Iain and I had a really nice two song acoustic moment with Ad Vanderveen and the rocking bits all rocked as they should. I lashed out in the afternoon and bought Santa hats for all the performers, most of which ended up being grabbed by souvenir-hungry fans. Edgar was beaming all over his face by the end and it was apparent that a great night was had by all. Apparently there is a likelihood of a ‘live’ CD to preserve it for eternity…

I had a second chance to work with Iain two days later as I was one of his invited guests for his songwriter’s series in Leiden. We travelled up there together from his home in southern Holland to the beautiful old building where the concert was held. I played a short set to an appreciative audience, played a bit of harmonica with ‘The Watchman’, the Dutch songwriter who headlined and then all three of us made ourselves available for a question and answer session, which was a really entertaining way to round off the evening.

I went home for Christmas on 19th. December and lay low until now, with my only work being for the book, (including another long weekend mid-January in Cologne with the ever-generous Karl Hofer archiving more album covers and images). I think it is going to be a really good read when it’s finally done.

A phone call from one of my interview partners alerted me to the fact that I make an appearance in another book, ‘Black Knight’, a new biography of Ritchie Blackmore written by Jerry Bloom. Jerry did me the honour of including my experiences with Ritchie on tour in the late ‘90s when I opened shows for his acoustic project. I’d got to know the author because Blackmore’s story intertwines with Nicky Hopkins’ in the early years when both worked at different times with Screaming Lord Sutch and producer Joe Meek - occasionally even recording together. I haven’t read the book yet but it’s nice to be part of it.

I don’t subscribe to any music papers any more but a recent glance at Record Collector informed me that there is a new Charlie Louvin CD coming out in February, featuring duets with Elvis Costello, Jeff Tweedy and other ‘alt country’ figures. It was refreshing to read an internet interview with Charlie, who will be 80 this coming summer, complaining in his typically grumpy fashion that he had not even met any of his singing partners nor heard of most of them. It looks like the label involved has more money to spend than we did when I worked with Charlie in 1996, as there is a glossy website specially for the album and an upcoming appearance at SXSW in Texas.I haven’t heard the result yet but I’m glad that Charlie is still out there getting attention.

I must admit to an occasional glow of satisfaction when I read about Costello name-checking Dan Penn or duetting with Lucinda Williams and Charlie Louvin and know that, despite the lack of attention received for it at the time, I worked with all of them ten years before anyone thought of it. Ah, the wonders of showbiz!

I’m off to the airport in the middle of the night again to fly off for a couple of gigs this weekend and look forward to playing again and meeting some new faces.

Even if my schedule is not as busy as usual, there are still concerts coming up in the UK, in Germany, in Denmark, in the USA and later on in Holland again. My traditional summer concert in Kempen (once every two years) will be on September 1st. this time, with a very special guest already lined up. It’s a show I always particularly look forward to and often sells out, so booking early is a good idea.

Now it’s back to the writing desk and the next chapter. I send out warm cyber greetings to everyone and hope our paths cross soon,
JULIAN, SOMERSET 24/01/07

NEWSLETTER : NOVEMBER UPDATE

Hi to everyone, This is just a short update to last month’s letter as I am just about to head off to the ferry for a week away.

I managed at last to spend an afternoon with my webmaster, Dave Andrews, so all the information here is up to date and I can finally promise a new, more user-friendly’ guestbook again - and an e-mail address where I can be reached! The newest CD,’Nothing Like A Dame’ will shortly join the CD page and as there are only a few hundred left, it won’t be around for long. Don’t forget that Christmas is on the way - and what could be better than an album where a bald guy in a kilt sings women’s songs with an acoustic guitar?

Look out for a visual overhaul of the website and possibly even a Julian Dawson presence on MySpace, which Dave insists is a must nowadays. Meanwhile here’s the update :

The harmonica festival in Limoges was a delight. It is always wonderful to be in the company of true enthusiasts and Laurent Cagnon and his team are serious harmonica lovers. Everything was well-planned and Richard Kennedy and I had a great gig as a double-bill with my old friend Rick Epping playing his beautiful Irish tunes. I gave a workshop too.

After my flight from Limoges to London (delayed as usual by over an hour), I had a mad dash from London Stansted to Gatwick to catch my next flight to Vilnius for the song festival I had missed the previous year. I was terrified I wouldn’t make it this time either, but aided by my son Robyn, who met me in his car directly at the airport, I got to the second check-in with fifteen minutes to spare. After twenty minutes calming down (and cooling off!) in the waiting lounge, a message came through that my flight to Lithuania was delayed by over five hours! Ah, life’s little ironies…

I finally arrived in Vilnius at 4.15 in the morning to be met by a smiling assistant from the Song Festival team and a taxi which took me to the artist’s hotel. After a few hours sleep I was taken into the ‘Teacher’s Centre’ building, which was the headquarters of the festival, where I was introduced to my hosts and the other singers at a special reception. Most of the guest artists had already been there for three days, but my late arrival only left time for one ‘proper’ concert, shared with a Lithuanian film-star who was also a popular singer-songwriter. I enjoyed my part of the show and so, apparently, did the audience. It was a pleasant surprise to find out how much English the (predominantly young) audience understood. I played harmonica with my Lithuanian colleague and afterwards joined a new acquaintance from the Faroe Islands, who knew as many Beatles’ songs as I do. We played for an enthusiastic audience until 4.00 in the morning!

