Tony Kendall - The Essex Man

Tony Kendall Albums currently available

Folk music entered Tony's life at an early age. From the age of 4 he had always joined in on family singing at parties and get-togethers and at the age of 7 he was singing solos in the school choir and in a local church choir. Many of the family songs survive in Tony's current repertoire, in particular songs sung by his grandmothers, Rose and Edith and by his uncle, Les who was also a fine guitarist. He began playing guitar at the age of 13 accompanying the school choir's Christmas tour of local hospitals and old folk's homes.

He joined his first band "The Consorts" at the age of 15, initially on guitar but eventually playing bass guitar. This band was quite successful and numbered amongst its players present day musical director and composer Mike Leander and well known guitarist and composerAlan Parker (subsequently of Blue Mink and John Williams' Sky). By 1961 this band was touring as Tommy Bruce's backing band "The Bruisers" under the wing of legendary composer Barry Mason. At the time Tommy Bruce had a huge Number One hit with the Fats Waller cover "Ain't Misbehavin' "; Tony played on the follow-up hit "Babette". The "Consorts" also had brief residency at the Flamingo Club in London's Wardour Street playing opposite Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames.

In 1963 he joined local band "The Skyways". This band won the Granada Cinemas Beat Competition in 1964 being chosen from over 300 competitors. In the same year this band became fully professional and toured extensively throughout Great Britain both as "The Skyways" and as "The Rockin' Monks". The band appeared on just one Decca single when they accompanied Barry and Tony while under the management of Derek Murray. About this time Tony was building quite a reputation for his bass playing and was delighted to share a band bus with the Beatles after a transport cafe meeting. Paul McCartney let Tony play his Hofner bass when they later met backstage at the Romford Odeon. The Skyways played support for the Rolling Stones at the Walthamstow Assembly Hall, the Hollies at Leyton Baths (on three occasions) and the Animals at Slough as well as providing backing for touring American R'n'B stars including Muddy Waters, Memphis Slim and Little Walter and rock artists Gene Vincent and P J Proby. When the Skyways disbanded, he joined R'n'B supergroup "The Renegades" and embarked on a two year residency at the Cafe des Artistes in Chelsea.

Other bands were also asking Tony to "dep" with them; notably with "The Nomads". With this band Tony played a tour accompanying Canadian folk superstar Gordon Lightfoot and also met Fairport Convention singer Sandy Denny while playing at the National Ballroom, Kilburn. Tony had by this time mastered the double bass and was working with trad jazz heroes "The Gun Band" and with a scratch modern jazz ensemble at the Lord Rookwood , Leytonstone.

Tony was continuing his interest in folk song as a floor singer at the various incarnations of the Chestnuts Folk Club at the Three Blackbirds, the Eagle and at the Chestnut Tree and at the Hoddesdon Folk Club. He also hauled his bass along for tune sessions.

From 1979 to 1985 Tony was full-time with the "Nomads" for a lengthy residency at the Starlight Room, Enfield. While there he backed a number of top flight artists including Ben E. King, Matt Monro, and many others. Tony recounts the night when Billy Eckstine and his daughter were the main guests and the American giant/ bass maestro Ray Brown was in the audience. Tony felt massively under pressure, but afterwards when talking to Ray and saying how nervous he felt, Ray just responded "Boy you did all-right!" Tony also played on a number of tours by Irish artists including Glen Curtin, the Dublin City Ramblers etc. It was while accompanying Glen Curtin at the Roundwood Park Festival (a predecessor of the Fleadh) that Tony had to sing an impromptu unaccompanied solo version of the Rose of Allandale in front of an audience of 20,000 when the back-line PA failed.

In 1981 he began attending Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger's Singers' Club. Ewan was very supportive of Tony's folk song writing and of his singing. In the mid- 1980's Tony joined the Barnet Fair Electric Ceilidh Band playing alongside Bryan Causton, Kevin Neaves and Guido Rincon of Shave the Monkey; this band continued gigging till 2002 and was Tony's longest time with one band .

Also around this time Tony joined the Albion Morris as bass guitarist and occasional dancer! Here he joined a noble bass playing line following on from Ashley Hutchings and Jonathan Davey. He regularly played alongside such folk music luminaries as John Watcham, Val Cutler, Ian Cutler, Ric Sanders, Simon Nichol, Mike Clifton, Graeme Taylor Michael Gregory and Bill Dudley. While with Albion he made his first appearances at The National Theatre, Royal Festival Hall and numerous festivals.

