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Thankful Villages Volume 2 by Darren Hayman

Posted on 9th March 20171st August 2020 by darren

English songwriter and former Hefner frontman Darren Hayman continues his journey around the United Kingdom’s 54 Thankful Villages. A Thankful Village is a village where every soldier returned alive from World War One.

An ongoing and hugely ambitious folk project, Thankful Villages is only partially concerned with the war itself, moreover it is a celebration of British rural life. Darren pulls together first person interviews, folk tales and songs, field recordings and his own personal experiences to create a vast patchwork depicting community, history and legend.

Thankful Villages Volume 2 is less an album but something akin to an arcane musical radio documentary. The success of the first volume of Thankful Villages has encouraged Hayman to go deeper into his subject. Themes of “the river” and “death” weave their way through these eighteen villages. A centuries old drowning is uncovered in “Arkholme” on bonfire night. Dennis, the river man, tells us of a tragedy on the Weir in “Cromwell”. Judy Dyble, the original singer of folk legends Fairport Convention, joins Darren in the village of “Upper Slaughter” and sings a lyric about the generations flowing like water through the village.

Darren uncovers two World War II air disasters in “Woodend” and “Wrigsley”, where he records in the abandoned control tower at the airfield, the so-called cemetery of lights. Perhaps the most shocking and miraculous of tales is found in “Flixborough” where in 1974 the local plastics factory exploded killing everyone inside but nobody in the lucky village. Derek and his son tell us the story of finding each other amongst shards of glass.

However, glimpses of light shine through the darkness; a sunny day of wild swimming in “Telisford”, a village fete with bell ringing in “East Norton” and a tale of a grateful Belgian Refugee in “Norton Le Clay”.

Thankful Villages Volume 1 garnered a great deal of media attention, with features in broadsheets including The Guardian, Financial Times, The Independent and The i Paper. Darren also appeared on The Verb with Ian Mcmillan, Loose Ends and interviewed for a feature on Radio 4’s PM programme.

Darren played special concerts around the release, doing a rendition of his Thankful Villages set with accompanying visuals and films, headlining with a full band as well as solo supporting British Sea Power. A collage of Britain’s hidden places, rich in history and community, Thankful Villages is a further chapter in Darren’s journey and a testament to his remarkable work ethic.

In 2016 Darren was awarded the title of ‘Hardest Working Artist’ at the AIM Awards for the Thankful Villages project and his prolific career.

Thankful Villages Volume 3, which will appear in November 2018, has been given funding by the Arts Council.

Order Thankful Villages Vol 2 on CD INCLUDING POSTAGE AND PACKING

Order Thankful Villages Vol 2 on vinyl with download code INCLUDING POSTAGE AND PACKAGING

Or download from Bandcamp for £7

<a href="http://darrenhayman.bandcamp.com/album/thankful-villages-volume-2">Thankful Villages Volume 2 by Darren Hayman</a>

Tracklisting:

Cundall (Yorkshire)
Norton Le Clay (Yorkshire)
Flixborough (Lincolnshire)
Chantry (Somerset)
Tellisford (Somerset)
Woolley (Somerset)
Shapwick (Somerset)
Cromwell (Nottinghamshire)
Wigsley (Nottinghamshire)

East Norton (Leicestershire)
Maplebeck (Nottinghamshire)
Stretton En Le Field (Leicestershire)
Nether Kellet (Lancashire)
Arkholme (Lancashire)
Colwinston (Glamorgan)
Upper Slaughter (Gloucestershire)
Woodend (Northamptonshire)
Coln Rogers (Gloucestershire)

Trains by Darren Hayman (CD)

Posted on 12th August 201611th August 2018 by darren

I’ve tried a couple of times to group together some train related songs. Recently I was asked to write a song about my favourite train which is the Class 108 Diesel Multiple Unit. I like it because you can see out of the front window.

Making this song inspired me to revisit some old train songs I had and prepare them for release.

The picture disk has sold out from me but I still have the CD version with 8 new songs.

Here’s a video for ‘Class 108 Diesel Multiple Unit’.

All prices include Postage and Packing.

Buy the CD here.

Or buy download for £7
<a href="http://darrenhayman.bandcamp.com/album/trains">Trains by Darren Hayman</a>

New Cassette Version of Lido

Posted on 4th April 201626th September 2016 by darren

These are sold out now but you may still be able to get them from WIAIWYA records or Claypipe.

Download still available for £7
<a href="http://darrenhayman.bandcamp.com/album/lido">Lido by Darren Hayman</a>

Thankful Villages Volume 1 by Darren Hayman

Posted on 9th March 20161st August 2020 by darren

Darren Hayman will release his enthralling and ambitious new album Thankful Villages via Rivertones on 3 June.

A Thankful Village is a village in Britain where every soldier returned alive from World War I. The writer, journalist and educator Arthur Mee coined the term ‘Thankful Village’ in his series of guidebooks, The King’s England in the 1930s. Darren Hayman visited each of the 54 Thankful Villages and, focussing on village life, made a piece of music and a short film for every one. Some take the form of instrumentals inspired by the location, some are interviews with village residents set to music, others are new songs with lyrics or found local traditional songs.