Next day gave me a few hours to have a look at the city, which is extremely beautiful and full of history. Being there reminded me of my late 80s visit to East Germany before the Wall came down in that there were recently renovated and totally collapsed buildings side by side but lots of green spaces and beautiful churches (more than 350 apparently). The last night featured a gala concert with all the performers playing two songs each (I actually got to sing three!). It took place in a large and most imposing Baroque church, with lots of gold and a wild colour scheme. The show was sold out and was televised on Lithuanian TV. With guests from Ukraine, Latvia, Denmark, England, Ireland, Sweden and the Faroes, it must have been an interesting programme.

Thanks to Gediminas and his team for taking care of me in such an efficient and friendly fashion.The whole visit was fascinating and well worth the effort. I hope I’ll be asked back again in the future.

Back home the priority remains finishing the book. I’ve actually made good progress the last week or two and am now breaking off again for concerts in Hamburg and Berlin (see the tour page).

After the second show I’m invited for a live radio broadcast as well. Hope to see a few of you at the next gigs (there are more German ones plus a visit to Holland in December), and I wish everyone else good weather and good times. Julian, Somerset November 2006

NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2006

I know, I know...it's been a while since I last wrote on this page but since the Summer I've been leading the life of a hermit apart from a few brief excursions for gigs and festivals. I'm told that men are famous for their inability to 'multi-task' and I must admit that I seem to be a typical example!

My focus has been on the writing and research for the Nicky Hopkins biography and it has meant that I'm not paying as much attention to the musical side of my life. I'ts now 30 years since I started making my living from my songs and performing and in that time I've never really taken a break from thinking about the next tour, the next album or the next song. I must confess that at the moment I'm enjoying a change and don't doubt that concentrating for a while on something different will be a benefit for the music in the end.

I had another bout with some health issues through the Summer (the worst is thankfully behind me now) so I haven't been at full strength either.

I've really enjoyed the shows and festivals I have been able to play and still find the live experience just as exciting and rewarding as ever. I have a personal problem on the 'business' front with the sheer number of CDs that are coming out every day, week, month...Perhaps it's part of the same phenomenon as 'Big Brother', reality TV and 'Pop Idol', but it seems to me that just about everybody is making a CD these days. It is of course wonderful that it's easy and cheap to record now, but I can't help feeling that even my favourite artists would do better to bring out one album every three years instead of three in one year!

It might sound like I've become one of those grumpy old men that you read about, but music to me has always been (and hopefully will always be) something so special that it needs real love and attention. I'm not sure that having 20,000 songs on an ipod is really the best way forward.

As far as my own recent CD release, "Nothing Like A Dame" with its covers of 'women's songs', the thing I liked best about it as a project, was that it was completely pointless, in the nicest possible way. I thoroughly enjoyed recording a few favourites with Richard Kennedy, it was a lifetime ambition fulfilled to work with Martin Carthy but I didn't have a goal as such. Playing a selection of the songs live was a nice addition to my own tunes and seemed to be popular.

We've sold about a thousand CDs already and anyone interested can get a copy by contacting me through the website. The new CD will be added to the mail order page in the next few days.

My target for finishing the book keeps moving as more and more information becomes available through interviews and old newspapers etc. Since the Spring I've had great talks with people as diverse as Ian Maclagen (Small Faces), Tony Newman, (Jeff Beck drummer), Vashti Bunyan (a lovely interviewee and currently mega hip in the UK), Beverley Martyn, percussionist Ray Cooper, Mick Taylor, current Stones pianist Chuck Leavell, (another great conversation).

I'm now on track for the rest of the Rolling Stones (after their touring) and am holding for Ray Davies (as ever), Rod Stewart and others.

The hardest part of the job is transcribing the taped interviews into the computer. I'm a two finger typist, so a two hour conversation can take a whole day. I determined right at the start however, to put down everything that was said rather than just 'snippets', because I've found that things can take on a whole new meaning long after the event.

There have been moments that I've lost my focus a bit due to the sheer size of the task, but all I have to do is go downstairs, take out the LP of Beggar's Banquet or Steve Miller's Your Saving Grace and I suddenly remember why I started in the first place and I go happily back to work.

So that the music isn't totally forgotten, in September I had a lovely show with Iain Matthews at a brand new Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg and another good-spirited three-day Beatles event, this time in Schwedt in East Germany, almost at the border with Poland! Klaus Voormann was on particularly good form, Star Club legend Horst Fascher was unpredictable and fascinating and I enjoyed playing a set of acoustic Beatle songs among all the tribute bands when I wasn't acting as 'master of ceremonies'.

Upcoming gigs include the Harmonicales Festival in Limoges (possibly the last time I'll be playing with Richard Kennedy, as he has decided to take a rest from touring for a while) followed immediately by a song festival in Lithuania - my first visit there. Otherwise most of my work, such as it is, into the early part of next year is in Germany, but since I plan to be finished with Nicky Hopkins by Christmas, look out for a buzz of new energy and lots of activity in 2007.

The proposed 9/11 film discussed in my last letter didn't come to fruition as the BBC decided it was too short notice. I was hoping to be in Chicago on the anniversary, but circumstances meant that I had to stay home. It was amazing to discover that my 're-written' song "Waiting For A Plane" has become an anthem in Newfoundland and gets tons of radio play there!

I send out best wishes to everyone. Special thanks to all who have persisted, despite its complexities, in leaving messages in the guestbook. I am seeing my webmaster next week and will oversee a number of changes to this site, (including a new working web address where I can be contacted!)

Hope to cross paths soon with as many of you as possible,

Otherwise Autumn greetings from a wet and windy Somerset,

Love to all, Julian