In 1987 Tony joined folk rock band "Caliban" alongside Val Cutler, Nick Holder, William Hayter, and that fine Wiltshire singer Sara Byers (now a mainstay of the acclaimed folk band "Suntrap"). The first of Tony's Essex songs were written while with this band. The band's rare and critically acclaimed album "Caliban" is still available on cassette only from Stormforce Arts.

Tony was one of the founder members of Sharp's Folk Club which still meets every Tuesday at Cecil Sharp House, the home of English Folk Music. Tony was co-producer of the Sharp's album-"An Evening at Sharp's". Tony was also a resident at Hitchin Folk Club and the Hale End Folk Club (now The Old Rose and Crown Folk Club) as well as playing fiddle in the club band "The Pit Band".This band survives for occasional outings under the leadership of Adrian Hilton of Chingford Morrismen. As a fiddler Tony was following in the footsteps of his grand-father Fred Loomes, who was a nationally known fiddle-player and step dancer, who performed in the music hall locally at the Palace, Walthamstow, Collins Music Hall at Islington Green and at the Hackney Empire, as well as at music halls throughout the country. He became part of the troupe known as "Fred Kano's Army" and the duo “Nickel and Silver” and also played with the celebrated Walthamstow dulcimer player , Ted Carr.

These days Tony Kendall is internationally renowned for his own songs, poetry and stories of old Essex, as well as his traditional repertoire which is rich in the heritage of Eastern Counties songs and tunes. He has collected and written over 1,000 songs, stories and poems with an Essex flavour. He has since 1991 played fiddle for Chingford Morrismen and Chingford Clog (under the umbrella name "Chingford Morris") and also for Good Easter Molly which he has supported since its inception. Nowadays he sings, plays and lectures in clubs, schools, societies, festivals and at concert venues which have included the Royal Festival Hall, the Barbican Centre and Cecil Sharp House as well as at such national festivals as: Hastings Jack-in-the Green, Cambridge Folk Festival, Reigate Summer Festival, and many Essex events including the Essex History Fayres, Moreton Midsummer Festival, Fairstead Festival, Colchester History Fayre, Saffron Walden Folk Festival and events for Essex Tourism. He has had several television appearances and has been a guest presenter for BBC Essex.

There are seven albums plus a book of poetry which are currently available from Stormforce Arts. Four of these albums feature Sara Byers as second lead vocalist, one of the albums is by Ray Bradfield with Tony on bass and singing harmony vocals and the most recent albums have Hazel Briner as second lead vocalist. Notable amongst these was "A Bicycle Ride with Vaughan Williams" which chronicled the Ingrave song collection of Dr Ralph Vaughan Williams and was made with the active support and encouragement of Ursula Vaughan Williams, Vaughan Williams' widow. This project was the outcome of over four years' research and lead on to Tony being asked to publish his research in the book 'Vaughan Williams: In Perspective" (Vaughan Williams Society, July 1998). In October 1998 Tony was honoured to be asked to perform Bicycle Ride as part of the Centenary Celebrations for the English Folk Dance and Song Society. Tony is a nationally known expert on Vaughan Williams fieldwork. Tony provided research for an exhibition at the Essex Record Office titled "That precious legacy; Ralph Vaughan Williams and 100 years of Essex folk song" in August 2003. He sang four songs at the exhibition launch. The latest album release "Fairlop Fair" (September 2000) resulted from a commission from Redbridge Museum to research the songs, stories and tunes associated with the Fairlop Fair. This fair took place on the first Friday in July around the Fairlop Oak, in Hainault (then part of Epping Forest) between 1720 and 1860. Tony's research is displayed as part of a permanent multi-media exhibition at Redbridge Museum.

Tony has suffered from M.E. (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) since 1991 and nowadays works to a more "relaxed" energy flow, even so new works are still being developed , if much more slowly.

Up-coming projects include : "The Essex Ploughboys"- reviving more songs from the Ingrave canon, plus new songs and verse and a large chunk of field recordings about the Essex Molly Dance; "The Pompadours"- a rejoinder to the "Sharpe" view of the Essex Regiment with a tribute to this great fighting force which includes songs, stories, military tunes and social dance tunes from the Regiment's courageous past.

Tony Kendall Albums currently available