A Yorkshire Lass

We went over to Mansfield tonight, to see folk singer Kate Rusby, who was appearing at the town's Palace Theatre.

We've seen her a number of times now & she never disappoints. She only has a small band with her, two guitarists; one being her husband Damien O'Kane an accordion player, and someone on a double bass. I was surprised with the introduction of a Moog keyboard. But it was used sparingly by the bass player.

Gail & I love her songs and brand of humour. She always tells little stories about the songs, where she found them, their history, and how good it is to live in Yorkshire, especially Barnsley, as that's where she comes from.

She's not singing in this shot, but telling one of her stories, hence the amusing expression. She was saying that in 2017, will mark her 25th anniversary of being a professional singer. And long may she continue.

Abbadabbadoo

I had a bit of luck this week in winning a couple of tickets to see an Abba tribute band at Mansfield's Palace Theatre.

It was quite strange how I won them too. I went on the theatre's Facebook page to make a complaint about their on-line booking form, and saw the competition. It simply asked in which year did Abba win Eurovision. Being an Abba fan, I obviously knew that it was 1974. I also noticed that no one had answered, even though the posting had been up for a few hours.

The theatre was packed with people of all ages, and by about the third song, people were either on their feet dancing, or sitting down clapping and singing along. Even I was singing to some of the songs, as I knew most of the words.

The band also joked with the audience, in a cod Swedish accent. Although, like the real Benny, the pretend one didn't say that much either! Their costumes looked quite authentic. They had a live drummer, but I think they also used a backing track on some of the songs.

On the whole it was a very enjoyable evening, and probably the nearest thing to the genuine Abba that anyone will get to see, as Agnatha, Bjorn, Benny and Anni-Freid have no intention of every playing together again.