This is the first (of three) volume of the project and contains the first 18 villages that Darren visited during 2014/15. The pieces do not necessarily refer to the Great War, rather they portray the village and it’s communities at many points in history. In “Stocklinch” Ros tells a story of a painting of the old church changing hands through the village, whilst in “Strethall” Darren sings a story of infidelity from the parish records from 1607 and in “St Michael, South Elmham” Dolly tells the story of her melodeon playing father and his adventures in Salonika.

One of the most catchy songs on the album is the final track, “Bradbourne”. Written at a low point for Darren, the song is nonetheless an uplifting collage of vocal harmonies about how, despite not being religious, the churches in the Thankful Villages acted as a refuge from life’s troubles.

Many pieces are instrumental, with Darren sitting on a blanket in a graveyard, teasing out melodies on old wooden instruments amongst bird song and the soft braying of cattle. Lyrics also appear with Darren writing on old church organs and weaving the local congregations into his songs.

Thankful Villages is a collage of Britain’s hidden places. Rich in history and community, Thankful Villages is a further chapter in Darren’s journey through the country underbelly. Recent records include laments for lost Lidos, re-imagined 19th Century political chants and a tale of terror set in during the English Civil Wars.

Please join Darren for a beautiful walk through Britain’s Thankful Villages.

Order Thankful Villages Vol 1 on CD INCLUDING POSTAGE AND PACKING

Order Thankful Villages Vol 1 on vinyl with download code INCLUDING POSTAGE AND PACKAGING

TRACKLISTING
12″ VINYL ALBUM (RIVERTONESLP4)
Darren Hayman – Knowlton
Darren Hayman – Culpho
Darren Hayman – St Michael, South Elmham
Darren Hayman – Puttenham
Darren Hayman – Stoke Hammond
Darren Hayman – Little Sodbury
Darren Hayman – Rodney Stoke
Darren Hayman – Holywell Lake
Darren Hayman – Aisholt
Darren Hayman – Stocklinch
Darren Hayman – Strethall
Darren Hayman – Welbury
Darren Hayman – Scruton
Darren Hayman – Chelwood
Darren Hayman – Langton Herring
Darren Hayman – Herodsfoot
Darren Hayman – Butterton
Darren Hayman – Bradbourne
CD ALBUM (RIVERTONESLP4)
Darren Hayman – Knowlton
Darren Hayman – Culpho
Darren Hayman – St Michael, South Elmham
Darren Hayman – Puttenham
Darren Hayman – Stoke Hammond
Darren Hayman – Little Sodbury
Darren Hayman – Rodney Stoke
Darren Hayman – Holywell Lake
Darren Hayman – Aisholt
Darren Hayman – Stocklinch
Darren Hayman – Strethall
Darren Hayman – Welbury
Darren Hayman – Scruton
Darren Hayman – Chelwood
Darren Hayman – Langton Herring
Darren Hayman – Herodsfoot
Darren Hayman – Butterton
Darren Hayman – Bradbourne

Thankful Villages Live – 15th November Bush Hall

Posted on 31st October 2015 by darren

Those of you who follow me on Twitter would have seen some of this project already.

It’s a massive undertaking for me. I am intending to soundtrack 55 British villages. I would love it so much if some of you could come to this first performance of Thankful Villages. A revealing of a work in progress. There will be films of the visits as well as the music and songs themselves being performed.

Tickets can be bought from here.

Nutlets 1967 – 80 by Papernut Cambridge

Posted on 13th August 20151st August 2020 by darren

‘As I’ve said previously on here, the most fun I have onstage and in the studio at the moment is with Papernut Cambridge. On this record I’m playing keyboards, bass, percussion and saxophone. Songwriter and head ‘nut’ has gone back to his childhood and recorded the pop classics that shaped his Papernut masterplan.’

Vinyl and CD set:

Transparent orange 140g vinyl LP in a white/orange/silver sleeve + CD version in a white/orange/silver wallet. Mixes/edits on the CD are slightly different from the vinyl versions. This set does not include a download of the album. Price includes postage and packing.

Tracklist:

‘Broken Hearted Blues’ ‘(T.Rex)
‘I Believe In Love’ (Hot Chocolate)
‘What Ruthy Said’ (Cockney Rebel)
‘Jesamine’ (The Bystanders/The Casuals)
‘Sugar Me’ (Lynsey De Paul)
‘I’ve Been A Bad Bad Boy’ (Paul Jones)
‘Jealous Mind’ (Alvin Stardust)
‘Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)’ (Edison Lighthouse)
‘White Horses’ (Jacky)
‘Rockers Delight’ (Mikey Dread)

Nutlets 1967 – 80 by Papernut Cambridge from Darren (inc P+P)

Digital version here.

At The Cemetery Gates – a soundwalk through Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park

Posted on 22nd July 2015 by darren

This is what I’ve been working on for the past few weeks. Music for a soundwalk around Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park.http://www.shufflefestival.com/at-the-cemetery-gates … It’s completely free to download. Interviews about the Cemetery by Susanna Grant and Jo Morris and put to music scored by me. It would please us greatly if some of you did the walk with the recording in your ears and fed back to us.