gavdav Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 I was chatting with Jon Boden last night about the metal helpers that Peter Bellamy attached to the end bolts of some of his anglos to provide additional drones. I know I have seen photos of them in the past and found it difficult to describe them. Does anyone have any images or more detail of these eccentric contraptions? For those not in the know, these effectively held a single key down permanently to provide "drone" type additions to what was easily accessible. Many thanks Gav Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterT Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 peter bellamys concertina is now owned by Dave Webber,try contacting him . Peter had more than one concertina. I've checked, and sadly have only one photograph of Peter; here he was playing a 30 key wooden-ended Lachenal, without any "additions". The concertina, which had the two additional "slides" which held down buttons, was the metal-ended one. Regards, Peter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavdav Posted February 9, 2009 Author Share Posted February 9, 2009 (edited) peter bellamys concertina is now owned by Dave Webber,try contacting him . Peter had more than one concertina. I've checked, and sadly have only one photograph of Peter; here he was playing a 30 key wooden-ended Lachenal, without any "additions". The concertina, which had the two additional "slides" which held down buttons, was the metal-ended one. Regards, Peter. To answer my own mail I suppose - Just found these two crackers in the program for Peter's memorial at Csharp house. Edited February 9, 2009 by gavdav Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Groff Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 I remember seeing a photo on the cover of Mr. Bellamy's LP, "Both sides then" that showed the clips, attached to the endbolts, that could pivot to hold down buttons (retuned as drones, I think). This answered some questions for me about the anglo style I was hearing from his recordings. To my ears, he got a beautiful effect from this set-up. As always, it's the mind and heart of the musician that determines the quality of the results, not the gear. PG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hereward Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 I remember seeing a photo on the cover of Mr. Bellamy's LP, "Both sides then" that showed the clips, attached to the endbolts, that could pivot to hold down buttons (retuned as drones, I think). This answered some questions for me about the anglo style I was hearing from his recordings. To my ears, he got a beautiful effect from this set-up. As always, it's the mind and heart of the musician that determines the quality of the results, not the gear. PG I agree. So far as I can determine, I have every Bellamy album there ever was and he is my favourite of all time. A great loss. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavdav Posted February 9, 2009 Author Share Posted February 9, 2009 I remember seeing a photo on the cover of Mr. Bellamy's LP, "Both sides then" that showed the clips, attached to the endbolts, that could pivot to hold down buttons (retuned as drones, I think). This answered some questions for me about the anglo style I was hearing from his recordings. To my ears, he got a beautiful effect from this set-up. As always, it's the mind and heart of the musician that determines the quality of the results, not the gear. PG I agree. So far as I can determine, I have every Bellamy album there ever was and he is my favourite of all time. A great loss. Ian Mine too, I know his playing is not to many people's tastes, but he's certainly my prime concertina influence as well as having a big effect on my singing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjcjones Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 He was possibly one of the best singers the folk revival produced - not immediately accessible, admittedly, but if you made the effort you came to realis he was capable of wonderful expression and phrasing. His concertina playing too was highly individual, seemed to break most of the rules and yet invariably provided a superb accompaniment to his songs. He was a massive talent but a sometimes difficult person, which is perhaps why he wasn't as appreciated as much as he should have been. His talent is again being recognised - sadly too late for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LangoLee Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 He was possibly one of the best singers the folk revival produced - not immediately accessible, admittedly, but if you made the effort you came to realis he was capable of wonderful expression and phrasing. I too love Bellamy's voice, but it puts off some people because he seems to fit many negative stereotypes of the folk club singer: nasal and bleating, with seemingly affected pronunciation, as if channelling some fictional idea of a gnarled sailor. Since I never saw him in the flesh or heard him speak (beyond those Harry Cox-esque repetitions of the final phrase), I don't know how far he deviated from his spoken accent. Certainly he didn't sound much like any documented traditional singer, but it was a unique style, augmented by the wayward accompaniment (or earlier the a cappella harmonies of The Young Tradition). Listening to Bellowhead's big band version of 'Cholera Camp' the other day, I couldn't help thinking that for all Jon Boden's ingenuity as an arranger and vocalist, the whole thing seems overblown when compared to Bellamy's solo original. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Crossland Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Getting back to the original question, the extra fingers appear to be half of a plumbers pipe clamp - no doubt very reasonably priced down at B&Q. A simple solution as long as you don't mind a few extra screw holes in your framework. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjcjones Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Since I never saw him in the flesh or heard him speak (beyond those Harry Cox-esque repetitions of the final phrase), I don't know how far he deviated from his spoken accent. As I recall he spoke with a bit of a Norfolk accent, but not especially strong. I wouldn't have said his "singing accent" deviated much from his spoken accent, it was the yelps and slides which made it so extraordinary. If he'd spoken like that, it would have been quite alarming! I don't know to what extent his singing style was modelled on traditional singers and what was personal, but he could make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. Listening to Bellowhead's big band version of 'Cholera Camp' the other day, I couldn't help thinking that for all Jon Boden's ingenuity as an arranger and vocalist, the whole thing seems overblown when compared to Bellamy's solo original. I think "overblown" is rather the point of Bellowhead. At their best, they get away with it spectacularly, but sometimes it doesn't quite hit the spot for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjcjones Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Getting back to the original question, the extra fingers appear to be half of a plumbers pipe clamp - no doubt very reasonably priced down at B&Q. A simple solution as long as you don't mind a few extra screw holes in your framework. I think they were actually fixed to the end bolts, so no screw holes required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptarmigan Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I was chatting with Jon Boden last night about the metal helpers that Peter Bellamy attached to the end bolts of some of his anglos to provide additional drones. I know I have seen photos of them in the past and found it difficult to describe them. Does anyone have any images or more detail of these eccentric contraptions? For those not in the know, these effectively held a single key down permanently to provide "drone" type additions to what was easily accessible. Many thanks Gav Gav, I'm just guessing, but surely this wasn't the image you were looking for? Peter Bellamy's Extra Fingers Cheers Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I was chatting with Jon Boden last night about the metal helpers that Peter Bellamy attached to the end bolts of some of his anglos to provide additional drones. I know I have seen photos of them in the past and found it difficult to describe them. Does anyone have any images or more detail of these eccentric contraptions? For those not in the know, these effectively held a single key down permanently to provide "drone" type additions to what was easily accessible. Many thanks Gav Gav, I'm just guessing, but surely this wasn't the image you were looking for? Peter Bellamy's Extra Fingers Cheers Dick Maybe this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POX-1H24Y2g&fmt=18 Thanks Leo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavdav Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 (edited) Getting back to the original question, the extra fingers appear to be half of a plumbers pipe clamp - no doubt very reasonably priced down at B&Q. A simple solution as long as you don't mind a few extra screw holes in your framework. I think they were actually fixed to the end bolts, so no screw holes required. Indeed - I posted two pics further up the thread which show this - they look like they resemble artists drawing board clips, but htye could be custom made, I guess it isn't a complex piece of engineering. Edited February 10, 2009 by gavdav Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael sam wild Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Funnily enough I was messing about the other day and held down the LHS press D on the G row with a lump of Blutak. It worked quite well but left me without the F sharp too. Sounded nice but I wish I had a separate D drone. My previous Connor/Lachenal had a C drone which I would have converted to D I suppose any springy steel strip would do and you could wedge the bent over end under the end plate. As a biologist i was used to such clips on the stage of microscopes to hold the glass slides down, they were held with nice knurled screw knobs Gav , do you play and sing at the same time, I can't remember sorry ( I must get out more!). Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavdav Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 Gav , do you play and sing at the same time, I can't remember sorry ( I must get out more!). Mike I do indeed - it is my concertina raison d'etre, though I seem to be playing lots of English session tunes recently too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael sam wild Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 (edited) Gav , do you play and sing at the same time, I can't remember sorry ( I must get out more!). Mike I do indeed - it is my concertina raison d'etre, though I seem to be playing lots of English session tunes recently too. Thanks Gav I'm building up a list of people who playa and sing simultaneously Re the Pete Bellamy thing I suppose an 'extra finger' drone would be better on an English to get continuity,I just messed about with my C/G Anglo to see what it would feel like in D as I've been listening to a lot of Paddy Keenan and Johnny Doran on the pipes and listening to hurdy gurdies and Auvergne pipers It's been interesting trying to fit the tunes round D on push 4 G row or pull 3 C row both on LHS. Forces you to use all the push or pull options I went to several concerts of classical Indian music last year or so in Sheffield and in one case there was a boy on a lap organ giving a drone and at anothger the sitar player used an electric monotone drone. I see that you can by an electronic 'box' to do it nowadays. Cheaper but less educative for the young kid Edited February 12, 2009 by michael sam wild Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavdav Posted February 11, 2009 Author Share Posted February 11, 2009 Thanks Gav I'm building up a list of people who playa and sing simultaneously Re the Pete Bellamy thing I suppose an 'extra finger' drone would be better on an English to get continuity,I just messed about with my C/G Anglo to see what it would feel like in D as I've been listening to a lot of Paddy Keenan and Johnny Doran on the pipes and listening to hurdy gurdies and Auvergne pipers It's been interesting trying to fit the tunes round D on push 4 G row or pull 3 C row both on LHS. Forces you to use all the push or pull options Interestingly I know lots of people who play that up and down the rows english Anglo style (like me) who like the left thumb drone key, but I find a lot of boxes that have been Irishified where the drone key does something else...e/g two different notes or not the root of the key on the same row. does your Jeffries have a left thumb drone? Whilst D is a nice singing key I find it hard to play in that style on a C/G with any robust accompaniment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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